Why does my AirPods Pro Transparency Mode keep turning off?

Interestingly, when testing Transparency Mode a Message came in and I heard a notification sound. Sitting at a Mac with the Phone - both are connected to the same set of AirPods.

Coinciding with that notification sound, Transparency magically went into possibly Noise Cancellation mode. Checking the iPhone AirPods was no longer in Transparency mode. But the AirPods weren't the default device - the volume control in Control Centre showed the speaker icon, not AirPods.

You then have to briefly play some audio to kick the phone back into AirPods default out mode.

We are not out of the woods. There seems to be a separate bug which in my case might be triggered by a notification sound that originates from a Mac.

One theory I have is that it has something to do with "energy saving" so when the AirPods stop playing other content they eventually shut down processes to save power. Just an idea.

I'm playing a background sound at a really low level (around level 12) as well as have transparency mode enabled. So far, it hasn't dropped...

Anyone else want to try?

Could also be Mac related too. I did something similar with the Mac.

Was in Transparency on the phone and then played content from the TV app (on Mac). As soon as it started playing, Transparency mode dropped.

Consistent with a notification being played also on the Mac, Transparency dropped shortly after the notification sound played.

Also had Background Sound confused when a call came in. It seemed to stop during the call because the call took over the AirPod in and out sound, but when the call hung up background sounds started playing from the phone speaker, not the AirPods. It didn't remember the prior audio state following the interruption.

I'm going to try Watch > Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Silent Mode. My guess is that it has less to do with Bluetooth but more to do with audio sessions coming and going.

I may have it! Contacted apple support and while texting the in app text sounds disabled transparency every time I sent a message, kept turning on and sent a message back, it went off, reset AirPods and the issue was resolved, the difference is that I had taken a hearing test, the reset cleared that. So I can only assume the hearing test on with transparency mode is causing an issue with in app sounds. Custom mode is off btw. So far it’s stayed on, I’ll report back, maybe try that!

After over 12 months of Transparency Mode not working, making the Airpods Pro 2 useless as hearing aids - I found a solution: Clean all of the microphones with putty (or White Tack).

This worked... Until I restarted my iPhone one day and that was the end of Transparency Mode altogether!

Apple Support have provided me with assistance three times recently. None of the solutions worked, or only worked until I restarted my iPhone.

I have relied on Airpods Pro 2 as hearing aids, even before they got the FDA approval (iOS 18.1 actually made them worse!). I have spent many hours/days trying to get Transparency Mode to work consistently during this time, and it's not worth the time and effort. Looking at other websites and Airpods Pro 2 appear to "fail" after around 12 months.

My Airpods Pro 2 tied me to the Apple ecosystem, but this ongoing problem has made me switch to Samsung: Samsung's Galaxy Buds3 Pro are very similar to Airpods Pro 2 and so far they work better than APP2 did and Samsung's hearing test gave me exactly the same results as my professional audiogram. Apple's hearing test feature was nowhere near as good.

I purchased mine in London at Christmas and posted here about all of these issues that are listed. Indid everything that was suggested,

as soon as I got back to California in January, they work perfectly, even the hearing aid too. Transparency works. So it must be location based.

I don’t think it is related to the Apple Watch. I’ve done a deep dive on all settings related to the AirPods Pro Gen 2 and this is the best way I’ve found to get the Transparency Mode working.

AirPods Pro Gen2 Transparency Mode Fix

Settings 

Accessibility

Audio and Visual 

Headphones accommodations on

Do NOT use a Custom Audiogram

Under “Tune Audio For”:

   Click on “Balanced Tone”, “Vocal Range” and “Brightness” and push all sliders fully to the right. ( You can customize these a little ) At bottom of page select “Transparency Mode” and turn on

Turn on Custom Transparency Mode and slide  amplification fully to right

Then turn on Conversation Boost  

Periodically, you’ll need to swipe diagonally from top right of screen to access “Control Panel”, go to the top screen and select “Transplarency Mode” and “Conversation Boost” if the phone turns them off. Happens usually when  you are working with different apps or getting notifications 

Even with this, Transparency Mode can cut out for no reason. I’m still working on that!

