Why your AirPods might not be working.

If you have AirPods 2, 3, or 4, you might have an issue where the sound is too low, or the sound is heard from the outside vent projecting outward instead of inward to your ears.

I recently had a relative have this problem with her AirPods 2nd gen and 3rd gen, and it was due to earwax build up.

The buildup causes the speaker facing your ear canal to be blocked, causing the sound to be diverted to the outside vent in some cases.

If you have changed nothing else in your Bluetooth or Sound settings, this is probably what’s going on.

It can be hard to see any buildup since the speaker grill is black, but you should follow Apple’s instructions for cleaning them.

You’ll be surprised by how much gunk gets stuck in there.

If you want to avoid this problem in the future, consider getting the AirPods Pro 2. The silicone tips have a mesh grille that detaches from the black speaker head. The mesh is small enough to let sound through, but no earwax can go back into the speaker grille, preventing buildup.

I’ve had my original AirPods Pro for 5 years now, and never had the earwax buildup issue.