Enjoying Pink Floyd on your AirPods and pressing your mobile’s volume rocker upwards, but nothing happens? No matter what extent you increase the volume, your AirPods sound low?
That’s an irritating sound issue every AirPods/ AirPods pro users face once in a while. In fact, I’ve encountered the low volume issue on my 1st gen AirPods and AirPods Max.
For resolving AirPod’s low sound over time, I know that happens due to some technical issues. And that can easily be solved with proper techniques.
This article is for sharing the reasons and solutions for your AirPods pro/ Max quiet in full volume.
Let’s begin.
Why are Your Airpods so Quiet?
Dirt, earwax, and dust make the AirPods sound lower than their potential. Apart from these physical causes, an imbalance in AirPods volumes and enabled low power mode are the additional reasons. However, using a custom equalizer can also produce a low volume on your Apple wireless headset.
That’s not all. There may be some minor factors that can make your AirPods sound lower than usual.
For instance, if you enable the volume limit on your device, no matter how hard you squeeze the buttons, it won’t make the AirPods sound louder.
Also, AirPods tend to show similar issues when using them straight for two years. Though it’s not a proven fact, Apple wireless headset users reported its sound quality after using it for multiple years.
However, unless you’re presuming hardware issues with the Bluetooth headset, no need to think of this now. Concentrate on the methods that can make your AirPods louder.
Read the following sections till the end to resolve the low volume issue of AirPods.
Here’s a complete guide on how to find lost AirPods that are offline.
How to Fix Quiet AirPods
Start with clearing the headset. Clean off the dust and earwax from both the buds and of course, from the charging case. Adjust the audio balance in case the left and right channels provide different volumes. Also, Calibrate the AirPods volume to make it louder.
Don’t worry in case you can’t implement the solutions mentioned above. I’ve described them as a step-by-step guide to fixing AirPods that are quiet on full volume.
Here are the methods to fix your quiet AirPods:
1. Clean the AirPods
To increase your AirPod’s volume from your android/iOS device, you need to clean the headset first. It’s normal to grow dust on the wireless headset as you spend a lot of time putting them inside your ears.
Use a blower to remove the dust from the in-ear section. If that’s not available, you can use a sim remover tool or a brush. Though it seems gross, sucking out the dust with your mouth is the most hands-on tool.
Also, check out our separate post on can you wear AirPods in the shower.
2. Adjust Audio Balance
Audio balance is a feature that equalizes the volume of your right and left earbuds. In case the right one’s sound is lower or louder than another one, audio balance equalizes it.
Here are the steps to adjust the audio balance on iPhone:
- Go to the settings menu and tap on accessibility.
- Click on Audio/Visual > set the slider in the middle.
Check whether your right AirPods is quieter than the left one and vice-versa. Hopefully, your AirPods low sound in one ear will resolve after applying this solution.
Here’s a complete guide on how to fix AirPods not working on one side.
3. Disable Lower Power Mode
It’s very common that we use the power mode on iPhones and android to consume less battery. You should check whether using the low power mode is the reason behind your AirPods being so quiet on full volume.
Disable the power mode to make the AirPods louder.
Here are the steps to turn off low power mode:
- Go to Settings > Battery.
- Disable the low power mode.
Note: You can swipe down the notification bar from the top corner, then tap the yellow battery icon to turn that off. Try the best suitable method.
After turning off the battery-saving mode, check whether you can increase the AirPods sound to full or not.
Quickly check out our epic guide on how to fix Airpods not working on Messenger Calls.
4. Recalibrate Your AirPods Volume
If you use the AirPods with multiple devices such as iPhone, Mac, or even the android, your AirPods might get confused. Hence the half volume of AirPods’ usual sound.
Recalibrating the AirPod might resolve the low sound issue. That’s a very simple tweak yet so responsive.
Here’s the procedure to recalibrate AirPods volume:
- Start playing music on the device that is connected with your AirPods.
- Decrease the volume to 0 while the music is still on.
- Navigate to Settings > Bluetooth > Disconnect AirPods while playing the music.
- Reconnect the AirPods after 10-15 seconds.
- Enhance the volume once AirPods get connected.
