If one AirPod is louder than the other

You can try going into the settings app. In the settings app (in iOS 13) go to accessibility, go the the category HEARING. Click “audio and visual” after you press it, you can either turn on “mono audio” which makes the left and the right speaker play like the same content, or either fix the volume by adjusting the the volume underneath “mono audio”. Mono audio worked best for me, and got both of my AirPods to play the same sound instead of one being louder. I hoped that this helped. Thank you

I kept reading that it could be a wax build up which grossly made sense so I tried the gunk squares first-but you have to be super careful bc it’s the consistency of gum so it can slightly get stuck n the mesh. Worked ok cleaning the outer areas but I think they actually pushed the wax in! Couldn’t even hear out of the right one anymore. Saw a bunch of people doing this weird sucking method...IT TOTALLY WORKED. I dabbed a q tip with hydrogen peroxide to the mesh (super carefully bc they aren’t water proof)...it breaks the wax down Then sucked til I felt air. Did it lightly once more then dabbed with a dry q tip and soft cloth. PRESTO...like new!!!!

Thanks for the suggestion!! OK so I couldn’t get myself to suck the wax out so instead, used a clean toothbrush first to brush the wax away. It got all the caked wax off the main speaker with the screen. And my AirPod is back in business.. My son had a similar problem where one AirPod was much lower than the other. There was no build up and we took it into Apple and they replaced the one side for free after they tested it out.. it was still under warranty.

I was very hesitant to do this... VERY hesitant- but it works. The sound was perfectly restored! I would recommend giving it a good clean before, though. Thankfully didn’t inhale ear wax, I think it’s a pretty good idea even though it sounds a bit strange.

Holly smoke!

That worked!

Thanks! it feels like I got me a new pair of AirPods!

One thing though - I blew air from the little holes towards the large speaker.

Same as sucking the air, but the other way around...

Adjusting the balance doesn’t actually “fix” the problem. It just adjusts the volume of the opposite AirPod. So, in your case, since the volume coming out of the right side was lower than the volume coming out of the left side, by sliding the balance a little right of center, you decreased the volume coming out of the left side, rather than increasing the volume coming out of the right side. The issue is that there is earwax muffling the right AirPod. The wax has to be removed to truly fix the problem.

I can confirmed that the "sucking technique" worked splendidly!

I started worrying and figured i was going to have to get a replacement but luckily, that wasn't the case. Stay calm and try this. If it doesn't work you may want to contact Apple.

Good Luck!

Thanks for your response...this was the only thing that fixed my issue. I believe the issue occurred when I tried cleaning the screen as well. After I read your post, I ended up using a compressed air canister and blew air through all the screens in the left air pod...and the volume came back to normal levels again....wow.

My airpods are out of warranty and it would have cost me $70 to get it replaced brand new.

Thanks again for your advice...super helpful.

seeting -> music -> EQ -> check if it’s on electrical, if yes change it to loudness or bass boosted

also suck the AirPod from which voice is less

i hope one of them works for you , i tried them both and they worked

My right earpod was so quiet to the point where I thought it was broken. Tried the sucking technique, made very little difference. Took a cotton bud, doused it in medical alcohol and cleaned the grid on the earpod. Then used Air-In-a-Can to blow out excess alcohol and earwax. Problem sorted. Who thought earwax would have that effect on an earbud.

it is soo crazy that truck worked for me too! I was blown away like wait a min! How did this happen i suggest if anyone has this problem to check the settings make sure it’s in the middle then suck lol! It’s a weird hack make sure they are clean though!

3 years later you are a LIFE SAVER. I was going to go repair it at apple. The balance slider was wayyy on the right so I barley heard anything on the left. I put it to the middle and its good as new. Idk how it would've changed but you are amazing!!!

I had the same issues. Took them to Apple and they replaced the bad bud. The original airpods are nutorious for getting jammed with ear wax. I ordered AirPod pros because there design is less likely to get jammed with ear wax. The day I got my new AirPod pros I forgot about my original ones and accidentally sent them through the washing machine in my pocket! They fell out and tumbled around. When I found them I stuck them in some rice for a few days incase they had water inside of them and to my surprise a week later when I tested them it fixed the volume issue!!😂 I wouldn’t suggest this but I thought it was pretty funny. Now I have a backup pie of wireless buds.

This might sound absurd, but I tried several things mentioned on this thread, without success, until I remembered I had long ago set my laptop speakers to be right-side-only with no sound from the left speaker, which is broken. When I adjusted this slider back to the middle, that translated to my AirPods as well. Don't judge me lol, just leaving this here in case it helps somebody! :)

I was having the exact same issue and weird enough someone said suck the bigger mic on the airpod because wax gets stuck on the speaker and when I did it surprisingly it freaking worked. Just make sure to wipe the airpod before and after to avoid wax in your mouth and a wet ear lol. Good luck!