Isn’t it frustrating when AirPods don’t sound after connecting them to your iPhone with music? Before you throw a fit and end up chucking these expensive devices out the window, know this is a common issue with quick, proven fixes – all detailed here.
The “AirPods connected but no sound issue” could be fixed by returning them to the charging case. Alternatively, reset them to factory settings, clean their speaker grills, or disable ear detection.
That’s not all there is to it, though. In this post, we’re giving you the nuts and bolts of 13 proven fixes to AirPods experiencing sound issues so you can get over this hump in an hour or less.
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Duration | 54 minutes |
| Number of Fixes | 13 |
| Things You Need | • AirPods • Charging Case • Lightning Cable • iPhone/iPad • A working internet connection • Cleaning Cloth • Cotton Swabs • Alcohol Solution |
How to Fix: AirPods Are Connected but There’s No Sound
The thing to remember when dealing with a technical issue is to be as systematic as possible. While randomly jumping into the solutions below is alright, we recommend starting from the top for the best results.
Remember that Apple AirPods are Bluetooth headphones and not Wi-Fi dependent, so technically, you don’t need the internet to enjoy the music. Still, you need the internet to configure software-related issues to remedy the issue at hand.
With that out of the way, let’s jump right in.
1. Put your AirPods inside their charging case.
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 4 |
| Duration | 30 seconds |
The option to connect and use the AirPods together or individually is one of its key features. Unfortunately, this also means that you might accidentally have one of them connect to your phone while the other doesn’t, resulting in no sound issues.
Believe it or not, having AirPods connected but no sound is commonly caused by a simple and honest mistake such as that. As a remedy, you can turn your AirPods off by putting them back in the charging case and closing the lid afterward.
Once you reopen the lid and take them out, they should turn back on again and start a new Bluetooth connection. It may sound rather elementary, but it’s a quick proven fix you can’t afford to miss.
Follow these steps to reboot your AirPods using their charging case:
If that didn’t work, fret not. The following proven fix should get you going.
2. Reset the AirPods.
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 12 |
| Duration | 50 seconds |
Is your AirPods connected but no sound issue coming out after turning the devices off and on from the charging case? If yes, you can kick it up a notch by resetting the AirPods to their factory settings instead.
To note, this is a time-tested general solution to many AirPods issues. Doing so is also useful when AirPod fails to charge, pair, status light blink, etc.
Follow these steps to reset your AirPods:
Keep holding until the status light blinks orange and then blinks white.
Note: You can find the status light either in front or inside of the charging case, depending on what model of AirPods you own.
That should have been a breeze. Still, if this failed to get the fix you need, let the next proven fix do its part.
3. Reset Bluetooth on your phone.
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 4 |
| Duration | 10 seconds |
AirPods connect to your devices through a Bluetooth connection. As such, when you have your AirPods connected, but no sound is coming out, you should troubleshoot your phone’s Bluetooth.
It’s no hassle. The easiest way to reset Bluetooth is to toggle it off and on to refresh its connection with nearby Bluetooth devices.
Follow these steps to reset Bluetooth by turning it off and on:
Step 4: Toggle the Bluetooth switch back on.
That should get your Bluetooth going. Know that even when your Bluetooth isn’t the latest 5.0 version, the steps above should still be applicable.
4. Soft reset your iPhone/iPad.
Sometimes, you have AirPods connected but no sound available due to an error causing your phone to malfunction. In such cases, a quick solution is to soft reset your phone to let it reboot and correct any minor issues.
Soft resetting will shut down your phone completely, along with its apps and processes. Afterward, your phone should reboot with a refreshed memory, faster speed, and better performance.
Follow these steps to turn off and on your iPhone/iPad:
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 8 |
| Duration | 30 seconds |
When your phone’s screen is frozen or unresponsive, you need to force it to restart as shown below in our example.
Follow these steps to restart your unresponsive iPhone:
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 6 |
| Duration | 30 seconds |
The steps above should work no matter the iPhone model. It’s important that you regularly do iOS updates for your operating system to work just fine.
5. Select your AirPods as the output devices.
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
| Duration | 5 seconds |
If you have multiple audio devices connected at once, your phone might use another audio device instead of your AirPod. You can prevent this from happening by setting your AirPods as the main output device when playing music.
Follow these steps to set your AirPods as the audio output device:
That should be easy. However, if the AirPods are still not producing sounds, let’s move forward to the following remedy.
6. Check if AirPods are connecting to another device.
The H1 or W1 chips on the iPhones allow them to connect seamlessly with any Bluetooth device from Apple’s ecosystem without going through a pairing process.
While convenient, this quality-of-life feature might result in having your AirPods connected but no sound playing due to them accidentally pairing to another device without a song.
You can prevent this by turning off Bluetooth on your unused Apple devices to ensure they don’t interfere with the connection between your AirPods and your iPhone.
7. Remove dirt buildup on your AirPods.
Using your AirPods will inevitably cause dirt or earwax to build up over its speaker grills, which can block sounds from coming out when the layer gets thick enough. Not only is this gross, but it might even prevent your AirPods from working properly.
In particular, allowing dirt to build up at the tips of your AirPods that connect to the charging case will cause them not to charge correctly, if at all. To clean these bad boys, you’ll need a lint-free microfiber cloth to wipe them dry gently.
Also, you can use cotton swabs to clean the speaker grills and reach the deep-seated earwax layers there.
If you want to disinfect your AirPods, Apple suggests slightly dampening a cleaning cloth with 70% isopropyl alcohol or 75% ethyl alcohol solution.
