- Not all AirPods are noise-cancelling. The first two AirPod versions, notably, don’t include any noise cancellation features.
- The new AirPods Pro, however, have noise-cancellation features built in, including Active Noise Cancellation and a “Transparency” mode that mixes in ambient sound.
- You can control the noise cancellation using the AirPods Pro stems, from the iPhone, or using an Apple Watch.
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The AirPods Pro are Apple’s first noise-cancelling wireless earbud. The AirPods (both the original version and the slightly updated version two that Apple released in Spring 2019) don’t have noise-cancelling features.
But the AirPods Pro have three noise-cancelling modes: Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode (which mixes in some ambient sound, so you can still hear what’s going on around you) and Off (which is equivalent to not using noise cancellation).
You can control these noise-cancellation modes from the AirPods Pro while you’re wearing them, or from the iPhone or Apple Watch. Here’s how.
Check out the products mentioned in this article:
AirPods Pro (From $249.99 at Best Buy)
iPhone 11 (From $699.99 at Best Buy)
Apple Watch Series 5 (From $399 at Best Buy)
How to control noise cancellation on the AirPods Pro
Press and hold the force sensor on the stem of either earbud until you hear a chime to toggle the noise-cancellation mode. The force sensor is the flattened section of the stem.
By default, this will toggle between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode. You can customize which modes you toggle between on the AirPods Pro page of your iPhone's Bluetooth Settings.
How to control noise cancellation on AirPods Pro from an iPhone
1. Be sure you are wearing both AirPods Pro earbuds.
2. Open the Control Center by swiping down from the top-right of the screen on an iPhone X or later, or swipe up from the bottom of the screen on an earlier iPhone.
3. Tap and hold the volume slider on the right side of the Control Center (next to the brightness slider) until it expands and displays the noise-cancellation controls.
4. Tap the noise-cancellation mode you want to use.
How to control noise cancellation on AirPods Pro from an Apple Watch
When you are wearing the AirPods Pro earbuds and listening to audio, tap the AirPlay icon at the bottom left of your Apple Watch's screen.
Tap the noise-cancellation mode you want to use.
