Apple Customers Sue Over Unfixed AirPods Pro Crackling Issue

A trio of Apple customers this month filed a class action lawsuit against Apple, accusing the Cupertino company of violating California consumer protection laws and false advertising for continuing to sell AirPods Pro models that had ongoing issues with crackling or static sounds.

AirPods Crackling Feature
A few months after the ‌AirPods Pro‌ came out in October 2019, buyers began to complain about crackling, rattling, popping, and static-like noises affecting the ‌AirPods Pro‌. The sound seemed to show up when something caused an earbud to move or vibrate, such as walking or running.

Apple tried to fix the problem with software updates, but the company ultimately launched an ‌AirPods Pro‌ repair program in October 2020. Customers with affected ‌AirPods Pro‌ were able to bring them to Apple for a fix or a replacement, but unfortunately, many customers found that their replacement ‌AirPods Pro‌ also suffered from the same issue.

As a result, Apple is now facing a class action lawsuit, with the plaintiffs requesting "relief" due to the defective nature of the ‌AirPods Pro‌. The complaint says that customers would not have purchased the ‌AirPods Pro‌ or would have paid less had Apple made the flaw clear.

Apple is also being accused of false advertising for highlighting features like "superior sound quality" and "pure, incredibly clear sound" when knowing there was an issue with crackling and static.

The court will need to decide if the arguments made here hold up, and whether the case deserves class action certification.

Related Roundup: AirPods Pro
Buyer's Guide: AirPods Pro (Neutral)
Related Forum: AirPods

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Top Rated Comments

Lihto Avatar
1 week ago
Have the same problem.. hope they win it so we can exchange it
Edit: and ANC stopped working like 6months ago.. only works if I fiddle when in ear, using them without ANC.. tried cleaning them ofcourse
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
grantishere Avatar
1 week ago
Looking forward to my $0.50 settlement share
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ProbablyDylan Avatar
1 week ago
Sign me up. I had to pay out of pocket to replace mine before the repair program existed, and the replacements still developed the issue. I refuse to buy or recommend any "Pro" audio products from this company because of this.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
breenmask Avatar
1 week ago
it is pretty bad. I've had 3 replacements. 3rd replacement is now crackling and it's no longer part of the service program

I eventually bought the 2nd gen and it's been fixed so far.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrRom92 Avatar
1 week ago
They should be sued over the statements of “pure, incredibly clear” sound which is factually incorrect

How can lossy compressed sound be more pure than sound which has not been lossy compressed? It is very un-pure compared to the audio from the headphone jack they robbed us of

I’ll be seeing you in court, apple
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Incandenza Avatar
1 week ago
My replacements eventually did this again and I was basically forced to upgrade to the Pro 2's. I've been loving them (volume on the stem, better quality all around) but I'm mad my old ones basically got turned into e-waste.

A tip for anybody suffering from this issue, turning all the noise cancelling/transparency modes off makes them usable without driving you insane. But you're turning off some of the main reasons you bought the headphones in the first place.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)