Whether listening to music, watching movies, or playing games you want to experience sound in stereo. That’s why it’s so frustrating if your AirPods or headphones are only playing in one ear!
Many of you may have got Apple wireless AirPods for Christmas. Or maybe you’re fishing your old iPhone headphones out of the drawer for a New Year run. Whatever the circumstances, it’s dizzying and annoying to discover the sound only coming from one side.
This is a frustrating problem with a few possible causes. So, untangle your cables or charge up your AirPods because we’ve got you sorted right below.
Are they clean and dry?
First things first, you’ve gotta clean your gear and keep your AirPods dry.
Dirt, lint, or even ear wax can clog the headphones and block the sound. Give your AirPods or headphones a thorough inspection looking for debris. This is especially problematic for those of you prone to stuffing headphones in a pocket or bag when you’re done with them. Use a case in the future.
Check each AirPod for lint, debris, earwax, or other debris
If you find any debris on the earbuds just wipe it away with a dry cloth.
If your AirPods are damp, a dry cloth should do the trick. But if they are wet, use a microfiber cloth to soak up any remaining liquid.
Microfibre cloths are particularly good for this since they won’t leave new fibers all over the headphones. For those tricky nooks and crannies just grab a cue-tip from the bathroom and wipe everything away.
If you suspect your AirPods got soaked or dropped into water or another liquid, check out this post about drying your Pods!
Many users don’t realize that iPhones, Macs, and Windows PCs have a setting to move sounds all the way to the left or the right. It’s there to help hearing-impaired users, but if your AirPods or headphones are only playing in one ear it could be that this setting has been adjusted by mistake.
Adjusting the stereo balance on an iPhone:
Go to Settings > Accessibility (for older iOS, Settings > General > Accessibility)
Scroll to the Hearing category and tap Audio/Visual and ensure the slider is midway between L and R (for older iOS, it’s under Hearing)
Adjust the slider so it’s in the middle
Above the slider, switch the Mono Audio toggle to the off position
Adjusting the stereo balance on a Mac:
Open System Preferences > Sound > Output
Select the name of your AirPods or headphones from the Sound Output menu
Ensure the slider is midway between Left and Right
Go to System Preferences > Accessibility
Scroll to Audio and uncheck the Mono Audio checkbox
Disconnect, reset, and restart!
The solution may be to reconnect and restart your devices.
For old-fashioned iPhone headphones that’s as simple as pulling the headphones out and restarting your device. However, when reconnecting the headphones be sure to press the headphone jack all the way into the port on your device. If the jack is only partly inserted the audio will playback quieter and only on one side.
Apple AirPod users have a few extra steps ahead of them. They need to unpair the headphones and reset them using the case, follow the steps below to find out how.
Disconnecting and resetting wireless Apple AirPods:
Open the Bluetooth menu on your device and choose to Forget the Apple AirPods
Return the AirPods to their charging case but keep the lid open
Hold the setup/reset button on the back of the case for 15 seconds
Resetting your AirPods is as easy as holding the Setup button.
Keep the button held until the light beneath the lid flashes amber
The AirPods have now been reset, restart your device and pair them as new
Test another pair and reset settings if needed
Just in case you haven’t done so already, you should try listening to something on your device using another set of headphones. Doing so could help to narrow down whether the headphones are at fault or not.
If you find that a different set of AirPods or headphones are only playing in one ear as well, it’s likely that your headphones are fine but your device is at fault. Try to reset settings on your device (taking care not to delete precious data) to see if that resolves your issues.
Doing so on an iPhone is as simple as going to Settings > General > Reset and then tap Reset All Settings.
Choosing to Reset All Settings shouldn’t delete any content from your device.
You’ll notice things like screen brightness, volume, and notification settings go back to their default but your personal data will be fine.
Left AirPods weaker than the right ones, why?
The position of the mic on the left AirPod may be the answer.
AirPods default to the left mic first, and only to the right mic if the left pod is removed from the ear.
You can manually force the right mic by selecting that option from Settings >Bluetooth >Your AirPods > Microphone.
Setting to Always Right AirPod for the microphone now might extend your use time since it won’t be trying to use more power in the left pod and thereby save battery life on the left AirPod.
Speak to Apple
By now we hope you’ve got your headphones working again. But if you’re still struggling to get stereo sound, you might be able to find more help from Apple themselves.
