Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Ralfi

macrumors 601
Dec 22, 2016
4,373
3,101
Australia
Feedback sent, this is really annoying :(

You've prompted me to call Apple....on phone with them now. They're very understanding of our concerns, so much so that the tech support person has passed me onto her senior technician in the hope they can come up with a solution other then turning the main volume down....on hold now.

Gotto give Apple credit for responding to call requests so soon & trying to help out.

I won't get my hopes up, but at least making more staff aware of the issue may improve chances of something being done.

I suggest others call Apple Support too & mention that this issue is a health & safety matter.

Update....no luck....Apple thought they had a fix, but it seems the Ringer/Alert volume level remains unchanged when going from Airpods to phone speaker.

They also said not many people have made them aware of this issue, so there's extra reason to 'bother' them about it.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Yptcn

bobalina

macrumors newbie
Jan 10, 2006
13
0
Australia
I think it's a bluetooth thing. I am using the AIAIAI bluetooth headband and my ears were blown away mid song today by a text alert.
 

Starship67

Suspended
Oct 28, 2017
958
1,337
LA
I haven't experienced the issue on my AirPods. I did have something similar in the car with CarPlay however alerts were deafening. It seems to have resolved itself through iOS updates however.
 

Ralfi

macrumors 601
Dec 22, 2016
4,373
3,101
Australia
I haven't experienced the issue on my AirPods. I did have something similar in the car with CarPlay however alerts were deafening. It seems to have resolved itself through iOS updates however.
Are you 100% sure about this?

I ask because I thought it was resolved in the past, but I didn't realise i'd turned down the main volume...
 

Starship67

Suspended
Oct 28, 2017
958
1,337
LA
Are you 100% sure about this?

I ask because I thought it was resolved in the past, but I didn't realise i'd turned down the main volume...

Pretty sure, I use them for hours a day and haven’t noticed it. Try resetting yours.
 

CleanOK

macrumors newbie
Jul 5, 2017
10
5
I am surprised there aren’t more reports on this issue.
Hi Alicia, I wanted to ask you to check this manual https://www.cultofmac.com/460767/resetting-airpods-fix-battery-drain/
It helped me today. Seems that I did not properly reset the AirPods last several times: I really had to wait for 15 mins. The blinking light which I always thought is a confirmation of AirPods being reset to factory defaults was not amber.
Please let me know if it worked for you.

UPDATE: It only helped for 15 minutes. Then again I have Ear Blowing loud sound of incoming SMS messages and incoming calls...
 
Last edited:

TMav

macrumors newbie
Sep 24, 2015
3
1
Hi Alicia, I wanted to ask you to check this manual https://www.cultofmac.com/460767/resetting-airpods-fix-battery-drain/
It helped me today. Seems that I did not properly reset the AirPods last several times: I really had to wait for 15 mins. The blinking light which I always thought is a confirmation of AirPods being reset to factory defaults was not amber.
Please let me know if it worked for you.

UPDATE: It only helped for 15 minutes. Then again I have Ear Blowing loud sound of incoming SMS messages and incoming calls...

Problem still persists. My only wireless headphone experience is with AirPods but I'm guessing this is an issue for any wireless headphone. I never had issues controlling volume with iOS and headphones before the AirPods. Its annoying. They should just behave as any wired headphone and then there would not be an issue. Why Apple doesn't realize this as a bug is also annoying.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ralfi

friednoodles

Suspended
Feb 4, 2014
601
830
I thought I'd reply here after searching for others having this issue, to say I'm having the same problem as well and I'm surprised it wasn't fixed/changed in 11.3.

If this is by design, it's incredibly poor design. Regardless of what your AirPods volume is set to (e.g. about 50%), if you receive a call or try to make a FaceTime call, the volume of the ring is incredibly loud, way above whatever the AirPods volume is set to.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JuBe and Ralfi

CleanOK

macrumors newbie
Jul 5, 2017
10
5
I thought I'd reply here after searching for others having this issue, to say I'm having the same problem as well and I'm surprised it wasn't fixed/changed in 11.3.

Yeah, Apple's one key mission is to change the way people live. Me, I already getting used to have my iPhone's ringer being in 30% of maximal volume. Yes, I miss some of incoming calls 'cuz I just don't hear them, but I am getting used to that, too.

Not to mention good feeling of being in this thread among you brothers. This pain unites us and we are no longer alone. =)
 

Ralfi

macrumors 601
Dec 22, 2016
4,373
3,101
Australia
Yeah, Apple's one key mission is to change the way people live. Me, I already getting used to have my iPhone's ringer being in 30% of maximal volume. Yes, I miss some of incoming calls 'cuz I just don't hear them, but I am getting used to that, too.

Not to mention good feeling of being in this thread among you brothers. This pain unites us and we are no longer alone. =)
Lol. That's a bit over the top. But I feel you, brother. :D

I still get caught out with this now & then. What's worse is if I'm listening to my iPad & a call comes through - my iPad has an even louder, more piercing ringtone (a fail-safe, in case I can't hear the phone when at home) which absolutely destroy my ears through the Airpods. :(
 

CleanOK

macrumors newbie
Jul 5, 2017
10
5
Lol. That's a bit over the top. But I feel you, brother. :D

I still get caught out with this now & then. What's worse is if I'm listening to my iPad & a call comes through - my iPad has an even louder, more piercing ringtone (a fail-safe, in case I can't hear the phone when at home) which absolutely destroy my ears through the Airpods. :(

I hope one day someone will sue Apple for getting him completely deaf with "AirPods Alert Volume" torment.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: AlphaHumanus

NoleATL

macrumors newbie
Mar 9, 2016
27
18
I hope one day someone will sue Apple for getting him completely deaf with "AirPods Alert Volume" torment.
This problem is driving me nuts... I seriously believe this will cause my hearing to be damaged. @Apple, are you listening? We need to have notifications for texts etc on a separate volume control when using AirPods!
 
