Consider listening to your favorite album, calling a loved one, or watching your favorite movie, but the audio is simply too low for you to understand, let alone enjoy. For some reason, your headphones simply cannot get any louder.
The feeling is exacerbated when you realize you have no idea how or why your headphones are so quiet, especially since they used to work perfectly fine.
If you own a pair of headphones or earbuds, you’ve probably experienced the problem of them being too quiet. It’s a common problem that many people face, regardless of the type of headphones they’re wearing.
The good news is that there are numerous causes for this problem, and they are all fixable.
Why are my headphones so quiet?
There can be quite a few reasons why your headphones can be quiet on max volume, let me list them for you:
Wired Connection Issue
This could be due to a problem with the headphone jack or plug itself, which is usually simple to resolve.
- Check that the headphone jack on your device is completely plugged in and not crooked. It can cause sound problems if it is loose.
- Using a soft cloth, clean the headphone jack and plug it into your headphones and devices. The audio quality will suffer if dirt or wax clogs the connection.
- To see if the problem is resolved, try using different headphones or earbuds with your device. If another pair of headphones works properly, your headphone jack may be damaged. Your headphone cable can also become damaged or broken, especially if you keep it in a tight pocket, such as the one on your jeans. If this is the case with your headphones and they are still under warranty, please contact customer service for assistance.
Wireless connection issue
Wireless headphones are popular these days, but they can be finicky at times. If you’re experiencing low volume through your headphones, it could be due to a wireless connection problem.
You can try the following options:
- Check to see if both devices are turned on and if the Bluetooth connection is active. If you’re using an iPhone or iPad (AirPods can have similar issues), make sure airplane mode is turned off.
- In some cases, this setting can interfere with the Bluetooth connection and cause sound problems. The same is true for other Android devices or laptops, as most computers now have airplane mode.
- Restart your devices by turning them off and on again. This frequently fixes minor system glitches and only takes a few minutes.
- Connect your headphones to another device and see if that works better. If it does, there could be a problem with the hardware or drivers of your headphones.
- Other devices, such as mobile phones, routers, or microwaves, may cause interference. Disconnect and reconnect your wireless headphones, but this time move to a different location and stay close to the source.
Earwax stuck inside the earbud
Earwax or dirt inside your headphones can cause a muffled sound, which may be the cause of your headphones’ low volume. Cleaning them with water and cotton swabs solves the problem quickly (Q-tips). If that fails, you could try rubbing alcohol instead.
Because of the size, I mentioned earbuds; it’s just more likely to happen, but this also applies to headphones. Clean the ear cups and all around the band, especially if you’re not the only one wearing them.
Disruption in Audio/low audio
Low volume can sometimes be caused by incorrect audio settings on your device. This issue could be caused by an automatically set profile or a software bug that needs to be fixed with an update. It could be a security or accessibility feature.
To correct this:
Examine your device’s audio settings and ensure that they are set to maximum volume output (be careful).
Remove any previous audio profiles or equalizer settings and reset them to factory defaults. Check your phone’s accessibility settings for any audio restrictions.
If there are any available updates, update your device’s firmware or drivers (computer).
If none of these solutions work, the problem may be something else. Let’s keep trying different approaches.
Drained Battery
The sound level of wireless headphones or earbuds may be low due to a low battery. This problem is simple to resolve by inspecting your device’s battery indicator and determining whether it requires charging.
Some headphones slowly die when the battery is about to die, and you can hear the sound go silent during that time. You may also hear some distortion in the audio.
If this is the case, plug your headphones into a power source and charge them for a few minutes before using them again. Before testing your headphones again, make sure your small portable charger is fully charged.
Low-quality actual video
This one should go without saying. If you’re not getting good quality audio from the source, no matter how loud you turn up your headphones, it’ll be difficult to make it sound better.
If you’re watching YouTube videos or listening to music from a low-quality source, try switching to another app or website that has higher-quality audio files.
Due to the nature of the audio file, it could be just one song with extremely low volume levels. Change to a different song or listen to it on a different device.
