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How to make AirPods louder
Sometimes, your AirPods are too quiet, and you’re not sure why. There are plenty of reasons your AirPods may sound too quiet, so here’s our guide on how to make AirPods louder. Note: prolonged exposure to loud noises can damage your hearing. So, this guide addresses what to do when your AirPods are unusually quiet, not how to make AirPods louder than the max volume.
QUICK ANSWER
To make your AirPods louder, use your iPhone's volume buttons or ask Siri to increase the volume. If that doesn't work, make sure your AirPods are clean. Also, ensure your music streaming app's volume is set to a listenable level. Disable Reduce Loud Sounds, remove any EQ settings, disable low power mode, and set the volume balance slider back to the middle.
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How to turn up the volume on AirPods
If your AirPods aren’t loud enough, take some or all of these steps to increase the volume. These might seem obvious, but sometimes a fix really is that simple.
Using the iPhone volume slider to make AirPods louder
![iPhone 11 Pro Max Volume Buttons in Hand A photo of an iPhone 11 Pro Max showing it solume buttons with a thumb from the hand holding the phone close to the buttons.](https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/iPhone-11-Pro-Max-Volume-Buttons-in-Hand.jpg)
To make your AirPods louder using an iPhone, try either of the following:
- Press up on the volume rocker on your phone’s left side.
- Open the Control Center by swiping down from the top-right corner of the screen. Then, drag the volume slider up.
When listening to music or watching videos, the iPhone volume rocker will adjust that content’s volume. If you’re not listening to anything, the rocker will adjust the ringer, alerts, and other system sounds.
How do you make AirPods louder with Apple Music?
If you’re using Apple Music to play tunes on a Mac, you can adjust the volume in the app.
- To increase the volume for all songs, move the volume slider at the top of the Apple Music window to the right.
- If you just want to adjust the volume of one song, select the song, then choose Song > Info > Options and drag the volume slider to the right.
- You can set every song to play at the same volume by going to Music > Preferences > Playback and enabling Sound Check.
How to increase the volume of AirPods with Siri
Siri can also make AirPods louder. If you’ve paired the AirPods to a device that supports Siri, prompt the voice assistant to increase the volume by saying, “Hey Siri, turn up the volume.” All AirPods support hands-free Siri voice access when paired to a compatible device.
How to increase AirPods volume from the earbuds
![Apple AirPods Pro 2nd generation true wireless earbuds stem control hand A hand holds the right earbud of the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) to show off the stem.](https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Apple-AirPods-Pro-2nd-generation-true-wireless-earbuds-stem-control-hand-scaled.jpg)
Only the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) supports swipe controls to control the volume. To increase the volume while listening to music through the second-gen AirPods Pro, just swipe up on either force sensor. To decrease the volume, swipe down on either force sensor.
How do you make AirPods Max louder?
To make your AirPods Max louder, turn the digital crown. The crown is located at the top of the right ear cup.
What to do if your AirPods still aren’t loud enough
If you’ve tried everything and your AirPods are still too quiet, you can take some other steps. Here are some common problems that can lead to low volume and how to solve them.
Can cleaning AirPods make them louder?
![How to clean headphones 2 A hand holds an AirPod while the other hand holds a cotton bud and cleans the exterior of the AirPod.](https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/How-to-clean-headphones-2.jpg)
If your AirPods are too dirty, their speaker grill mesh might be clogged with debris. When this happens, the dirt and debris create a sound barrier that can make your AirPods sound quiet and worse. To handle this problem, you can clean your AirPods to make them louder.
How to fix off-balance audio on AirPods
You may have inadvertently adjusted the balance settings of your AirPods, causing one earbud to be louder than the other. To reset this on an iPhone, do the following:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Navigate to Accessibility > Audio/Visual.
- Adjust the Balance slider by bringing it back to the center.
“Reduce Loud Sounds” is enabled
“Reduce Loud Sounds” is a safety feature that protects your hearing. It can be counter-productive at times, however. To disable it using an iPhone, do the following:
- Open Settings > Sounds & Haptics.
- Tap Headphone Safety.
- Turn off Reduce Lound Sounds.
Apple Music app settings could be making your AirPods quieter
Sometimes fiddling around with the equalizer in Apple Music can cause your audio to sound too quiet. To reset to the default settings on an iPhone, do the following:
- Open Settings.
- Tap on Music.
- Select EQ and then tap “Off.”
Disable low power mode
If you have low power mode enabled, this could affect your volume. To disable it on an iPhone, do the following:
- Open Settings.
- Navigate to Battery.
- Toggle Low Power Mode off.
Top AirPods volume questions and answers
Yes, if you have paired your AirPods with an Android device, you can adjust their volume using your Android device’s volume controls.
Yes, but you’ll have to pay for them. Here’s our guide to ordering new AirPods from Apple.
Yes, if your AirPods Pro are too loose, sound may leak out, and external noise may make it into your ears, causing your AirPods Pro to seem too quiet. Remember to choose correctly fitting ear tips and use the ear tip fit test in iOS to ensure you’ve got a solid seal.
Your music streaming service settings could be responsible for quiet AirPods output. If you use Spotify, YouTube Music, or another streaming app, make sure the volume slider is toward the right. Likewise, check the same thing on your third-party EQ app if you use one.