Note: If the sound increases after disconnecting the AirPods, make sure to turn down the volume. Then proceed to the following steps.
Calibrating the volume will definitely increase your AirPod’s sound.
5. Change Your Sound Equalizer Settings
Equalized applications fine-tune the audio output’s response and that helps the audio get more real. Sometimes too much optimization on the equalizer application makes your Output device sound quieter.
That’s why your AirPods are so quiet on android, iOS devices, or PC. In that case, you can set the equalizer settings to default.
Here are the steps to switch the equalizer setting on iPhone:
- Go to the Settings menu from your mobile.
- Select Music > Search for EQ.
- Make sure to set the EQ settings to Off.
Connect the wireless headset after this tweak and check whether it made your AirPods sound louder.
6. Use the Noise Cancellation Mode on AirPods
If you are hearing a lot of background noise while being connected with the AirPods, probably you’re on the AirPods transparency mode. That makes your AirPods sound quieter even after cleaning.
Activate the noise cancellation mode to remove the background noise. And that eventually will help you increase AirPods volume.
Here’s the procedure to activate noise cancellation on AirPods:
- Pick up any of the AirPods from the charging case.
- Press and hold the force sensor of that bud.
- Try listening to a mild ring while you hold pressing.
That chime is the cue that you’ve activated the noise cancellation mode/ transparency mode. On the AirPods pro and AirPods max, there’s a dedicated noise reduction button on top of the case.
Also, check out our separate post on AirPods not working on Netflix.
7. Disable Volume Limit
iOS devices have a feature called reduce loud sounds. This restricts your device to provide maximum sound output.
Though it’s designed to save your ear from loud noises, in case of emergencies you can disable the feature. On Android, this feature is known as volume limit. I’ll elaborate on disabling volume limits on both iOS and Android devices.
Here’s the procedure to disable the volume limit:
- Go to settings from your iOS device.
- Navigate to Sound & Haptics > Headphone safety.
- Toggle on Reduce loud Sound and drag the slider to the right side.
Connect the AirPods to your mobile and check whether the low sound issue remains or not.
To disable the volume limit on android, go to settings > sound settings > locate the limiter setting in the volume section > disable the limiter.
8. Update AirPods Software
If you’re still having issues with AirPod’s low sound, updating the firmware might help you. When the device is up to date with the latest software version, this issue can be resolved automatically.
The same advice goes for AirPods pro. Check out the following section for updating the AirPods by yourself.
Here are the steps to update AirPods pro/ Max:
- Place the AirPods back in the charging case.
- Connect the case with a power source.
- Move the paired mobile to the case. Make sure the phone gets an uninterrupted internet connection.
Wait for a while. The AirPods will download and install the update automatically. Bring out the AirPods and check the sound issue has been resolved.
These are the solutions you need to implement to make your AirPods louder. Also, you can forget the Apple wireless headset from the connected device and re-pair again. That also helps if you’ve had a pairing issue.
Contact Apple Support
If the above-mentioned solutions couldn’t resolve your quiet AirPods issue, then it’s probably something wrong with the hardware. Contacting AirPods support will be the most effective solution, in that case.
Explain the issue to the support team and they’ll do what is necessary.
Frequently Asked Questions
What to do if your AirPods aren’t loud enough?
Check the music app time settings > turn off the equalizer > reset your AirPods. That should solve your AirPods low volume issue.
Why is your AirPods sound so quiet?
Not updating the AirPods firmware to the latest version is the main reason behind AirPods’ low sound.
How to make AirPods louder?
Clean the AirPods > Clean all the sound openings > Calibrate the headset with your iPhone/Android.
Is there a contactless way to increase the AirPods’ volume?
You can use a Siri voice command to make the AirPods volume louder. Just say, “Hey Siri, increase my AirPods sound”.
Wrapping Up
The last thing I’d like to share is that AirPods are not so complicated to handle. You can utilize any of the tweaks that I shared when your AirPods are quiet.
No one except you know what’s the actual reason behind your wireless headset’s reduced volume. So, start by cleaning the buds carefully, then follow the further procedure. I’m hoping you can resolve the low sound issue on your own.
However, if anything goes south while tweaking the AirPods, we’re just a comment away.
Peace!
