AirPods: How to check a volume problem in an earphone | WatchGeneration

AirPods, like any other pair of headphones, can have their sound capabilities diminished by the presence of dirt clogging the speaker grilles.

There is external dirt that is visible and relatively easy to remove (read How to clean your AirPods), and internal dirt that has managed to find its way through the grilles.

It happened on one of our AirPods that the sound volume was very seriously reduced. This was noticeable on podcasts that became virtually inaudible outdoors.

First of all, there is a way to check if one of the headphones is really clogged. You have to go to the iOS settings then to "General" and "Accessibility". Scroll down and towards the end is the slider to direct the sound to the right or left channels. Another option just above, the one that forces the broadcast to mono instead of stereo. With that alone you should be able to check if each earphone is working properly (or else it's one of your ears that is clogged… in this case reverse the placement of the earphones in the ears by plugging them head over heels).

During our test, one of the headphones was clearly clogged inside. All it took was a dry-air cleaning spray, like you use for keyboards, to clean up the earpiece and restore the sound volume as on the first day.

This is a popular method over various YouTube videos that report the same type of problem. HOWEVER, there are solutions that may work but are not prescribed by Apple, the bomb attack is one of those blacklisted ¹ . The spec sheet says:

It is up to everyone to see, in full knowledge of the facts.

In this video below, where the user gives his AirPods a complete cleaning, he does without a bomb and prefers to blow a good blow through the various holes in his headphones. This is probably the first thing to try before going any further and you can also turn to Apple if the problem persists.

1. In its cleaning data sheet for all its products, Apple distinguishes between aerosols and compressed air cans (usable for keyboards or mice). But the AirPods are not mentioned. While in the AirPods-specific sheet, only aerosols are mentioned. Nothing is said, one way or the other, about the use of a spray can of compressed air. ↩︎