Ever since the AirPods came out, I’ve loved them. Apple did an amazing job creating earphones that worked so simply. The original and the 2nd generation AirPods felt great and sounded pretty good to me. I never had an issue like many did with the AirPods falling out of my ears. When Apple announced the AirPod Pros, I hesitated at ordering them. After my first impressions with AirPod Pros, I actually passed on buying them.

I ended up using a mix between my 2nd generation AirPods and my Beats Studio 3s for the longest time. But I grew tired of living the dual life. When I used my Beats Studios, my ears would sweat. I would also try to wear my Beats when mowed to block out the sound, but it never really did the job. Plus, I found myself not taking my Beats with me unless I knew that I would need to block out sound. My AirPods were great, but they couldn’t block out sound as well. So last October, I broke down and bought some AirPod Pros. I felt like the Pros would solve both my problems at once.

For the most part that has solved the problem but it has also created another one: I can’t get my AirPod Pros to stay put.

AirPod Pros Slipping Out

For the most part, the AirPod Pros sound great, as I’ve mentioned before, but as I listen to them, eventually, my left ear will slip out. I did what Apple suggested and I tried all the ear tips that they supplied. I just wish they would also provide more guidance. My if they said, “If your ear tip slips out, try a larger size” or something else I might feel a little better about everything.

But here’s what usually happens.

I’ll put the AirPod in my ears and run the fit test. You can find the fit test in settings > Bluetooth > Your AirPods Pro. The test looks to make sure that you have a good seal in your ear – the seal is important for noise canceling and sound quality. I started with Apple’s supplied Medium ear tips and got a sign that I had a good fit. They tips felt okay in my ears for a little while but after about 15 minutes of moving around, I noticed that the left ear tip started to sound a little further away. If I looked up or down, I felt the AirPod Pro slipping out completely from my ear.

After this happened a few times, I tried a different sized ear tip. It seemed that the smaller version would work best but the same thing would continue to happen. This made it almost impossible to workout, run, or even turn my head when I used my AirPods Pro.

I had already sold my 2nd gen AirPods and my Beats Studios to pay for the AirPods Pros but I still had some options.

A Cornocopia of Eartips

I came to the AirPod Pros later in the life cycle than most of the time I get an Apple device. In the time between launch and the time I got my AirPod Pros in hand, a large 3rd party of ear tips grew. So as soon as I realized that the standard AirPod Pro ear tips weren’t going to work for me, I ordered the Comply Foam Tips for AirPod Pro V2. These are memory foam ear tips. The idea is that the memory foam will conform to your ear better than the silicon.

For the most part, the Comply tips have solved my AirPod Pros slipping problems. The tips do stay in my ear better, however, I have noticed that the seal still breaks in my ears if I’m exercising. Along with that, the Complys also have a firm core to them. When Apple announced the AirPods, one of the features I thought I would like the best would be that they didn’t have a firm core like most in-ear earbuds. While these stay in my ear better than the standard Apple ones, they didn’t fill my need 100%.

So I went looking for others.

I know that Federico Viticci found a way to mod his silicon ear tips to better suit his needs. I found that the company that he ordered his memory foam from, Symbio, had started to make AirPod Pro ear tips just like the ones he made. So I ordered a pair of those too. They came, they didn’t have a core, and they passed the fittest…for a while. I found that just like the Apple silicon tips, these would slip out of my ear as well.

So I went back to the comply ear buds. I’ve since ordered some CharJen Pro tips as well, but they didn’t do any better than Symbio ones. So I’ve now ordered 3 different tips and haven’t found the right pair for me.

Even Apple Slips

With WWDC21 going on last week, I managed to catch a few of the FaceTime interviews my favorite tech writers did with Apple’s VPs. While watching the Daring Fireball interview with Jos and Federighi I noticed that Federighi often would push his AirPod Pro back into his ear or adjust the fit. It made me feel like I wasn’t the only one having trouble.

I hope that when Apple takes a stab at AirPod Pros v2, that they manage to fix this issue. I know that many like the fit of the pros over the fit of the regular ones, but the frustration is real for me.

My Plan to Stop The Slippage

I don’t really have a plan to stop the slippage right now, but I’m going to continue to use the Comply foam tips for now. I also carry around the Apple silicone tips and the Symbol ones in case I need them.

I’ve also thought about going back to two pairs of headphones. One for everyday and one for traveling or working in high noise situations.

I’m very tempted to go back to my 2 headphones set up as I had before, but I’m trying to make these Pros work. Of course, I’m not finding as many times to turn on the noise cancelation, so maybe I will simplify and find some noise-canceling headphones just for when I fly (remember that) or do yard work. I’m waiting to see what Apple does with the next normal AirPods. I would love it if Apple could find a way to either make a seal on the ear without going into it or keep the AirPod Pros in some other way.

I’ve also thought about getting the AirPod Max, but I can’t see myself spending that much money on headphones that I would only use every so often.

Do you experience slippage with your AirPod Pros? Have you found a solid solution yet? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter!