How to Make Headphones Louder

If your headphones are too quiet even at full volume, the cause is usually a volume limit setting, dirty earbuds, a poor ear-tip seal or a Bluetooth volume setting. These fixes are free and safe. Only after trying them should you think about an equalizer or a headphone amplifier – and always keep your hearing in mind.

First: check the left and right level

Play our headphone test. If one side is quieter than the other, the cause is usually balance or dirt rather than overall volume – see one earbud not working.

1. Turn off volume limits

• iPhone: Settings → Sounds & Haptics → Headphone Safety. If Reduce Loud Audio is on, it limits volume to the level shown; raise the level or turn it off. Under Screen Time, check that a content restriction is not locking it.
• Android: when you raise the volume past a certain point, many phones show a hearing-safety warning and stop there until you accept it. Some Samsung phones also have a volume limiter under Settings → Sounds and vibration → Volume.
• Mac and Windows: check the app's own volume as well as the system volume, and the Volume mixer on Windows.

2. Clean your earbuds or headphones

Earwax on the speaker mesh blocks a surprising amount of sound. Follow our earbud cleaning guide – a muffled earbud often gets noticeably louder.

3. Get a better seal

In-ear earbuds need a good seal to sound loud and full. If you can hear a lot of outside noise, try the next size of ear tip, or foam tips, which expand to fill the ear canal. For over-ear headphones, worn ear pads leak sound – replacement pads restore both volume and bass.

4. Fix Bluetooth volume

• Android: enable Developer options (tap Build number seven times in About phone), then find Disable absolute volume. Turning it on separates phone and headphone volume, so you can raise both. Turn the headphones' own volume up with their buttons.
• Windows: some Bluetooth headphones play quietly because of "absolute volume". Raising the volume on the headphones themselves often helps.
• Update the headphone firmware in the maker's app and check that its EQ or "volume limit" is not set low.

5. Turn on loudness or use an equalizer

Quiet listening makes bass and treble sound weaker. A small boost can make music sound louder and fuller without raising the overall level much:

• Windows: in the old Sound control panel (Sound settings → More sound settings → Properties → Enhancements), some drivers offer Loudness Equalization.
• iPhone: Settings → Music → EQ → Late Night raises quiet parts of music.
• Android: most phones have an equalizer under Sound settings (Samsung: Sound quality and effects).

See our guide to the best EQ settings for bass for exact values.

6. Check the audio source

Some videos and podcasts are simply mixed quietly. Compare with a song from a music app. Streaming apps often have volume normalisation ("Normalize volume" in Spotify) – turning it off or setting it to "Loud" can increase volume.

7. Use a headphone amplifier (high-impedance headphones)

Studio and hi-fi headphones with high impedance (for example 250 Ω or 300 Ω) need more power than a phone or laptop can give. A small USB DAC/amp or a portable headphone amplifier makes them reach full volume. For typical earbuds and Bluetooth headphones an amplifier is not needed.

Protect your hearing

Louder is not always better. Listening at high volume for long periods can permanently damage hearing. A common guideline is to keep the volume at no more than about 60% for no more than about 60 minutes at a time. If you need to raise the volume to block outside noise, noise-cancelling headphones or better-sealing tips let you listen at a lower, safer level.

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