How to Make AirPods Louder

Fix volume issues if your AirPod sound is too quiet

What to Know

  • Reasons your AirPods might not be generating enough volume range from dirty speakers to misconfigured audio settings.
  • Try turning off Low Power mode first; that's often the culprit.
  • If that doesn't work, other solutions include calibrating the sound, turning off equalizer settings, and checking Volume Limit controls.

This article covers nine ways you can troubleshoot and fix Airpod volume problems.


How to Fix Low Volume on AirPods


  1. Turn up the volume on your iPhone. This might seem obvious, but there’s no 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.

  2. Turn off Low Power mode. If your 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 try to use your AirPods with your iPhone in standard power mode.

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

  4. 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.

  5. Turn off the Volume Limit feature. The iPhone includes an optional Volume Limit control feature for your hearing protection, which caps the maximum volume of the phone somewhat lower than its true maximum output. If your AirPods aren't loud enough, turn off the Volume Limit to restore your missing sound.

  6. Calibrate the sound between the iPhone and AirPods. It’s possible your phone and AirPods have two very different understandings of what the minimum and maximum volume should be. Here's how to fix it:

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

    1. While playing music through your AirPods, turn the iPhone's volume all the way down.
    2. Disable Bluetooth.
    3. Start playing music so it comes out of the iPhone's speaker, then turn the iPhone's volume all the way down again.
    4. Enable Bluetooth and reconnect the AirPods.
  7. Make sure both earbuds are set to the same volume. You may have configured the iPhone’s accessibility settings to play them at different levels. Here's how to change that:

    1. Go to your iPhone's Settings.
    2. Select Accessibility.
  8. Re-pair your AirPods with your iPhone. This can sometimes solve problems you're having with your AirPods or with other Bluetooth devices in general.

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

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