  • Like
Reactions: JuBe and intelinc

Alicia1

macrumors 6502a
Nov 13, 2009
568
545
Gold Coast, Australia
This problem is driving me nuts... I seriously believe this will cause my hearing to be damaged. @Apple, are you listening? We need to have notifications for texts etc on a separate volume control when using AirPods!

Stupid thing is when I was using a 7+ on ios10 notifications and ring volume were lowered as well when the airpods were connected. Now it is loud and it is drivin me mad
 

sekazi

macrumors 6502
Jan 12, 2012
469
84
I am glad I am not the only one. I just got my AirPods last week and every time I have received a call I end up ripping them out of my ears as fast as possible.

I will try some of the things here but it sounds like it is not going to work.

I have not used headphones or a headset with my iPhone in a year or so. What I remember is the volume control indicator changes when one was connected. With the AirPods the volume goes to what I last set automatically but the volume indicator does not specify it is headphones or a headset at all.

I do not have my adapter to test out another wired headset or headphones so I do not know if that is still a thing.

All I know is if I cannot figure this out I will likely be going to the Apple store. If they cannot figure it out I may seriously consider giving them back.
 

Ralfi

macrumors 601
Dec 22, 2016
4,373
3,101
Australia
This isn't a solution, but the iPhone X (& maybe the 8-series, not sure), appear to have a louder/clearer speaker which may not need to be set to full volume, which means the alert volume on the Airpods will also be set lower....

Not 100% sure on this, still testing...
 

The5thElephant

macrumors newbie
Feb 1, 2011
23
1
I just solved this after talking with Apple Support for a while.

Apparently there is a setting I have never seen before in Sounds & Haptics that toggles whether alerts and ring volume are controlled by volume buttons or not:

8FB0421D-C590-4231-BD16-27C7F8764A3A.png

If you turn “Change with Buttons” ON then alerts and rings will respect your volume settings.

I have no idea why this was set to OFF since I don’t remember changing it and I really hope it defaults to ON for people because the experience with it off sucks unless you really want your alert sounds at a specifically different level.

With it ON you can mute all alert sounds by hitting the physical mute switch and the turning the volume up with the physical buttons to watch a video for example.

I hope this helps you! My ears are finally saved.
 

Alicia1

macrumors 6502a
Nov 13, 2009
568
545
Gold Coast, Australia
I just solved this after talking with Apple Support for a while.

Apparently there is a setting I have never seen before in Sounds & Haptics that toggles whether alerts and ring volume are controlled by volume buttons or not:

View attachment 761016

If you turn “Change with Buttons” ON then alerts and rings will respect your volume settings.

I have no idea why this was set to OFF since I don’t remember changing it and I really hope it defaults to ON for people because the experience with it off sucks unless you really want your alert sounds at a specifically different level.

With it ON you can mute all alert sounds by hitting the physical mute switch and the turning the volume up with the physical buttons to watch a video for example.

I hope this helps you! My ears are finally saved.


This doesn't work. I have it set to on and maximum volume so I can hear my phone in my bag etc. When I connect the AirPods the ring volume doesn't automatically drop (like music playback does) like it used to, it still stays on max volume.
 

MrGuder

macrumors 68040
Nov 30, 2012
3,049
2,024
I'm having the same exact issue...I bought my airpods about 3 weeks ago at the Apple store. I called Apple support because I was having this exact issue. For me, the volume when using the music app was strangely low so I end up having to increase the slider volume about 60% just to hear my music at a decent level....then when a call comes in or alert sound the volume is super super loud and kills me eardrum.

I called Apple support, they indicated something must be wrong with my airpods so they agreed to send me another pair via mail. I got the replacement and they are doing the same exact thing.

The user above ^^The5thElephant that posted a fix does not work, I've tried that multiple times. If you turn the button off you can get the alerts to sound lower through your airpods but once you disconnect your airpods, it retains that you lowered the ring volume so you will never hear your phone ring.

AS OTHERS have mentioned above, this is a MAJOR bug and APPLE needs to implement a separate volume for airpods when listening to music. It seems like the ring/alert volume is set to max and it's impossible to lower the alert volume while using airpods. I'm surprised a lawsuit has not been brought about to Apple because this is a serious way to lose your hearing.

Oh and thanks for the link in this thread, I've also send feedback to Apple.
I'm really bummed that I can't listen to my music without getting bombastic loud alerts of a phone call or sound alert that sounds so incredibly loud. I literally have to pull them out of my ears when a call comes in...it's that loud. For this reason I hate the airpods.

[doublepost=1527810037][/doublepost]I just checked to see how many people have viewed this thread and it shows over 24,000 views and it's only 3 pages long. That tells me this issue is happening to a lot of other people too. Lets hope Apple fixes this issue...maybe in iOS 12 or a firmware update.
 
  • Like
Reactions: intelinc and Ralfi

NoleATL

macrumors newbie
Mar 9, 2016
27
18
You've prompted me to call Apple....on phone with them now. They're very understanding of our concerns, so much so that the tech support person has passed me onto her senior technician in the hope they can come up with a solution other then turning the main volume down....on hold now.

Gotto give Apple credit for responding to call requests so soon & trying to help out.
Except here we are 2 years later and they've done nothing. It can't be that difficult. Either there is a total disconnect between users and Apple on what the problem is or they have super ears that aren't impacted by the lightning bolt to the ear drums.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ralfi and MrGuder
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.