This is something that I would like to have. Separate alert volume setting for the iphone speaker and for the airpods.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
AirPods and alert volume
- Thread starter jonfarr
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
This is something that I would like to have. Separate alert volume setting for the iphone speaker and for the airpods.
This happened again to me this week. I’m listening to my music on my iPhone 6s at about 60% volume with Airpods and a call comes in and blast my ears off it must have been at 90% volume. I swear this is such a major problem that I’m afraid to use my Airpods and music because I never know when my ears are going to start bleeding on a notification or incoming call.
The only thing to do is risk missing calls on speaker by decreasing the main alert volume to ~60-70%.
Having a low volume alert tone on the X (& I presume the 8/8+) isn't so bad as the speakers are clearer & of better quality than previous generations. Also, turn on vibrate - this is also better than prior vibration assemblies. By doing this, you should minimise the chance of missing a call...
Still, Apple shouldn't be making us do that...
I'm still having this problem with my AirPods, however many years after someone started this post (thankfully!). It's shockingly loud and I fear for my hearing.
I agree, the only apparent "solution" to not blowing out your ears while receiving a new email/text/Reminder Alert is to basically turn all alerts to vibrate:
-Settings
-Sounds & Haptics
-Sounds and Vibration Patterns: "Ringtone" can be whatever alert you wish, because it doesn't ring on your headphones for some reason. EVERY OTHER ALERT BELOW THAT should be turned to "Vibration", plus turning "Alert Tones" to "None" within each alert. Ie. do this for "Text Tone", "New Voicemail", "New Mail," etc. View my screen grab:
This means that you only have vibrations for all of your alerts. To me this is not a totally satisfying solution, but at least one that makes the alerts less painful while using AirPods.
There are some vibration patterns that catch your attention more than others, however, so try a few out to see what works for you. "Heartbeat" seems more effective to me.
And I'm guessing this probably happens on other Bluetooth headphones and speakers, so I still think the onus is on Apple to separate the Alert volume from the Ringtone volume.
Thank you for posting the above, it’s not the best solution but yeah I might try it. I’m also still having the same problem. It did it yesterday, I’m listening to music at about 60% and then my Nest cam sends an alert of activity and it nearly broke my eardrum, the Nest ping had to be at least 90% volume it literally hurt my ears. I can’t figure it out and why they can’t separate the volume with a software patch. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one having this issue. Apple most likely won’t change anything unless they get sued.
Mine didn’t do it for a while and then came back it’s really annoying. It’s got something to do with either the ringer volume, static volume, alert volume or a combination of them. It will literally blow your ears off when it happens.
I don’t think people are understanding that actual issue here from the original poster.
When I’m playing music (lets just say at a volume 5) the music will jump to a “10” for a quick second and then lower back to a 5 and then the notification will come in. The notification volume is not the issue. It’s the music volume immediately before the notification. The music volume jumps up and then goes down right before it announces a notification. Again, the actual notification bell is not the issue. I still can’t find a damn fix!!! I did notice today that the issue happens for me on Spotify and Pandora, but not when using Apple Music
When I’m playing music (lets just say at a volume 5) the music will jump to a “10” for a quick second and then lower back to a 5 and then the notification will come in. The notification volume is not the issue. It’s the music volume immediately before the notification. The music volume jumps up and then goes down right before it announces a notification. Again, the actual notification bell is not the issue. I still can’t find a damn fix!!! I did notice today that the issue happens for me on Spotify and Pandora, but not when using Apple Music
Mine has been doing this since day 1. I posted about it (created a thread). You can adjust the siri volume to not have the voice too loud, or turn that off, but like you are saying, the now playing volume spikes right before siri kicks in. It is VERY loud and annoying.
I listen to SiriusXM for about 8 hours a day, and have the volume set to the lowest notch with ANC on, it is like being poked in the ear with a hot iron. I have now turned off siri text notifications because of it.
Ok, here’s the solution I found. With your AirPods in, grab your phone and type a multi-line text to yourself. Hit “send” then quickly close your phone (screen). The moment the text comes through your AirPods, use the volume rocker on the side of your phone to adjust the volume of your message. This should set the volume for incoming messages going forward.
You can do this with Siri too, it is the same volume. The problem I have is not that volume, it is the music you are listening to will jump before Siri starts reading the messages.
Any solution to this yet? My ears hurt as I write this. I have my AirPods 2 linked to both my iPhone and iPad, however only iPad experiences this issue. For example, if I set timer, it rings at 100% volume inside my AirPods. Adjusting volume in Sound —> Ringer and Volume does NOT affect AirPods ringer volume. Notice this bug is ringer only, music volume adjusts fine.
Any solution to this yet? I've had airpods for 4-5 months and this just started happening to me. My ringer volume must permanently stay at the lowest level possible or my ears are blown out by incoming calls. Is this Apples way of making us wear earpods 24/7? Clever marketing trick.
I can’t believe there’s still no solution to this issue!!! It’s almost 2021, and I just got my AirPods Pro a few days ago and I’m having this same issue that seems to be prevalent to most users of AirPods. Why won’t Apple address this? If they have, why is the fix or the instructions not easily available?
My brother just had an Emergency Alert go off while he had his Pro's in his ear. We were talking, he had to rip it out of his ears it was so loud. And he's a pilot (used to loud noises in his ear, and using Bose qc headphones during his entire flight).
Last edited:
It’s ironic that Apple has a warning on their packaging that loud music might ruin our hearing, and then they blast off our ears with extremely loud alert sounds (low battery, connected etc). Sounds that can’t be adjusted. The fact that there is still no fix for this is absurd!
If doing this solved the problem, your attitude might be justified. It doesn't solve the problem, however. It doesn't affect it in any way. In fact, when I adjust the ringer and alert settings my AirPods are flat-out ignored - the sample sound that plays when I move the slider doesn't even play through the AirPods - it plays through the phone's speaker, despite the AirPods being used for all other sounds. ?
Last edited:
This comes as no surprise…
www.macrumors.com
Although referring to Amber Alerts, normal Notifications are just as bad, depending on ringtone.
Hopefully they allow individual volume settings for Notifications when using AirPods in a future IOS update.
Apple Facing Lawsuit After AirPods Allegedly Ruptured Child's Eardrums With Amber Alert
Apple's AirPods ruptured the eardrums of a 12-year-old boy in 2020 when a loud Amber Alert was issued, according to a lawsuit filed against Apple...
www.macrumors.com
Although referring to Amber Alerts, normal Notifications are just as bad, depending on ringtone.
Hopefully they allow individual volume settings for Notifications when using AirPods in a future IOS update.