Airpods are at the top of the market, yet users report call quality issues with their airpods.
For example, distracting background noises become amplified while the caller’s voice becomes too low.
It is a problem for the airpod user at the receiving end of the call, but further down the guide, there are ways to fix it.
Airpods contain microphones with a high gain setting compared to other listening devices. It is why airpods tend to pick up extra noises that can be distracting during calls. Your airpod could also have developed a fault in one of its microphones, leading to increased background noises in your audio.
Why Do Airpods Pick up Background Noise?
Airpods give calls an overall bad quality either because of an aggressively amplified mic, Live-Listen feature, or noise cancellation settings that do not suit the conditions around you.
As a result, the microphone makes loud sounds inside the house. While outside, the mic blurs all sounds, including the main audio or the caller’s voice.
It does this because the mic can not point out the main sound to focus on—all of these compounds into a poor-quality listening experience.
#1. Overly Sensitive Microphone
The microphone built into the airpod is very sensitive. Apple intended it to be advantageous, and it is, to an extent. But, there is a design flaw.
The microphone can pick up the least valued sounds in the background and make them sound even louder.
An example is the humming sound of the microwave. It might get amplified by the airpod into what sounds like the engine of a heavy-duty truck.
#2. Noise Cancellation Settings
A software bug in the noise canceling settings deteriorates the overall quality of calls through the airpods.
The noise cancellation settings are of three modes; Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), Transparency, and Off.
The ANC actively blocks off background noise at extreme levels, but sometimes it can be too aggressive and amplify background noise instead.
The Off mode has the airpods working like regular earbuds, not blocking or picking up background sounds.
The most interesting feature is the Transparency mode because it acts as a middle ground. It reduces noise but not at extreme levels like the ANC.
Your airpods could be picking up ambient noises because you have enabled a noise cancellation mode that does not match your environment.
#3. Enabled Live-Listen Feature
The Live-Listen feature on your airpod can cause you to hear many different ambient noises. Disabling it can reduce the background noise your airpod picks up.
Some airpod users even report experiencing amplified ambient noises while the main sound gets reduced instead.
How Do I Stop Airpods from Picking up Background Noise?
The more recent models, Airpod Max and Airpod Pro, have noise canceling features that have made it easy to solve this issue. You can minimize background noises by activating any noise-canceling modes.
In any case, you can stop, to an extent, your airpods from making external sounds even louder, thus reducing background noise.
#1. Lowering Background Noise
The Airpod Pro already has the design to keep background noise from seeping into your ears while you are listening to music or taking a call.
However, it does not remove the background noise. Instead, it significantly reduces its volume, so you don’t hear it.
It does this by using two microphones, one facing away from you and the other facing you.
The external microphone detects the sounds outside the airpods and produces an opposite waveform that cancels that sound.
The internal microphone finishes the job if a few sound waves escape the external microphone.
#2. Activate Noise Canceling
Noise Canceling effectively stops your airpods from picking up noisy sounds during calls.
While this feature might not completely cancel out noise from the background, it can significantly reduce their volume.
You can not activate this feature if you use old iPad models. With this feature, you zone in on that audio coming from the airpods instead of external sounds.
It is easy to activate this feature on your Apple device. To do so, follow the procedure below.
- Go to your Apple device’s Control Center. Your Apple device could be an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad.
- Press and hold the Volume Slider. More controls should appear.
- At the bottom of the screen, you should see the Noise Cancellation icon. Select it.
- Press Turn on Noise Cancellation Mode.
#3. Use the Right Ear Fit
Using airpods with ear tips that fit the size of your ear determines how much background noise you can block out.
However, even with the noise canceling features, it will not work as well as it should if your airpods do not fit the size of your ear.
To determine if a pair of Airpod Pro is the right fit for your ears, follow the procedure below to ensure you effectively reduce background noise.
- Pair the Airpods with an iPhone or iPod.
- Go to the settings menu.
- Tap on the Bluetooth tab and select the ‘i’ icon.