Through telephone or online support Apple can talk you through additional troubleshooting steps or schedule an in-store appointment if needed.
We hope you found this post useful and are enjoying stereo music or side-swishing sound effects. Let us know in the comments which tip fixed your issue or if what you really needed was to book that hearing test at long last!
Reader tips
Take both your AirPods out of your ears, wait for 20-30 seconds, and then put them back into your ears at the same time
Ask a friend, family member, or co-worker to call you and accept the call via your AirPods–worked for me!
On a Mac, go to your Mac’s sound preferences (CMD + Space, then type sound), choose the “output tab”, and under “select a device for sound output” select your airpods by their name. Then, move the Balance slider to the center
Make sure that when you reset your Airpods using the setup/reset button on the back, that you press and hold the button in long enough to actually reset them, usually about 15 seconds until the status light flashes amber. Mistakenly, I was pressing that button for only a few seconds and ended up in pairing mode instead of reset mode!
I had to “forget” my AirPods on all my devices (with the same Apple ID) first–including my Mac–before I could get it working again!
Dan writes tutorials and troubleshooting guides to help people make the most of their technology. Before becoming a writer, he earned a BSc in Sound Technology, supervised repairs at an Apple Store, and even taught English in China.
I had old fashioned headphones (not apple) and I had been using them for a few months but they were maybe 2 or 3 years old and then one ear started to lose sound and now I don’t have sound coming from either ear which means I cannot use them. I then started using apple headphones and they were working perfectly for 2 or 3 weeks before I lost sound in the right ear. (I had only had the headphones for a year maybe and it was maybe my fifth time using them) I then plugged them into a different device and still no sound in the right ear. I have tried all the tips here and nothing has worked. Anybody have any advice?
My wifes Air Pod Pro right bud quit working so she purchased a new set of Air Pods and the same thing hapened.
So we went through all the reset procedures and nothing happened. We were going to send them in for repair. But I wanted to try on more thing. I got some alcohol swabs and cleaned the Air Pods and the chargers with alcohol and que-tips. I gave them back to my wife to check them out and both the Air Pods she told me they were now charging and working. Awesome. Our Daughter and Grand Daughter were visitin and having the same problem and a little cleaning with que-tips and Alcohol did wonders.. Everyone is now hearing Tunes with both ears.
Nothing is solved this left airpods not connecting issue! on mac always showing left one 0%,when connecting again,and trying to test it always says put both airpods on! left one is not working at all!!! i even want to switch to samung and android after this disgusting issue with left airpod is not working!!!!plz solve this issue APPLE
My right AirPod pro is not working.I did the resetting and nothing happens.Anything that you can help me with is very much appreciated…I cleaned my AirPod and still nothing works.
To me, the real problem is the need to always carry the AirPods Pro case — which I refuse to do. Very often, I leave the house to go for a run only to find that one or both of the charged AirPods isn’t working. Is this problem going to be solved? This is very frustrating. Thanks for the information in your post.
“Open System Preferences > Sound > Output
Select the name of your AirPods or headphones from the Sound Output menu
Ensure the slider is midway between Left and Right”
Hi, My airpod pros are only working in one ear at a time with the right ear not always connecting. I have followed your advice with resetting and it has not helped. I really need this resolved as I use my airpod pros for work. Your assistance is great appreciated.
One of my AirPods if louder than the other, I’ve tried all the methods you’d have recommended but nothing seems to work at the moment, is there anything else that would help or would you just recommend taking them into Apple directly?
I have Airpod 1 Gen… The right piece of it gets disconnected after 39 seconds when both are used simultaneously, I read the suggestion of repairing so i did that but even now its same just a difference it gets disconnected in 49 seconds and the left piece continues working. Please help resolving this issue.
I have this same symptom. Further research determined that this right piece always reconnects after a brief insert into the case. I also connected them to a PC instead of my iPhone. Sometimes I get longer than a minute before the disconnect. Now for the telling feature: putting the music on pause, there will be no disconnect. I can maintain connection indefinitely if I play for short spans between pauses. Is it overheating? I don’t think so because volume has no impact. Seems to be some code that is causing the disconnect.
thank you so much!!!! i had my airpods for over a year now and they work fine on my phone but when i connect to my mac, it only played in one ear and it was the most annoying thing ever. I refused to even use them with my mac. after reading this, i realized it was because the sound balance was all the way to the left. this was a great help thank you.
the sound is only coming out from my right AirPods even when the sound thingo is in the middle, I have press forget device and when I just put in the left one it says “connected” and then when I try and play music or any sound it comes out straight from my phone even tho it says “connected”
I fixed this issue by:
1) going to sound preferences (CMD +Space , then type sound),
2) then going to the “output tab”,
3) under “select a device for sound output” select your air pods by name ,
4)move the Balance slider to the center.
