AirPods & AirPods 2 Settings: How to Turn Volume Up & Down

AirPods and second-generation AirPods settings and volume control can be a bit unintuitive. It's not easy for everyone to figure out how to adjust the volume on their AirPods when there are no buttons and no dials! There are two Airpods volume options for increasing and decreasing the volume on your AirPods: One involves using Siri to turn your AirPods up or down, and the other involves using your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac to raise or lower the volume. Let's get started learning how to use these volume control options. 

Related: Apple's AirPods & AirPods 2 Guide: A Guide to Charging, Pairing, Setting Up & More  

Original AirPods Volume Control

To turn the volume up or down on your AirPods, you'll need to adjust your settings so that one of your AirPods is able to summon Siri.

• Go to Settings on your iPhone or iPad, tapping Phone, and selecting Bluetooth.
• Find your AirPods in the list of paired devices and tap on the info icon to the right.
• Under Double-Tap On AirPod, tap either Right or Left and choose Siri from the list of possible functions. 

Once you've customized your settings, you can double-tap whichever AirPod you've designated to summon Siri. To do this:

• Double tap either AirPod in the position indicated in the image below.
• Say, "Hey Siri, turn up the volume." Or, "Hey Siri, turn down the volume."

You can also raise or lower the AirPods' volume by telling Siri a specific percentage you'd like her to increase or decrease the volume to. For example, you might say, "Siri, lower the volume to 20 percent." After a little experimentation, you'll figure out which volume levels are most comfortable for you.

Volume Control for Second-Generation AirPods

One of the convenient, new features added to the new AirPods is the ability to summon Siri with voice only. If you have a pair of second-generation AirPods and would like to raise or lower the volume, you can now do so without tapping your earbuds.

• Just say, "Hey Siri, raise the volume" or "Hey Siri, turn down the volume." 
• As with the controls for the original AirPods, you can also ask Siri to raise or lower the volume by percentage; "Hey Siri, raise the volume to 50 percent".

Turn AirPods & Second-Generation AirPods' Volume Up & Down with an iOS Device

If you're in a quiet place and don't want to be disruptive by talking to Siri, you can adjust your AirPods' volume from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. 

• If your iPhone is unlocked, open Control Center by swiping down from the top right corner of the display on iPhone X, XS, and XR, or up from the bottom of the display on iPhone 8 and earlier iPhones.

• Now raise or lower the AirPods' volume by draging the volume slider up or down.

• If your iPhone is locked, or you are in the Notification Center, you can raise or lower the AirPods' volume by draging the volume slider right or left.

Change AirPods or AirPod 2 Volume Settings with Your Apple Watch

If you are listening to music on the iPhone that is paired with your Apple Watch or listening to music directly from your Apple Watch, it's also possible to change the AirPods' volume on your watch. 

• From the Home screen, tap the Now Playing icon to go to the Now Playing screen.
• Once this screen appears, you'll see a volume indicator showing how loudly your audio is currently playing; turn the Digital Crown on your Apple Watch to raise or lower the volume. 

Turn AirPods & Second-Generation AirPods Volume Up or Down from Your Mac

If you're using your AirPods or AirPods 2 connected to your Mac, you can change the volume by using the volume keys on your keyboard or clicking the volume icon in the Menu Bar and clicking and dragging the volume slider up or down.

If there is no volume button in your Menu Bar, you can enable it in System Preferences.

• Click the Apple on your computer's Menu Bar, then click System Preferences.

• Click on Sound.

• Click Output, and you'll see the AirPods you've connected with.
• At the bottom of this window, below the volume bar, click show volume in menu bar.