- Out of several options that will pop up, select Undertaking the Eartip Test.
- A menu titled Test the Fit of your Ear Tips should be displayed. Tap continue.
- Press play once the test pops up. A track will play for four seconds. When the track ends, your Apple device will display the results.
- Good Seal means the Ear Tip is right. A yellow sign saying Adjust or Try With Different Eartip means you are using the wrong airpods size.
If you are using the wrong Eartips, get one that fits the shape and size of your ears better. In addition, it will improve your airpods audio and reduce background interference.
Doe Airpods Microphone Cancel out Background Noise?
Yes. In response to the constant complaints of airpod users, Apple addressed the issue in 2019.
They have added noise canceling modes to the models they have designed ever since.
Unfortunately, older models of airpods do not have features to cancel out background noise.
The feature of noise canceling is part of the Airpods Pro design so that users can focus on audio without distractions like everyday traffic din, people talking, and other background noises.
Apple’s Airpods noise canceling technique is made possible by the H1 chip they switched to for the Pro models. This chip reduces noise 200 times in a second, every day.
Airpods also cancel out background noise with Passive noise cancellation. It involves physically obstructing sound waves so they can not get into the user’s ears.
The flexible ear tips are responsible for this physical obstruction, as they block the ear canal from intruding sounds.
How Do I Turn on Background Noise on Airpods?
To turn on background noise, switch the noise canceling modes of your airpods to OFF. You can switch between noise cancellation modes to let background noise in.
In certain situations, it is safer to be able to hear the external sounds around you.
Especially when you are outside, this is the safety concern of users who use noise canceling features because it does not let them hear noise in their surroundings that might mean danger.
Sounds from a honking vehicle or a police siren, among others, are important.
These concerns are valid, so Apple made the noise-canceling feature not completely block out sounds.
Instead, it works as long as the user is not listening to audio at extremely high volumes.
The Airpods Pro can reduce external sounds by 23 decibels in noise-canceling modes. The Airpods Max reduces it by 26 dB.
This way, background noise is not as loud, and you can still hear the happenings around you.
Fortunately, many ambient sounds important to your safety are usually high-level sounds. Some examples are in the table below.
| Sound | Decibel Level (dB) |
|---|---|
| Talking Voices | 60 dB |
| Car Traffic | 70 dB |
| Large Vehicles | 80 dB |
| Subway Train | 90 dB |
| Car horn | 110 dB |
| Ambulance/Police Sirens | 120 dB |
With your Airpods noise-canceling features, you can still hear these sounds in the background.
However, you can choose how much background noise you want to let in by selecting any noise cancellation modes.
How Do I Reduce Background Noise on My iPhone?
The fastest way to reduce background noise on your iPhone is by using its AI, Siri, to turn on the noise canceling feature.
Unfortunately, there is no concrete way of reducing the amplification setting in your airpod microphone since it comes with the airpods by default, independent of what model it is.
Other ways to reduce background noise through your iPhone include firmware updates and pairing your airpods with different devices.
#1. Test Your Airpods
You can also test your airpods with not just your iPhone but with any other apple device and even devices from other manufacturers.
This way, you can see if the background noise problem only occurs when the airpod is paired with certain devices or with all of them.
If your airpods only amplify background noise with your iPhone but not other devices, you should adjust your settings.
#2. Firmware Update
IOS 15 has made new updates possible for the Airpods Pro. These firmware updates should be available on the latest iOS versions.
After the firmware update on your iPhone, you should no longer experience call problems on your airpods.
Update your device to the latest iOS version before the update. If the update does not work on your airpods, try to forget your airpods from your iPhone.
Then reconnect. If the background noise persists, visit the apple care center closest to you.
Conclusion
Third-generation airpods have an acoustic mesh cover in both earbuds. It is a noise-blocking cover and is very effective in windy conditions outside.
Using your airpods in a quiet environment makes it easier for the mic to focus on the audio. When you make calls outside, you can switch from using the airpod mic to your iPhone’s mic.
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