Apple bluetooth ear buds and IOS 13 are not compatable for a sustained period of time. Kinda a drag to pay 150 bucks for an ok pair of ear buds, them have them be rendered useless by the company you bought them from. I pay extra for Apple because I don’t want to deal with this kind of minutia. Get it back together Apple. Quit worrying about your TV channel and stick to what got you here.
Chris
Apple wireless earbuds are fully charged, have been cleaned, work just fine for 3 minutes then the LEFT channel goes out. If I remove it from my ear and put it in the case, then put it back in my ear, it works for 3 min…rinse and repeat. Any ideas? ( wired headphone work fine. )
I am having the exact same problem. What is going on? I’ve also cleaned them and reset them. It’s only the left. I’m not sure if I need a new left AirPod or if it’s the case since it always comes back on for a few minutes after they’ve been placed back in the case.
I bought my airpods and they came when only the right ear is working. When i insert in the charging box, only the right ear charges and comes on, the left ear doesn’t even work at all. What can i do? And I’m in Cameroon and it was bought and sent to me from Dubai, its practically impossible for me to return them, please help me with a solution
Sorry that your new AirPods are not working on the left side.
Please try cleaning the tips of the AirPods as well as inside the case. Then, charge the case only for a few hours (leave the AirPods out.) After a few hours of charging the case, place both AirPods into the case and then charge it for another five hours.
Make sure you plug the lightning cable that charges the AirPods (if applicable) into a wall outlet and not a USB port.
Once you charged the AirPods appropriately, try them out and see if both work.
If not, if you have a friend that also has AirPods, ask them if you can try charging your AirPods in their case to isolate if the problem is with the left AirPod itself or the case.
We suggest you contact Apple Support in your home region to determine how they can assist you. Make sure you tell them that these AirPods were received as a gift in the last few days. It would help if you have a copy of the receipt.
One more thing to check when only one of the airpods connects/plays: setup siri when asked (do not skip for later).
My airpods were working fine until I installed iOS 13 on my iPhone. Then they started playing at one ear only. None of the steps in the article solved the problem. I tried to reset the airpods several times. Sometimes the left and sometimes the right ear was connecting and playing, but never both. I tried to pair them with other devices (iPad Pro, Macbook Pro) but they had the same problem.
In the first pairing after airpods reset I was always skipping the siri setup (because I don’t use siri). The problem was solved after airpods reset and setup of siri (as asked during first pairing) in my iPhone. After this the airpods were working fine with other devices too, without the need to forget and repair.
Maybe a bug in the iPhone pairing software configures the airpods in a state which breaks their bluetooth, when siri is not properly setup in iPhone.
Thanks for this! I have been resetting my AirPods repeatedly and I was still only getting sound out of one of them on my iPad. They both worked on my iPhone.
I didn’t know about the L/R balance settings. Solved in 5 seconds.
I have one hearing aid and the balance was set for that side. It was frustrating because I was only getting sound from that side–my bad ear.
Misha says
I had old fashioned headphones (not apple) and I had been using them for a few months but they were maybe 2 or 3 years old and then one ear started to lose sound and now I don’t have sound coming from either ear which means I cannot use them. I then started using apple headphones and they were working perfectly for 2 or 3 weeks before I lost sound in the right ear. (I had only had the headphones for a year maybe and it was maybe my fifth time using them) I then plugged them into a different device and still no sound in the right ear. I have tried all the tips here and nothing has worked. Anybody have any advice?
Bons says
Thank you so much, I have no idea how the balance setting changed but that fixed it! <3
Daniel says
It worked on my mac. Apparently dictation do this. ♂️
Bruce Petersen says
My wifes Air Pod Pro right bud quit working so she purchased a new set of Air Pods and the same thing hapened.
