8 Proven Ways To Make Your AirPods Louder
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
If you find that the volume on your AirPods doesn’t seem to be as loud as you’d like it to be, there are a number of things you can do to make it louder. It can be frustrating to be listening to a phone call or your favorite podcast and realize that you are straining to hear every word. Or, maybe you are in a crowded shopping mall or carting around some loud little kids and want to try and drown out some of the noise but can’t seem to figure out how to increase the volume on your AirPods.
Table of Contents
How do you make your AirPods louder?
You can make your AirPods louder in several different ways:
- Check the volume on your device
- Adjust the iOS settings on your device
- Clean your AirPods
- Test each AirPod separately for possible internal issues
- Make sure your AirPods are properly charged
- Make sure your other device is properly charged
- Reset the AirPods
- call Apple support
AirPods are a great way for us to be able to listen to our audio devices, as they are designed to cancel out background noise and make what we are listening to sound sharp and clear. But – when it seems as though the sound coming through the earbuds is not as loud as it could be, we start to worry that something might be wrong.
Knowing how to adjust the volume to ensure that we are getting the best quality listening experience is important while also protecting our hearing in the process. The tips I’ve put together will help you have the volume you expect from your AirPods while not compromising your hearing health.
I have become a super fan of my AirPods. Whether I’m listening to music while making dinner or listening in on a zoom call for work, I use my AirPods for almost everything. But I also live in a busy and loud house full of other people and noisy animals, so sometimes I need to up the volume on my device.
These tips have helped me figure out how to optimize my sound experience when I need to drown out some noise, and hopefully, they can help you too.
How Do I Make My AirPods Louder?
Back in 2016, Apple rolled out the first of the AirPods, and they’ve been rolling out millions of them ever since.
It’s no wonder that AirPods quickly became Apple’s biggest selling accessory almost as soon as they came onto the market. Made of high-quality materials in a fun, sleek design, these little earbuds pack a serious punch when it comes to sound quality, convenience, and durability.
Many people buy their first set of AirPods for the enjoyment of having a hands-free, wireless experience when making phone calls, watching videos, or listening to music.
But what most users quickly discover is that AirPods are also an excellent source of high-quality sound. These gadgets can produce sound that rivals some of the bigger name brand headphones, despite their small size and lack of insulated headset design.
So, it makes sense that most fans of AirPods will notice if the sound volume seems to be less than normal. Let’s explore some ways you can try and turn up the sound on your AirPods in order to make them louder for your listening pleasure.
1. Check the Volume on Your Device
Okay, this one sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s still worth mentioning – one, because it’s an easy place to start, and two, because it oftentimes is the reason your sound quality seems so low.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been straining to hear something through my AirPod earbuds, only to realize the sound on my iPhone was set at a ridiculously low volume.
The reason this is an easy mistake is that the sound quality of your AirPods is so high, you won’t always notice right away that your iPhone, MacBook, or other device is set at a lower than normal volume.
You may have even turned it down intentionally because something you were listening to was too loud, and forgot to turn it back up.
Find the volume buttons on your device. On your iPhone or iPad, these are found on the side of your device. On your MacBook, you’ll find the volume on your keyboard.
Adjust the volume to a comfortable noise level. If the volume is already as high as it can go, then you’ll want to try the next tip for making your AirPods louder.
2. Adjust the iOS Settings on Your Device
Here’s another potential easy fix to make your AirPods louder than they are right now.
Sometimes certain settings on your iPhone or iPad may be turned on or off and need to be adjusted for your specific needs.
One of these settings is the Reduce Loud Sounds feature. This was created by Apple to ensure that your hearing is not being unnecessarily damaged when you are using headphones with one of their devices.
This is a great feature to have, especially when you may have younger people in your home that are using headphones frequently, whether for school work or entertainment.
Hearing loss is a real concern with headphone use, so having creators that are taking this into consideration is a big benefit of high-quality products like AirPods.
But, there are plenty of times when you will want to adjust your own volume, so knowing how to disable this feature is a good trick to have on hand.
In order to turn off this feature, go to your Settings app on your iPhone or iPad, then select “Sounds & Haptics.” Next, select “Headphone Safety.”
You will notice a toggle bar under “Headphone Safety” that says, “Reduce Loud Sounds.”
If you don’t want your device to automatically block noise that could be damaging to your ears, go ahead and toggle off this feature, then see if that makes a difference in how loud the volume is when you are listening to your device with your AirPods.
