How to Fix Active Noise Cancellation Not Working on AirPods Pro

Hearing outside noises despite having enabled Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) on your AirPods Pro?

You may be in a noisy environment, and you need to take a very important call. Good thing that you have your AirPods Pro with you. As you know, it has an Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) feature that would help you out in these types of situations.

The way this Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) feature works is it utilizes the microphone which faces outward, to detect external sounds. With this, it counters these sounds with the anti-noise technology, cancelling it before you hear them.

It sounds great and all but what if this feature does not work when you need it? What do you, then?

Now before we get into answering that, we highly recommend that you make sure that your AirPods Pro’s hardware is working. If not, check out our previous article on how to fix your AirPods Pro that’s not working. Once you’ve gone through that post and made sure the checks were complete, you can move onto the solutions below to fix Active Noise Cancellation that is not working on your Airpods Pro.

Let’s get started!

 

1. Update the Device Paired With It.

To make sure that this issue is not on your iOS or iPadOS, update your OS to the latest version first. With this, bugs and glitches that are possibly causing this issue will be removed from your device.

To update your iPhone or iPad, just go to the Settings, tap on General, and then tap on Software Update. If an update is available, tap on Download and Install option. When you have encounter errors during the process, learn more about what to do.

 

iOS iPadOS Software Update

 

To update your Mac, you will need to open the Apple menu, click on System Preferences, and then Software Update. Click on Update Now if an update is available to proceed with the process.

 

macOS Software Update

 

After completing the updates with your device, try syncing your AirPods Pro with the devices and see if Active Noise Cancellation is still not working.

 

2. Check the Settings.

The simplest things are often the most neglected. In fact, there are three modes that you can choose from in your device settings that directly influences how the Active Noise Cancellation feature works. One of these modes is, of course, the Active Noise Cancellation.

It’s important that the Active Noise Cancellation mode is enabled in the settings; otherwise, the feature will not work.

Here’s how you can check and make sure that Active Noise Cancellation is enabled:

If you are using it on iPhone or iPad

  1. Go ahead and open the Settings of your iPhone or iPad which your AirPods Pro is paired with.
  2. Then, tap on the Bluetooth option and then tap on the ( i ) icon next to your AirPods Pro name.

Active Noise Cancellation Not Working on AirPods Pro

 

  1. Now, under the Press and Hold Airpods section, make sure that the Left and Right options are both set to Noise Control.

Active Noise Cancellation Not Working on AirPods Pro

 

  1. Finally, press the Force Sensor on your AirPods Pro to switch from the other modes to Noise Cancellation. You should be able to see it under the Noise Control section.

Alternatively, you can make these changes using the Control Center of your iPhone. Just touch and hold the volume option until you see the additional options. You will be able to see the three modes available, tap on Noise Cancellation to enable the feature.


If you are using it on Mac

  1. Go ahead and click on the Volume icon on the menu bar of your Mac which your AirPods Pro is paired with.
  2. Now, on the list of devices, click on the name of your AirPods Pro to view the extended option.
  3. Finally, tap on the Noise Cancellation option to enable the feature.

Now that you have made sure that the feature is enabled in your settings, it should work now. But if it still doesn’t work, the next method should be able to fix it.

 

 

3. Do the Ear Fit Tip Test.

One of the most crucial aspects of getting excellent noise cancellation with the AirPods Pro is passing the ear fit tip test.

If you’re struggling to pass this test, we’ve written a guide on that too, which provides you with tips and solutions to getting a better fit as well as improving Active Noise Cancellation in general.

There are three ear tip sizes that you can attach to your AirPods Pro. If you have a loose fit when wearing the ear tip with your AirPods Pro, outside noises will still be heard even if you enable the Active Noise Cancellation feature.

The following steps will show you how to properly complete and pass the ear fit tip test with your AirPods Pro:

  1. Go ahead and put the AirPods Pro on your ear.
  2. Then, go to the Settings of your iPhone or iPad, and tap on the Bluetooth option.

Active Noise Cancellation Not Working on AirPods Pro

 

  1. Next, tap on the ( i ) icon beside your AirPods Pro name.
  2. Now, tap on the Ear Tip Fit Test option, tap Continue, and then the Play button.

