Apple AirPods is one the most popular earphones in the market however many people are complaining that over time, why are my AirPods so quiet now?
There are many reasons why your AirPods are so quiet and in this article we will go through each of the causes and how to fix them.
1. Dust and dirt on your AirPods
One of the reasons your AirPods can become so quiet is because earwax, dust, sweat or dead skin flakes have accumulated and created a layer over its speakers.
There are holes on the back of the AirPods that dust and dirt can get in so cleaning it up by blowing the air through could help prevent the sound from becoming muffled and low in volume.
The Apple AirPods are water resistant (3rd generation) but not water proof so clean them up need to be caution and it’s exposed to liquid (under the water).
Try do the followings:
- Wipe them clean with soft and dry cloth
- Make sure they are completely dry before put them in the charging case
- Avoid the AirPods being exposed to soaps, shampoos, conditioners, lotions, perfumes, solvents, detergent, acids or acidic foods, insect repellent, sunscreen, oil or hair dye
2. Volume limit restriction on your phone
The iPhone and some Android devices have a safety feature to limit the audio volume from getting too high (especially sudden increase) that could damage your hearing.
However, if you’re in an environment that requires higher audio volume, adjusting this setting might help fix the issue with AirPods being so quiet.
On an iPhone that runs on iOS 15, follow these steps to change the volume limiter setting.Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Headphone Safety > Reduce Loud Sounds
3. Low Power mode set on iPhone
Sometimes when the iPhone is set to Low Power mode which usually happens when you run out of battery power, the iOS could automatically decrease the volume of the AirPods.
It might not directly decrease the volume but because other features have functioned in limited capacity due to Low Power mode, it might affect the AirPods.
For example, your network connectivity might be restricted which affects the sound quality of your streaming music.
To turn on or off the Low Power mode on iPhone, please follow the steps below:
Settings > Battery > Lower Power Mode (toggle it on and off)
4. iPhone’s volume set to low
This is a simple issue but sometimes many users tend to overlook it. If you can’t hear the sound or maybe the volume is just so low, check your phone volume setting.
As the AirPods itself doesn’t have its own volume control so how high and how low the sound is based on the iPhone volume setting.
5. Pair and re-pair the AirPods with your phone
This might be something too simple but a lot of times, simply re-pair the AirPods might fix the issue of AirPods becoming so quiet.
Firstly, we need to forget the device first. Go to Settings > Bluetooth > tap the circled i next to AirPods > Forget this device
Now to pair or connect your AirPods to the iPhone, make sure the Bluetooth is enabled and go to the home screen.
Leave your AirPods in the charging case, open the case and hold it next to the iPhone. The setup animation will then appear, select connect and follow the instruction.
This basic troubleshooting step usually fixes a lot of other issues with the AirPods including if your case is not charging.
6. Calibrate audio settings
The purpose of this is to sync the sound volume setting between the phone and the AirPods.
To do this, play the music via your AirPods and then turn the volume all the way down.
Now, disable the Bluetooth so that the music will play on the phone speaker.
This time, again turn the volume all the way down.
Next, go back and enable Bluetooth to pair your AirPods and adjust the volume accordingly.
7. Adjust the audio balance
If you find only one of your AirPods is quieter than the other one, this is likely the audio balance might have been changed.
To check this, go to Setting > Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Balance > using the slider, make sure it sets to 0.00 (in the middle of the bar)
8. Check Headphone Accommodations Setting
This is another setting in the Accessibility option that might help boost the volume of your AirPods. Follow below steps how to change the features.
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Headphone Accommodations > Toggle to On position.
You’ll see a range of options there, select what suits you best and on the bottom, you can choose to apply the settings for Phone (which apply for Facetime or any other Audio/Video calling apps) or Media (which is for music, videos or other media).
9. Contact Apple Support
Lastly, if you still have issue with your AirPods after checking all the settings described above – maybe it’s time to visit Apple store or contact Apple support and get the expert to provide further assistance.
In some cases, it could be the hardware issue that need repair or replacement from Apple.
Conclusion
We hope that the tips provided above could help you fix your issue with the AirPods becoming very quiet.
In most cases, when your AirPods become so quiet, it has something to do with the settings and not necessarily a hardware problem but if you still can’t fix it after trying all the tips, maybe it’s time to seek expert help from Apple.