Apple Music Volume Too LOW? 7 Common Issues (Solved)

If you’re new to streaming music through Apple Music, you may find yourself enthralled by the vast music library, but also disappointed with the varying volume on the interface.

You may have picked up that the volume level decreases significantly, as though you mistakenly changed a setting. You may have even noticed a volume variance between certain songs.

In this article, we look at the common issues around Apple Music’s volume being too low, and how to fix it, so you can get back to enjoying your listening experience.

1. The Volume Limit is Enabled

Apple Music comes with a feature called the Volume Limit, which you can use to adjust the volume at which you listen to your content. This means that your phone may adjust the volume by itself.

Why is Volume Limit automatically enabled?

Listening to music at high volumes, whether directly from your phone or through headphones, can be harmful to your hearing over time. 

Mobile devices consider a normal ‘high volume’ to output music is 110dB (decibels), but it has been scientifically proven that anything over 85db is unsafe.

For the safety of its users, Apple Music ensures this internal signal processor, which has a volume threshold that sound cannot cross, comes automatically enabled.

However, we have steps for you to disable the volume limit or even to set it at a rate that is more comfortable to your listening experience:

• Open ‘Settings’ on your iOS device.
• Select ‘Music’.
• Scroll to ‘Volume Limit’
• If it is turned on, toggle it off.
• Once you have turned it off, it will open the Volume Limit slider.
• Swipe the slider to the right so that it’s at Max Volume.

When you set the slider completely to the right, then that means there will be no volume limit set.

You can even take it a step further and increase the device’s overall volume by following these steps:

• Launch ‘Settings’ on your iOS device.
• Select ‘Sounds and Haptics’
• Now click on ‘Headphone Audio’ then ‘Headphone Safety’
• Turn off ‘Reduce Loud Sounds’

2. Equalizer Settings are Not Set Correctly

An equalizer (EQ) is a great tool to enhance your music. And, Apple Music comes with adjustable EQ settings. 

It gives you the ability to customize the type of sound you want. If you like more bass in your music, and less treble, then this is the right tool for you.

However, the EQ has been found on numerous occasions to be the reason for decreased volume in Apple Music.

Turning it off may increase the decibel (dB) and here is how you can do so:

1. Open ‘Settings’ on your iOS device.
2. Scroll to ‘Music’ and select it.
3. Scroll down to the ‘Playback’ Section and select ‘EQ’.
4. On the next screen, tap on ‘Off’.

With newer iOS versions, Playback may be called Audio.

If you don’t wish to turn off the EQ, there is another option that can help increase your volume:

1. Open ‘Settings’ on your device.
2. Go to ‘Music’ and tap it.
3. Under ‘Playback’, select ‘EQ’.
4. On the following screen, scroll and select ‘Late Night’ or ‘Loudness’.

When complete, this should boost your sound and Apple Music will be a lot louder than previously.

3. The Sound Check Feature may be the Culprit

When you first realize that Apple Music’s volume is low on certain songs, it may be simpler to place the blame at Apple Music’s ‘feet’.

But the actual culprit is that the recording of each song is done at a different volume.

This is why Apple Music has a feature called ‘Sound Check’ which, when enabled, automatically detects if a song naturally has low volume and will adjust and compensate for the low volume.

Simply put, Sound Check scans the volume of all the songs in your Apple Music library and calculates the average playback volume, which then becomes your new set volume.

You can, however, turn off this feature to bolster your Apple Music volume by doing the following:

• Launch ‘Settings’ on your phone.
• Scroll down to ‘Music’ and tap on it.
• Under ‘Playback’, select ‘Sound Check’
• Toggle it off.

If you are using a MacOS device, you can follow these steps:

• Go to ‘Apple Music’
• Click on ‘Preferences’
• Select ‘Playback’
• Uncheck ‘Sound Check’

4. Poor Audio Connection through Bluetooth Device

Another well-known low volume cause on Apple Music is a poor audio connection through a Bluetooth device, which can be caused by numerous factors, but specifically the two below.

The first factor is a weak or interfered wireless connection, which can be your Bluetooth output device at fault.

