[themensch]

I've had this exact problem and I've had to replace one or both airpods not once, not twice, but thrice. But, to Apple's credit, they have handled it gracefully each time. The first time it did take a bit of convincing as there weren't many documented cases on the subject. Now, it's rote.

The root cause, as I understand it, is that the microphones that act for transparency mode or for noise-cancelling mode can be blocked by particulate matter. A quick test to see if this has happened is to disable both transparency and noise cancellation to see if the audio artifacts disappear - it is not always enough to inspect them under a microscope; this has been the case for me each time but I confess my environment is extremely dusty at times and I wear these airpods for extended periods in all manner of adverse conditions and they have always performed admirably.

[spaghettiToy]

>I've had to replace one or both airpods not once, not twice, but thrice. But, to Apple's credit, they have handled it gracefully each time. The first time it did take a bit of convincing as there weren't many documented cases on the subject.

Wow that sounds awful.

How did they "handle it gracefully"? You don't seem upset, but I got second hand customer service frustration reading this.

The closest thing I had to this was an xbox360 red ring of death 3 times. I excused it because I wanted to play Xbox games and that was the cost of playing.

[themensch]

An excellent question, let me elaborate.

- On the first instance I contacted apple via their customer support chat. It took about 30 minutes to get replacements shipped to me.

- On the second instance, the problem was well-established, so they just shipped me new ones.

- On the third instance, they asked me to go in to a local Apple Store, and that did take a bit longer.

In fact, I'm due for round 4 here soon. There's no stopping the dusty environment.

I'm pretty demanding of headphones - 2 pairs of jaybirds died horribly under the same circumstances and the company would only replace the first set. A cheap set of Aukey buds fared considerably better and they still have life left in them.

The tight integration of the airpods with my other apple devices and the perks, plus the overall sound quality and excellent noise cancellation around loud equipment more than make up for the hassle of a free replacement rigamarole every year. I've been pleased with them since I received them as a gift in December of 2019, and I'm absolutely not upset in the slightest that there have been problems. Fortune has smiled upon me with regard to my experiences with Apple products.

[spaghettiToy]

I'm still fuming at your story. But I'm happy that you perceive this as a good experience.

I wish whatever tricks Apple used, they could implement at the Post Office and Car Dealerships. I don't even care if I have to undergo exploitive psychology, I just don't want to be miserable with things outside my control.

[themensch]

Well, I don't consider it a _bad_ experience; I understand that my usage has contributed significantly to the problem. If Apple were to give me the runaround here, my story would likely be very different. I may have abundant patience but it is finite.

I wouldn't dare prescribe my regimen for how I deal with things beyond my control, but for interested parties I would say daily meditation and exercise have helped me turn down the volume on such things.

I do appreciate your ire, as I share it.