We might not all like ridiculously loud music blasting into our ears all the time, but we do at least want to be able to hear the music, and sometimes the volume coming through our headphones is so low we can just barely tell there’s even music playing.
Other times, we might be able to hear the music pretty well, but notice a significant drop in volume, and can’t quite figure out why
Well, that’s what we’re here for today, to figure out why this might be happening and to see what we can do to fix it, return the volume to normal and get back to listening to and fully enjoying our music – and to do this as quickly and easily as possible!
Please note that we here at Speakergy have written a couple of other closely related articles which might also be of help, and might even be a better match for what you’re looking for:
- How To Make Headphones Louder? [10 Things To Try]
- 16+ Loudest Headphones On The Market: An Expert Review
What Makes Headphones Play Too Quietly?
There are many different answers to this question, and to find the right answer for you we should ask a few other basic questions.
To get to the solution as quickly and easily as possible, please look at these three questions, and if any of them fit your situation simply click on the corresponding link and you will be taken to some answers.
Are your headphones wired or wireless?
- Wired Headphones can have various problems with connections, or can simply have defective, worn, or broken wiring, among other issues. If your headphones are wired, and you want to go straight to some possible fixes, just click HERE.
- Wireless Headphones can have problems with battery charge, connection or other electrical/electronic issues, among other things. If your headphones are wireless, and you want to go straight to some possible fixes, just click HERE.
Do your headphones play too quietly with just one track or one album, or all the time with everything?
- If your headphones or earbuds play too quietly with just a single song or album, there’s a pretty good chance it’s just a defective file, and we will talk about what to do HERE.
Do your headphones sound normal to other people?
- Even if you don’t have the opportunity to have somebody else listen to your headphones or earbuds if you have tried other fixes and the problem still exists you might need to check your ears or even your hearing. We will discuss this in more detail HERE.
Why Are My Wired Headphones So Quiet?
If your wired headphones are too quiet, it is usually because of a problem with the wired connection, and you should look at the following causes and solutions:
Make sure the headphone plug is fully in
Check to make sure that the headphone plug is pushed all the way into the socket – don’t push in with too much force, of course, but make sure it is fully and securely seated in the socket, and not partially sticking out.
Make sure the volume is actually tuned on
Make sure the volume control on the headphones is turned up. And don’t be embarrassed if it isn’t – this may be the number one cause of low volume, and you wouldn’t believe how many people miss it!
Make sure the plug and socket are clean.
If there is any gunk or residue – even sometimes too much dust – on the headphones’ metal plug, it can really mess with the audio signal and cause a strong drop in volume. You can usually clean plugs with a moist cloth, or a bit of soapy water, or for tougher residue rubbing alcohol can really cut through the grime – just make absolutely certain the plug is completely dry before re-inserting it, and never let the cleaning fluids – even water – touch the inside of the headphone units themselves.
Similarly, a dirty socket can be the culprit, but this is much more difficult to deal with. Really, the only safe way to clean a headphone jack on a stereo system, PC, or phone is with canned air, blowing it into the socket.
Although some people have gotten lucky, and not destroyed their gear or seriously shocked themselves, it is not recommended to use any kind of damp cloth or swab/Q-tip inside the socket.
Make sure the wires are not frayed or broken.
If there is any loss of connection anywhere along the wires, because they have become damaged or simply have frayed and worn out over time, the volume (and sound quality) will drop markedly.
In this case, it is almost never worth it to try to fix headphones, unless they’re pretty high end units, and you may have to purchase some new ones.
Check if the headphones need sone cleaning
If the wires and plugs look ok and the volume is up, but the sound is still too soft, you might want to check if the headphones need cleaning.
Especially with in-ear headphones, too much earwax can lead to a muted sound or a low volume. On-ear and over-ear headphones can also benefit from periodic cleaning, but they being dirty is very unlikely to cause a significant drop in volume.
