AirPods Pro are going back on Monday

Hardware
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My experience with Apple’s in-ear headphones has been, well, crappy. The wired ear buds don’t fit in my ears, and even with hooks and other silicone accessories, they still wiggle loose. The original AirPods aren’t any better, and when I go out for a power walk or a run, forget it. The left ear piece is constantly in need of re-setting.

I read in another thread that the AirPods Pro are larger, and I thought this might be a solution. I went to the Apple Store and tried the demo units. The left piece with a medium tip fell out quickly, but the small tip seemed to be able to hang on to the opening to the ear canal. Even shaking my head aggressively didn’t dislodge it. A walk around the local campus didn’t seem to pose a problem either.

But this morning I get on the treadmill for a walk, and within five minutes the left piece falls out and goes under the treadmill. I dig it out, try again. It fell out within two minutes.

There is speculation out there that some third party will create hooks or something similar for the Pros, but I really don’t want to drop $250 and hope the speculation pans out. I also don’t need a $250 set of AirPods to use while just puttering around the house when my original AirPods with hooks will sort of stay in place while puttering around the house.

It’s unfortunate that after all these years Apple hasn’t realized that some of its fans have ears that don’t quite work with their design. Apple can come up with a battery pack for its phones to solve a problem, but they can’t come up with some kind of add-on that would make the fit more firm?

On the positive side, I can say the noise cancellation is pretty good. It’s not as good as the $400 Bose headphones I bought for recent travel, but it’s good at quieting most rooms. The transparency mode is kind of interesting, but I found I preferred to just take one of the units out of my ear so talking to someone sounded more natural. I really like the force-touch/squeeze feature.

OK, rant over. Thanks for letting me vent. :grimacing::grimacing::grimacing:

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I have similar experience with the fit of Apple’s ear buds. For true wireless, I suggest you look at Jabra Elite. They come in a few flavors, I use the “regular” 65t and it is a wonderful fit for me. Also, sound quality is great, and it has physical buttons. Some of use like that.

Jabra are just about to launch the even smaller 75t with the same drivers, but with extended battery life. That would be my starting point if I were to buy today.

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Take a look at Jaybirds. I have AirPods Pro and love them, but I also have the Jaybird Vista set for working out, and they work great!

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Well, after my frustrations and rant, a few things kept me from actually returning the AirPods Pro. But I did come across a solution recently!

Mack’s Silicone Pillow Soft Ear Plugs do the trick. The idea behind these things is you can mold one to your ear and block out noise. I pinch off a piece and roll it into a small ball (about the size of a large pea) and put it on the Air Pod Pro (on the “back” end that points away from the entrance to the ear canal). This makes the little device bump up against both the entrance to the ear canal and the back of the “ear bowl” and all is perfect. I guess depending on the size and shape of your ears, a different location may be in order.

The thing is, the only way the Air Pods Pro fall out now is if I happen to knock one out with my hand or something. Mission accomplished.

What I like is that the little pea-sized pieces of silicone are reusable for a long, long time. They won’t fit in the charging case, but if you peel them off and stick them to the outside, they will be there when you need them.

You can find Mack’s on Amazon for $12 (US) or less, and a few pair will likely last months. I think they come in like 8-pair and 12-pair packages. I wish I had stumbled across this idea back in November when I was so frustrated. :hot_face:

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