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iphone 3g and earphones: one earphone is louder than the other???

P

preguntonontrac

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 12, 2008
436
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After testing them in same ears or at same time for a long time with many apps and songs, i concluded my right earphone is louder than the left? Test my uncles and his left is louder????

Any opinions on that, test yours!

note: default settings both cases.
 
I have only noticed this in dual channel songs that do it on purpose. At no time should there be a noticeable difference unless it is intended (on some songs). Did you try the headphones in your uncles iPhone. This could be your iPhone. But more likely a headphone defect, just strange to experience in two sets... That's the reason I say possibly iPhone problem.

Visit a genius if you can't find the problem, because mine's fine.
 
I've noticed this same problem as well. I've tried it with the stock iPhone earpieces and a pair of Creative ep-630's and the right side sounds a bit louder.

But I've always assumed that the earpieces don't fit the exact same way in my ears. The hole in my left ear is a bit smaller than my right ear so whenever I put my earphones in, I always have to jam my left earphone in a bunch of times to get the correct seal. The earphone fits in snuggly fine into my right ear without an issue.

Try this as a test. Reverse the earphones and the put the right earphone into your left ear. If the sound sounds the same whether which combination you the put the earphones into your ear, it may just be that your left ear hole is smaller and has trouble creating a proper seal.

Or I could be totally incorrect and you may definitely be onto something.
 
swy05 said:
I've noticed this same problem as well. I've tried it with the stock iPhone earpieces and a pair of Creative ep-630's and the right side sounds a bit louder.

But I've always assumed that the earpieces don't fit the exact same way in my ears. The hole in my left ear is a bit smaller than my right ear so whenever I put my earphones in, I always have to jam my left earphone in a bunch of times to get the correct seal. The earphone fits in snuggly fine into my right ear without an issue.

Try this as a test. Reverse the earphones and the put the right earphone into your left ear. If the sound sounds the same whether which combination you the put the earphones into your ear, it may just be that your left ear hole is smaller and has trouble creating a proper seal.

Or I could be totally incorrect and you may definitely be onto something.
Click to expand...

What i did was test diferrent songs or the keyboard using the same ear for both for a lot a tries.

If the keyboard sounds the same, ir most be the songs?
 
No, this is a problem with the headphones. My pair did it very badly (less than half volume on the left as opposed to the right). I think it has to do with the wires breaking inside, especially near the 3.5mm jack. I had a second (non Apple) pair do the same thing, and by fiddling with the cable at the jack I could get it to cut out completely or play at full volume.
 
Eso said:
No, this is a problem with the headphones. My pair did it very badly (less than half volume on the left as opposed to the right). I think it has to do with the wires breaking inside, especially near the 3.5mm jack. I had a second (non Apple) pair do the same thing, and by fiddling with the cable at the jack I could get it to cut out completely or play at full volume.
Click to expand...
so your apple ones, had left louder?

Is not noticible at once i had to test it for along time to be able to say which one was louder, and after a while i know is right on mine. is this normal?
 
just notices while hearing songs, the right is louder but when typing or dialing the left is louder. anyone got an idea?
 
The left bud on the earphones supplied with my Touch was noticably quieter than the right - definitely a problem with the phones rather than the music or the iPod, as when I swapped them for alternative earphones the problem went away.

The earphones supplied with my nano and 3G iPhone have been fine from day 1.
 
I had this same problem with 2 separate original iPhones that I owned. My 3G is currently okay but I can only hope it stays this way. As somebody else mentioned with 3rd party phones I could wiggle it and make it work better but the Apple ones never came back. I thought it was maybe something to do with jailbreaking as both my first gen phones were unlocked and jailbroken.
 
Yes, I was riding the bus this morning, when suddenly the left ear's volume dropped significantly (3G iphone headphones). I can switch them on the ears, and it is obviously the headphone that is lower. (maybe even a 1/4 full volume) but its not all the way off.

I had this exact same problem with my ipod, but i assumed it was because of the abuse it had gone through. (about 1 month before it's headphone dropped, i accidentally dropped the left headphone into a bucket of water while mopping)

This time however, I am sure that the headphones are okay, because ive been taken good care of them (or at least i'd assume..) and last night / half of the bus ride to campus today they were working fine, now they are messed up beyond usability essentially. (It's really annoying to hear the music only out of 1 ear)

Is this a known problem do you guys think? Where I can call up apple for a replacement? I don't think I'm near any genius bar or anything so I cant go into visit to talk with anyone. Do i have any alternatives?

Update:
I just plugged them into my computer, and then they were working, so then i plugged them back into my iphone and they seemed to work..

I have no idea why it was doing that, i had unplugged and plugged it back into the phone before, but it didn't fix it then. maybe it was the temperature? I was outside / the bus was cold today... but even that dosen't make much sense...
 
same here

my iphone 3g earphones just did the same thing - my left earbud's volume has dropped considerably, regardless of the device i plug them into (macbook, ipod, iphone). the same thing happened to my wife's iphone headphones a month ago. this has got to be a defect, don't you think?
 