So we went through all the reset procedures and nothing happened. We were going to send them in for repair. But I wanted to try on more thing. I got some alcohol swabs and cleaned the Air Pods and the chargers with alcohol and que-tips. I gave them back to my wife to check them out and both the Air Pods she told me they were now charging and working. Awesome. Our Daughter and Grand Daughter were visitin and having the same problem and a little cleaning with que-tips and Alcohol did wonders.. Everyone is now hearing Tunes with both ears.
Adeola says
Cheers! This worked for me.
Archie says
This is helpful
tommy says
Nothing is solved this left airpods not connecting issue! on mac always showing left one 0%,when connecting again,and trying to test it always says put both airpods on! left one is not working at all!!! i even want to switch to samung and android after this disgusting issue with left airpod is not working!!!!plz solve this issue APPLE
Carmelita Ruiz says
My right AirPod pro is not working.I did the resetting and nothing happens.Anything that you can help me with is very much appreciated…I cleaned my AirPod and still nothing works.
Steve Hymer says
To me, the real problem is the need to always carry the AirPods Pro case — which I refuse to do. Very often, I leave the house to go for a run only to find that one or both of the charged AirPods isn’t working. Is this problem going to be solved? This is very frustrating. Thanks for the information in your post.
Willothewisp says
Sound in one ear issue, It was the settings reset for me, paired straight away with no issues.
Andrew Bresnahan says
Thank you! This fixed the problem.
“Open System Preferences > Sound > Output
Select the name of your AirPods or headphones from the Sound Output menu
Ensure the slider is midway between Left and Right”
Adeola says
The same thing happened to me. No idea how, but it worked!
Nick says
Hi, My airpod pros are only working in one ear at a time with the right ear not always connecting. I have followed your advice with resetting and it has not helped. I really need this resolved as I use my airpod pros for work. Your assistance is great appreciated.
Thank you.
Nick
Melissa says
THANK YOU! My left airpod had audio lower than the right after a zoom call and itnwas driving me insane. These tricks helped!
Tristane says
Thanks Dan, resetting the headphones did the trick!
Ajay Dubey says
Thanks it worked.
Praful says
Above answer related to earphone issue solved.my nokia 7.2 had same problem thank yo so much
Tori says
This was SO helpful. THANK YOU. It’s been driving me nuts for weeks. Not sure how the setting changed.
Deborah Henning says
One of mine doesn’t work. Need replacement or refund.
shafeeq abdulla says
thanks a lot man…
Luke Bragg says
One of my AirPods if louder than the other, I’ve tried all the methods you’d have recommended but nothing seems to work at the moment, is there anything else that would help or would you just recommend taking them into Apple directly?
Elizabeth Jones says
Hi Luke,
If you tried everything here and nothing helps, it is best to contact Apple Support directly. You may need a replacement for that AirPod.
Burcu says
Thanks. I was having trouble on my mac. It was only about an output selection problem. Thanks for clearing that out!
Nayrim Acevedo says
Thank you so much for this !
Abhishek Bahety says
I have Airpod 1 Gen… The right piece of it gets disconnected after 39 seconds when both are used simultaneously, I read the suggestion of repairing so i did that but even now its same just a difference it gets disconnected in 49 seconds and the left piece continues working. Please help resolving this issue.
Mark says
I have this same symptom. Further research determined that this right piece always reconnects after a brief insert into the case. I also connected them to a PC instead of my iPhone. Sometimes I get longer than a minute before the disconnect. Now for the telling feature: putting the music on pause, there will be no disconnect. I can maintain connection indefinitely if I play for short spans between pauses. Is it overheating? I don’t think so because volume has no impact. Seems to be some code that is causing the disconnect.
dona says
thank you so much!!!! i had my airpods for over a year now and they work fine on my phone but when i connect to my mac, it only played in one ear and it was the most annoying thing ever. I refused to even use them with my mac. after reading this, i realized it was because the sound balance was all the way to the left. this was a great help thank you.
Sudha Soni says
My right one is not working …. i reset the airpods but still it doesnt work but left one is working No sensor of right one is working
Dandano says
Thanks Dan! You really saved my life here, i also forget do hold the button about 15 seconds to ACTUALLY reset the AirPods.
naomi says
the sound is only coming out from my right AirPods even when the sound thingo is in the middle, I have press forget device and when I just put in the left one it says “connected” and then when I try and play music or any sound it comes out straight from my phone even tho it says “connected”
Carter O'Neill says
Thank you so much this helped so much!!!
