Sony WH-1000XM3 - v4.1.1 firmware failure?

[GapsOfTheGod]

Having updated my 1000xm3's over the wekeend, there seems to be an introduction of hiss and a background noise of what sounds like distant traffic (even though I can hear nothing at all without the headphones on) when using Active Noise Cancellation, which was previously stellar. The potency of the noise cancelling is noticeably weaker since updating (I'd estimate around 40% less). Familiar auditory environments which were previously rendered almost entirely silent are now notedly audible. I've checked that the noise cancelling slider is left-most, and indeed it is.

I'm also disappointed to find I can't ask Alexa to play music from Spotify, and I press the button and just say "Play Metallica", it responds with "Shuffling music by Metallica on Amazon Music", yet nothing plays at all.

This update is very much a downgrade as it stands.

[AndreasPe]

News in Norway:

https://www.tek.no/artikler/brukere-raser-mot-sony-hevder-stoydempingen-ble-rasert-etter-oppdatering...

[Liersi]

Good to see this hitting the media. I read someone one reddit speculate on the audible noises as being introduced through the microphone, effectively bypassing ANC. I did some testing in a store today, which had both XM3 and XM2 on display. Both audibly different from my XM2 on firmware 4.1.1 in the same surroundings. Here's the deal though: it sounds like a certain spectrum of noise comes through, not all of it. The escalators nearby were clearly audible on my headphones and not at all on the display models. The display models hollowed out the sound stage in a wider area. Voices at the top end were present on both, but much more of the voices got through on firmware 4.1.1. Anyway, the difference was never less than obvious. Headphones on previous firmwares provided a much quieter experience.

[msnhao]

Got my xm3s 2 days ago. This morning I woke up and noticed the noise cancelling was less effective than before. I thought they were broken, but then I saw this and remembered I updated them last night. Please fix this soon.

[cdlftw]

I thought I was going mad!  Only had the headphones a few days, tried them on my 6-year-old daughter and was having a laugh and a joke calling her names - she was oblivious, couldn't hear a thing.  However, today (post-upgrade) she said "you're a poo-head too" - having heard me this time...  all other things being completely equal.  The plus side is, as others said, it's "software" so can be rolled back/fixed - but given Sony has done nothing in the weeks since it was reported, I'm tempted to send them back to Amazon and maybe look at some B&W PX...

[rakkuj]

Any New information on this? 

😠

[Bigmick777]

Sony have come back to me again with the following. So still no acceptance
of any issues.

'Thank you for your patience.

In reference to your enquiry about the effect of noise canceling feature,
after investigating further in your case we can confirm that there isn’t
any fault with the headphone.

However, you can check your settings in the headphones connect application
in case they reverted to default settings after the software update.'

[rakkuj]

If there isn't any fault with the headphones why those works better before firmware updating

[mrlemur]

Hi Sony,

I have been waiting for a long time for support to contact me back.

Can we have some more information other than "we are looking in to it"?

[rakkuj]

I think that when I bought these sony headphones, I bought two at the same time, first and Last. 

[skatsman]

The same issue here. Headphones are completely ineffective in suppressing the office chatter after the upgrade.