You can very carefully clean your headphones, using a special headphone cleaning kit or even toothpicks, cotton swabs or a damp cloth – just be absolutely certain that you don’t get fluid into the inside of the headphones, damage the screen or touch the inside components with anything. Don’t ever use a vacuum or any other kind of suction, and be careful to not push earwax or other gunk deeper into the earbuds, making them even harder to clean.
But again, if this all sounds like a little too much work, or too much pressure, you might want to make it a lot easier and safer with something like my favorite Aispour Cleaning Kit.
If none of this works, or none of the above are your problem, there are a couple of other possibilities:
- Your headphones are just broken! Even a lot of fairly expensive headphones these days are not really made for more than a few years of use, and the cheaper ones even less, so it might not be a surprise if your headphones are simply broken or worn out – or possibly defective.
- If they’re broken, again it might not be worth the time, effort and money to fix them or have them fixed – unless they’re pretty good headphones, that is. You might be better off just resigning yourself to the fact that your beloved companions need to be replaced.
Of course, if they are defective, and still under warranty, you’re in luck. Just contact your dealer or the manufacturer, have your purchase receipt and (if there is one) product’s serial number handy, and you’re good to go. It can be especially helpful if you’ve already tried the troubleshooting steps in the above and below sections, and can tell the dealer or manufacturer about what you’ve done.
- Your playback device’s settings are incorrect or need adjusting. Check the volume controls – and remember that a computer or phone may have both a main system volume and a volume control on the media player itself. A web page, or a YouTube or other online video player, might also have a volume control, which may be turned way down or even muted. All of these volume controls should be checked, and if even one of them is too low it can make your audio very soft, even inaudible.
Also make sure there is no volume limiting set on your phone or computer, and that the mute button is not activated.
Why Are My Wireless Headphones So Quiet?
Wireless headphones most often play too quietly because of incorrect settings or problems with the wireless connection, but there might be other reasons they are playing so softly.
Check the power.
Make sure your wireless headphones are charged up – even fully charged, just to be safe – and powered on.
Check the Bluetooth wireless connection.
Make sure your playback device – phone, PC, tablet or whatever else – is connected to the right Bluetooth device,
If it all looks good, you should further check the Bluetooth connection by unpairing and repairing the devices, and see if the volume has returned to normal. You can even restart them both, repair them and try to play something.
Check the volume.
If your wireless headphones have a volume control, make sure it is turned up.
Check the volume again, and again!
Just like with wired headphones, if other checks and fixes lead nowhere you should check the volume controls on your PC, phone or tablet, or whatever device you’re using to play music, movies or other audio.
And remember that a computer or phone may have both a main system volume and a volume control on the media player itself. A web page, or a YouTube or other online video player, might also have a volume control, which may be turned way down or even muted. All of these volume controls should be checked, and if even one of them is too low it can make your audio very soft, even inaudible.
Also make sure there is no volume limiting set on your phone or computer, and that the mute button is not activated.
Check for gunk.
Again, just like with wired headphones, a buildup of earwax or other gunk can block the sound, and sometimes strongly reduce volume. This is especially true of in-ear headphones / earbuds. On-ear and over-ear headphones can also benefit from periodic cleaning, but they being dirty is very unlikely to cause a significant drop in volume.
You can very carefully clean your headphones, using a special headphone cleaning kit or even toothpicks, cotton swabs or a damp cloth – just be absolutely certain that you don’t get fluid into the inside of the headphones, damage the screen or touch the inside components with anything. Don’t ever use a vacuum or any other kind of suction, and be careful to not push earwax or other gunk deeper into the earbuds, making them even harder to clean.
But again, if this all sounds like a little too much work, or too much pressure, you might want to make it a lot easier and safer with something like my favorite Aispour Cleaning Kit.
Is something actually broken?
If you have tried all of the above, and nothing seems to help, there’s a good chance your wireless headphones are defective or broken – or that your device or its system is defective or broken.
