AirPods Pro 2 Hearing Aids not available in Canada

Yes - it continues to work - but nervous about upgrading to 18.2 in Canada and losing the hearing over

If you upgrade in Canada the Hearing Aid feature will disappear.

I’ve updated to 18.3 and cannot find any hearing aid/test function. I think the various provinces still need to approve.

Shhh - don’t tell the Canadian health regulatory authorities. They will soon set up inspection facilities to X-ray parcels to find those dangerous OTC hearing aids! Yah - it’s insane. Dictating to Apple “no, no, no - don’t you dare improve the functionality of your top selling product - we can’t block the sale of your iPods in Canada - but we can block your automatic customer upgrade to the latest IOS ! Talk about third world behavior - this is truly over the top. The time has come to stop this anticompetitive behavior - enabled by our very own Government. The media have got to pick up on this story and start screaming like ****.

Great idea. I thought about that. But unlike an app that's available in the US but not Canada, this is a feature set that is in the ipod settings. I'm willing to give it a try though. It makes sense.

The Sony CRE-C20 OTC ITE hearing aids are a valid upgrade over the CRE-C10. The most significant change is the rechargeable battery and the water-resisting factor now that the enclosure is sealed. I would not dive in a swimming pool or a lake with them, but they will resist rain or sweat, and it will not be the end of them if you forget to take them off before taking a shower.

On the functionality side, they are better at focusing on your spouse's or friend's speech while in a busy and noisy place like a restaurant. The hearing test has been modernized and appears more accurate. The rest of the app is pretty much the same.

are you sure that OTC hearing aids are not allowed? There are all kinds of them advertised and available on Amazon Canada. I don’t know who the main manufacturers are so I can’t comment on the lobby.

thanks

g

I’m sorry Lucster - but this response makes zero sense, particularly after reading all of your other comments on this thread.

You say:

“The update to IOS and the AirPods firmware is not blocked in any way, shape, or form in Canada. What is blocked is the hearing aid functionality of the AirPods Pro by Apple …”

My point is this: you say the “hearing aid functionality is blocked by Apple”. But according to the Apple Store tech supervisor Genius that explained it to me in Vancouver, it is the IOS UPDATE that gives the AirPods that precise functionality!!! That is why the 18.1 update is “not available” in Canada, using GPS locating to prevent access to that update to the firmware for users of AirPods in Canada! Apple may be the one actually doing that - but the person I spoke to that the Government of Canada required that.

Makes zero sense that Apple would just voluntarily block the 18.1 IOS update without being told to do so by Health Canada. They would want to introduce this enhanced functionality to ALL of their IPod users!

AirPod pros are no more a “medical device” than they were before. Health Canada is overreaching - and should be called out in the loudest way for their anti-competitive and anti-consumer behavior.

If it’s good enough for the US regulatory authorities - it’s good enough for Canadian regulatory authorities.

lakedogs_2000 wrote:

That is why the 18.1 update is “not available” in Canada, using GPS locating to prevent access to that update to the firmware for users of AirPods in Canada!

Are you saying that iOS 18.1 is not available in Canada at all? That's not what I've read anywhere or heard from my Canadian friends.

If it’s good enough for the US regulatory authorities - it’s good enough for Canadian regulatory authorities.

I thought it was only U.S. citizens who thought that Canada and the U.S. were just alike and practically the same country. ;-)

I only bought the pods, because i knew the feature was coming out. If i had known it wasn't going to be supported in Canada, i would never have purchased them. It sounds like it may be months / years or never. I wonder if there is a way to return the pods due to them not meeting my needs?

I have iOS 18.1 on my iPhone, automatically updated by software update. I tried to find the hearing aid options but they are not there. Perhaps Apple iOS 18.1 updates to Canada don’t include the code for hearing, but everything else is normal?

Noeffix wrote:

« I hope this addresses your concerns » no it dosent. You explained why jut youre my mp so I want you to push for it to change.

The person you're responding to is not the MP. They were quoting the response they received from their MP.

Remember that iPhone models before the Model X are incompatible with IOS 18.

Yes they are but an old iPhone 12 running an older IOS than 18.1 will allow you to set them up in hearing accommodations. My wife's 2018 iPad on 17.7.1 set them up with no problems.

So, trying to summarize. I have an iPhone 15. If I disable automatic upgrades, I stay with iOS 17.6 and buy the AirPods here in Canada, I should be able to install them on my phone and make them work as hearing aids, in your opinion?

So, trying to summarize. I have an iPhone 15. If I disable automatic upgrades, I stay with iOS 17.6 and buy the AirPods here in Canada, I should be able to install them on my phone and make them work as hearing

aids, in your opinion?

It's not my opinion. It's a fact!

I never upgrade automatically as there are always bugs to iron out.

I am happy to take you through it if you like when you have the Airpods.

Airpod Pro 2s.