I recently experienced a strange phenomenon with my AirPods: I could hear myself through them. At first, I was quite confused, thinking that something was wrong with my AirPods. After some research, I discovered that this is a common issue that many AirPod users experience. In this blog post, I will explain why this happens and offer some solutions to help solve the problem.
Likely reasons why you can hear yourself through your AirPods are that you have the iPhone’s Live Listen turned, you have a different feature on your device turned on, a weak connection, or that is actually how it is meant to sound.
| Key Takeaways |
|---|
| Hearing yourself through AirPods can be caused by a feature on the device, weak connection, or be how it is meant to sound. |
| To fix this, try connecting different headphones with a mic, turn off live listen setting, reconnect AirPods, or visit an Apple store. |
| Noise-canceling allows some sound and you should still hear your voice. |
| If the problem persists, it may be an issue with the AirPods themselves. |
Table of Contents
Why can I hear myself through my AirPods?
Below are possible reasons why you can hear yourself through your AirPods.
A feature on your device
It could be the case that you have a feature on your device turned on that results in your voice being played back to you. It would help to try connecting different headphones with a mic to your device and to see if they also result in your voice getting played back to you.
To tell if it is a feature on the device, try pairing your AirPods with a different device and see if the problem still persists.
Read more: Do AirPods have a mute button?
That is how it is meant to be
If you mean that you are still able to hear your voice even though you have noise-canceling turned on, that is actually how it is meant to be.
While noise-canceling does block out a lot of noise, it will still allow in some sound and you should still be able to hear your voice.
If you want to hear less sound, it would be best to get some bigger ear tips, to try some memory foam ear tips or to try the Sony wf-XM4 headphones which have very good noise canceling.
It could also be the case that you have your iPhone’s live listen turned on. Live Listen is where the iPhone sends the noise that its microphone can hear to your AirPods.
You can see if you have it turned on by swiping up on your iPhone, clicking the little ear icon, then making sure that it is turned off.
Read more: How to adjust AirPods mic volume?
A connection problem
There are bugs that can appear when the AirPods have a weak connection with your device and the cause could be a weak connection.
This would be more likely if the issue only occurs when you are far away from the device you are using or there is a wall in the way.
Broken AirPods
It is also possible that you have broken AirPods. This would be more likely if your AirPods are doing it with every device that you try pairing them with.
In this case, it would be best for you to take your AirPods to an Apple store and to see if they can fix or replace your AirPods.
You need a software update
AirPods do receive software updates. It might be the case that your AirPods need to be updated. They do update automatically when you connect them to an Apple device.
How do I stop hearing myself through my AirPods
Below are the options you have when dealing with the problem.
Try connecting your AirPods to a different device
If you can connect your AirPods to a different device and they work fine, it would mean that it is actually a problem with the device you are using.
Whereas, if your AirPods still replay your voice regardless of the device, it would be more likely that there is a problem with the AirPods.
Turn off live listen
As mentioned above, if you have Live Listen turned on, it will replay your voice to you. You can see if you have it turned on by swiping up on your iPhone, clicking the little ear icon, then making sure that it is turned off.
Reconnect your device
Another option would be to simply reconnect your AirPods to your device and to see if that solves the problem.
To reconnect your AirPods to your device, do the following:
- Forget the AirPods on the device you are using
- Put your AirPods in the case
- Wait 30 seconds
- Open the lid and hold the button on the case
- Reconnect your AirPods to your device
Take them to apple
If you are unable to get your AirPods working properly, your best option would be to take them to an Apple store to be fixed or replaced.
