u/Funny_Equipment_955

I’ve been having a weird issue with my AirPods Pro 3 since I got them last year. Whenever the AirPods' microphone is active (Teams, Google Meet, or even regular phone calls), the audio output starts glitching.

It’s hard to describe, but it’s not the typical "crackling" or "popping" sound. It feels more like the frequency bands are constantly shifting or the audio is "warping" in real-time. It’s very unpleasant and makes the person on the other end sound distorted.

A few things I’ve noticed:

• I also use Skullcandy Crusher headphones and this problem does not exist there at all. It only happens with the AirPods.
• If I keep the audio in the AirPods but switch the input (mic) to my MacBook’s internal microphone, the sound becomes perfectly clear again.
• It happens on two different MacBooks and my iPhone, so it's definitely related to the AirPods themselves.
• I’ve searched everywhere and haven’t found anyone describing this exact "bandwidth shifting" glitch (other issues w/ teams or google meet are known but nothing similar to my problem)

Has anyone else experienced this specific audio glitching when the mic is on? Is this a hardware defect or some weird software bug?