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The AirPods Pro are the first noise-cancelling AirPods — here's how to control their noise-cancellation modes

Written by Dave Johnson
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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. 

AirPods Pro force sensor
You can toggle noise cancellation by holding the force sensor on the stem.  Apple

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. 

noise cancellation airpods 2
Tap and hold the volume slider in your iPhone's Control Center.  Dave Johnson/Business Insider

4. Tap the noise-cancellation mode you want to use. 

noise cancellation airpods 3
You can turn noise cancellation on, off, or enable Transparency Mode from the iPhone.  Dave Johnson/Business Insider

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.

noise cancellation airpods 4
Control the AirPods Pro by tapping the AirPlay icon on the Apple Watch.  Dave Johnson/Business Insider

Tap the noise-cancellation mode you want to use. 

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dave june
Dave Johnson
Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.