However, this can be remedied by unpairing and ‘forgetting’ the Bluetooth device from your phone, then reconnecting them again.

You can follow these steps to fix this:

• Open ‘Settings’ on your phone.
• Tap on ‘Bluetooth’.
• Under the device’s Bluetooth list, select the ‘i’ icon next to the Bluetooth device.
• Select ‘Forget this Device’

When you’re ready to pair devices again, put your Bluetooth device in pairing mode. Open the Bluetooth list and select the Bluetooth device to pair.

The second factor is that there may be interference with the connection caused by metal objects near the phone.

It is recommended that if your device supports AirPlay, switch to this function as it offers a better audio connection.

What is AirPlay, and how do I know if my device supports it?

AirPlay is an Apple feature that allows you to share content from your iOS devices to your Apple TV, Airplay 2-enabled speakers like the HomePod Mini, and most popular smart TVs.

Any device that runs on iOS 12 and newer, supports AirPlay, such as:

• iPhone 5S and newer
• iPad (2017)
• All iPad Air devices
• All iPad Pro devices
• iPad Mini 2 and newer
• 6th generation Apple iPod

5. There is Interference from Other Apps

There are data-heavy apps, like Facebook, which can affect the volume on Apple Music. 

Due to both Apple Music and Facebook requiring large processing capacity from your device, they tend to clash when run simultaneously. 

Facebook is well known for ‘hijacking’ the audio output, which causes Apple Music to drop the volume or pause the music completely.

There are two ways in which you can tackle this issue.

Disable Facebook’s in-app sound by doing the following:

• Open the Facebook app on your device.
• Tap on the three horizontal lines from the bottom right.
• Now select ‘Settings and Privacy’
• Click on ‘Settings’
• Next, you scroll down and select ‘Sounds’
• Lastly, turn off ‘In-App Sound’

You can close Facebook running in the background with these steps:

1. If you are using an iPhone 8 or earlier, double-tap the home button.
   • If you are using an iPhone X and later, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and hold.
2. Your device will now show a list of apps running in the background.
3. Finally, swipe up the Facebook card to close it.

6. Your iOS Device is Outdated

There are certain instances where Apple Music’s volume may be glitching because you haven’t rebooted your device in a while.

The importance of rebooting your device at least once a week is so that your device can reset its operating systems, allowing it to start afresh and fix minor glitches.

To reboot your iPhone, follow these steps:

• Press and hold the volume button and side button until the power-off slider appears.
• Slide and hold for 30 seconds for the device to turn off.
• Then press and hold the side button until the Apple logo appears to switch on.

We have not found concrete data of Apple Music being outdated as a cause of having low volume issues.

Though it is worth noting that up-to-date apps usually have bugs from previous versions fixed. So, it’s always beneficial to keep your Apple Music app updated for a seamless experience.

Here’s how to manually update Apple Music:

• Launch the ‘App Store’ on your device.
• Tap your profile icon at the top of the screen.
• Scroll to ‘Apple Music’
• Tap update next to update it.

7. Apple Music settings are not optimized on your Android

Being able to operate Apple Music on your Android device has been a great initiative by Apple. As with any app, it has its share of hiccups, such as a low volume issue. 

 Below are a few tips to help fix Apple Music’s volume on your Android device:

• Clean the speaker openings as dirt may get trapped after long-term usage.

• Check if your device’s volume settings are not muted by doing the following:
  1. Open ‘Settings’ on your device.
  2. Select ‘Sounds & Vibration’
  3. Tap ‘Volume’ and make sure the media slider is completely to the right.

•   Modify Problematic Features like the Equalizer
  1. 1. Open ‘Settings’ on your device.
     2. Select ‘Sounds & Vibration’
  2. Select ‘Advanced Sound Setting’
  3. Tap on ‘Sound Quality & Effects’
  4. Set the ‘Equalizer’ to normal.

Sources

Apple Supplier Code of Conduct and Responsibilities

Volume Limit Frequently Asked Questions

What Noises Can Cause Hearing Loss

How (and Why) To Set the Volume Limiter on Your iPhone