How to turn your AirPods noise cancelling on or off

Active noise cancelling (ANC) is a key selling point of the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, but how do you turn the feature on or off with them? This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about ANC control on an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Android device.

Note though that if you’re considering AirPods, you need an Apple device to get the full experience. If you don’t use one, you’ll get a limited set of features at best. Android users are usually better off with other wireless earbuds.

Toggle noise cancelling on the AirPods with an iPhone or iPad

There are two ways you can change noise cancellation settings using an iPhone or iPad. The first is through Control Center:

1. Wear your AirPods and ensure they’re connected to your device.
2. Open Control Center.
3. Next, press and hold the volume slider on your device until additional controls pop up.
4. Tap on the Noise Control icon in the lower-left corner of the screen.
5. Select your preferred listening mode.

The other method is going through Settings:

1. Wear your AirPods and ensure they’re connected to your device.
2. Open the Settings app.
3. Tap your AirPods.
4. Under Noise Control, select the desired noise cancellation setting.

How to turn noise cancelling on and off with the AirPods and a Mac

You can toggle noise cancellation modes on a Mac in two ways. One way is through the menu bar:

1. Wear your AirPods and ensure they’re connected to your Mac.
2. Click on the Control Center iconin the menu bar.
3. Click Bluetooth, then the arrow next to the AirPods.
4. Select Off, Noise Cancellation, or Transparency.

You can also use the Apple menu:

1. Wear your AirPods and ensure they’re connected to your Mac.
2. Open the Apple menu and click System Settings.
3. Select your AirPods in the sidebar.
4. In the main pane, use the Noise control menu to pick the noise cancelling mode you want.

How to turn noise cancelling on or off with AirPods Pro on Android

With AirPods paired to an Android phone, the only way to toggle noise cancelling is directly from the AirPods. By default, the AirPods Pro can only toggle between ANC and transparency modes. To turn ANC off, you’ll need access to an iPhone. If you can wrangle a friend’s iPhone, follow these steps to expand the press-and-hold control:

1. Pair your AirPods to the iPhone.
2. Open the iOS Settings app.
3. Tap the name of your AirPods Pro. This should appear below the phone owner’s Apple ID information.
4. Follow this path: Press and Hold AirPods > Left Noise Control > Tap the Off option.

Now when you press and hold either AirPods stem, your AirPods Pro will cycle through ANC, Transparency, and off when paired to an Android phone.

Toggle noise cancelling on the AirPods themselves

If you don’t want to fish out your phone or boot up your Mac to change the noise cancellation settings of your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, you can do so on the headphones directly.

AirPods Pro

1. Ensure your AirPods Pro are connected and wear them.
2. Press and hold the force sensor on the stem until you hear a chime.
3. This will toggle between configured ANC modes.

AirPods Max

1. Ensure your AirPods Max are connected and wear them.
2. Push the noise control button on the right ear cup to switch between ANC modes.
3. A chime will sound to confirm the change.

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