So you've got your brand new AirPods Pro 3, put them in your ears, and pressed play on your favorite tunes. But the sound isn't quite right — there's not enough bass. The ANC isn't working quite as well as you'd hoped, with more noise making its way through than expected.
Don't worry just yet — your earbuds likely aren't broken. It's likely down to the fit of the buds. It could be that your silicon eartips are too big or too small, or that you've put them in your ears incorrectly.
These are all easy enough to fix. Let me take you through the troubleshooting process, and get your AirPods Pro 3 blocking noise and sounding excellent.
Use Apple's fit checker
The first step is to make sure that the AirPods themselves think they're fitting properly. You can do this with the fit checker, found in the AirPods settings menu on your iPhone or iPad.
In the settings menu scroll down to the 'Test Acoustic Seal' button. From there, follow the on-screen instructions. Your AirPods will play you a funky tune, and at the end, you'll get some results. If you get the image on the right, it might be that you need to do a hearing test to create a new EQ to get your earbuds sounding better.
If it's the left, you'll need to change the fit of the buds, or how they're oriented in your ear.
First up, you'll want to give them a quick wobble in your ear. Take the earbuds out, and then put them back in. You don't need any kind of twisting motion as you might be familiar with if you're coming from other buds, but you might want to push them in a bit further if you're used to AirPods Pro 2.
Run the test again. If you get both green ticks, you're sorted — your fit is perfect. If not, you'll want to change out the eartips.
Sometimes you'll want to have different sized tips in each ear, so make sure you try all the options available for you to find the best fit possible. Run the test each time you try a new combination until you've got those two green ticks.
AirPods still not sounding right? Let's go to the next step.
Hearing test and changing the EQ
This option is slightly more in-depth, but if you suffer from hearing loss, then this is going to make your AirPods sound their very best. It's not going to work if you haven't got hearing loss — it's only for those who might not be able to hear all of their music.
Back in the settings, select the 'take a hearing test' option. From there, you'll be guided through the process step by step on your iPhone or iPad. It takes a little while, but at the end, you should get your results.
Here, you'll find out about your hearing test, and whether you need a custom EQ to change the sound of your AirPods. Select the option, and you're good to go! Your AirPods Pro 3 are going to sound great and block all of the noise.
If you've been through all of that and your AirPods Pro 3 still aren't to your taste, perhaps you should consider a different set of earbuds. Might I suggest a pair of the best wireless earbuds?
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