Please note that you can also wipe the external parts of your AirPods using a damp cloth. Avoid getting any form of liquid inside your AirPods’ speakers and sensors to prevent the possibility of internal water damage.
| Pro tip: Let your AirPods dry completely before using them after they were wiped using a damp cleaning cloth. |
8. Disable your AirPods’ automatic ear detection.
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 5 |
| Duration | 10 seconds |
The automatic ear detection feature on AirPods gives them the ability to pause and resume playback on the fly as you take them on and off your ears. Your AirPods can tell when you’re wearing them or not using their built-in proximity sensor.
Proximity sensors are a convenient way for AirPods to know whether you’re wearing one. That way, music or whatever you’re listening to will automatically stop, and your content doesn’t jump without your knowledge.
The problem is that this can also confuse the AirPods when you’re not wearing the device correctly. They might suddenly think you’re not using them and immediately stop playing audio instead.
Plus, any dirt covering their proximity sensor will prevent them from properly using the ear detection feature. In some cases, it’s just much better to turn this feature off.
Follow these steps to disable the automatic ear detection:
your device.
Of course, it’s your call whether to take proximity sensors off the table. But you might want to give it a try to resolve the issue at hand.
9. Reset your iPhone’s network settings.
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 7 |
| Duration | 30 seconds |
There are times when resetting Bluetooth isn’t enough to fix the issue with your Bluetooth devices not working properly even when they’re connected. This can be due to some prior changes you’ve made to your network settings.
As such, an effective solution for this would be to reset your iPhone’s network settings to restore them to their default configuration. Doing this should also take out the guesswork and ensure you have your software in tiptop shape.
Follow these steps to reset your iPhone’s network settings:
If you’ve forgotten your passcode, then that’s a different story altogether. It would be best that you remember it or you would have to let your iPhone undergo recovery mode using a PC.
In a wrap, recovery mode allows you to set things up from scratch allowing you to put in a new passcode. The wise thing to do is to back your data up so you can use it to restore your iPhone to your original settings.
10. Boost the volume of your AirPods.
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 8 |
| Duration | 20 seconds |
While your AirPods are connected to an iPhone/iPad that’s playing audio, they should be making a sound. Unfortunately, it could also be a case of people finding it difficult to discern the sound due to low volume levels.
A good way to boost the volume of your AirPods is to customize headphone accommodations on your iPhone/iPad. This will allow you to boost certain sound frequencies and the soft sounds on your AirPods.
Follow these steps to boost the volume of your AirPods:
You may not get it right the first time so you may have to test things a bit. It may take some time but the important thing is you get to zero in on what best fits your ears.
11. Check your AirPods’ battery levels.
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 1 |
| Duration | 30 minutes |
Running low on battery is a simple explanation for having your AirPods connected but no sound produced. When AirPods reach a critically low battery level, they usually stop working properly.
While inside the charging case, you can bring them close to your iPhone to check their battery levels. If they’re low, it’s best to keep them in the charging case to recharge their battery for at least 30 minutes.
12. Update your AirPods to the latest firmware version.
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 5 |
| Duration | 10 minutes |
Have you already updated your AirPods to the latest firmware version? If not, you have to update them immediately so they can receive the newest upgrades and improvements from the latest version.
If the sound issues you’re experiencing are tied to their old firmware, this could be your best chance to fix them. Plus, the update procedure is simple just make sure that your iPhone is equipped with the latest iOS 16 software.
Follow these steps to update the firmware of your AirPods:
your device.
Note: You can plug a lightning cable into the charging case to make sure your AirPods don’t run of out battery during the update.
Step 5: Leave your AirPods and iPhone connected and close by to automatically
download and install the update.
Note: Your iPhone must be connected to the internet via Wi-Fi or Mobile Data.
13. Update your iPhone to the latest iOS version.
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 9 |
| Duration | 10 minutes |
If your iPhone is still using iOS 15, you might have trouble updating your AirPods to their latest firmware version. Your phone will also lack the improvements brought about by iOS 16, which could also be the reason you’re having sound issues on your AirPods.
We highly recommend upgrading to the latest iPhone operating system to make sure that your device works more efficiently with your Apple accessories and peripherals.
Follow these steps to update the software of your iPhone:
FAQs about AirPods Connecting Without Sound
Different factors can cause your AirPods to produce no sound even when connected to your phone successfully. Check out the rundown of the most common causes in the following list.
• A minor error in the Bluetooth connection between your AirPods and iPhone.
• Having multiple audio devices connected to your iPhone simultaneously.
• The AirPods are connected to a different device instead of your iPhone.
• The speaker grills on your AirPods are full of dirt and/or earwax.
• AirPods volume is too low.
• AirPods are low on battery.
• Both your iPhone and your AirPods use outdated firmware versions.
Connecting only one AirPod means the other will not have a sound. It’s also possible that one of your AirPods is running low on battery while the other still has some juice left.
On your iPhone, you can also go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Visual > Balance to check if both AirPod pieces are set to receive a balanced sound level. Make sure that this slider is always set in the middle.
Take out one AirPod from the charging case while keeping the other one inside to connect only one to your phone. The connected AirPod will have sound, and the other will not.
To connect only one AirPod is as simple as placing only one AirPod on your ear.
Go to Settings > Accessibility > AirPods to boost your AirPods tone volume. From there, you can select your AirPods to adjust the tone volume, which will change the intensity of its sound effects.
Software incompatibility is usually the reason you have your AirPods connected, but the sound keeps coming from your phone. To remedy the situation, you need to update your phone as it could be running outdated software.
To fix your AirPods when it produces no sound even when connected to your Macbook, reset your macOS.
Go to System Preferences > Tap Bluetooth icon to enter the Bluetooth menu > Turn the Bluetooth off and after a few seconds, turn it back on > Tap the AirPods tab, and click “X.”; now you can reset the AirPods.
When AirPods are connected to your Android device, but there’s no sound, turn your Bluetooth off and back on again. This quick fix usually reestablishes the connection.
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