How to Make Your AirPods Louder by Disabling Sound Reduction

By Ashleigh Page Updated 03/30/2021

* This article is from our Tip of the Day newsletter. . *

If the Reduce Loud Sounds setting leaves you struggling to hear your music, podcasts, and conference calls, you can make your headphones louder again with a quick setting. We’ll show you how to make your AirPods louder by quickly adjusting your iPhone volume settings.

Related: AirPods, AirPods 2, & AirPods Pro Settings: How to Turn Volume Up & Down

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By default, your headphone audio settings reduce sounds louder than 85 decibels (the rough equivalent of heavy city traffic). If the Reduce Loud Sounds setting makes your headphones seem too quiet, you'll want to know how to turn off this setting. To learn more about AirPods volume controls, consider signing up for our free Tip of the Day. 

Here's how to turn off Reduce Loud Sounds:

  1. Tap the Settings app on your Home screen to open it.


     
  2. Tap on Sounds & Haptics.


     
  3. Tap the Headphone Safety option to open and edit headphone audio features.

  4. Tap the Reduce Loud Sounds toggle to disable the feature, allowing you to fully increase volume on your iPhone.

    Toggle your iPhone's Reduce Loud Sounds setting to the Off position
  5. As an alternate solution, you can also leave this feature enabled and simply adjust the slider control below to increase the decibel level before sound reduction kicks in.


     

That's it! With this quick adjustment to your AirPods volume setting, you'll be able to fully turn up the volume on your AirPods. If you’d like, you can also learn how to connect your AirPods to your Mac or change your AirPods default settings.

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Topics

How-To
Settings
Volume/Sound/Haptics
Buttons & Ports

Author Details

Ashleigh Page's picture

Author Details

Ashleigh Page
Ashleigh Page is an Associate Editor for iPhone Life. A longtime Apple enthusiast with a Bachelor's in English and Computer Science and three years of experience writing about tech, Ashleigh has written and tested hundreds of articles about devices and features within Apple's ecosystem. She specializes in iPhone, iPad, AirPods, and Mac content and has authored a 60-page in-depth guide about the Apple Maps app. Based in North Carolina, Ashleigh is often crafting whimsical (and sometimes nonsensical) short stories and hiking when she's not working.