I followed all of the cleaning steps for my new AirPods Pro 3, including over 3 hours of drying time after the cleaning, but I still get the message telling me to clean my AirPods before it will let me proceed with the test.
iPhone 14 Pro Max, iOS 18
If it does a self-test, i.e., makes a tone and listens to its own output with its microphone before you start the actual test, it might not be able to hear its own tones, indicating a clog or malfunction. That could be with the speaker portion OR with the microphone portion.
¿Are you starting with only mild to moderate hearing loss?
If the error shows up while testing, it may be telling your hearing loss is already too severe for the test, i.e., It can't believe you can't hear the tones, your AirPods must be clogged
-OR-
your hearing levels are just too low for this sort of testing.
iOS 26 or MacOS 26 is clearly REQUIRED.
System Requirements
AirPods Pro 3 - Tech Specs - Apple Support
You're exactly right, after upgrading to IOS 26 the hearing test runs without error. Oddly enough, I didn't get an "upgrade required" message the evening before when I first tried the test. I did check that I had the latest 18.x version. Not sure why I didn't see the usual settings/general/software_update red dot alerting me. It is possible I just missed it. Anyway, thanks for the response, all is well!
Are you using iOS 26?
Older versions like iOS 18.7 may not have fully implemented the hearing test, or implemented it improperly.
Airpods hearing test still tells me to clean my airpods even after cleaning
