AirPods call audio distorted with iPhone 17/iOS 26

I’m posting here because getting actual support from Apple lately has become nearly impossible.

After upgrading to the iPhone 17 Pro (iOS 26), my AirPods (4th gen, ANC) suddenly developed a static/metallic distortion only during phone calls. Music, ANC, and all other audio sound completely normal.

To rule out hardware failure, Apple Support ran remote diagnostics and identified a “sensor issue.” I went through the full AppleCare+ Express Replacement process. The replacement AirPods arrived today… and the exact same call-audio distortion persists.

That means:

• The issue is NOT the hardware

• The issue is NOT the AirPods firmware (latest installed)

• The issue is triggered specifically by iOS 26 / iPhone 17 Pro

• The same AirPods work perfectly when paired with my older iPhone running iOS 18

This is now clearly a software/compatibility bug in iOS 26 affecting call audio routing.

Unfortunately, Apple Support chat can’t escalate bugs anymore and always tells you to call in. Calling leads to another hour of troubleshooting loops with no path to actually report this to engineering.

So I’m posting here hoping a moderator or Apple rep can escalate this internally. This needs a software fix. It’s repeatable, device-agnostic (even replacement units), and only affects calls.

If others are seeing the same distortion with AirPods on the 17 Pro/iOS 26, please comment so Apple can track it.