Hello,

I have demonstrable and repeatable evidence that the Noise Canceling mode of your current-revision headphones is being greatly impaired due to the “Focus on Voice” feature adding unwanted noise.

When in Noise Canceling mode, Focus on Voice appears to be causing extraneous noise to enter the signal chain and reach the listener’s ears.  Focus on Voice appears to be active and non-defeatable 100% of the time that Noise Canceling mode is being used.  It should not be active in Noise Canceling mode.

Using the Headphones Connect App (iOS), this can be demonstrated with any WH1000XM3 at 4.1.1 firmware revision:

1. Connect your wireless headphones to a mobile device through Bluetooth® connection.
2. Launch the Headphones Connect app.
3. Set Adaptive Sound Control to Off.
4. Set Ambient Sound Control to On.
5. Press the down arrow to reveal the slider bar.
6. Slide the bar all the way to the left to set Noise Canceling.  Where there should be maximum silence, you’ll find that there is extraneous noise present, similar to brown noise or “wind” noise, as it has been described.  This is the very issue your enormous user base has been speaking out on.  The next steps will show that this noise is, in fact, the Focus on Voice feature.
7. Move the slider two steps to the right, to Ambient Sound 1.  Notice that the “wind” noise disappears.  Notice also that the Focus on Voice checkbox becomes enabled.
8. Check the Focus on Voice box.  The wind noise reappears whenever this box is checked.  This proves that the extraneous noise is caused by Focus on Voice.
9. Uncheck the Focus on Voice box.  The next step will show that this feature is active during ANC when it should not be.
10. Move the slider two steps to the left, back to Noise Canceling.  The “wind” noise returns.  Verify this by repeating steps 6-10.  This proves that the Focus on Voice feature is active during Noise Cancelling, despite the checkbox being both unselected and unselectable.  This feature should not be active during Noise Cancelling mode.

Consider the fact that users employ the ANC mode specifically to reduce ambient noise to an absolute minimum.  The increase in noise from the Focus on Voice feature is completely counter to the function of the product.  It hugely impacts the best aspect of the headphones.  It doesn’t take much noise in the midrange/voice frequency range to be greatly distracting to the listener.  We notice it.  This is why much of your user base is upset.

It’s been speculated that this was intentionally added to improve the headphones’ pickup of voice assistant commands from the user.  If this is true, consider that but a fraction of users will use these assistants.  Then, consider that close to 100% of your customers bought your product for the fantastic noise canceling performance and sound quality.  A decision to sacrifice noise canceling performance to help voice assistant performance would be a blow to your customer base.

It would speak volumes to have the software change reversed.  Please restore the original performance of the Noise Canceling mode and disable Focus on Voice while Noise Canceling is active.

Thank you,

Your customer