Mine too. I took a pair in that had symptoms exactly as described in the service program description. Both the left and right earbud failed in their test machine, but Apple said my Airpods did not qualify because they were not part of the program (manufactured a few months after the end date).

I suspect the issues weren't actually resolved by the date they claim.

Also, more annoyingly, they offered replacement refurbished left and right pods for $89 each. I can go to Costco and buy a new pair with a new charging case for only $2 more.

Moral of the story: Airpods are unreliable, if you buy them then also buy the extended warranty from Apple.

That was my experience verbatim. The employee even suggested going to Costco specifically, as he thought it was ridiculous that they weren't covering them.

> One of my AirPods Pro has an annoying tick. It's like a metronome (regular) and orthogonal to the music I'm listening to.

I also have this issue. I have a hunch that the glue inside the stem that holds the microphone in place fails, and so the tick is the microphone striking the stem/housing. I find if I hold my head very, very still, that clicking noise will stop.

> I find if I hold my head very, very still, that clicking noise will stop.

:-) my music makes my head bop.

For what it’s worth, with AirPods you can just contact their online support and they’re much quicker to send you a replacement after verifying just a few basics

Without commenting on the rest of your story I do not fault the representative for refusing to put customers’ AirPods in their ear.

Contact them via phone or online chat; with no way to test remotely, they will offer to exchange the AirPods in most cases.

Does the machine touch the silicone? That would still be pretty unhygenic.

I don't know because they take the headphones to a room in the back for the test.

No, they ask you to remove the silicon before giving them they airpods

The employee should not have to put it in their ear.

That's Apple's fault. If they want to fix them, they need to be able to listen to them. So Apple should have tools so a human being can hear them. Relying on some computer to tell you everything is fine, when it's obviously not, is bullshit.

If they don't want to diagnose their hardware, then they should just exchange them with no questions asked. Getting denied on a repair "cuz the computer said so" is crap.