Why do my AirPods pick up background noise?

As an owner of AirPods, I’ve been frustrated with the amount of background noise that I’ve picked up when using them. After doing some research and testing, I’m here to share how I solved this issue and the other solutions I discovered. In this blog post, I’m going to explain why my AirPods pick up background noise, and how to address the problem.

The mic on AirPods and AirPods Pro is very sensitive and picks up a lot of background noise as a result. However, it would help to try switching the mic that is being used.

Quick tips:

AirPods and AirPods Pro mics are very sensitive and pick up background noise as a result.
You can try switching the mic that is being used on AirPods in the Bluetooth settings.
Live Listening should be turned off to avoid picking up background noises.

Taking calls in quiet environments can help to reduce background noise.
If noise-canceling mode does not block out background noise, larger ear tips can help or the AirPods might need to be taken in to an Apple Store.

Table of Contents

Why do my AirPods pickup background noise on phone calls?

It is very common for AirPods to pick up background noise because they are very sensitive. It would likely that your AirPods are not faulty but that they are working as they should be.

Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to change the sensitivity of the mic on the AirPods. Your only option really is to try to use the mic in quiet environments or to switch to the internal mic on your iPhone.

When you are talking on AirPods, only one mic is actually being used. It might be the case that it is faulty.

This would be more likely if the mic has started doing it suddenly especially if you recently dropped the AirPods.

You can try switching to the other mic by clicking on the “i” next to your AirPods in the Bluetooth settings then click “Microphone” and you can change the mic there.

With that being said, it would help to check that you do not have live listening enabled. This feature causes your iPhone’s mic to record the sounds around you and to send the sounds to your AirPods.

How to get my AirPods to stop picking up background noise?

There is nothing you can do to make the mic on the AirPods less sensitive. Your only options are to use the internal mic on your iPhone or to take calls in quiet locations.

However, you could try switching the mic that is being used by going to Settings -> Bluetooth -> Click the “i” next to your AirPods -> Microphone.

If your AirPods are picking up noises that you hear around you, it would be likely that you have live listening enabled which records the sounds around you and plays them through your AirPods. You can turn it off by doing the following:

Click Settings -> Accessibility, then select Hearing Devices.

Click on your AirPods.
Tap End Live Listen.

Why do my AirPod Pros pick up background noise?

If the mic on your AirPod Pros is picking up background noise on calls, it would likely be because the mic is very sensitive by default.

As with regular AirPods, it is, unfortunately, the case that you cannot change the sensitivity of the mic on AirPod Pros.

It would help to change the mic that is being used, to ensure that Live Listening is not enabled and to try to take calls in quiet environments.

Why don’t my AirPod Pros block out background noise in noise-canceling mode?

If your AirPod Pros do not block out background noise when you use them in noise-canceling mode, it would be likely that it is because you are using ear tips that are the wrong size.

If the ear tips are not big enough, the noise canceling mode will not be able to block out background noise.

The first thing to try would be larger ear tips. You can buy them directly from Apple or you can get them from third-parties.

Alternatively, it might be the case that noise-canceling is not activated or your AirPods are not charged.

If the noise-canceling still does not work, it might be the case that you have faulty AirPods and your best option would be to take them into an Apple Store.