- If your headphones are broken, the cost of repair can easily be more than just buying a new pair – and with new headphones, you also get all the new tech and improvements in performance and sound.
Of course, if they are defective and still under warranty, you might have nothing to worry about. You can simply contact your dealer or the manufacturer, and provide detailed information about the problem and all of the things you have already tried and checked.
- If your device – smartphone, computer, tablet, or other – or its operating system are having problems, and you’re a tech whiz, you probably already have a good idea what to do, and I’m not going to get into any of that here.
If you’re not a techie, though, and especially if your device is still under warranty, please just take it to the dealer, an authorized warranty service center or a qualified technician. You do not want to go down the rabbit hole of adjusting and readjusting settings and tinkering with configurations and system files, which almost always makes things much worse, and you do not want to open up your PC or phone – again, especially if they are still under warranty, since doing so will almost certainly void that warranty.
Save enormous amounts of time, energy, frustration, and money by letting a qualified professional help you diagnose and fix technical issues, or proceed at your own risk!
Why Do My Headphones Play So Softly with Just One Song, Album, or Movie?
If the problem of too low of volume on your headphones only happens with one track, one album or one movie or video, there is a very good chance that specific file or set of files is defective.
- If you have downloaded the file from a free source, simply re-download it and try again. If the new download has the same problem, you might be able to contact the site’s administrator and inform them, and even ask for a non-defective replacement.
- If it’s a paid download, you should contact the company from which you purchased the music, movie, audiobook or video – or whatever kind of file it is – and ask for a non-defective replacement or, if that isn’t possible, a refund. You can then go to another commercial site, re-purchase and re-download the movie, song, audio book or whatever it was, and chances are all will be good.
- One final note – if the file you’re trying to listen to is John Cage’s 4:33, there’s nothing you can do.
If you are a fan of avant garde modern classical music, like I am, you’re rolling on the floor with laughter right now. And if you’re not, and don’t have anything better to do, check out an online video of this notorious piece of “music.”
Why Is It Just Me?
If your headphones sound normal to other people, but sound too quiet to you, there are a couple of very important things to check.
Are your ears clean?
If you haven’t been regularly cleaning your ears, and especially (though not only) if you are using in-ear headphones / earbuds, there is a very good chance that your ears and ear canals have a lot of built up wax, which can make music sound much quieter than it really is, as well as dramatically degrading the sound quality.
Even if you’ve been cleaning them, but with cotton swabs (which, to be fair, do look like they were made for the job!), you should know that swabs can actually push more ear wax into your ear canals than they clean out.
Here I’m going to share my own personal method of deeply and safely cleaning out my ears, which I do every couple of months.
- I lie down on my side, and with a (needle-less!) syringe I put a few CCs of low-strength (usually 3%) hydrogen peroxide (like you can get from any pharmacy or grocery store) into the upward facing ear, allowing it to completely fill the ear canal and most of the outer ear. Then I lie and wait, about twenty minutes, not moving or doing anything at all.
- If you try this yourself, you’ll hear all kinds of weird noises, as the peroxide breaks though and cleans out ear wax, but don’t be alarmed – it just means it’s working!
- After twenty minutes, I cover that ear with a cloth and roll to the other side, allowing the hydrogen peroxide, and all the gunk, to flow out, all the time gently massaging the ear for thoroughness.
- Then I do the other ear in exactly the same way.
This method is safe and effective, but if you are concerned at all you can check with your doctor to make sure it is ok for you.
Is your hearing ok?
If you are experiencing any other indications that you may be having trouble with your hearing, or if you are experiencing any pain or discomfort in your ear or head, any excess pressure, or any dizziness, you should immediately go to a doctor or qualified medical professional and have a complete hearing test and diagnostic done.
Seriously, don’t wait, and don’t hesitate. If you are having trouble hearing or any other signs of problems, the sooner you have it checked out the better! Ok, enough said…