AirPods Pro and AirPods Max Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode

AirPods Pro and AirPods Max have three noise-control modes: Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode, and Off. You can switch between them, depending on how much of your surroundings you want to hear.

What are Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode?

With Active Noise Cancellation, an outward-facing microphone or microphones detect external sounds, which your AirPods Pro (1st or 2nd generation) or AirPods Max then counter with anti-noise, canceling the external sounds before you hear them. An inward-facing microphone listens inside your ear for unwanted internal sounds, which your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max also counter with anti-noise.

Transparency mode lets outside sound in, so you can hear what’s going on around you. Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode work best when your AirPods Pro fit well.

If you have AirPods Pro (2nd generation) and the latest version of iOS or iPadOS, you can also use Adaptive Transparency to reduce loud sounds around you. While you’re wearing your AirPods Pro (2nd generation) and they’re connected to your iPhone or iPod touch, go to Settings > [your AirPods], then turn on Adaptive Transparency.

Switch between noise-control modes

You can switch between noise-control modes right from your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, or you can use your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac. When you switch between modes, you hear a chime.

When you use iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, or macOS to switch between noise-control modes, you see Active Noise Cancellation available as Noise Cancellation.

Switch between noise-control modes on your AirPods Max

When you’re wearing your AirPods Max, press the noise control button to switch between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode. You can customize which modes to switch between (Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode, and Off) in Bluetooth settings on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

 

Switch between noise-control modes on your AirPods Pro

Press and hold the force sensor on the stem of an AirPod until you hear a chime.

When you’re wearing both AirPods, press and hold the force sensor on either AirPod to switch between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode. You can customize which modes to switch between (Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode, and Off) in Bluetooth settings on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

To use Active Noise Cancellation with one AirPod only, use your iPhone or iPad to go to Settings > Accessibility > AirPods, and turn on Noise Cancellation with One AirPod. Then press and hold the force sensor to switch between Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode, and Off. 

Switch between noise-control modes on your iPhone or iPad

1. Open Control Center on your iOS or iPadOS device.
2. While wearing your AirPods Max or both AirPods, touch and hold the volume slider until you see the additional controls.
3. Tap the Noise Control icon  in the lower-left corner.
4. Tap Noise Cancellation, Transparency, or Off.

 

You can also customize and switch between noise-control modes in Settings:

1. With your AirPods in your ears and connected to your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > Bluetooth.  Alternatively, you can go to Settings > [your AirPods].
2. While wearing your AirPods Max or both AirPods, tap the More Info button  next to your AirPods in the list of devices.
3. To switch between noise-control modes, tap Noise Cancellation, Transparency, or Off. To select the noise-control modes that you want to use with the force sensor on your AirPods Pro or the noise control button on your AirPods Max, select two or three modes under Button Cycles Between.

Switch between noise-control modes on your Apple Watch

1. While listening to audio through your watch, tap the AirPlay icon .
2. Tap Noise Cancellation, Transparency, or Off.

Switch between noise-control modes on your Mac

1. With your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max connected to your Mac, click the volume control  in the menu bar on your Mac.*
2. Choose your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, then choose Noise Cancellation, Transparency, or Off.

You can also choose the two or three noise-control modes that you want to use with the force sensor on your AirPods Pro or the noise control button on your AirPods Max:

1. With your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max connected to your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Settings.
2. Click “Press and hold to cycle between” to select the two or three noise-control modes that you want to cycle between.

* If you don’t see the volume control in the menu bar, choose Apple menu  > System Settings. Click Sound. Click the Output tab, then select “Show Sound in menu bar.”

Published Date: October 24, 2022

How to turn on noise canceling on AirPods

If you’ve been wondering about how to turn on noise canceling on you Apple AirPods Pro, there are a few different ways to go about it, from a hands-free option to doing it on your phone. Whether you like talking to Siri or you just want to turn on noise canceling while you’re on the go without fumbling around on a phone screen, here are all the ways you can turn on noise canceling on AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, as well as other ways to use noise control features.

How to turn on noise canceling on AirPods Pro

Lily Katz / SoundGuys

Pressing on the sensor on the stem will switch between noise canceling and transparency.

If you just want to tune out the noise around you and focus on your music, podcast, or audiobook, all you have to do is turn on noise canceling.

To turn on noise canceling using just an earbud, there’s thankfully only one step. On your AirPods Pro, press and hold the sensor on the stem of one of the earbuds until you hear a chime. This will switch between noise canceling and transparency mode. You can’t turn off noise control entirely with this method, but the other methods will help you out with that.

