One AirPod is Not Working – How to Fix?

If you are an Apple user, you have probably already invested in AirPods Pro or AirPods. These wireless AirPods help you to listen to music, go for hands-free calls, and do many more tasks in your daily life. But, suddenly, one AirPod goes down and stops working at all. Whether it is your left AirPod or right one, the mono sound effect is quite bothersome. The sound may not come clear, or you may not get a proper sound experience if one AirPod doesn’t work properly.

When you insert one AirPod in your ears, it works pretty well. If both AirPods are in working condition, when you insert the second one in your ear, a notification sound appears, synchronizing both air pods. But, if one is not working, you may not hear anything.

It can happen for many reasons. Whatever the issue, if one of the AirPods stops working occasionally, you may need to check things once. Wearer here with a guide to help you understand the probable cause of this problem and some probable solutions that you can use to solve the problem.

Why is One AirPod Not Working?

There Can be Many Reasons that Lead to One Faulty iPad, Including:

• One Airport is Not Getting Connected: Connection problems can lead to one AirPod not getting connected to your smartphone. If the AirPod firmware or OS is not updated to its latest versions, one AirPod may not work.
• The Case or One of the AirPods are Not Charging: Often the connecting issue becomes recurring if the AirPod care or the faulty AirPod somehow does not get charged. Outdated firmware or damaged contact points of the case of the AirPod can be the reason behind this.
• One Airport Does Not Make any Sound: Probably, the AirPod is working, but it cannot produce sound anymore. All the AirPods come with an independent volume control mechanism that allows you to fine-tune the audio settings for a single AirPod.

But, if the speaker mesh or the inner wiring gets damaged, it will not produce any sound. Sometimes, clogged ear wax or dirt can also cause this problem.

How to Fix One AirPod Not Working?

If the Airport is Not Working, You Can Try Using any of these Methods to Troubleshoot the Problem:

1. Check the Battery and Charge the AirPods

You already know that a low battery can lead to one AirPod stopping working altogether. Hence if one AirPod is not working, try checking the battery first. If the AirPods are used constantly, the charge may get drained faster; sometimes, one AirPod runs out of charge faster than the other one.

• To do this, open the lid of your AirPods case and keep it near your phone.
• Now, open the Bluetooth on your phone by swiping down the screen downward.
• Within a few seconds, your phone will get connected to the AirPods.
• A pop-up will appear, and it will display the battery life of the AirPods.
• Alternatively, you can open the battery widget on your smartphone and check the battery life of AirPods from there.
  

Not just the AirPods battery, also check the case battery once. Sometimes, the AirPods can stop working if the case has a low battery.

If the battery is low in any of the abovementioned cases, you should charge the AirPods before using them. Often changing solves this AirPods not working issue. Please use only the original lightning cable or the wireless charger to charge the AirPods. Wait for some time till the AirPods get charged. After that, try using the AirPods once again. If the issue is not resolved, there is probably some other reason behind this problem.

2. Unpair and Repair AirPods

The AirPod seems to be in proper condition, but there is no sound from one AirPod. You probably need to check the pairing of the audio device, Try umpiring and repairing the device again. If there is some connectivity issue, it can solve it.

• Open ‘Settings’ and then from there open ‘Bluetooth’
• From here, find your AirPods name in the list and then tap the ‘i’ button next to the device name to disconnect it
• Insert the AirPods inside the case and press the power button of the AirPod case for a few seconds.
• Again, follow the first two steps to reconnect the AirPods and check whether the problem persists.

3. Restart Your Device

If the AirPod works fine with any other device but does not work with one particular device, you probably need to check the device. Try restarting your iPhone, iPad, or Macbook once. As you restart the device, the active memory is wiped out to give the device a fresh start. It often solves the minor bugs that cause one AirPod to stop working.

4. Hard Reset AirPods

Software glitches can lead to faulty iPods or one defective AirPod. Sometimes, hard resetting the AirPods can solve this issue. As you hard reset this device, it starts afresh again, and the problem can be automatically solved. Please remember that hard resetting your AirPods will lead to the saved settings and deleting the present from all the previously saved devices.

Here is How to Hard Reset AirPods:

• First, open Settings from your Apple device and then navigate to Bluetooth
• Find the AirPod in the connected devices list and click on the “i” button beside the device name.
• From the options, select “Forget This Device.”
• Now open the AirPods case lid and press the button until the light flashes amber and white three times or until fifteen seconds.
• Again, close and reopen the AirPods case. Connect it to your device again and check if the AirPods work correctly.

