AirPods have quickly become the most popular wireless earbuds since their initial release in 2016. As is the case with all popular electronic devices, there has also been a rise in the number of fake AirPods produced.
Do fake AirPods have noise cancellation?
If you purchase counterfeit AirPods, they may look exactly like the originals, but they are unlikely to provide you with the advanced features like Active Noise Cancellation, Spatial Audio, Adaptive EP, or Transparency Mode even if they claim to have these capabilities.
Apple spent many years perfecting the noise-canceling technology that is installed on their AirPods, and it would be very difficult for a fake manufacturer to reproduce it.
While some of the best AirPods copies may have some noise-canceling capabilities, they won’t offer it to the standard of genuine AirPods.
This is a reliable way to check whether your AirPods are indeed genuine, as there will be a very obvious difference in the noise-canceling capabilities of fake and authentic AirPods.
Do Fake AirPods Have Noise Cancellation?
Apple introduced its Active Noise Cancellation along with Transparency Mode on the AirPods Pro. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Generation AirPods did not include any noise-canceling capabilities.
The technology behind Active Noise Cancellation is complex and impressive, and therefore it would be very difficult for manufacturers of fake AirPods to replicate. Advanced features like ANC and Transparency Mode are a large reason that genuine AirPods cost so much, so a cheaper copy is unlikely to include them.
Fake AirPods may claim to be capable of noise cancellation, but if anything they will most likely only provide some passive noise canceling which is caused by the earbud blocking some external noise from entering your ear.
Passive noise cancellation doesn’t react to the external sounds and blocks them out in real-time, as active noise cancellation does. It’s therefore easy to know whether your AirPods have this feature installed, as it will significantly reduce the volume of external sounds.
AirPods copies are likely to look exactly like the originals, but it’s highly unlikely that they will be capable of the advanced features that genuine AirPods Pro or AirPods 3rd Generation can perform.
Check out this YouTube video on fake AirPods.
Do Real AirPods Have Noise Cancellation?
As I previously mentioned, only two AirPods models that have been released to date have Active Noise Cancellation – AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max. 1st and 2nd Generation AirPods lack this capability, as do the more recently released 3rd Generation AirPods.
This innovative feature has been heavily praised by critics and AirPods users. The technology behind it is highly sophisticated and is one of the things that sets Apple’s AirPods apart from most other wireless earbuds.
Active Noise Cancellation, or ANC as it is commonly called, works by using a microphone that faces outwards and detects any sound that is outside the AirPods. Then, the AirPods combat the sounds using phase cancellation, which blocks out the external noises before they are audible to your ears.
This makes ANC much more effective at reducing the volume of external sounds than passive noise cancellation, which simply relies on the physical material forming a barrier between the inner ear and the outside noise.
In addition to the external noise canceling, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max also detect any internal sounds and cancel them to improve the clarity of your listening experience.
The combination of external and internal ANC is one of the standout qualities of AirPods and explains why they are amongst the most popular wireless earbuds on the market.
In addition to Active Noise Cancellation, AirPods Pro and AirPods Max also have Transparency Mode. This feature works oppositely to noise cancellation, by allowing external sound to enter the AirPods.
Transparency Mode is useful when you’re using AirPods near a road, as it will allow you to hear the traffic noise while still enjoying the audio from your device. It works similarly to ANC, by detecting external noise but rather than blocking it out, it allows it to enter your ear along with the audio coming through the AirPods.
- Active Noise Cancellation blocks outside noise, so you can immerse yourself in music
Can Fake AirPods use Spatial Audio?
Spatial Audio allows listeners to enjoy music or other forms of audio in a more immersive way. This feature is essentially Apple’s answer to Dolby Atmos, providing its users with a 3D listening experience that goes beyond the conventional stereo field that music is mixed within.
Spatial Audio is included on the following AirPods:
- AirPods Pro
- AirPods Max
- AirPods 3rd Generation
Due to it being an Apple-exclusive feature, there is no way that fake AirPods could be capable of Spatial Audio. It wouldn’t be possible for them to replicate the technology for this feature as it is too complicated, and it is patented by Apple.
If your fake AirPods claim to be capable of Spatial Audio, this is almost certainly not true. No other wireless earbuds except AirPods 3, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max, and the Apple-made Beats Fit Pro are capable of this feature.
For Spatial Audio to work properly, there are a few things that are required. First of all, when a piece of audio is mixed, the sound engineer must assign certain sounds, effects, or sections to specific points within the 3D digital sound space.
This creates a 3D space around the AirPods user so that different sounds seem like they’re coming from in front of, behind, or either side. The sounds can also seem like they’re coming from different distances.
Spatial Audio is simply too complex to be included with a fake set of AirPods. Also, it is only available on particular models of Apple devices, which include:
- iPhone 7 onwards
- iPad (6th Gen onwards)
- iPad Air (3rd Gen onwards)
- iPad mini (5th Gen onwards)
- iPad Pro (12.9 inch onwards)
- iPad Pro (11 inch onwards)
How to Tell if AirPods are Fake
If you’ve purchased a set of AirPods and suspect that they might be fake, there are several things you can do to assess their authenticity. AirPods have become so popular in recent years that many counterfeits have been made to capitalize on their success.
There’s nothing wrong with cashing earbuds that are designed similarly to AirPods, as long as you’re aware that they are not the real thing. If you believed you were getting real AirPods but have been sold fakes, this is a problem as they will probably lack the capabilities of genuine AirPods.
The first thing you should do to check whether your AirPods are real or fake is to enter the serial number into Apple’s “Check Coverage” website.
This website will then tell you whether or not the AirPods have been registered with Apple and are found in their system, which is the case with all genuine AirPods. If your AirPods aren’t recognized, then this means that they are fake.
It can be very difficult to tell whether AirPods are fake or real because they often look identical to the originals. Therefore, it’s important to look at the finer details, such as spelling mistakes on the packaging, as this indicates that they are not genuine.
Fake AirPods may claim to be capable of advanced features like ANC, Transparency Mode, or Spatial Audio, but you’ll soon find out that this is not true when you attempt to use them.
How Do I Know if Noise Cancellation is On?
To check whether the noise cancellation is working on your AirPods, you need to hold down the force sensor that is located on the stream, keeping it pressed down until you hear a chime-like sound.
Another way to check know if noise cancellation is on is by going to the settings menu on your Apple device, then opening the Bluetooth while wearing your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max. Then, tap the “more info” icon next to your AirPods in the list of paired devices. You’ll see the slider that indicates whether ANC is turned on or off.
Related Questions
Can fake AirPods connect to iPhone?
Just because your AirPods copies aren’t designed by Apple, doesn’t mean they cannot connect to an iPhone or any other device. Providing they have Bluetooth connectivity, you should be able to hook them up to an iPhone with no problems.
Can someone else use stolen or lost AirPods?
If you lose your AirPods, there is, unfortunately, no way to prevent someone else from finding them and using them. This is because they don’t connect to the internet so it is impossible to lock them or control them from another location.
Check out this article for more information.
My iPhone?
Only genuine AirPods that have been manufactured by Apple will be visible on the “Find My” app, which allows you to locate them if they are lost.
