I have just had my AirPods Pro changed under the Apple service program related to crackling sounds from the earbuds when in Active Noise Cancelling mode.
I didn’t realise how bad my old pair was, I would get crackling and popping sounds when ANC was turned on and there was ambient sound. Also, I could not use them with ANC for calls as my voice sounded funny.
I have just tried the new pair and the ANC is a world apart. Calls now sound as they should.
It was really easy to setup the exchange. i used Apple’s online chat to raise the ticket, they ran me thorugh some troubleshooting options and then said that I could either bring them into an Apple store (these are closed in the UK at the moment) or they can ship a new set of buds to me and I need to send the old pair back. I selected the second option, this mean that I had to authroise a no-return payment of £157 on my card in case I did not return the old buds.
I set this up yesterday, today UPS delivered the new pair and will be picking up the old pair later today.
The reason for the post is to say, if you have AirPods Pro, it is worth testing them to see if you are suffering from these issues. I didn’t realise how bad it was until I got the new pair so you may just be used to a sub-par user experience.
If you do have an issue, get them exchanged free of charge.