AirPods Pro 2 doesn't switch noise control mode when one is used

Same problem here, started with iOS 18 and MacOS Sequoia (and latest firmware 7A305), my AirPods Pro will start to 'forget' my Noise Control preferences.

Temporary Solution:

If you go to AirPods Pro settings, you should notice that only 1 of the Noise Control settings is ticked, you want to check whichever the missing mode is. This will temporarily solve the issue, allowing you to switch mode with the stem.

Not a full fix:

However there's definitely a bug that's causing AirPods to 'forget' this setting randomly.

For reference, I use my AirPods on: iPhone (16 Pro, but the problem happened with my 12 mini as well before I upgraded), MacBook Pro (M3 Max 16" 48GB RAM 40 GPU cores) with 2 accounts (1 for work and 1 for personal) and iPad Pro M1. Whenever the AirPods 'forget' its noise control preferences, it'll forget it on all devices and accounts and I'd have to redo the settings on each device / account one by one.

For example yesterday my iPhone forgot the noise control preferences, I had to set it up - this morning after logging onto my work account on my MBP I had to do it there as well, and I'll have to do that to my personal account when I finish work today.

I fixed the issue since my post from two hours ago, I suspected it was my ipad. This is an issue starting with any os over 18.0. My phone is still on ios18.0, ipad is on 18.0.4

Go into your AirPods settings starting with your phone, then iPad or Mac until all devices that have the option and enable the "Off listening mode" option, just above the about section near the bottom. That's it. I've been trying to figure this out for a month.

in addition to “Off Listening Mode”, i found that i had to go into the Left and Right noise control settings (individually) and re-select every mode and that has fixed the issue. Mine, for some reason, changed on its own and was set with only the Noise Cancellation mode ticked.

I have the same issue. It happened the morning after I updated my phone to ios18. There is no fix, keep reading, you will see I have tried everything. My temporary fix is to turn on single earbud noise cancelling, which is a very weird feeling at first.

No matter how many times I hard reset my AirPods, as soon as I use my computer or iPad while listening to audio on my phone, the AirPods jump to either alternative device and immediately go to transparency more and disable the "off" function of noise control and I get the three low pitch beeps when I try to change it.

I will turn off my computer and iPad, hard reset my AirPods and restart my phone. Connect to the phone as a new device and everything is fine for the day at work. Then I come home from work, I'm listening to a podcast on my phone with left or right AirPod in, and as soon as I turn on my computer, it connects to the computer and turns on transparency, then when I long hold (three fast low pitch beeps) I am no longer allowed to turn off noise control.

I have not updated my Mac, it is on Sonoma. I refuse to update, because I am afraid another device will stop working. I digress, but I can no longer use my Magic Keyboard in bluetooth mode since updating to Sonoma, this is getting ridiculous.

Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode only work when both AirPods are in your ears. If one is in the case, those modes won’t activate, which is why you hear the beeps. When both AirPods are in, switching between ANC, Transparency, and Off should work fine.

If the issue persists, try updating the firmware, resetting your settings, and disabling Automatic Ear Detection.

Hope this helps!

What a headache! How did this one pass QA. Maybe Apple should at least keep their existing devices working instead of pushing the Apple intelligence nonsense which no one cares about or wants.

I shocked that was the solution!!!! Thank you 💐

Big problem for me, that option is just missing from my AirPods settings. What do I do? After "Ear Tip Fit Test", it just skips to the "about" section. This is really weird.