What to Know
- You can disable Attention Aware Features to prevent your volume from going down automatically.
- Personalized Volume dynamically adjusts your AirPods Pro volume based on your environment.
- Conversation Awareness detects when you’re talking to someone and lowers the volume of your AirPods.
Ever been listening to music on your phone and had the volume turn down on its own? This is a common problem that plagues many iPhone users. But why does your volume keep going down by itself? In this article, we’ll go over the possible reasons why this might be happening and how you can prevent your iPhone from adjusting the volume by itself.
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Why Does My Volume Keep Going Down by Itself?
If you have an iPhone X or later (excluding iPhone SE), an iPad Pro 11-inch, or iPad Pro 12.9-inch, your device has a TrueDepth camera. The TrueDepth camera is used for Face ID and can also detect when you’re looking at the screen. As part of that process, your iPhone also includes Attention Aware Features, which, as the name implies, check whether you're paying attention to your screen.
Attention Aware Features check whether you are paying attention to the device and use that information to adjust specific settings, including the volume of alerts. If you’re looking at the display, Attention Aware Features will automatically lower the volume since you don’t need to hear notifications if you’re already looking at the screen. For more iPhone troubleshooting advice, be sure to sign up for our free Tip of the Day newsletter.
How to Disable Attention Aware Features
If you do not want Attention Aware features to adjust the volume of alerts, you can disable this feature in the Settings app:
- Open Settings, and tap Face ID & Passcode.
![iPhone settings with a red box around face id and passcode]()
- You will likely be prompted to enter your passcode. Do so now.
- Scroll down to Attention Aware Features, and tap the toggle to enable or disable this feature.
![iphone face id settings screen with a red box around attention aware features toggle]()
Disabling this setting should fix it when your iPhone volume keeps going down. However, if you use AirPods Pro, there are a couple of settings that can dynamically adjust your volume.
How to Adjust iPhone Volume Settings for AirPods Pro
Why does my volume keep going up by itself? If you use AirPods Pro, and notice the volume of media going up or down while listening to music or watching videos, the issue might be your AirPods Pro settings:
- With your AirPods connected, open the Settings app and tap your AirPods Pro.
![iphone settings app with a red box around airpods]()
- Scroll down to Audio. There are a few toggles here that can auto-adjust the volume.
![iphone airpods setting screen with a red box around audio settings section with toggles for personalized volume, conversation awareness, and reduce loud sounds]()
- Personalized Volume analyzes your environment and raises or lowers the volume depending on the sound around you.
![iphone airpods setting screen with a red box around personalized volume toggle]()
- Conversation Awareness detects when you’re speaking to someone and will lower the volume of media (and eventually pause it if you are listening to a podcast).
![iphone airpods setting screen with a red box around conversation awareness toggle]()
- Reduce Loud Sounds does not reduce the volume of your device. Instead, it reduces real-world sounds that could damage your hearing, such as sirens or construction. I recommend leaving this one on.
![iphone airpods setting screen with a red box around reduce loud sounds toggle]()
Personalized Volume and Conversation Awareness are two iPhone volume settings that can change your device's sound levels. Disabling them should fix your iPhone volume turning down.
FAQ
- Why is my iPhone volume so low? If your volume is too low for your taste, we have a helpful article on how to make your iPhone louder. The key is to use the music equalizer in the Settings app.
- Why is my volume on my iPhone not working? If you can’t hear any sound coming from your device, it could be a variety of issues, such as silent mode or a Focus filter. Check out our article on how to fix iPhone audio not working for more details.
- Why does my volume lower when I pick up my phone? This is a part of your iPhone’s Attention Aware Features. If you prefer your iPhone not to do this, you can disable Attention Aware Features.
