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Muffled mic audio? Airpods 1 and 2

D

dingobiatch

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 29, 2009
224
48
I’m having a problem where my airpods will sound “muffled” and “distant” according to those who are talking to me. This happened with my old airpods constantly, and is now happening pretty frequently with my AirPods 2. I see a lot online about this, but mostly about Mac OS usage - I’m using mine with an iPhone X.

Is there any fix for this? The weird thing is that it’ll sound great and normal all day, and then in the middle of a call, it’ll be so bad that i have to switch off the pods.
 
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What people are typically are referring to (with any AirPods model) is that the codec used when in mic mode on macOS is that it uses SCO which is very low quality, but on iOS it does not have this issue (I read that its a licensing issue with macOS only). As for why its happening to you on iOS, is it only with specific apps?
 
It’s with phone calls and FT audio. And again, if it happens and I switch back to normal or speaker mode, the person can hear me great. Switch back to Airpods, muffled.
 
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I'll have to check that. No it's not always happening - I'd say it's 60% of the time. It's frequent enough for me to stop using my Airpods.
 
It has to be software related. I have been having the same issue for a few months. Got a replacement from Apple and it’s still the same. It happens both on iOS and macOS and depends on the app, browser, website, etc. As much as I love my AirPods, it is disappointing that they don’t have a reliable microphone.
 
I have the same problem all the time too. I love my AirPods for listening, they're the best way to receive a call, but the absolute worst for the caller on the other side. So frustrating!
 
I did some quick googling. One recommendation is to fix the microphone to only one AirPod. https://www.iphonefaq.org/archives/976918. Another questioned whether the AirPods were still under warranty and suggested that if so they might be replaced (no dice for me on this). Some suggested confirming the sound quality by taking voice memos. Maybe I'll try to fix the microphone to one AirPod and see if it works. And maybe I'll even report back here... just don't hold your breath, I'm fickle.
 
I know this is an old thread, but same issue here. Multiple AirPods now and the same issue. The microphone quality is very inconsistent. Mostly it is fine, but about 25% of people tell me I sound muffled when we're talking. I've yet to find an answer other than purchase something other than AirPods next time.
 
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My wife has 2 pairs of airpods and both have this muffled issue when using it with her 11 Pro Max. We just ordered her a 13 Pro Max so hopefully the new phone will fix the issue? Hate to throw away 2 perfectly good (?) sets of airpods because the mic is distorted.
 
I know this is an older thread, but there have been a few more recent posts, so thought I'd add a comment. I'm having the same issue with occasional muffled audio for the person on the other end of the call when using AirPods 2. I believe the only times it happens are when I switch from having the AirPods connected to my MacBook Pro over to my phone (went from 2013 to 2021 MacBook Pro with same issue). Maybe it has something to do with what @CheesePuff mentioned above with the codec. That doesn't resolve the issue, unfortunately, but might provide insight for others.
 
TitsLegendary said:
My wife has 2 pairs of airpods and both have this muffled issue when using it with her 11 Pro Max. We just ordered her a 13 Pro Max so hopefully the new phone will fix the issue? Hate to throw away 2 perfectly good (?) sets of airpods because the mic is distorted.
Click to expand...
As an update, the new phone did not fix the issue. She now has 2 pairs of airpods that are only good for listening to music as the microphones are both junk. Bummer.
 
TitsLegendary said:
As an update, the new phone did not fix the issue. She now has 2 pairs of airpods that are only good for listening to music as the microphones are both junk. Bummer.
Click to expand...
Hello,

I ran into the same problems and was able to fix it. Saw this on an apple forum.

Do you currently have your AirPods set to use the microphone automatically or do you have it manually set to either the left or right side? To check, go to Settings > Bluetooth > Tap the info button next to your AirPods.

Mine was set to automatically. I tried it both my left and right airpods separately as the settings show and both mics worked correctly when using it separated, this told me it was a configuration issue. After checking this, I went back to automatically and it actually stayed. I don’t know if you have tried this, if not, i hope it works.

It actually happened again and was able to do the same thing to fix it.
 
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Soydelverde said:
Hello,

I ran into the same problems and was able to fix it. Saw this on an apple forum.

Do you currently have your AirPods set to use the microphone automatically or do you have it manually set to either the left or right side? To check, go to Settings > Bluetooth > Tap the info button next to your AirPods.

Mine was set to automatically. I tried it both my left and right airpods separately as the settings show and both mics worked correctly when using it separated, this told me it was a configuration issue. After checking this, I went back to automatically and it actually stayed. I don’t know if you have tried this, if not, i hope it works.

It actually happened again and was able to do the same thing to fix it.
Click to expand...
Will give it a shot. Thanks for the info.
 
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