Elijah Cottle says
I fixed this issue by:
1) going to sound preferences (CMD +Space , then type sound),
2) then going to the “output tab”,
3) under “select a device for sound output” select your air pods by name ,
4)move the Balance slider to the center.
seb says
If you’re only getting audio out of one airpod when using a pc, try;
disonnecting from the airpods on your computer
open the airpod case but leave the airpods in
reconnect and then take them out the case once connected
voila
Chris says
Apple bluetooth ear buds and IOS 13 are not compatable for a sustained period of time. Kinda a drag to pay 150 bucks for an ok pair of ear buds, them have them be rendered useless by the company you bought them from. I pay extra for Apple because I don’t want to deal with this kind of minutia. Get it back together Apple. Quit worrying about your TV channel and stick to what got you here.
Chris
Chris says
Apple wireless earbuds are fully charged, have been cleaned, work just fine for 3 minutes then the LEFT channel goes out. If I remove it from my ear and put it in the case, then put it back in my ear, it works for 3 min…rinse and repeat. Any ideas? ( wired headphone work fine. )
Aloha and regards,
Chris
DIane says
I am having the exact same problem. What is going on? I’ve also cleaned them and reset them. It’s only the left. I’m not sure if I need a new left AirPod or if it’s the case since it always comes back on for a few minutes after they’ve been placed back in the case.
Idris says
I bought my airpods and they came when only the right ear is working. When i insert in the charging box, only the right ear charges and comes on, the left ear doesn’t even work at all. What can i do? And I’m in Cameroon and it was bought and sent to me from Dubai, its practically impossible for me to return them, please help me with a solution
Elizabeth Jones says
HI Idris,
Sorry that your new AirPods are not working on the left side.
Please try cleaning the tips of the AirPods as well as inside the case. Then, charge the case only for a few hours (leave the AirPods out.) After a few hours of charging the case, place both AirPods into the case and then charge it for another five hours.
Make sure you plug the lightning cable that charges the AirPods (if applicable) into a wall outlet and not a USB port.
Once you charged the AirPods appropriately, try them out and see if both work.
If not, if you have a friend that also has AirPods, ask them if you can try charging your AirPods in their case to isolate if the problem is with the left AirPod itself or the case.
We suggest you contact Apple Support in your home region to determine how they can assist you. Make sure you tell them that these AirPods were received as a gift in the last few days. It would help if you have a copy of the receipt.
Good luck,
Liz
Yogesh M Patel says
Hey, first i forgot device from my iPhone then i reset my iPod Charging case and then connect it. Now, it’s working like a charm thank you 🙂
George says
One more thing to check when only one of the airpods connects/plays: setup siri when asked (do not skip for later).
My airpods were working fine until I installed iOS 13 on my iPhone. Then they started playing at one ear only. None of the steps in the article solved the problem. I tried to reset the airpods several times. Sometimes the left and sometimes the right ear was connecting and playing, but never both. I tried to pair them with other devices (iPad Pro, Macbook Pro) but they had the same problem.
In the first pairing after airpods reset I was always skipping the siri setup (because I don’t use siri). The problem was solved after airpods reset and setup of siri (as asked during first pairing) in my iPhone. After this the airpods were working fine with other devices too, without the need to forget and repair.
Maybe a bug in the iPhone pairing software configures the airpods in a state which breaks their bluetooth, when siri is not properly setup in iPhone.
Tony says
Disconnecting and resetting worked pretty goodly.
Thank you.
Claire Young says
Dear Apple,
My pair of headphones have not been working.
One minute they were fine and the next minute I could only hear faintly out of the left ear bud.
I have tried multiple things but none of them worked.
What should I do?
Shining says
I also have the same issue. I don’t know how to solve it.
Patrick says
Thanks for this! I have been resetting my AirPods repeatedly and I was still only getting sound out of one of them on my iPad. They both worked on my iPhone.
I didn’t know about the L/R balance settings. Solved in 5 seconds.
I have one hearing aid and the balance was set for that side. It was frustrating because I was only getting sound from that side–my bad ear.
Pypa Howell says
My AirPods don’t work on the Other Ear
SK says
Hi Pypa,
Try repairing your AirPods to your iPhone.