Wh-1000xm3 loud hiss from noise cancelling

[Panifex]

My headphones were working well, but have now started making a terrible loud noise in the right ear whenever noise cancelling is turned on.  

Resetting makes no difference.

Anybody else had this? 

[BigBide]

I tried myself removing the foam, it doesn't change much.

Didn't try accessing the back microphones yet as it probably breaks the waranty.

Didn't try playing with the cables neither.

[BigBide]

fyi: My messages are getting removed as soon as there is a link to another forum into it.

[BMGEEK]

Second headset, same issue.
I had mine on October 2019 and the blow came few weeks after, in the right ear, after 30 min of use. My dealer FNAC kindly  exchange it for a new one in January. This time the hiss comes from the left and I‘ll have to give it back again, after the confinement.  Very disappointed that Sony doesn’t give any explanations. 

[jamesviago]

I have the same issue.

Sadly, the person who referred me to these headphones now has the issue too, as does a friend I recommended the headphones to.

That's three defective headsets. I wish I'd seen these reviews, the hiss is so loud that NC mode is simply not worth using.

I am shocked that Sony is saying it's "within spec"... They are quite useless. Is there seriously no remedy??

[BunkerBob]

Mine have started doing this around November 2019, a few months after I bought them. 

Tried going back to the retailer, but as under 1 year, they say the guarantee is with manufacturer.

Lodged a complaint with Sony and go this back yesterday (below) and have tried the resetting and initializing but still persists.

Will try going back to retailer, but if no joy will try through the credit card.  😞

Thank you for contacting Sony support.
We are sorry to learn that there is a hissing noise on your headphones when NC is on.
We would like to highlight that noise canceling is an active circuit and active circuits are producing a certain level of noise. Therefore, it might not be a fault with the unit but rather a normal phenomenon.
However, please find the troubleshooting steps below in attempt to reduce the noise:
1-Ensure that the headphone is running on the latest software version by following the instructions down the link below:
https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/wireless-headphones-bluetooth-headphones/wh-1000xm3/downl...

2-Reset the headphone by following the instructions in the link below:
https://helpguide.sony.net/mdr/wh1000xm3/v1/en/contents/TP0001703078.html

3-Initialize the headphone to default settings using the instructions in link below:
https://helpguide.sony.net/mdr/wh1000xm3/v1/en/contents/TP0001703081.html

4-Ensure using a compatible device with the headphone.
We have created a short compatibility list which you can refer to using the link below, you can scroll all the way down to "compatibility":
https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/wireless-headphones-bluetooth-headphones/wh-1000xm3
In case the issue persists, please note that you can have the headphone inspected. However, due to the recent COVID-19 situation in the area and the government measures taken, unfortunately we can no longer arrange any service events or repairs.
We are continuing to monitor the situation and will post an update on our website when service is resumed.
In addition, you may follow the below link and confirm the terms and conditions of the Sony product's guarantee:
http://services.sony.co.uk/support/en/warranty
We appreciate your patience and understanding. 

Thank you for your enquiry.

[The_Black_Rose]

Hi all,

I have an explanation for this one.

Basically, since this model features active noise cancellation, there is an electronic circuit on each ear cup to make the noise cancellation work independently on each side.

Like any electronic device, this circuit produces some noise during operation and this is what you hear.

This noise is part of the actual operation of the device, and it's normal to notice it only on one side as the circuits are separated and the noise cancellation is a predictive system.

I won't really recommend getting the headphones inspected as they'll come back saying that this is not a fault.

I'd also suggest that you turn on the noise cancellation optimizer feature in the Headphones connect app as this may be one way of going around the noise.

Cheers,

Rose

[ThatOneCheetah]

Speculation, but this seems to have helped my hiss.

The screws that hold on the back of the earcup seem to have developed rust, likely as a result of sweat and skin oils.

I wouldn't be surprised if this also produced a small conductance between the two pins of the pressure feedback microphone, this microphone is located on the speaker grill and directed towards the speaker. Carefully lifting the protective tape and cleaning the connection with rubbing alcohol seems to have done the trick. I also disassembled the right earcup to air-dust out any debris that might have fallen into it or the NC microphone grill.

The clips that hold in the earpad are located in the top, top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right and bottom. You can somewhat see where the clips clip in by carefully pulling away the pleather from the edge of the can. Remove these clips carefully by using a plastic spudger. It shouldn't require much force, just some wiggling around, you will hear a soft pop.

If you want to dust the inside of the cup, or just the NC microphone grill, take out only the 4 silver screws that hold the back of the cup on. Carefully lift the cup up as the touchpad ribbon cable is still attached, grab the ribbon cable between your fingers, try to cover the entire width of the ribbon cable as you carefully pull it up uniformly to remove it from the connector, a small wiggle may be required, never use excess force.

When reassembling, turn the screws until they start becoming stiff to turn in. If possible carefully, give it a tiny bit of an extra turn to ensure properly sealing the cup (there is a rubber grommet for splash protection). Never use excessive force when inserting screws, you will break the plastic inserts if you do.

Take note of which earpad goes with which cup, they should only fit one way onto each cup, compare the plastic stubs on the earpad with the recesses in the cups.

Be careful not to damage the drivers by dropping/inserting anything past the plastic grill.

Note that any damage done by unauthorized repair will not be covered by warranty. There seem to be no warranty void stickers, but Sony might still attempt to void your warranty if you service your own headphones, beware.

[Eric_Pyrrhus]

This widespread problem has been troubleshooted here:

https://ca.community.sony.com/s/question/0D54O00006EtSgwSAF/wh1000xmx-headphones-active-noise-cancel...

[mwe._.]

The lack of communication from Sony is getting annoying. At least, if you don't want to acknowledge this issue, please provide an update that removes the mandatory "focus on voice" setting on noise reduction.

[ThatOneCheetah]

This feature has nothing to do with the one-channel intermittent loud hiss.
The background brown noise (which is at an almost unnoticeable volume) has
been present since the first day of owning my pair, counts for every
firmware revision.

When turning on focus on voice, the noise cancelling partially turns on
(from ambient mode) to cancel everything that is not voice, the soft brown
noise is merely an unavoidable side effect of ANC technology.

Focus on voice is automatically disabled in full-on noise cancelling mode,
as every noise is being cancelled. Calling this feature the culprit is
incorrect reasoning.

Problems arise with the noise suddenly becoming very loud in one of the
cups, or a different noise interfering. I suspect this might be a result of
wear (for example the sweat residue theory) in combination with unfortunate
design decisions. Once again, not related to any of the firmware features
at all.

Not only is it incorrect reasoning, but it might even put the software and
hardware engineers involved in tackling this issue in the next revision on
the wrong foot. Please stop blaming the firmware features for this issue.