This article covers nine ways you can troubleshoot and fix AirPods volume problems. The tips apply to AirPods, AirPods 2, and Airpods Pro.

What to Know

  • Turn off Low Power mode first; that’s often the culprit.Next, charge the Airpods for one to two hours.Other solutions include calibrating the sound, turning off equalizer settings, and checking Volume Limit controls.

Reasons Why Your AirPods are so Quiet

Lots of things can impact your AirPods sound. Because your iPhone controls the volume, there are sometimes issues related to the phone instead of the actual ear pieces.

You could also be having pairing issues, problems with various sound settings, or even get lower sound because the AirPods’ power is dropping too low. If you don’t see an obvious problem at first, just move through the troubleshooting steps here until you reach the one that resolves the issue.

How to Fix Low Volume on AirPods to Make Them Louder

These AirPod troubleshooting steps are mostly fast and simple. Try each one and see if it resolves your audio issues. If not, move on to the next potential solution.

Turn up the volume on the iPhone. There isn’t a volume control on the AirPods, so you need to rely on your iPhone to set the sound level. This is a good place to start because it’s easy to overlook.

Turn off Low Power mode. If the iPhone is in Low Power mode, it can affect some non-critical systems, which can cause audio to play at a lower volume than usual. Turn it off and use your AirPods with your iPhone in standard power mode.

Make sure the AirPods are charged. If the AirPods have a very low battery, they can misbehave. Top the batteries off for one or two hours, then test the audio again.

Turn off any equalizer (EQ) settings. Most of the EQ settings tend to make audio played through the AirPods sound quieter, even the ones with Booster in the name. It’s best to turn the EQ off.

Turn off “Reduce Loud Sounds.” There may be a setting enabled which is setting a maximum volume limit. You can disable this feature with a tap or two by following these steps in the Settings app: Sounds & Haptics > Headphone Safety > Reduce Loud Sounds. Now, if Reduce Loud Sounds is already off (the slider is not green). Then turning on Reduce Loud Sounds will make the headphones quieter. If you are missing calls and alerts because the sound for those features is too low, then in the Sounds & Haptics section you’ll see a slider to make those alerts louder. That section is called Ringer and Alerts.

Calibrate the sound between the iPhone and AirPods. The phone and AirPods may have two different understandings of the minimum and maximum volume.

While playing music through your AirPods, turn the iPhone volume all the way down. Disable Bluetooth. Play music, so it comes out of the iPhone speaker, then turn the iPhone volume all the way down again. Enable Bluetooth and reconnect the AirPods.

This doesn’t happen often, but recalibrating the audio levels takes a minute or two, so you should try it anyway.

Make sure both earbuds are set to the same volume. You may have configured the iPhone accessibility settings to play the earbuds at different levels. Go to the iPhone Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual. Make sure the slider is balanced, with the button in the middle between the L and the R.

Re-pair the AirPods with the iPhone. This can sometimes solve problems with AirPods or with other Bluetooth devices in general.

Before pairing your devices again, go into the phone’s Bluetooth settings, tap the circled i next to the AirPods, then select Forget This Device.

Clean the AirPods. If none of the above suggestions fixed the sound problem, the earbuds might need a good cleaning. Since the AirPods spend a lot of time in your ears, they tend to get covered in earwax. If you see buildup, careful cleaning can make a noticeable difference.

  • Is there a hands-free way to adjust the AirPods’ volume?
  • Yes. If your second-generation AirPods or AirPods Pro are successfully paired with your iPhone, use a Siri AirPod voice command such as, “Hey Siri, make the volume louder.”
  • I’m only having an AirPod volume problem with the Music app. What can I do to fix it?
  • There may be an issue with specific Apple Music app settings. Open Settings > Music and ensure EQ and Sound Check are toggled off.
  • I’m still having problems with too-quiet AirPods. What can I do?
  • Contact Apple Support or make an Apple Store appointment. The AirPods may be defective. Be sure to mention all the troubleshooting steps you’ve tried.

Yes. If your second-generation AirPods or AirPods Pro are successfully paired with your iPhone, use a Siri AirPod voice command such as, “Hey Siri, make the volume louder.”

There may be an issue with specific Apple Music app settings. Open Settings > Music and ensure EQ and Sound Check are toggled off.

Contact Apple Support or make an Apple Store appointment. The AirPods may be defective. Be sure to mention all the troubleshooting steps you’ve tried.

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