How to turn on noise canceling on AirPods Max

The digital crown is used for playback controls, volume, and Siri, while the noise control button on the other side is for noise canceling and transparency mode.

The other model of AirPods that has noise canceling is the AirPods Max, which has excellent noise canceling and transparency, for when you want to block out the world or hear it all.

To turn on noise canceling from your AirPods Max, press the button on the right ear cup toward the front, and you’ll toggle between noise canceling and transparency mode. This is the flat silver button opposite the digital crown.

How to turn on noise canceling from Siri

For those who prefer a hands-free solution to everything, you’re in luck. You can do just about any command with Siri, including toggling noise controls.

Turning on noise canceling using Siri is as easy as any other Siri command. Just say “Hey Siri, turn on noise canceling,” and you’re set. If you want to turn it off, or turn on transparency, just ask for that and your wish will be granted.

How to turn on noise canceling on AirPods from an iOS device

Maybe you tend to fumble around with controls on your earbuds and prefer to just use your phone. All iOS and iPadOS devices have access to the noise control settings for AirPods Pro and Max, so you can easily toggle noise canceling on or off, or turn on transparency mode.

From an iPhone or iPad, you can also turn noise canceling on easily. If your device is connected to your AirPods, you can find noise control settings in the Control Center of your device. If you press and hold the volume slider in the Control Center, it will open up more settings. In the bottom left of the screen, you’ll see a button for turning on noise canceling or transparency mode.

How to turn off noise control on AirPods

Turning off noise control on your AirPods isn’t a default control, so you’ll have to set it yourself from your AirPods settings in the Bluetooth settings menu on your iOS device. In the noise control section, “off” will be unchecked by default. If you toggle that on, when you press the stem of your AirPods to cycle through noise control settings “off” will be an additional option.

You can also turn off noise control from the Control Center on your iOS device, as mentioned before, or from Siri, by saying “Hey Siri, turn off noise canceling”

Frequently asked questions about turning off noise canceling on AirPods

Firstly, noise canceling can only cancel out sounds that are consistent droning noises, like HVAC systems and airplane cabin noise. This only works to a certain extent, and doesn’t work on incidental noises like loud bangs and crashes. If you find that your noise canceling sounds worse than before, try readjusting the fit of your earbuds or headphones, since you might have sound leaking in that interferes with the noise canceling. It could also be a settings issue that you can solve with software, or a hardware issue that you can bring up to the manufacturer.

AirPods Pro and AirPods Max Noise Cancelling and Transparency Modes

AirPods Pro and AirPods Max have three noise canceling modes: Noise Cancelling, Transparency, and Off. You can switch between them depending on how important the surrounding sounds are.

What is Noise Reduction and Transparency?

In Noise Cancelling mode, an outward-facing microphone or microphones detect external sounds, then AirPods Pro (1st or 2nd generation) or AirPods Max emit inverted waves. In this way, external sounds are suppressed before you hear them. The inward-facing microphone detects unwanted sounds inside your ear, which AirPods Pro or AirPods Max also cancel out.

Transparency mode allows you to hear what is happening around. The Noise Cancelling and Transparency modes work best when the AirPods Pro are snug.

If you have AirPods Pro (2nd generation) and the latest version of iOS or iPadOS, you can also use adaptive transparency to reduce loud sounds around you. Put on your AirPods Pro (2nd generation) and connect it to your iPhone or iPod touch, then go to Settings > [Your AirPods] and turn on adaptive transparency.

Switch between noise canceling modes

You can switch between noise canceling modes directly on your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, or use your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac to switch between noise canceling modes. When switching between modes, a beep sounds.

On iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, or macOS, when you switch between noise control modes, Active Noise Cancellation appears as Noise Cancellation.

Switch between noise control modes on AirPods Max

When using AirPods Max, press the noise canceling control button to toggle between Noise Cancelling and Transparency. You can set the modes to switch (Active Noise Canceling, Transparency, and Off) in the Bluetooth settings on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

Switch between noise control modes on your AirPods Pro

Press and hold the pressure sensor on the base of your AirPods earpiece until you hear a beep.

If both AirPods are inserted, press and hold the pressure sensor on either to switch between Noise Cancelling and Transparency modes. You can set the modes to switch (Active Noise Canceling, Transparency, and Off) in the Bluetooth settings on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

To use Noise Canceling for only one AirPods, on your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > Accessibility > AirPods and turn on noise canceling for one AirPods. Then press and hold the pressure sensor to switch between Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency, and Off.

Switch between noise control modes on iPhone or iPad

1. Open Control Center on your iOS or iPadOS device.
2. If AirPods Max or both AirPods are inserted, press and hold the volume slider until additional controls appear.
3. Click the Noise Control icon in the bottom left corner.
4. Select Noise Reduction, Transparency, or Off.

