We always expect our airpods to give state-of-the-art efficiency and quality, as promised by the manufacturer.
Unfortunately, however, the Airpods can stop producing audio at the best quality, as it sounds muffled and watery.
On the bright side, this issue only requires a quick fix, and your airpods should function properly again.
When dirt, grime, and sometimes moisture finds their way into the crevices of your airpods, they accumulate and even harden. Over time, they block airpods components and make sounds muffled and watery. A good cleaning procedure will mostly clear out all the clogs and remove the underwater effect from your audio.
Why Does My Airpods Mic Sound Like It’s Underwater?
In most cases, sounds from your airpods come out low, distorted, and muffled like underwater because something clogs the microphone up.
Most times, it’s just dirt, but other times, it could result from water damage.
Foreign bodies like lint from your pockets could have also found their way deep into the mic of your airpods.
#1. Dirty Microphones
Your airpods could get dirty from several things. However, the most likely culprit, in this case, is earwax.
Your airpods are in direct contact with your ear canal most of the time, so it is not surprising that your airpods will pick up some of the earwax in your ear canal.
Over time, this accumulates and spreads into various parts of your airpods and blocks any sound waves from the speakers. Earwax readily attracts other particles.
As a result, not only earwax but dust, pocket lint, and other dirt particles build in the open crevices of your airpods, especially if you do not clean your airpods regularly.
#2. Water Damage
If your Airpods have recently drowned, there might still be water droplets within its microphones and speakers.
Constant exposure to wet and humid environments can also accumulate moisture inside the Airpods. For example, you place your airpods right beside a humidifier every day.
As a result, moisture can obstruct soundwaves from the microphones, and you will hear them as muffled sounds.
#3. Component Failure
In rare cases, your airpods may sound like it’s underwater because one of their main components has failed.
Your airpods could be old or experiencing a malfunction that has nothing to do with dirt or water.
What to Do If My Airpods Mic Sounds like It’s Underwater?
Usually, your airpods need to be cleaned properly as a quick and effective fix to this problem.
It could be excess moisture, gunk build-up blocking your microphones, or even both, but cleaning will remove all of it. The steps below will guide you on how to go about it.
Step One- Wipe Down
First, you should wipe the exterior with a microfiber cloth. It removes any dirt or loose particle on the Airpods to avoid unknowingly pushing dirt into them during the cleaning process.
Besides, washing your airpods down regularly to keep them clean and prevent dirt build-up would be best.
Step Two- Clean the Speakers
You will need to clear off the gunk in the speaker ports. Airpods are small devices. To get to the deep parts of its design for cleaning, you need the right tools.
In this table is a list of cleaning tools to get and their uses.
| Cleaning Tools | Use |
|---|---|
| Paper Towel | To wipe off picked-out dirt. |
| Microfiber cloth | To wipe airpods without leaving lint. |
| Small air pump | To force out residual dirt and dry out moisture. |
| Q-tip | Apply the cleaning solution. |
| Screen Cleaner | Cleaning liquid to break down dirt. |
| Toothpick | To pick out gunk from indents. |
| Rubbing alcohol | To sanitize. |
The small air pump, also known as compressed air, is optional. It only ensures no dirt particles are left hanging inside the Airpods by releasing bursts of air into them.
You can skip that part of the procedure if you do not have a small air pump.
Here is the procedure for cleaning the speakers.
- Sanitize the Airpods with some rubbing alcohol. It will soften the accumulated dirt and make the cleaning process easier.
- Spray screen cleaner on a Q-tip’s end. Gently rub the end of the Q-tip on the dark mead grilles of the airpod to apply the screen cleaner.
- There are three dark mesh grilles on the Airpods, and these are where sounds come out.
- Since the Airpods produce muffled sounds, the grilles are most affected by the dirt build-up.
- Use the cleaner lightly, as the grilles are fragile.
- Wait for a moment for the dirt to soften even more.
- Pick out the softened gunk with the toothpick. Lower the tip of the toothpick into a crevice and clean it out.
- Wipe the gunk off on a paper towel before repeating the process for all the crevices you can find.
- Spray the microfiber cloth with a screen cleaner and wipe the airpod again.
- With the small air pump, blow out the residual dirt particles and moisture from the back of the grilles. You can skip this step, as mentioned earlier.
- When you are cleaning both airpods, let them dry. Place the speaker part downwards so any leftover moisture can fall downwards and out.
Step Three- Clean the Airpods Case
It is counterproductive to place your newly cleaned airports inside a dirty case. The charging case must have accumulated dust and dirt in it as well.
Follow the same procedure above to clean the Airpods case and free its crevices from gunk.
Do not damage its charging parts; pay extra attention to cleaning the mold where you keep the Airpods.
At the end of these steps, any sound coming from your airpods should not sound like it is underwater. If this issue persists, visit the closest Apple support center.
How Do I Fix My Airpods Mic Quality?
You can instantly fix your airpods mic quality by strengthening its Bluetooth connectivity, resetting your airpods, and even updating your iOS device.
#1. Disconnect Other Bluetooth Devices
Usually, there are a lot of Bluetooth devices running at the same time.
As a result, the network of connections can interfere with the Bluetooth connection between your airpods and your device, reducing its sound quality.
Disabling all those interfering devices will instantly fix the quality of your airpods mic.
#2. Reset Your Airpods
Not only can resetting your airpods fix their sound quality, but it can also improve battery issues. To reset your airpods, find a button at the back of the airpods.
Press and hold this button for around 15 seconds. The indicator light should flash white, amber, and white again in that order.
You have reset your airpods. Now pair it with your device and try to listen to the audio.
#3. Update Your iOS Device
As long as you connect your airpods to your Apple device, it will automatically stay up to date with your device’s iOS version.
However, if your iOS version is outdated, it can affect your airpods sound quality. So, update your iPhone, and your airpods will also come up to date.
If an update is available and your device does not have the latest iOS, Apple will notify you in your settings, and you can tap to update.
Why Do My Airpods Leak Sound?
Your airpods leak sound mostly because they are not the right size or fit for your ears.
When airpods do not fit into your ears snugly, sounds escape and can distract anyone close to you.
The best solution is to buy silicon earbuds your size to fit on your airpods. It will fill in the gap and stop sound leakage.
Airpods pro usually comes with three different silicone ear tip sizes that you can pick from.
You can try out all three and pick the one that blocks sounds from escaping. Alternatively, you could use foam ear tips instead.
These are more likely to fit perfectly to your ear than silicone, but they can be dangerous if you are in an environment where you need to hear some sounds.
Foam earbuds stop sounds from escaping but block sounds from reaching your ears from outside. It is a good option for use in the comfort of your own home.
In addition, raising the airpods volume too high can also cause sounds to leak. It also damages your ears.
Cleaning your airpods prevents dirt from accumulating, so you do not have to set your volume high to hear perfectly.
Where Is the Airpod Mic Located?
Your airpods have two microphones, one on the end of the airpod stem and the other inside the earbud.
The microphone on the stem is the main microphone. It is in a strategic position. This position is closer to your mouth, making it easy to record your voice.
Physically, you can spot the mics as two holes on the Airpods. These holes are above the microphones.
One hole is at the bottom of that airpods stem and another at the back of the earbud.
Over each microphone, there are small metal guards that serve to protect and prevent the mic components from getting broken.
Apple’s AI, Siri, receives commands through the microphone on the stem of the airpods.
Conclusion
It would help if you cleaned your airpods at most every 2 months to maintain the sound quality. When you clean, your airpods tend to last longer, giving you the real value of what you paid for.
Also, note that your airpods could leak sounds simply because of a fault. In this case, consult an apple store technician.