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Left AirPod Not Working? Try These Easy Fixes

Left AirPod Not Working? Try These Easy Fixes

We’ve come to expect very good quality products from Apple, but not all products from Apple are perfect, and occasionally, things can go wrong.

The Airpods, Airpods Pro, Airpods 2, and Airpods 3 are designed to work perfectly with all of Apple’s Bluetooth-enabled devices, and mostly, they do a great job. However, that doesn’t mean they always perform flawlessly for every device. 

Some people have had Airpods that don’t fit snugly in their ears, while others have had them that have refused to turn on. In this article, we’ll talk about how to fix a left Airpod that doesn’t work.

Now, let’s jump straight to the solution:

What to do?Explanation
Reset Your AirpodsCompletely rest your AirPods by unpairing them and then pairing them again.
Cleaning The Left Airpod and Its Charging Port Examine your Airpods, and if the speakers appear clogged, clean them. 
Turning Your Phones Bluetooth ON and OFF Try resetting your phone’s Bluetooth for at least 3 seconds
Disable Automatic Ear Detection Simply disable Automatic Ear Detection to see if that’s the source of the problem.
Resetting your Phones Network status Reset your phone’s network status to remove all the previous connections made with your network or other devices. 
An overview of possible solutions to fix a left AirPod that’s not working.

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Why Is My Left Airpod Not Working? 

At times, you may encounter an issue with your AirPods where only one is working. This could be caused by incomplete charging or a left AirPod that doesn’t charge or hold a charge. If both AirPods are fully charged but the left one still isn’t functioning properly, it’s possible that there’s some gunk stuck inside.

That gunk could be debris or ear wax, which can be removed with some tissues and earbuds. If that doesn’t fix things, you should try resetting your Airpods. It can take a lot of time to reset them, but if it fixes your problem, you’ll be happy you did it. 

How To Reset Your Airpods

You can also follow these steps from Apple themselves to reset your Airpods: 

  1. Put your AirPods back in their case and close the lid
  1. Wait 30 seconds
  1. Take your AirPods out of the case and put them back into your ears
  1. If your AirPods are still connected to your device via Bluetooth, select “Forget this device.” If your AirPods aren’t connected to your device, continue to the next step (below)
  1. Put them back in the case, but don’t close the lid 
  1. Long press the button on the back of the case until the light flashes amber and white
  1. To try to reconnect your AirPods to your device, hold the case near the device that you want to connect to, but keep the case lid open. Follow the instructions on your device’s screen.

Keep in mind that the problem may be that the Airpods are still associated with the previous owner’s Apple ID, in which case they will have to remove them from their account.

However, if one Airpod is working fine and it’s only one that isn’t, that’s unlikely to be the problem.

A person using his AirPods with his Macbook Pro
Here’s how to reset your AirPods

Cleaning The Left Airpod and Its Charging Port 

You might not be able to hear audio from one Airpod because gunk has accumulated in it, preventing sound from escaping. Lint, dust, or even earwax could be the culprit. Examine your Airpods, and if the speakers appear clogged, clean them. 

If you clean your Airpods once a week, you’ll eliminate any chance of foreign matter building up inside them, and as an added bonus, you’ll have a nice clean pair of Airpods, not ones filled with debris.  

Apple recommends cleaning Airpods by wiping them with a slightly dampened, lint-free cloth, then drying them, again using a dry lint-free cloth. 

During this process, be very careful not to get water into any of the holes in the Airpods because, while the Airpods Pro are water-resistant, they are not waterproof. Water could cause damage if it gets inside an Airpod. 

Airpods Pro, with their case, additional ear fit sizes and a lightening charger.
Airpods and their case.

Disable Automatic Ear Detection 

Airpods come standard with technology that detects when they are in your ear and stops playing audio from your device when you take the Airpods out of your ears. 

While the technology is impressive, any errors in the process will result in an insufficient connection. It’s possible that the left Airpods detection sensor is broken. 

Dirty Airpods are the most common cause of this feature malfunctioning. Earwax, dirt, and grime can all accumulate and clog important sensors on your Airpods, as previously mentioned. 

To begin, I would simply disable Automatic Ear Detection to see if that’s the source of the problem. Keep in mind that if you turn this off, your Airpods will continue to play even when you remove them from your ears. 

To disable Automatic Ear Detection, follow these steps: 

  1. Go to Settings, then Bluetooth. 
  1. Next to your Airpods, press the Info button. 
  1. Scroll down and deactivate Automatic Ear Detection. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

Q1. How do I repair one of my Airpods that isn’t working with my Android phone? 

If you’ve connected your Airpods to an Android phone, the troubleshooting steps are similar to those for iOS, with a few exceptions.

Use an app like Air Battery from the Google Play Store to check the battery charge. To rule out firmware issues, pair your Airpods with an iPhone to ensure they receive the most recent updates. You may want to consider taking your Airpods to a store that sells Apple products to try this if you don’t have an iPhone that you can use.

Q2. Why isn’t my left Airpod working when I’m on the phone? 

If the microphone isn’t working with your left Airpod, check the microphone settings on your Airpods, you might have the mic set to the right earbud. Select Automatic, Always Left Airpod, or Always Right Airpod in Settings > Bluetooth > Microphone. 

Q3. What is the Live Listen Feature?

Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch can serve as a microphone for your AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, Powerbeats Pro, or Beats Fit Pro by using Live Listen. You can use Live Listen to hear someone speaking across the room or over loud noise to hear a discussion.

To learn more about this feature, you can check out this study by Critical Studies in Media Communication for a deeper dive.

Conclusion 

  • Though Apple products are the most used and valued, sometimes even the best technology can go wrong. But it’s not always the technology; sometimes, the consumers don’t take care of these products and end up wasting them. 
  • One of the most common ways Airpods are damaged is that debris, including lint, dust, or even earwax, builds up and needs to be cleaned. 
  • Apple also provides detailed instructions for cleaning your Airpods. You can easily clean them by wiping them with a dampened, lint-free cloth or a Clorox wipe. 

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