Can people hear my Airpods?

You can quickly switch between making and receiving phone calls and listening to music on your Apple devices while using Airpods. Airpods are known for producing quality sounds but could become a nuisance if the sounds become too high.

So, you have to wonder, how high is too high? At what point can others hear or listen to sounds from my Airpods?

This blog post will answer this question and provide related information about the topic.

Can others listen to my Airpods?

Yes, other people can hear the sounds from your Airpods if they are close to you. This is possible because there may be sound leakage from the Airpods when the volume is turned way up, making it possible for people close to eavesdrop on the sound coming from it.

Also, sound leakage frequently occurs from Airpods not fitting snugly in your ears due to size issues. The best solution to this problem is to purchase inexpensive ear hooks or to change your Airpods Pro ear tips.

Why can people hear my Airpods?

If your Airpods are leaking sounds, people will hear them because you are using them at a very loud volume, and these people are close to you. We are talking about a distance of 2 -3 feet.

Also, the music or sound settings of the app you are using may have enhanced the sound in a way that makes it overly audible for bystanders to eavesdrop.

But generally, if you listen to music at a decent volume, the person sitting next to you on a bus or train will not be able to hear the sounds from the Airpods.

At what volume do Airpods leak sound?

Generally, any volume beyond 75% is enough for Airpods sound to be leaked to the surroundings. Although, several other factors may affect this.

For instance, each audio track has a unique audio profile, so it’s not an exact science to determine the level of an audio file playing via your Airpods.

However, you may acquire a general notion of what volume should be set to prevent audio leaks by trial and error.

There won’t be a lot of audio leakage into the environment for Airpods Pro, whose ear tips aid in improving the passive isolation of the sound played.

Perfect Airpods for Sound Isolation?

Although Airpods are made to keep sound inside your ears, they also have features like Transparency Mode that prevent them from being completely soundproof.

In this mode, the Airpods allow users to hear sounds from the environment in addition to its organic sounds. This valuable feature helps a user to remain aware of his surroundings for safety purposes—for example, in situations such as the sound of automobiles or someone calling out to you.

This mode is advantageous because it enables the usage of Airpods in varying circumstances.

However, you might need to completely isolate sound with over-the-ear noise-isolating headphones instead of normal Airpods if your requirement is complete sound isolation from your surroundings. The Apple Airpods Max, which also boasts excellent noise cancellation, is a great option.

How to fix leaky sounds from Airpods?

1. Use Ear Hooks or change your Eartips

Although Apple does an excellent job with its design to make it suitable for most users, it can occasionally be imperfect because every person’s ear canal varies in size.

One simple solution to this problem is purchasing silicon ear hooks that can be attached to your Airpods. The ear hook will close the opening between your ear and your Airpods and help to secure it snugly into position, thus, preventing sound from leaking.

For those that use Airpods Pro, you must have received silicone ear tips in three different sizes when you purchased them. You can test out the different sizes of ear tips until you find one that fits well with your ear canal. This helps prevent sounds from leaking to the surroundings.

2. Keep your Airpods clean

Your Airpods will collect dirt and earwax over time. The dirt will start affecting the quality of sound it produces, including its volume. This will lead to you increasing the volume of your Airpods to unconventional highs. In the end, this can result in Airpods sound leaking.

To avoid a situation like that, you need to clean your Airpods. You clean your Airpods by wiping them down with a lint-free dry cloth. Be careful with the Airpods holes. Use cotton swabs to clean the meshes in the speaker and the microphone. Carefully use the blunt end of an office pin to pick off any earwax or grime around the speakers.

Cleaning the Airpods will improve their quality without always needing to increase the volume to unacceptable levels.

3. Adjust the settings of your Music Apps

The settings may be misconfigured if your Airpods are too loud when using any music or video app to listen to audio in real-time. You may need to adjust some settings to get it to always play at acceptable levels.

• Go to Settings.
• Select ‘Music.’
• At all times, the equalization (EQ) should be turned off. If it’s already turned on, tap EQ to turn it off.
• The music app’s volume restriction has to be enabled.
• When the volume restriction is turned on, the device’s volume will be constrained.

4. Reset your Airpods

Resetting the Airpods is usually a fast way to troubleshoot and eliminate varying issues. Leaky sounds are not an exception. To reset your Airpods:

• Close the charging case after putting the Airpods inside and wait for about 30 seconds.
• Open the charging case’s lid once 30 seconds have passed.
• Tap settings > Bluetooth on your device.
• Find your Airpods in the Devices list and select “Forget this device.”
• Tap to confirm, if necessary.
• Keep the charging case’s lid open while pressing and holding the setup button of your Airpods charging case for about 15 seconds.
• The status indicator light should alternate from an amber to a white flash.
• Your Airpods have now reset. You can connect to it afresh.
• This should solve any sound issue you may be having.

How do I Improve the sound of my Airpods?

You can improve the sound of the Airpods by adjusting Apple Music. This can be done by:

• Go to the bottom of the page in the Settings app and select music.
• In the Audio drop-down menu, choose Audio Quality.
• From the drop-down option, select High-Quality Mobile Data Streaming.

Frequently Asked Questions on others hearing my Airpods

Q. What range can others hear audio leaking from my Airpods?

A. On average, 2 feet. It depends on several factors, including the volume of the Airpods, music settings, noise around that environment, and limits of the audio set by the user.

Q. Why are my Airpods so quiet but loud outside?

A. When they are unclean, Airpods produce a low-pitched or silent sound. This may occur over time due to dirt or gunk gathering inside them. Clean your Airpods well with a soft-bristled brush or lint-free cloth to solve this issue.

Q. Why do Airpods have speakers on the outside?

A. Airpods have different holes on the outside for various reasons. One of the holes on the outside is the external microphone that listens to external noise, which the Airpods use to produce an equivalent anti-noise for noise cancellation.

The other hole provides an outlet that aids the vibration of the Airpods speaker.

Q. Is it possible to turn off the microphone on my Airpods?

A. You cannot turn off the microphone of the Airpods. It is always on when the Airpods are working by default. You may control which Airpod (L or R) microphone you always want to use or leave it at the default settings to switch between both Airpods microphones automatically.

Wrap up

This article has confirmed that it is possible to overhear or eavesdrop on sounds that are leaking from your Airpods. Several factors determine this possibility, including volume and audio settings.

It is best to always listen to your Airpods at a reasonable volume and avoid exceeding any recommended audio limits set by Apple. Thanks for reading.

If you have questions about other people listening to your Airpod’s audio, please leave them in the comments below.

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