Overview
- Recent reports describe sharp whines, whistles or static that arise minutes after takeoff and often vanish on the ground, affecting a subset of users.
- Symptoms appear in ANC, Adaptive and Transparency modes, sometimes localized to one ear, with descriptions ranging from hiss to ocean‑like noise.
- Analyses cite ear‑tip seal shifts under cabin pressure that feed a feedback loop in the microphones, a behavior some users can briefly quell by reseating tips or yawning.
- Apple has not acknowledged the issue publicly, though store-level exchanges are reported and some replacements show the same behavior, suggesting an intermittent edge case rather than a single faulty batch.
- Outlets recommend practical steps including trying different tip sizes and the Ear Tip Fit Test, cleaning mic meshes, toggling or disabling ANC, resetting and checking firmware, and testing on a flight within the return window.