Why is one AirPod louder than the other? (Quick solution!) (2023)

We all know how great AirPods are, but we can also agree that they're not perfect.static noisethat affect your listening experience, the all too common occurrence that you areinaudible when called- AirPods have their share of problems.

Another very common problem is the volume imbalance between your AirPods. You may find that one AirPod is louder than the other, or one seems to be significantly quieter than the other. Whatever problem comes your way, it's certainly annoying!

In this article, we'll take a look at some of the most common reasons for this problem, and more importantly, I'll show you how to fix it!

Rebalancing Audio Volume Slider

iPhones have a special setting to adjust the audio output balance between the left and right AirPods. If you feel your audio output is uneven, you can check and adjust to get the right balance.

GonnaSettings > Accessibility > Audiovisual. A little further down the page is an option that allows you to adjust the volume balance of the audio channel. If it is anywhere other than dead center, set it to0,00That is the cause of your problem.

If it's centered but one AirPod is still higher than the other, you may need to try other solutions to get to the root of the problem.

Clean your AirPods

The second most likely cause of unbalanced sound seems obvious when you think about it, but it's often overlooked. When debris like dust, crumbs, or (probably) earwax accumulates on an AirPod, the sound output will definitely suffer.

There is a highly voted answer (from a user, not an Apple technician!) on the official Apple site that recommends sucking on AirPods to uncover them. Do not do that! Not only is that pretty gross, but there's a chance you could further damage the headphones by getting your saliva into the mechanism.

Instead, take a cotton swab or toothpick and (very gently!) loosen any debris stuck in the speaker connector. Use a lint-free cloth for subsequent cleaning.

Charge your AirPods

An improperly charged device of any kind will not function at full capacity, no matter what problem you have. Put your AirPods in the charging case and let them charge and see if that makes a difference.

As with the previous tip, an AirPod may not charge efficiently due to dirt at the contact points where it fits into the case. Before charging, wipe them down with a lint-free cloth and see if that makes a difference.

Recalibrate the battery of your AirPods

When your AirPods are fully charged, the issue may appear to be resolved. However, it is quite common for normal use of AirPods to cause the problem to return when the battery dies.

One reason for this could be the batteries discharging unevenly, i. h One AirPod degrades faster than the other, making the volume output feel unbalanced.

To fix this, you can try recalibrating the internal battery of the AirPod. It's a time-consuming process, but it's a great trick to improve the battery life of any electronic device.

First reset the AirPod case as described inthis guide. Once your AirPods are paired with your device, simply drain the battery to absolute zero. You can do this with normal use, but it may take a while.

For the fastest results, play something at full volume without stopping until the batteries run out. Also let the case drop to absolute zero.

Put the dead AirPods back into the Dead Case and charge it to 100%. This not only improves the overall battery life of your AirPods, but can also fix issues with uneven battery usage between the left and right earbuds.

Recalibrate your device and AirPod volume settings

Occasionally the volume settings on your device and AirPods may get out of sync. You can recalibrate them to try to restore balanced volume output to both headphones.

Follow these steps to perform a volume recalibration:

Connect your AirPods to your device and play music. closeLow volumePress and hold until the volume is muted.

So disable yoursBluetoothto disconnect your AirPods. Continue playing your music, which should now come out of your device's speakers.

closeLow volumepress again until the volume is zero.

Finally, reconnect your AirPods viaBluetooth.

This should recalibrate the volume levels on your device and AirPods and eliminate any imbalance issues.

Perform software and firmware updates

It is always recommended to run the latest version of an operating system to ensure connected devices are working properly and with the latest available firmware. How to update the firmware of your AirPods and the software of your device.

Firmware de AirPods

If one AirPod is louder than the other, the software running on your device or the firmware running on the AirPods may need an update.

While you can't manually update AirPods firmware through your device, you can give your AirPods the ability to update automatically by simply connecting your AirPods to your device via Bluetooth, placing them in the charging case, and plugging the case into a power supply. Your phone will need to stay close to your AirPods and connected to Wi-Fi during this process.

Leave the AirPods roughly connected and in the case15-20 minutesto allow them to download and install firmware updates.

iOS device

Your device must also be running the latest version of iOS software. To check for available updates, go toIdeas > General > Software update.

If an update is available, download and install it.

Turn off your device and turn it back on

Well, you didn't think you'd read an electronics article without the look of the trusty Power Cycle, did you?

The reason it appears so often is because it works! If there is a discrepancy between the volume of the left and right AirPods, it is most likely a runtime error on your actual device and not an issue with the AirPods.

We turn our phones off and on so infrequently these days that there's little chance these bugs will clear up naturally, so power cycle your device and see if that helps.

test mono audio

The way some audio files are mixed can make one AirPod sound louder or softer than the other. For mixed stereo music or podcasts, the different audio tracks are routed to the left and right outputs, in this case, your AirPods. This is done to create a wider, deeper and more enveloping sound field and to improve the quality of the audio recording.

However, if done wrong, it can appear as if there is less volume on one side.

To fix this, try changing the audio setting to mono. This replaces the stereo mix and all sounds are played at the same volume on both audio channels.

GonnaIdeas > Accessibility > Audio/Visual. just changeMono audioturn it on and see if that fixes the problem.

Eartip Fit Test (AirPods Pro only)

If you have AirPods Pro and are experiencing this issue, you can perform the eartip test to make sure your earbuds fit snugly in your ears. Otherwise, you may not experience the full impact of the headphones and the output volume may sound uneven in both ears.

To perform an olive fit test, you must walkiOS 13.2or after.

First, connect your AirPods Pro to your device and go toAjustes > Bluetoothand find your AirPods in the device list.

Click on the information(UE)next to your AirPods and selectolive fit testand then click Play to run the test.

Depending on what your test results say, you can easily fix your sound disparity problem simply by swapping the earpiece on one of your AirPods.

corrupt audio file

While this is less likely, it could still be the cause of a sound imbalance, especially if you only notice the problem with certain songs or podcasts.

Now when you listen to a podcast or a track from a streaming service like Spotify, Apple Music, or Apple Podcasts, there isn't much you can do about the quality of the source file.

But it's worth remembering that if it's the same songs you're listening to imbalance, at least you know there probably isn't a serious problem with your AirPods, and if you hear something else, the problem should go away.

Replace/repair your AirPods with Apple

Finally, if none of the above solutions helped, you may have a faulty or faulty AirPod that needs repair or replacement.

You can make an appointment at the Genius Bar at your local Apple Store or mail your AirPods in for repair.

If your AirPods are under warranty, replacement or repair is free. Otherwise, the standard repair cost (at the time of writing) will apply.69 $cf. AirPod bz89 $by AirPod Pro.

final thoughts

We hope you found the answer to your problem in one of the many fixes listed in this article. For this problem, the most common cause is actually the easiest to fix: dirt on the headphones themselves.

My advice when cleaning AirPods is:Take care!You don't want to damage the fine mesh speaker screen and incur the cost of replacing the AirPods anyway, even if there's nothing wrong with them!

Good luck!