Why Do My AirPods Mic Sound Muffled? – Here’s How to Fix!

Wondering why do my AirPods mic sound muffled? Keep reading to find out.

The AirPods microphone might not sound clear to the receiver due to many different factors but there is an easy way to localize the problem.

We’re about to use some really effective solutions to discover the problem and hopefully resolve it for good.

When the AirPods mic sounds muffled, users need to charge and clean the AirPods. The next step would be to test each earbud microphone individually from the settings of the host device and to conclude, the factory reset would be the best approach.

Why Does My AirPod Mic Sound Muffled?

The causes for a muffled AirPods microphone can be many.

They can vary from obstructions and dirt on the hardware of the buds or an internal problem that requires technical care.

Here are the most frequently reported causes for muffled AirPods mic:

1. Obstructed AirPods Microphone

One of the most common causes of this problem is physically blocking the microphone of your AirPods.

If there is actual debris, blocking the mic, your voice recordings and phone calls talked through the AirPods will become really muffled.

2. Low AirPods Battery!

When your AirPods are running too low on battery that could be a reason for microphone issues and bad output sound. Charging the battery of your AirPods can easily exclude this possibility.

3. AirPods Mic Issue

The mic of your AirPods could have come to an end-life.

You can recognize that if the mic turns on and off by itself or has stopped working completely.

This may apply to the microphone of both AirPods or to just a single one.

With the causes aside, let’s review how you can resolve the microphone problem:

How To Fix Muffled Sound On AirPods Microphone?

Your homemade solution to the muffled sound on the AirPods will include cleaning and general care.

However, keep in mind that if the fault with the mic of your AirPods is internal, you won’t be able to help it but deliver them for a repair.

Here’s how you can resolve the muffled sound on your AirPods at home:

Solution #1 Charge The AirPods

The first thing we recommend is giving your AirPods a good battery charge.

Sometimes when the battery of your AirPods is under 10% you can experience battery throttling which essentially leads to sound interruptions and bad microphone output.

• Put your AirPods back in the charging case and connect the case to power!

Based on your case and earbuds’ battery level, let them charge for an interval between 1 and 3 hours.

Do not unplug the headphones before 50% of the battery so you can test them properly.

Note: Ensure that the charging case is in orange light when connected to the charger. This means that both the buds and the case are receiving charges.

Solution #2 Clean Your AirPods’ Microphone

The next step is to clean the AirPods to resolve the muffling problem with the mic.

Stacked debris or dirt on the hardware of the earbuds is well-known to make your voice less audible through the microphone and make it muffle.

Here are the supplies you will need for cleaning the microphone and how to do it:

1. Grab a slightly dampened cloth with fresh water and a soft-dry napkin.
2. Use the dampened cloth to collect all dirt on the AirPods.
3. Next, use the dry cloth to dry up the hardware of your AirPods.
4. Use an ear stick to collect any earwax that remains on the microphone.
5. (Optional) Use the dampened cloth to clean the charging case completely.

Note: Do not use too much water for the cleaning cloth since the AirPods are not waterproof.

Solution #3 Switch To Only One Microphone

All models of AirPods have a microphone in each bud.

This means that if one of the microphones has developed a fault, you can switch to the other – healthy microphone through the settings of your iOS or Android device.

Here’s how you can switch to the other AirPod through your device:

1. Make sure that the AirPods are taken out of the case and paired.
2. Go to the Bluetooth settings of your device.
3. Select the “AirPods” connection and go to the “Info” tab.
4. Now, press on “Microphone”.
5. If the option is chosen to “both”, select left or right.

Note: Make sure to test separately each microphone to understand which one is bad.

Solution #4 Validate AirPods Version

When users wonder why do my AirPods mic sound muffled a frequently met suggestion is that an update of the AirPods firmware may actually resolve the muffling problem.

By standard, Apple updates your devices automatically, but there’s a way to verify the latest version and supposedly update your AirPods.

To validate the version of your AirPods, follow these instructions:

1. Open the Settings of your device (make sure AirPods are paired).
2. Go to the General tab.
3. Next, press on About.
4. Locate the connection of your AirPods.
5. Press the AirPods connection and select the name.
6. If the version is “4C165” (in 2022) you’re up to date.

How To Update AirPods?

Although the update process is triggered automatically, you can update your AirPods by leaving them connected to your phone overnight.

As soon as the AirPods are close enough and paired to your device, the update should be uploaded and installed automatically.

Notice: When leaving the AirPods paired overnight, it is necessary to have them connected to a charger for the time being.

Solution #5 Turn OFF Noise Cancellation

Noise cancellation is known to sometimes affect how your microphone is heard by the people you talk to.

Since noise cancellation is only available on AirPods Pros and Maxes, if you have AirPods from gen 1 to 3, proceed with the next solution.

Here’s how to turn OFF noise cancellation on your feature-supported Apple AirPods:

1. Open the quick access menu.
2. Make sure that the AirPods are paired to your device.
3. Press and hold the AirPods soundbar in the quick menu.
4. Press the “OFF” button, between the “noise cancellation” and “Transparent”.
5. Test the microphone.

Note: Make sure to keep your AirPods without any modes enabled until you identify the problem with the microphone.

Solution #6 Reset Your AirPods

In case nothing worked so far, then you can reset your AirPods to resolve this problem.

A software reset can generally resolve any software-related problems, so you will be able to understand whether the problem is technical and if the repair will be necessary.

Here’s how you can reset any generation of AirPods in simple steps:

1. Insert the buds inside of the case.
2. Open the Bluetooth connection menu on your phone.
3. Open the AirPods configuration and scroll down to press “Forget this device”.
4. Once the AirPods are removed, close the latch of the charging case.
5. Press and hold the pairing button for 30 seconds.
6. Re-pair your AirPods.

After the reset, your AirPods will be reverted to default settings, therefore not paired to your device.

You’ll need to carry out the initial setup over and then test your AirPods microphone.

Note: The microphone of the AirPods would sound muffled when the earbuds are playing music.

Quick Recap:

Thus, the AirPods microphone would sound muffled when the mic openings are covered by earwax or any other obstruction. The noise cancellation option could also produce microphone issues so the feature should be turned OFF and the AirPods reset.

Wrapping Up:

Now that you know why do my AirPods mic sound muffled, the problem should be easily solvable when it’s not related to the technical functionality of the earbuds.

Sadly the repair of the AirPods microphone might turn out to be more expensive than expected, but when it’s necessary, there is no way to help the situation at home.

You can discover more related posts in our online tech blog so make sure to check it out!