Fitting Issues
If your headphones don’t fit properly in your ears, you may experience some sound leakage and find it difficult to increase the volume levels without experiencing discomfort or pain.
This is made worse by the fact that smaller earbuds must perfectly fit your ear canal for the sound to be isolated and not leak out, and they occasionally fall out of your ear.
One solution is to get better-fitting headphone tips or ear pads, but it could also be the type of headphones you’re using. If they don’t have adjustable ear cups, there may not be much you can do except get a new pair with more flexibility.
Old drivers
If you’re using outdated drivers, your headphones may not work with the most recent software/firmware updates. This issue frequently occurs when you’ve been using the same pair of headphones for a long time and new updates are released that are incompatible with them.
If there are any available updates, you can try updating your device’s firmware or drivers (computer). Pay close attention to the operating system you’re using as well.
Some old drivers may not work with the new ones, resulting in low-volume issues, particularly on Windows, which is notorious for having such issues.
Damaged Headphones
Assume that none of these suggestions appear to solve your problem. In that case, it’s possible that something is wrong with your headphones, and you should probably contact customer service or try to get a replacement.
Product quality can vary from one production run to the next, so read reviews before purchasing anything expensive like this to see if other people had similar experiences (or even better).
However, some companies provide good warranties, so use them if necessary because, aside from their primary purpose of protecting your purchase, guarantees are for other things like getting an exchange/refund on something that isn’t working properly.
What damage can loud volume do to your headphones?
Here’s what loud volume can do to your headphones:
- If you listen to music at a high volume regularly, the internal components of your headphones may overheat, resulting in driver damage. It will eventually affect the sound quality of your headphones.
- The voice coil is a cylinder-shaped wire coil that receives power from the amplifier. When the voice coil reacts with the speaker magnet, the cylinder moves up and down. The speaker cone is connected to the cylinder, which produces sound by creating air pressure as it travels. When subjected to high volume, the voice coil in your headphones can break, rendering them useless.
- Your headphones aren’t just useless pieces of plastic. They have extremely small internal components that are sensitive to loud noises. If your headphones aren’t designed to withstand high volume for an extended period of time, the internal components can short-circuit and become inoperable.
- The diaphragm vibrates to move the air, producing sound waves that your ears can hear. It typically consists of a thin membrane with various materials hung at the edges to allow vibration to pass through. Loud volume can cause the diaphragm in your headphones to break and damage them.
- In the worst-case scenario, your headphones could catch fire because they are made up of plastic and explode, causing severe burns to your ears. While this is an extremely rare occurrence, it can occur due to amplification circuit overloading.
Here’s a list of Quality headphones that you can buy yourself:
| Brand name | Price |
| Wireless Earbuds | $39.99 |
| Blue parrot B450 | $169.99 |
| Beats Solo 3 | $155.49 |
| Philips H4205 | $34.20 |
Summary
- If you own a pair of headphones or earbuds, you’ve probably experienced the problem of them being too quiet.
- There can be quite a few reasons why your headphones can be quiet on max volume, let me list them for you: Wired Connection Issue A faulty connection is the most common cause of low volume in headphones.
- If you’re experiencing low volume through your headphones, it could be due to a wireless connection problem. Check to see if both devices are turned on and if the Bluetooth connection is active.
- you can always restart your devices by turning them off and on again. Connect your headphones to another device and see if that works better.
- Disruption in Audio/low audio Low volume can sometimes be caused by incorrect audio settings on your device. Check your phone’s accessibility settings for any audio restrictions. If your headphones are running on low battery, plug your headphones into a power source and charge them for a few minutes before using them again.
- However, If you’re not getting good quality audio from the source, no matter how loud you turn up your headphones, it’ll be difficult to make it sound better.
Related Articles:
- Bluetooth Headphones Stutter (Solved!)
- How Long Do Bose Headphones Last? (Explained)
- Can iPhone 7 Headphones Work on iPhone 6? (Find Out)
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