Active Noise Cancellation Not Working on AirPods Pro

 

  1. After that, it will give you a suggestion to try a different size of the ear tip or adjustment settings.
  2. Finally, repeat Steps 4 to 5 until you get an optimal test result.

After completing the ear fit tip test, try once again to connect your AirPods Pro with your device of choice and try to use it using Active Noise Cancellation to see if it works.

 

 

4. Put Earbuds in the Case.

Some users have suggested putting the AirPods Pro back in the case and let it charge for a while before trying out the Active Noise Cancellation feature managed to do the trick for them.

We contemplated whether to add this solution into this list, but based on the number of suggestions from other users on this solution, we feel it may be worth at least trying out.

 

Active Noise Cancellation Not Working on AirPods Pro

 

 

5. Reset the Device.

Sometimes, when a device malfunctions, it can affect the settings of the device. In which case, by re-pairing the AirPods Pro with your device of choice, it will rebuild the settings, and it should get things back in order and working again.

Here’s what you can do:

  1. Go ahead and put the AirPods Pro back into the case. Close the lid for about 30 seconds and open it.
  2. Then, go to the Settings of your iPhone or iPad, and click on the Bluetooth option.
  3. Next, tap on the ( i ) icon next to your AirPods Pro name, and tap on Forget This Device.

Active Noise Cancellation Not Working on AirPods Pro

 

  1. Now, on your AirPods Pro case, press and hold the Setup button until you see the status light flashes amber.

Active Noise Cancellation Not Working on AirPods Pro

 

  1. After that, bring your AirPods Pro case near your iPhone or iPad, and tap on the Connect option on the pop-up screen.

Active Noise Cancellation Not Working on AirPods Pro

 

  1. Finally, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the pairing process. Try testing to see if the Active Noise Cancellation is still not working on your AirPods Pro.

 

 

6. Clean the Device.

One of the most common sources for issues with the AirPods is getting debris stuck between the speaker grills and microphone.

This was a major problem with the AirPods variant (not the Pro variant) and it caused issues like volume being too low and one AirPod being louder than the other. The AirPods Pro is no exception either from these issues, and dirt that is stuck can affect the functionality of your AirPods Pro.

To prevent that from happening, make sure to clean your device with the use of a lint-free cloth. This can help you remove dirt and dry those wet surfaces without leaving a scratch. But for hard to reach and tiny spaces on AirPods Pro, a cotton swab can do the trick (as shown below).

 

Cleaning AirPods

 

Additionally, you can also try doing this simple trick below on how to blow the dirt out of your device. It’s been super effective for our readers to fix their AirPods issues and we can assure you that it can be just as effective for your AirPods Pro too.

 

 

 

7. Get in Touch With Apple Support.

Some users have also mentioned that they have been experiencing this problem after they have upgraded their AirPods Pro firmware. In particular, the version 2C54 of the AirPods Pro firmware has affected the Active Noise Cancellation feature.

Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t provide a way for us to roll-back the firmware of the device to see if the issue is with the firmware update, but you can verify if the issue is really originating from the said firmware version by following the steps below:

Go into the Settings of your iPhone or iPad, tap on General, and then About. Now, scroll down and tap the AirPods Pro and you should be able to see the Firmware Version. If you have the 2C54 version, you are most likely to have a firmware issue.

 

Active Noise Cancellation Not Working on AirPods Pro

 

If however you’ve just encountered this issue right after purchasing the AirPods Pro, or you’re not on firmware 2C54 version, then we recommend that you bring in your AirPods Pro to the nearest Apple Store and get it checked.  If you are not sure of visiting the store, you can always talk to an Apple Support representative over the phone before proceeding with the visit.

Apple Support AirPods

 

And this wraps up our article for today. We hope that you were able to fix the Active Noise Cancellation not working on your AirPods Pro. If you have questions related to this topic, please feel free to leave a comment below.

 

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂

 

Author

  • Jake Kovoor

    Jake is the Editor-in-Chief of Saint and an independent software developer, with a Bachelors in Computer Science from Lancaster University, UK. He loves trying out various tech from the Flipper Zero to coding Raspberry Pis for automation. He started Saint back in 2016, having written over 100 posts, with the sole purpose of creating guides for software that had yet to exist back then to help users navigate around their technical problems.

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