When I am on a call, what I am hearing from my AirPods is too loud even at the lowest setting. It is not possible for me to go any lower. I have tried unpairing/ pairing. It has not fixed the issue. I don’t see a setting anywhere to turn it down.
iPhone 11 Pro, iOS 13
I've had this issue with my AirPods on and off ever since I bought them a couple years ago, through 3 phones and at least a couple iOS upgrades. The ONLY thing I've found that helps is to go to "Settings -> Sound&Haptics -> Headphone Safety -> Reduce Loud Sounds -> Lower to 75 decibels."
This keeps the AirPods from destroying your eardrums when someone calls/texts (even with the ringer set to low) and lowers the volume on calls to a more reasonable, albeit still loud level (again, even when the volume is set to the lowest level possible).
Downside here is that when I use my bluetooth speaker to play music in the house, I have to manually disable this feature, as it affects that bluetooth device as well.
Really wish Apple would do something about this! :(
@elgrego - There's help for notifications. In Settings > Sound & Haptics > Ringer and Alerts, you can set the notification sounds to be very quiet. This makes them useless when headphones are not connected, but at least they are not painful with headphones on. You'll also see "use with buttons" there, but I recommend leaving it switched off. There's nothing worse than turning your ringers all the way to max because you don't want to miss a message in a noisy location, then forgetting and putting in your headphones. This used to work perfectly in older iOS versions - notification sounds were reduced when headphones were connected, but alas, no more.
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, I need the ringer volume up for other situations, and having it off or down at the wrong time would be very bad for me.
I've also tried using Shortcuts to automatically lower the volume when my AirPods connect, but that doesn’t work either. I think it lowers the music volume but still not the notifications, etc. I’ve noticed as I’ve been typing this that another overly loud sound is the keyboard clicks. Very unpleasant after a while.
It’s so frustrating that this is happening, especially when I change the volume with the buttons or Control Center and the OS specifically points out that the volume I’m changing is the AirPods’ volume. 😒
I hear ya. Haptic notifications on an apple watch work as a decent replacement, but are somewhat easier to ignore depending on what your hands are doing.
Also, I can confirm that this is also the case for other headphones. I have Bose NC700s and they have the same problem.
I accidentally marked it as resolved and I can’t figure out how to remove it. None of the solutions posted have fixed the issue. I have tried all. Fixing it would be as simple as allowing us to adjust the minimum volume and maximum as well. It would even be nice to be able to mute the headphones. When I put the AirPods in, the pairing sound ding is intensely loud. If anyone listened to that sound a few times over they would realize how loud it is. I am surprised it passed through the initial development testing
I agree with others about this issue, including what you said about the connection chime being intensely loud. Volume through airpods during phone calls is WAY too loud on the lowest setting. Considering selling my airpods for this reason.
Just want to add my name in the hat, been having to remove my AirPods anytime I’m in a WebEx or Teams call if it’s not my term and put them back in when I need to talk. Very frustrating that you can’t actually turn down the volume. Which seems a bit crazy, it’s 2021 and Apple can’t handle this for many months??
Having the same issue-- no problem to control volume when paired with my MacBook, but taking calls on the iPhone (particularly Skype calls) are painfully loud! I've also changed the settings to reduce decibel level but this doesn't help.
I feel like I’m a victim of bait and switch. After reading so many glowing reviews, I finally bought a pair of Air Pod Pros, and now I’m stuck with something I’m literally afraid to put in my ear. Why does this issue not show up in product reviews? I have a strong case of buyer’s remorse.
If only. The on screen volume and the side button volume control the same thing and move in tandem unless you have your side buttons specifically set to the ringer volume. At least that's the way it is on my old iphone 7 - can't speak to the new ones. Hopefully holding out for an early fall release this year! Anyways, I feel that I can confidently speak for everyone that it's not a matter of using one volume button vs another and that we've no doubt all tried our physical volume adjustment buttons.
Super confused. What do you mean by "on screen volume up and down" in a call? There are no on-screen options for that on a call, it's only controlled by the external volume buttons on the side of the phone.
What people are reporting here is that we turn the volume down to the lowest setting using those buttons and it's still wayyyy too loud. :(
Let me add my voice to the chorus here in agreement that my 2nd generation AirPods are painfully loud even at the softest setting on my iPhone 12 Pro under iOS 14.5. Please allow us to lower the volume while on phone calls!
Ditto on the too loud issue on lowest volume setting even after utilizing developer options on Android phone. Will be holding off on any future Apple purchases until I see some accountability from this company that has grown way beyond it's ability to respond to ordinary customer needs.
Realize that I didn't add this to my earlier post, but like the other thousands of people with this problem, the suggested fixes above do not work.
RaphaelB - your post about AirPods is marked as solved? What was the solution?
The asker is the one who marks it as solved. I’m not really seeing what the solution supposedly is, either…Perhaps @Janerat can clarify?
AirPod Volume too loud at lowest setting for calls
