7 common Apple AirPods and AirPods Pro problems and solutions

AirPods and AirPods Pro are among the more preferable true wireless earbuds for users who have established the Apple ecosystem. Although it offers fast connection and mostly smooth transition between different Apple devices, it can cause occasional problems like other Apple products. This article focuses on common problems with AirPods and their possible solutions.

Left or right earphone not working

If you, as an Apple AirPods / AirPods Pro user, are facing an issue with one of the earbuds not working even though it has a charge:

1. Make sure the charging case is fully charged and place both earphones in the case for 30 seconds. Reconnect the box next to your iPhone or iPad. It is recommended to restart your phone.
2. It could be a sound balance issue. The number of users complaining that the sound balance changes automatically is quite a lot. Set it to medium under Settings – Accessibility – Audio/Audio – Balance.
3. You may need to reset AirPods. Put the earphones in the charging case, close the lid, wait for 30 seconds, turn it on, and under Settings – Bluetooth, tap the i icon next to AirPods and press Forget this device.

Connected to phone but no sound

If the phone shows AirPods are connected but the sound continues to come from the phone’s speakers:

1. Open Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, or another music streaming app and play a song.
2. Open Control Center, tap the icon in the right corner of the sound tile and select AirPods as the Bluetooth device.
3. You can force the phone’s sound to come out through the AirPods.

Poor microphone quality in calls

If you’re complaining about poor microphone quality on video calls on iPhone or MacBook, if the person on the other end has trouble hearing what you’re saying:

1. It’s rare for the microphones of both earphones to break down. You can detect a working/non-working microphone by going to AirPods settings – Microphone and selecting left and right.
2. You may also experience this issue depending on how you pair the AirPods. Some users reported that they solved this problem by opening the box next to the phone and pairing it instead of going to the phone’s Bluetooth settings and connecting the AirPods.
3. Noise canceling feature of AirPods Pro can also cause microphone problem. Tap the Noise control icon in the lower left corner and set it to Off. You can change the noise control to off by tapping the info icon next to AirPods under Settings – Bluetooth
4. If you manage your Mac with a keyboard or mouse connected via Bluetooth, you may experience sound and microphone problems. If you experience poor microphone quality for calls on your MacBook, it may be due to connected Bluetooth devices. You can connect with a USB receiver instead of Bluetooth.

AirPods case not charging when connected to Windows PC

If AirPods case not charging on Windows PC:

1. Find your AirPods box in the list under Control Center – View devices and printers – Unknown.
2. Go to the Hardware tab by double-clicking it.
3. Click on the HID compliant device option and click on Change Settings.
4. Go to the Drivers tab and select disable device.
5. Disconnect and reconnect the box.
6. The charging light may not come on, but you will see the headphones are charging.

AirPods automatically switch to other devices

AirPods’ auto-switch feature lets you seamlessly switch between your phone, tablet, laptop, and smartwatch. However, sometimes your headset may connect to another device you don’t want. To solve this problem:

1. The only option is to restrict the devices AirPods connect to. Go to Settings – Bluetooth and tap the i icon.
2. Go to Connect to this phone and change it to Last connected to this iPhone.
3. With this setting, AirPods will only try to connect to the phone, not any other device. You can make the same changes on your tablet and computer.

Sound is low from one of the AirPods

If the AirPods right or left earphones sound low, make sure the sound balance setting is correct. Find Settings – Accessibility – Audio/Audio – Balance and set it to the middle.

sizzling problem

This known issue affects AirPods Pro manufactured before October 2020. As you know, Apple offers free AirPods Pro service program for sound problems. If your headset was manufactured before October 2020, was purchased less than three years ago, and you are experiencing any sound issues, you have the right to replace it.