5. Clean the AirPods

As you continue using our AirPods, these tiny gadgets accumulate dirt around the speaker mesh. The first, especially lint, dirt, and ear wax, can clog this mesh, which may lead to one AirPods stopping producing sound altogether. So, try cleaning the AirPods once in a while.

If the AirPod speaker mesh appears to be filled with dirt, it probably needs some cleaning. Not just the speaker mesh, the connecting points of the AirPods sometimes accumulate dirt, which may lead to charge issues.

You can easily clean the AirPods at home with cotton swabs and microfiber cloth. Use the cloth to wipe the AirPods clean, especially the connecting ports. Take a cotton swab and clean the speaker mesh and other hard-to-reach areas. Keep these separate from the case and wait for a few minutes. Now, place these AirPods in the case again. You can try using the AirPods once again to find out if the issue has been resolved.

6. Turn Bluetooth On and Off

Sometimes, the AirPod stops working because of an issue with Bluetooth connectivity, which prevents one AirPod from working. You can try turning off the Bluetooth and then turning it on after a few minutes.

7. Turn On Automatic Ear Detection

AirPods start playing audio when the device detects that you have placed them in your ear. If one of the AirPods is not working, this sensor is not turned on. Hence, the sound is not getting transmitted through one of the AirPods.

You can try turning on the automatic ear detection mechanism, which can solve the faulty AirPod-

• First, pair the AirPods with your phone.
• Now, open ‘Settings’ and then navigate to ‘ Bluetooth.’
• Tap on the ‘i’ button beside the airport device name
• From the menu, navigate downwards and find ‘Automatic Ear Detection’. Toggle the switch beside this to turn the automatic ear detection ‘On.’

8. Reset Network Settings

Probably the AirPod is not working because there is some problem with the connectivity. It can happen if your smart device’s Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection creates a hindrance, leading to connectivity issues between your smartphone and AirPods. In this case, resetting the device network settings can help.

• First open ‘Settings’ and from here open ‘General’ Settings
• From here, navigate to ‘Reset’
• Select ‘ Reset Network Settings’ from the box to complete the process.

9. Check Stereo Balance

Sometimes, the stereo balance gets disturbed, which causes one AirPod to stop functioning altogether. You can check the stereo balance if one of your AirPods is not working. But, before doing this, make sure to connect the AirPods to your device, put them in your ears, and go to a quiet place to check the changes:

• Open ‘Setting’ and then open ‘Music.’
• From here, open ‘EQ’ and turn off the music equalizer
• After that, go back to the main ‘settings.’
• Now, open ‘Accessibility’ and visit ‘Audio/Visual.’
• Under this tab, click on ‘Headphone Accommodations.’
• From here, tap on ‘Custom Audio Setup’
• Now, adjust and customize the stereo settings.

10. Update Operating Systems

If the AirPod is in proper condition without any visible damage but still does not work, that may be the reason for the outdated OS. If you do not update the OS for a long time, the outdated OS develops bugs and may even stop working. Here is how to update the OS of your AirPods-

• First open ‘Settings’ and then go to ‘Software updates
• Check if there is any firmware available. If you find any available update, click on it to install it.

11. Check the Audio Balance on AirPods

Sometimes, the AirPods stop working if the audio balance goes off in one of the AirPods. Here is how to adjust the audio balance on your iPhone:

• Open ‘Settings’ and from here open ‘General’
• Now, tap on ‘Accessibility.’
• In the new screen, scroll down to find ‘Hearing’ and expand this section.
• On the new screen, you will find a slider under ‘Phone Noise Cancellation
• Take the slider pointer in the middle to adjust to ensure both AirPods get equal audio

12. Contact Apple Support

If nothing works out, it is probably time to seek professional help from Apple Support. If your device is under warranty, they can offer you a replacement or even repair your AirPods to solve the faulty AirPod issue.

Also Check:

Airpods Microphone Not Working

How To Connect Airpods to HP Laptop

One AirPod Not Working – FAQs

Conclusion

If one of your AirPods stops working, it can be not easy. There can be differentiation like clogged speaker mesh, off-balance stereo and audio settings, poor connectivity or outdated OS, etc, that causes one AirPod to stop working. You can try using these solutions before visiting an Apple Store.