Rithwik Jayasimha expressed his frustration after purchasing AirPods Pro 2 for his grandma, only to find the new hearing aid feature absent due to regional restrictions. He remarked, 'It was a huge bummer.' This prompted him and his friends to creatively devise a method to bypass Apple’s geo-blocks.
The trio of technologists, calling themselves Lagrange Point, constructed a makeshift Faraday cage atop a microwave with aluminum foil. This allowed them to activate the missing hearing aid features in Bangalore: 'We don't even think it's Apple's fault. The feature is amazing,' Jayasimha explained.
Their innovative workaround garnered interest, with dozens reaching out for assistance. Jayasimha noted, 'We've got a huge amount of interest from folks in India who have these AirPods or whose grandparents need them and they've not been able to use them.'
The researchers validated that their solution worked using AirPods Pro 2 linked to an iPad. They mentioned, 'It would be possible to do the workaround on an iPhone or iPad connected to a mobile carrier as well, but...'
Jayasimha and his friends emphasized their approach was not a criticism of Apple, but rather a quest to bring much-needed functionality to users who could benefit from it.
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