Apple’s latest AirPods Pro 2 have a Hearing Aid mode—but if you’re in Canada, it’s not available yet, despite being approved by Health Canada.
But it’s possible to create a workaround, as shared by iPhone in Canada reader matthew416: spoof your iPad’s location so it thinks it’s in the United States, no region switch in the Apple Store needed.
This guide is not for the faint of heart though, as it uses a Raspberry Pi to broadcast fake WiFi networks (BSSIDs), tricking the iPad’s location services into unlocking the feature. It’s not easy and we haven’t tried it ourselves, so follow and tinker at your own risk of course. Note: this only works on WiFi-only iPads (no cellular), and yes — it’s a bit hacky.
.txt fileInstall aircrack-ng and mdk3 on your Pi:
Put your USB WiFi adapter into monitor mode:
Create a new monitor interface:
You should now have mon0 as a monitor interface.
Use mdk3 to spoof nearby WiFi networks based on your U.S. BSSID list:
This sends out a wave of fake U.S.-based networks. Your iPad detects them, assumes it’s in the U.S., and unlocks the hearing accessibility settings.
Connect your iPad to the travel router that’s routing through a U.S. VPN. After a few minutes:
“AirPods Pro 2 provides a clinical-grade Hearing Aid feature for perceived mild to moderate hearing loss and a Media Assist feature, which enhances the clarity of music, video, and calls,” is how Apple explains the feature. The rationale is buying a set of AirPods Pro 2 is a lot cheaper than forking out for hearing aids for those with mild hearing loss.
You can’t buy hearing aids in Canada without first visiting a hearing professional. In the US, you can buy hearing aids over the counter anywhere. For now, if you’re capable of tinkering, this is a workaround to get the hearing aid feature for AirPods Pro 2 in Canada and beyond. Good luck.
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
Seems like a lot of effort. It showed up for me weeks ago. Likely the VPN with US is needed, but the rest seems like overkill.
All I’ve got is nordVPN with a US IP. Just happened to check at some point and the hearing aid feature showed up.
Did you notice much difference in hearing enhancement?
Not really, but I guess I shouldn’t for me. You have to take the hearing test first and my results said low to none for hearing loss, so it wouldn’t try to do much for me. At best, maybe it sounded like amped up Transparency.
I've tried using a VPN to the US on my devices at the router level so my devices aren't aware of the VPN, but I've had no luck in unlocking the feature.
I can’t think of anything else that would have exposed it for me.
I never got it to work fully until I drove to 0 Avenue with Canada on one side and US on the other. I parked by a mailbox pullout, put in the airpods 3, and all of a sudden it worked. That was about a month ago and I’ve been using it ever since. I was able to scan my hearing aid test, which is about 5 years old now. My hearing loss is quite severe, but they do still help at home. I use them in the mornings at home to save my rechargeable hearing aids for later in the day, when I go out or make lots of phone calls, which can cause my aid batteries to run low by the end of the day. They do not replace my Phonak hearing aids, but it’s sure nice to have a backup!
Costco USA has had hearing aids for decades. Canada is a joke.
Costco Canada has had hearing aids for a long time too… I don't get it?
I guess it’s Quebec that is excluded