Apple Sending Replacement AirPods With Unreleased Firmware, Rendering Them Unusable

Customers who require a replacement AirPod from Apple have in some cases been receiving an AirPod running 2D3 firmware, which is not a version of the AirPods firmware that's been publicly released.
As described on the MacRumors forum and Reddit (via iMore), customers who get an AirPod with the 2D3 firmware are unable to pair it with the existing unreplaced AirPod, leaving the ‌AirPods‌ unable to be used together.Apple has apparently been shipping these ‌AirPods‌ running the u