Yesterday, in my AirPods Pro review, I mentioned that I added memory foam to my AirPods Pro and that this caused them to fit even better in my ears. In today's post, I am showing you how that is done so that you can try it out yourself. This modification is easy, inexpensive, and quickly reversible, so there is no downside in trying it out to see what you think. For me, they make my AirPods Pro more comfortable in my ears.
This modification wasn't originally my idea. I first saw it mentioned in this thread on Reddit, and it was also mentioned in this article on MacStories. But neither of those provided step-by-step instructions with pictures, so after I figured out for myself how to do this, I thought I would share what I did in this post so that it is easier for you to try this yourself.
There is nothing about this modification that should damage your AirPods Pro. This modification simply adds memory foam to the ear tips, and if you don't like it you can simply pull the memory foam off and everything will be back to normal. Having said that, if you want to be extra cautious, you can also purchase replacement ear tips from Apple for only $3.95 for a set of two. That way, you can try this out on something that is not your normal ear tip. Plus, with that very small investment, you can have one set of ear tips with the memory foam and one set without making it faster to go back and forth between them. Go to this page of the Apple website to order additional ear tips. But again, you don't need to order more ear tips to do this modification.
What you do need to purchase are some memory foam earbuds, unless you already have a pair from another set of headphones. The ones that I purchased on Amazon are the Heyous 2 Set Memory Foam Earbuds Sponge Caps Covers, which were inexpensive (only $9.99) and you get 12 earbuds in different sizes. It is nice to have lots of different sizes to try out because every ear is different and you will want to try different sizes to determine what feels best for your ears.
Each memory foam earbud has a plastic core surrounded by memory foam, and there are two sizes of plastic cores. It is easiest to work with the larger plastic core, which were the black ones in this set, so I recommend that you start there. You can then try again using the smaller plastic core to decide what you prefer.
For each size of plastic core, there are three different memory foam sizes. Again, you'll just have to try them out to see what you like best for your ears.
Now that you have you have the memory foams and you have picked a set to start working with, you are ready to follow these simple steps.
First, remove the plastic core from the memory foam. This widens the circle in the middle of the memory foam. Removing the plastic core is fairly easy. Scrape your fingernail against all of the sides of the plastic core, and you can slowly push down the memory foam and scrape the memory foam off of the core. It took me about 20-30 seconds to get it off, which left me with the memory foam without the plastic core. You can discard the plastic core; you won't need it again.
I've seen other people on the Internet talk about doing this type of modification without removing the plastic core, but with the version of the memory foam earpods I purchased, I don't believe that the AirPods Pro tips can fit without removing the core.
Second, decide if you want to cut the memory foam earpod using some scissors to make the memory foam shorter. If you do cut, do so about one-third to one-half from the bottom. You are doing this so that the memory foam doesn't stick out too much once you place it in the tip of the AirPods Pro.
This step is optional. In part, it is aesthetic; do you want to see memory foam sticking out below your the tips? In part, it is functional. For the larger AirPods Pro tips and larger memory foam sizes, the AirPods Pro case won't close (or won't close easily) with the memory foam sticking out. However, with the small blue tips and the medium AirPods Pro tips, I didn't cut the memory foams and my case closes just fine. And I sort of like the look of having a dash of blue color with the white — not that anyone else will notice the color once these are in your ears.
Third, prepare the AirPods Pro tips for adding the memory foam. To do this, simply remove the tip from the AirPods pro and unfold the tip.
Fourth, put the tip inside of the memory foam. To do so, you need to fold up the rubbery part of the tip. However, you'll find that as soon as you fold it, it wants to bounce back into shape. Thus, I found that the best way to do this is to use a small piece of Scotch tape. Place the end of your tip on some tape, and then roll up the tape, which will also roll up the ear tip.
With the tape on the end, it is easy to slide the tape-and-tip into the memory foam. Come up from the bottom.
Next, remove the tape. It comes off easily because the rubbery tip doesn't adhere to the tape.
Fifth, fold the ear tip back to the way that it was when you started. Now, you have a tip with memory foam installed.
Put the tip back on your AirPods Pro.
With the memory foam installed, there is slightly more passive noise cancellation. More noticeable, however, is that both of the AirPods Pro stay in my ear much better than they did without the memory foam. Without the memory foam, they would move around more in my ears, and over time — especially in my left ear — they would start to become loose, making me concerned that they might fall out. With the memory foam, they do a much better job of staying in place. I still find myself adjusting them from time to time, but far less than I used to without the memory foam.
I presume that, at some point, a third party company will sell a replacement ear tip containing memory foam. Or better yet, it would be great if Apple sold replacement ear tips containing memory foam. For now, however, this do-it-yourself solution is inexpensive and simple. And I like that it is reversible, so you can try it to see if you like it without having to commit to anything.
For me, using memory foam has enhanced my enjoyment of AirPods Pro because they do a better job of staying in my ear without moving around too much.
Click here to get the Heyous 2 Set Memory Foam Earbuds Sponge Caps Covers from Amazon ($9.99).