You can also set up noise control modes and switch between them in the Settings menu.

1. Insert your AirPods into your ears and connect them to your iPhone or iPad, then go to Settings > Bluetooth. Instead, you can go to Settings > [AirPods].
2. Put on your AirPods Max or both AirPods and click the “More” button next to your AirPods in the list of devices.
3. To switch between noise control modes, press Noise Reduction, Transparency, or Off. To choose which noise control modes you want to use for the Pressure Sensor on AirPods Pro or the Noise Control Button on AirPods Max, select two or three modes in Button Toggle.

Switch between noise canceling modes on Apple Watch

1. While listening on your watch, tap the AirPlay icon.
2. Select Noise Reduction, Transparency, or Off.

Switch between noise control modes on your Mac

1. With your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max headphones connected to your Mac, click the volume control in the Mac menu bar*.
2. Select AirPods Pro or AirPods Max and then select Noise Control, Transparency, or Off.

You can also select two or three noise control modes to use with the pressure sensor on AirPods Pro or the noise control button on AirPods Max:

1. With AirPods Pro or AirPods Max connected to your Mac, choose Apple menu () > ” System Settings”.
2. Click “Press and hold to switch between modes” to select two or three noise reduction modes you want to switch between.

*If the volume control is not visible in the menu bar, choose Apple () menu > System Preferences. Click Sound. Go to the “Output” tab and select “Show audio in menu bar”.

Publication date: November 11, 2022

How does active noise cancellation work in AirPods and what does aviation have to do with it?

Table of Contents

If there is anything permanent in the world, it is noise. In the city – cars, metro and a neighbor with a puncher. Outside the city – roosters and barking dogs. There are lawn mowers everywhere. To listen to music or podcasts in such conditions, you have to turn up the volume. And this is fraught with hearing problems.

Of course, there are many ways to spoil your health. But still, progress allows you to get rid of noise in a gentle way – with the help of headphones with active noise cancellation. And AirPods are some of the best in this category.

From aircraft cockpits to custom headphones

Active noise canceling was originally used in the defense and aviation industries. And only then it became available in user devices. The very principle of active noise cancellation was invented by the scientist Paul Lug back in 1934 year. He believed that the invention could be used to combat echoes in concert halls and suppress the noise of typewriters in offices. But against the will of Lug, the patent office classified the development of the scientist as a military one and put a “secret” stamp on it.

In 1957, Dr. Lawrence Vogel created noise suppression systems for helicopters and aircraft cockpits. And already in 1957, Willard Meeker created the first on-ear headphones with active noise cancellation. They were used in aviation in order to protect pilots from the drone of the aircraft.

How is AirPods noise canceling?

Relatively simple: first, the outward-facing microphone detects external sounds. The AirPods Pro and AirPods Max then emit inverted waves that cancel out these noises before a person can hear them. An inward-facing microphone picks up unwanted sounds inside the ear – and the headphones cancel them out as well. The Active Noise Cancellation system analyzes the environment 200 times per second, which is why the sound is so clear.

For the function to work, it is critical that the headphones fit as snugly as possible in the ears. This is the only way to get rid of external noise that enters the ear through the smallest holes. To do this, AirPods Pro provide interchangeable ear cushions of different sizes.

With AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, you can listen to audio books or talk on the subway and on busy streets, use them as earplugs on an airplane or in open spaces. Headphones do not “turn off” external sounds by 100%, but they noticeably reduce their volume. And unlike vacuum headphones, AirPods Pro do not cause discomfort even with prolonged use: they have an innovative system for equalizing external and internal pressure.

Does noise canceling cause discomfort?

This side effect is the exception rather than the rule. However, for all their merits, active noise-canceling headphones can really cause a headache or psychological discomfort. Here is what it is connected with:

– Absolute silence is not comfortable for a person . The eyes perfectly see what is happening around: speeding cars, subway cars, wind, screams of children and other sources of sound. But the ears do not transmit these signals to the brain, thereby confusing it. In addition, we are guided in space, including by the sounds reflected from objects.

– Monotone . Imagine that the developers managed to eliminate noise and completely immerse a person in music. But here a nuance emerges: in this case, monotonous sound waves act on the hearing organs. And the human brain is tuned to receive a variety of sounds. Because of this feature of the body, discomfort may also appear. Moreover, it is impossible to predict who is predisposed to such consequences, and who is not.

P.S. There is a bearded joke: earlier, as a sign of respect, when meeting, they took off their hat, and now they take one earpiece out of their ear.