I also find that the right side is louder today. I thought it was my new Apple in-ear, but when I tested it on a 3G nano, it was perfectly dead center.

Possibly a bad audio chipset in iPhone 3G?

dL
 
By nature one audio channel (left or right) is louder than the other on most recordings. The only way to figure out if your headphones are not working properly is to play an audio file that is mono, or just play a sound file that wouldn't have any left/right variation.
 
i have the same problem with my 1st gen iphone and stock earbuds. left one dropped out (about half as loud).

i switched to my trusty koss (with the monster plug) and everything was ok for a while. now the left channel drops out completly quite often. when i wiggle the monster adaptor or press it in, the sound comes back. sounds like a broken cable to me.

i doubt that both my apple buds and the monster thingy are broken, so it might even be worse and the plug or some connection inside the iphone might have taken damage.


edit: fixed spelling
 
voi666 said:
i have the same problem with my 1st gen iphone and stock earbuds. left one dropped out (about half as loud).

i switched to my trusty koss (with the monster plug) and everything was ok for a while. now the left channel drops out completly quite often. when i wiggle the monster adaptor or press it in, the sound comes back. sounds like a broken cable to me.

i doubt that both my apple buds and the monster thingy are broken, so it might even be worse and the plug or some connection inside the iphone might have taken damage.


edit: fixed spelling
Click to expand...

Could be some debris inside your connection. Try cleaning it out.
 
3G - left earpiece is always twice as loud as right.

Ive tested 6 or 7 headsets with my iphone, including two Apple iphone headsets and my favorite - Skullcandy FMJ. The left is always twice as loud. If I reverse the ears, then the right is always twice as loud. I can't see any explanation except that this is an iphone problem.
 
umm you guys have something wrong with your iphones

maybe dust, or you are not putting in the headphones all the way in

Iphone 3G 8GB both earphones = equal volume
 
Any news?

Any news guys? Kinda of my left phone started sounding louder yesterday... no idea why. Iphone 3g... hope to hear from you soon
 
I have the answer!!!

I know this is a very old thread, but I have found the most likely answer to this problem.

I've had i-products since the scrollwheel gen 2 iPod, and with every single device, after some time using the earbuds, the left ear has gotten quieter and quieter. It just happened to my iPhone 4, which lasted longer than any of my older ones (since December 2010), so I went searching to find other people who have complained about this.

Ok, so the earbuds themselves have their speaker behind that little mesh-like thing that directs into the ear. On the back of each earbud, there are several little holes. I'm not an expert by any means in audio, so I have no idea what their purpose is.

Anyhow, several of the little holes had crud - dirt, dust, earwax, who knows - in them. In the left ear I had three of the little holes blocked, and in the right ear only one. I guess it's because these earbuds fit perfectly in my right ear but not my left. So I decided to clean them out, give that a shot. Using one of my previous pair of earbuds with the same problem, I took the quick way and used an air spray can. Once the holes were clear, sound was back to normal, same volume in both ears.

Probably smarter to use a thin needle or pin to scrape the dirt out instead of blowing them inside like I did, but regardless, it worked.

I hope this helps someone, being as old as it is.
 
Thank you!!

adaniel said:
I know this is a very old thread, but I have found the most likely answer to this problem.

I've had i-products since the scrollwheel gen 2 iPod, and with every single device, after some time using the earbuds, the left ear has gotten quieter and quieter. It just happened to my iPhone 4, which lasted longer than any of my older ones (since December 2010), so I went searching to find other people who have complained about this.

Ok, so the earbuds themselves have their speaker behind that little mesh-like thing that directs into the ear. On the back of each earbud, there are several little holes. I'm not an expert by any means in audio, so I have no idea what their purpose is.

Anyhow, several of the little holes had crud - dirt, dust, earwax, who knows - in them. In the left ear I had three of the little holes blocked, and in the right ear only one. I guess it's because these earbuds fit perfectly in my right ear but not my left. So I decided to clean them out, give that a shot. Using one of my previous pair of earbuds with the same problem, I took the quick way and used an air spray can. Once the holes were clear, sound was back to normal, same volume in both ears.

Probably smarter to use a thin needle or pin to scrape the dirt out instead of blowing them inside like I did, but regardless, it worked.

I hope this helps someone, being as old as it is.
Click to expand...

It really worked!!! Im glad that i saw this post :D
 
I've read the solutions on this page and the majority I have tried, nothing worked for my latest pair.

But, having taken to brutal measures with my iPhone earphones. I found out the main issue with the standard issue ones. Under that wonderful mesh that looks so nice and fancy there happens to lie a lovely piece of paper. Likely a filter, but a piece of paper all the same. When the paper gets wax on it, then your earphones sound all quiet and pathetic. I wouldn't recommend this to any of you guys if you like the mesh, but I took a craft knife to it. Put a hole in the middle and OH HELL, the sound suddenly got louder... When I realised it was the paper doing all the work, I wasn't too happy, took the mesh of the other and it worked like new. I'm happy with it, the mesh was less important that a working set of earphones until I can get some new ones.

Here's a quick shot of what came out, and what it looks like now.
542b5696.jpg
 
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