3. Clean Your AirPods
If the above tips haven’t helped with the volume of your AirPods, here’s another trick to try.
Sometimes our AirPod earbuds will get clogged and not be able to work as well as they once did.
This can be from a variety of sources – dirt and dust can build up inside the sound openings, causing the volume to become muffled, and sweat and ear wax can also be the culprits for your earbuds not being as clean as they should, if you want the highest quality noise to come out of them.
Cleaning your AirPods is easy, but it requires care. You want to make sure you don’t do potential damage to the interior of the earbuds or push any dirt or waxy buildup farther into the device.
The best way to clean your AirPods is with a dry cotton swab, a lint-free, microfiber cloth, and a bit of rubbing alcohol.
Take great care to not get excess liquid into the shaft of the AirPod. Use the cotton swab to gently apply the rubbing alcohol to the outside of the chamber, and carefully swab the inside as well.
After you’ve cleaned both earbuds, place them back in the AirPod case, making sure they are fully dry beforehand. After a good charge, try them again and see if the sound quality has improved and if they seem louder than they did before you cleaned them.
4. Test Each AirPod Separately for Possible Internal Issues
If nothing else has worked, and the sound coming out of your AirPods is no louder now than it was before, you may need to do some diagnostic test on the AirPods themselves to see if there is some malfunction going on internally.
A good place to start with this would be to try each earbud separately, to see if the loudness is better in one earbud over the other.
Leaving one of the earbuds in the charging case, insert the other in your ear and turn on some music, or make a phone call.
While listening to the song or speaker on the other end of your iPhone, take out the earbud and then insert the other into your ear.
Do you notice a difference? If not, then perhaps the issue is not with the earbuds themselves, but it may be a problem with the AirPod battery or another internal mechanism in the case.
On the other hand, if you notice a significant difference in sound quality and the ability to increase the loudness in one of the earbuds over the other, then you can probably assume the issue is with that specific earbud. At this point, it may be necessary to take it to a professional who can further diagnose what the problem may be and if it can be repaired.
5. Make sure your AirPods are properly charged
Another potential easy fix to your volume on your AirPods being too low is if your AirPods aren’t properly charged, this may affect the sound quality and/or the volume.
Any device that is running low on battery power may start to act glitchy, and AirPods are no exception to this. You may find that one is emitting poorer or lower sound than the other, or maybe both are not working as well as the battery runs out.
Go ahead and put the AirPod earbuds into the charging case and plug it into a power source.
You’ll know that the AirPod charging case is working when the light is on. Once the light turns green, your AirPod earbuds should be fully charged and working at full volume, assuming a low battery was the issue.
6. Make Sure Your Other Device is Properly Charged
Here’s a quick check as well that may fix your sound volume quickly.
Just like with your AirPods, it’s a good idea to make sure the device that is paired with your AirPods is fully charged as well if you are having difficulty with the sound volume.
As I said earlier, many of our electronics will not perform at their peak when they are close to running out of battery power.
If you have noticed that apps on your iPhone are running slow, or the screen on your iPad is blinking or shutting down, your battery is probably starting to run low.
If you have tried increasing the volume as well as charging your AirPods, the next logical step would be to go ahead and charge your pairing device as well.
Using a Lightning to USB cord, or a wireless charging station, give your device the time it needs to be back to a full charge. Then, try pairing it with your AirPods again and see if the volume is now able to be increased.
7. Reset the AirPods
Sometimes our AirPods get glitchy enough that it may be worth doing a complete reset, and see if this is potentially the reason why they aren’t producing the volume that they used to.
Doing a quick reset will not affect any of your updates or already-established features or settings. Sometimes a reset is worthwhile just to remove any errors that may be running or make sure that something hasn’t infected the operating system.
A reset is a good refresh. And it’s simple to do.
Go back to your Settings menu on your iPhone. Scroll until you see your AirPods displayed.
When prompted, ask to disconnect the AirPods from the iPhone (or whatever device you have them paired with.)
Wait a few minutes, then reconnect your AirPods and see if this solves any problems you were encountering, such as low volume control.
8. Call Apple Support
Finally, if you have tried all the above tips and tricks and nothing has worked to change the volume on your AirPods, you may need to call in some help.
There may be a system failure in your AirPods or an operational problem that needs tech support to help you fix. Or, wear and tear on one of the earbuds may be causing the volume to not be able to emit at an increased level and the Apple team may suggest a repair is needed.
Regardless, calling Apple Support is usually pretty straightforward, and the customer support folks are well-versed in a variety of additional troubleshooting options.