Apple has replaced my AirPods Pro Gen 2 buds several times but I have found a way in settings to get them working properly:

AirPods Pro Gen2 Transparency Mode Fix

Settings 

Accessibility

Audio and Visual 

Headphones accommodations on

Do NOT use a Custom Audiogram

Under “Tune Audio For”:

   Click on “Balanced Tone”, “Vocal Range” and “Brightness” and push all sliders fully to the right. ( You can customize these a little ) At bottom of page select “Transparency Mode” and turn on

Turn on Custom Transparency Mode and slide  amplification fully to right

Then turn on Conversation Boost  

Periodically, you’ll need to swipe diagonally from top right of screen to access “Control Panel”, go to the top screen and select “Transplarency Mode” and “Conversation Boost” if the phone turns them off. Happens usually when  you are working with different apps or getting notifications 

I have found the following settings will bring Transparency Mode back to life, even though it will still randomly turn off and you have to go to Control Panel and turn it back on.

Try this:

AirPods Pro Gen2 Transparency Mode Fix

Settings 

Accessibility

Audio and Visual 

Headphones accommodations on

Do NOT use a Custom Audiogram

Under “Tune Audio For”:

   Click on “Balanced Tone”, “Vocal Range” and “Brightness” and push all sliders fully to the right. ( You can customize these a little ) At bottom of page select “Transparency Mode” and turn on

Turn on Custom Transparency Mode and slide  amplification fully to right

Then turn on Conversation Boost  

Periodically, you’ll need to swipe diagonally from top right of screen to access “Control Panel”, go to the top screen and select “Transplarency Mode” and “Conversation Boost” if the phone turns them off. Happens usually when  you are working with different apps or getting notifications 

I am convinced it has something to do with the Apple Watch. Per a previous post on this thread, I diconnected my watch and custom transparency mode worked perfect. After making some adjustments mentioned in the post, my works all most all the time, with only the occational drop.

Actually, last night I found a better fix that seems bulletproof. The amplification is not as dramatic but the AirPods stay in Transparency Mode!

Fix Number 2  ( hopefully final fix? ) 

Download the MiMi app and find a quiet place to do your Audiogram. Then:

Settings 

Accessibility

Audio and Visual 

Headphones accommodations on

and then choose Audiogram 

Turn  Transparency Mode on then choose Custom Transparency mode and slide amplification to full right. 

Turn Conversation Boost on

You can adjust tone to sharpen up sound but the effect is not great. 

Ambient noise reduction slider doesn’t do much either. 

This fix finally fixes the stability of Transparency Mode which cut out frequently. The volume is a little less than in Fix Number 1 but it is very stable and reliable. 

The issue with the constant disconnection of transparency mode is related to the Apple Watch; the AirPods keep connecting to it, and there's no way to fix this. If you turn off Bluetooth on the Apple Watch, the transparency problem disappears. Now, to have transparency mode work properly, I have to forget about the Apple Watch. Thank you, Apple. All the problems with transparency mode started after the 18.2 update, where they added hearing aids for the US, but it seems they forgot to test it in countries where it is not available.

The Transparency Mode problem

is not related to Apple Watch. It is simply a series of settings which make them work properly. Not as loud as the other fix I posted but stable and reliable.

 Number 2  ( hopefully final fix? ) 

Download the MiMi app and find a quiet place to do your Audiogram. Then:

Settings 

Accessibility

Audio and Visual 

Headphones accommodations on

and then choose Audiogram 

Turn  Transparency Mode on then choose Custom Transparency mode and slide amplification to full right. 

Turn Conversation Boost on

You can adjust tone to sharpen up sound but the effect is not great. 

Ambient noise reduction slider doesn’t do much either. 

This fix finally fixes the stability of Transparency Mode which cut out frequently. The volume is a little less than in Fix Number 1 but it is very stable and reliable. appl

The more we talk about it, the more attention it can garner and then Apple will have to take a look at it and try to fix it

Just hang on, it gets fixed.