Are you experiencing unusual sounds from your AirPods Pro? You're not alone, and this is a recognized issue.

Shortly after Apple began distributing the AirPods Pro, reports surfaced from users who detected a rattling or crackling sound in one or both of their earbuds. These sounds were often exacerbated by movement and, in some cases, didn't appear until after extended use.

Initially, Apple offered limited public comment but generally provided replacements for affected earbuds through their customer support channels. Several members of the TechCrunch team have personally encountered this issue, even receiving replacement units that exhibited the same problem.

The prevalence of this issue has now prompted an official response from Apple: the launch of an “AirPods Pro Service Program” – as initially reported by Mark Gurman – dedicated to replacing earbuds with this defect.

A recently released support document details the possible indicators, both of which point to a problem within the active noise cancellation functionality:

Apple specifies that only AirPods Pro manufactured prior to October 2020 are impacted, indicating that the issue has been resolved in more recent production runs. The support documentation consistently states that defective units will be “replaced” instead of “repaired,” implying a relatively swift resolution process.