AirPods Pro 3 - not a good fit

I’d return them and find a highly discounted pair of Pro 2 if I were you.

I’ve had the Pro 1, Pro 2, and Pro 3, and the 3 are the worst of the bunch for me.

I’ve never had a fantastic seal on any (even though the test says it’s good), and the noise cancellation works better for others than it does for me (because the L tip isn’t quite big enough), but the Pro 2 were better than the Pro 1.

the Pro 3 just doesn’t fit me at all, and I can clearly hear someone speaking with noise cancellation on. I could hear them with the Pro 2, but they were muffled and understandable.

I wish apple would release an XL tip already, and I’ve just submitted feedback for that.

I’m returning the Pro 3 and sticking with my Pro 2.

I’ve been using AirPods Pro 2 for years — easily the best-fitting earbuds I’ve owned. Recently upgraded to the AirPods Pro 3, and as many others have mentioned, they just don’t fit right. They sit slightly away from the ear (about a millimeter gap) and tend to fall out with even small head movements.

Several people, including Apple Support, suggest twisting the stem toward your mouth for a tighter fit. It does help, but it also causes discomfort after a while.

I suspect the speaker design is the issue — on the older version, the speaker sits recessed within the earbud head, whereas on the new Pro 3, it protrudes outward, pushing the entire earbud slightly away from the ear.

I am sorry to hear you are not satisfied with the fit. You have 14 days to return them if you purchased them from the Apple Store. Or you can check some of the AirPod ear hooks available from third parties. Many of them are highly rated.

The seal is noticeably worse than AirPods Pro 2 for me. Any sort of yawn or mouth opening movement will cause the noise cancellation to fail. Even moving my head side to side has the same effect. The issue isn’t the silicone tips, it’s the shape of the actual buds, which obviously can’t be adjusted. As a heavy user I’m wondering if I’ll be able to use AirPods in the years to come unless I stock up on gen 2’s now.

mshep02 wrote:

I was hoping the Pro 3 would solve the issue I had with Pro 2 feeling like they were going to fall out of my ears when I’m jogging (they never have, only felt like they were). The medium ear tips always fit perfect. Now with the redesigned 3 where they took the shapes of millions of ears (apparently none like mine???) and made a “better fitting” earphone, I find myself disappointed. As I’m talking or the muscles in my scalp move my ears, the stems of the buds start to flare out and look silly. I’ve tried twisting them, resetting them in my ears, I’ve tried the Large, Medium, and Small tips so far, each of which claim to have a good acoustic seal. The large flew out of my ear while I was talking to someone. The small and medium flare out the longer I wear them. Medium will fall out of my ear if I don’t fix it when it’s flaring. And Small I had to twist so the stems point straight down to feel secure. Still testing the small, but this is ridiculous. The stem is sitting right against my earrings. I can’t jog with the stem sitting against my earrings or the clanking is all I’ll hear. Jumping in place I hear it. Never had this problem with fit on Pro 2 or Pro 1.

Return them (if you're still in the window). Give Apple feedback here:

Product Feedback - Apple

I've had problems with AirPods from the first ones. I've bought over-the-ear loops and third-party tips. The AirPod Pro 3 is the first one that, out of the box, fits.

I ordered these last September and finally received them. I've never had pods so I was looking forward to them as I wear hearing aids and using headphones wasn't comfortable. Well, I tried them today. It took all of 10 minutes for my ears to become painful with them in. I had an "excellent seal wearing the xxs or xs, and they stayed in, but something was putting pressure on something inside my left ear. It was even uncomfortable to remove them. I tried different sizes to see if I was pushing them in too far....but. it didn't matter. The thing is, the part that is attached to the tips of the airpod is the same size, no matter what size tip you select. It's that part, offset at an angle that's my problem. My hearing aids were moulded to each of my ear canals. That's why I dont have a problem with them. So, unfortunately, these will have to be returned.

I was hoping the Pro 3 would solve the issue I had with Pro 2 feeling like they were going to fall out of my ears when I’m jogging (they never have, only felt like they were). The medium ear tips always fit perfect. Now with the redesigned 3 where they took the shapes of millions of ears (apparently none like mine???) and made a “better fitting” earphone, I find myself disappointed. As I’m talking or the muscles in my scalp move my ears, the stems of the buds start to flare out and look silly. I’ve tried twisting them, resetting them in my ears, I’ve tried the Large, Medium, and Small tips so far, each of which claim to have a good acoustic seal. The large flew out of my ear while I was talking to someone. The small and medium flare out the longer I wear them. Medium will fall out of my ear if I don’t fix it when it’s flaring. And Small I had to twist so the stems point straight down to feel secure. Still testing the small, but this is ridiculous. The stem is sitting right against my earrings. I can’t jog with the stem sitting against my earrings or the clanking is all I’ll hear. Jumping in place I hear it. Never had this problem with fit on Pro 2 or Pro 1.

To add:

Returns & Refunds - Shopping Help - Apple

I had the same issue, I sleep with the earpods so the discomfort with Airpods Pro 3 becomes even more noticeable. Tried everything, they just fit worse because they are more "bulky" than Airpods Pro 2. Eventually had to return them because the ANC and sound quality can't outweight the discomfort. Back to Airpods Pro 2, which fit superb.

Same here — the new AirPods Pro 3 don’t fit well for running. They make a constant shaking or rattling sound in my ears during movement. It feels like the design wasn’t properly tested for active use. Definitely not recommended for runners. In my opinion, this is a failed product in that regard.

Hey, thanks so much for sharing your experience. I thought I was the only one not liking the fit of the new airpods pro 3 after so many compliments on how they “finally fit”. For me, as soon as I put them in (size M, which is the size I’ve always used on all of my airpods pro), they just seem to be too long now, pressing hard into my ears. I tried to switch to a smaller size but what happened was I felt it fit less securely. I tried to compare the fit between the S and M ear tips. M fits better but both felt odd. Went back to my Pro 2, and it just stayed in there, comfortably… So bummed since I was so looking forward to the Pro 3 :(

I’m having exactly the same experience! I’ve been trying different tip sizes every few days but one of them keep slipping out. It’s super frustrating because they do feel very comfortable for a while. Then suddenly it’s popped out or is just about to. I was hoping the tips would be a bit spongy and adapt somewhat to my ear canals. Alas, no. It’s WORSE. I have less than a week, but I’ll probably return. I suspect this may be start of my de-APPLEization moment. The iPhone 17 pro has been quite underwhelming…