Apple's 3rd generation AirPods just got a new firmware update

By Joe Wituschek
published

Airpods 3 With Case Right Earbud Lying In Front Of Case
Airpods 3 With Case Right Earbud Lying In Front Of Case (Image credit: Luke Filipowicz / iMore)

What you need to know

  • Apple has released a new firmware update for the new 3rd generation AirPods.
  • Firmware version 4C170 should bring performance improvements and bug fixes.

The 3rd generation AirPods have been blessed with a firmware update today.

As reported by MacRumors, Apple has released a new firmware update for the 3rd generation AirPods. The firmware update, titled version 4C170, should bring performance improvements and bug fixes to Apple's newest earbuds.

Apple today released a new 4C170 firmware update for the AirPods 3, an update from the prior 4C165 that was made available in December.

Apple never lets us know what the purpose of a firmware update is. While they typically do not bring any notable new features to the AirPods lineup, they usually bring some performance improvements and bug fixes.

If you are trying to manually update to the latest firmware version, it's more about luck than anything else. Apple updates AirPods firmware in the background, so there is no way to tap a button and manually initiate the update. However, the update typically occurs when your AirPods and iPhone are charging together, so you try to do that to potentially initiate the update.

If you want to learn more about updating your AirPods firmware or how to check to ensure you are on the latest version, check out our article on How to update the firmware on your AirPods.

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AirPods 3


Bottom line: With better battery life, a completely new design, new features like Spatial Audio, and an IPX4 rating, the AirPods 3 are better than ever before. Plus, they sound better than the previous models and other than ANC, have pretty much all the same features as the AirPods Pro. These are fantastic AirPods for anyone looking to upgrade or buy their first pair.

Joe Wituschek
Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.

3 Comments
  • "If you are trying to manually update to the latest firmware version, it's more about luck than anything else."
    I hate this. I've had some of these take a week, with no indication of why or what eventually caused them to update. There really needs to be some documented process.
  • P.S. grabbed mine to see if I could coax the process, and while this article says they released 4C170 to update from 4C165, mine are sitting at 4B61, so wonderful.
  • OK, after letting the iPhone and Airpods sit connected (case open) and charging for a couple of hours yesterday, and then disconnecting, since I figured they wouldn't upgrade while 'in-use', nothing after a couple of hours. Checked to day. They are upgraded. It's what we called in the service, FM. The M is magic. Use your imagination for the F.