AirPods Max Firmware Update Causing ANC Issues for Users

About two years ago, AirPods Max was introduced. Although this high-end headphone has received appreciation for its appearance, excellent sound quality, and overall use, there were some issues. Recently users are complaining about Active Noise Cancellation deteriorating after the latest firmware update.

Apple introduced the 4E71 software update in May, after which an increasing number of AirPods Max customers are persuaded that it has negatively impacted the Active Noise Cancelling function. The problem was originally brought up in a Reddit post with a dozen comments at the time the update was released.

Multiple Reddit users highlighted the issue exclaiming:

-I can hear myself typing and other outside noises that weren’t previously heard before since the update. Wondering if anyone else is having this issue.

-4E71 is garbage. Or perhaps it was the update before 4E71. I can hear myself typing. I can hear birds. I can hear so much more now. The noise cancelling is gone. I went to Apple, got replacements, and the replacements are the same. Sometime in the past month or two noise cancelling is gone. I used to use them without even sound/music playing.”

Previously, AirPods Max owners had trouble with the headphone holding its charge properly – which was fixed –, but a worsened ANC feature is completely new. Umar Shakir of The Verge reported seeing “a reduction of the ANC strength following a mid-week overnight charge,” most likely when his AirPods Max updated automatically. The reporter states:

But now, the ANC sounds like what I’d describe as a librarian’s transparency mode: it lets me hear my surroundings clearly but reduces the volume for everything. I’m hearing everything I don’t want to now, and I’m convinced it’s because of that firmware update.

There doesn’t seem to be a method to enhance ANC with AirPods Max right now. Users may attempt to reset iOS 16’s Personalized Spatial Audio or fix the premium headset, but if you’re having this problem, it probably won’t go away.

The positive aspect is that Apple has been testing a new software upgrade for customers of the AirPods Max for a while now. Although the new LC3 codec will be included in the headphones to enhance audio calls, it is unclear if Apple is actively working on an upgrade to the Active Noise Cancelling function.