How to Turn on Noise Cancelling on Airpods- iPhone, iPad & Mac

You may have heard of the Noise Canceling feature in AirPods that Apple so proudly boasts about, but did you not experience it while using the pair?

This might be due to the Noise Cancelling feature not being enabled on your pair of AirPods Pro. But this isn’t something to worry about as the Noise Canceling feature can be turned on using any Apple device, from iPhone, iPad to even Apple Watch.

Steps to Turn on AirPods Noise Cancellation using iPhone or iPad

Stated below are two ways by which you can enable Noise Cancellation on your AirPods using your iPhone or iPad.

Before going through the process below, first, ensure that your AirPods are connected to your iPhone, and there is no AirPods connection failed error. Once that’s done, follow the steps further:

Through Control Center:

First off, swipe down from the top of your iPhone or iPad screen to open the Control Center. This is where the options to turn on-off mobile data, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc. are present.

Now, in the Control Center panel, long-press the volume slider icon to expand it.

On the following screen, tap on the Noise Control option, present under the volume slider.

Thereafter, three options will appear on your screen: Noise Cancellation, Off, and Transparency. There, tap on the Noise Cancellation option to enable your AirPods Pro noise cancelling.

Through Settings:

To begin with, open the Settings app.

Inside Settings, tap on the Bluetooth section.

On the following page, where all your Bluetooth-connected devices are listed, tap on the info icon (i), next to your AirPods.

Next, you will see some setting options for your AirPods on the following screen. There, tap on the Noise Cancellation option. With this done, AirPods noise cancelling will be enabled.

Turning on Noise Cancellation on Airpods using Mac

Okay. Above were the steps to turn on Noise Cancellation when using them with iPhone or iPad. But, what about when you have paired your AirPods with Mac? How to activate noise cancellation on AirPods in that case?

Well, you don’t have to worry about that as well. Because jotted down are two ways you can make your AirPods noise cancelling. So, check these out without any further delay:

Through Mac’s Volume Control:

First, you need to know how to pair your AirPods to your Mac and connect them.

After AirPods are connected to your Mac, then, click on the Volume Control icon (AirPods icon) present in the top menu bar of your Mac screen.

Next, from the menu that opens, click on the AirPods for which you want to turn on the noise cancellation.

Thereafter, several options will appear. There, select the Noise Cancellation option, and your AirPod Pros noise canceling will be enabled.

Through Mac’s Settings:

First, click on the Apple Menu icon from the top left corner of your screen.

Select the System Settings option from the menu that opens.

Next, the Settings window will open. There you have to go to the Bluetooth tab from the left sidebar.

After that, click on the info icon (i) present next to the AirPods in which you want to turn on the noise cancelling AirPods.

A small window will pop up next on your screen, where you have to click on the AirPods Pro Settings button.

Thereafter, click on the Noise Control section, and from the menu, select the Noise Cancellation option. With this done, your AirPod Pro noise cancelling will be activated.

Enabling AirPods Noise Cancellation using Apple Watch

Yes, you can not only use iPhone, iPad, or Mac to turn on noise cancellation on AirPods but also Apple Watch can do the trick for you. Activating noise canceling is rather easy using the Watch when you are hearing any media on it.

So, to know how to make AirPods noise cancelling using Apple Watch, follow the process below:

Connect your AirPods to your Apple Watch.

Start listening to some audio on the watch. When you are listening to something, tap on the AirPlay icon displayed on the media control screen.

After that, Noise Control options will appear on your Watch’s screen. There, tap on the Noise Cancellation option, and now you are now to use your noise cancelling AirPods.

Turning on Noise Cancellation from the AirPods Itself

Although you can use your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or even Apple Watch to turn on noise cancellation, doing so might be daunting, especially if you’re moving about or have your hands full.

This allows you to activate noise cancellation mode with a simple touch on your AirPods without grabbing any other device.

In such a scenario, the force touch sensors on your AirPods come in handy. The double-tap motion that pauses or resumes your music may be familiar to you. But, you may not know how to turn noise canceling on AirPods Pro with the Force Sensor.

Don’t worry if you don’t know how to do that, because you are about to find out just how to do that, by going through this simple two-step process:

On your AirPods Pro, touch the groove along the stem.

Now, press and hold down the groove which is also the Force Sensor. When you hear a high-pitched voice, this shows that the Noise Cancellation feature is now active. However, if Transparency mode is turned on, then repeat the process.
You must be thinking, what about the AirPods Max? Well, you can turn on Noise Cancellation in them the same way. You just have to press the Noise Control button. See the image below.

How to Turn off AirPods Noise Cancellation?

Now that you know how to use noise cancelling on AirPods Pro, you must be wondering how to turn it off.

Turning the noise cancellation on AirPods follows the same process as enabling it. The difference is just that you have to select the “Off” option instead of “Noise Cancellation”. Here’s how you can do this using different devices and AirPods themselves:

On iPhone or iPad:

First, ensure that your AirPods are connected to your iPhone or iPad.

Then, open the Settings app on your device, and tap on the Bluetooth section.

On the following page, tap on the info icon present next to AirPods.

Finally, under Noise Control on the next page, tap on the Off option, and your AirPods Pro turn off noise cancelling.

On Mac:

Begin by ensuring that your AirPods are connected to your Mac.

Click on the Apple Menu icon from the top of your Mac screen, and select the System Settings option.

In the Settings window, switch to the Bluetooth tab from the left side pane.

Then, click on the info icon (i) next to your AirPods name under My Devices.

On the pop-up window that appears on the screen, click on the AirPods Pro Settings button.

Finally, click on the Noise Control section, and click on Off. With that, your AirPd Pro turn off noise cancelling.

First off, reach for the Force Sensor (the groovy part) on your AirPod.

Press and hold the Force Sensor till you hear a high-pitched alarm. This means AirPod noise cancelling is disabled. However, if Transparency mode is turned on, again, repeat the 1-2 steps till noise cancellation is turned off.

AirPods Max: If you are using the Airpods Max, press and hold the noise control button, until you hear a high-pitched sound indicating the change of mode. In case, it has enabled the Transparency mode, again press and hold the noise control button till you hear the sound.

How to Customize Touch Settings of Your AirPods?

Now you know that by pressing and holding the force sensor or noise control button on the AirPods, you can switch between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode. In the Bluetooth settings on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you can choose which of the three modes: Transparency mode, Active Noise Cancellation, and Off, to alternate between.

Here is how you can customize these options on your AirPod on iPhone or iPad:

Pair your AirPods with your iPhone or iPad.

Go to your device Settings and tap on the Bluetooth section.

Then, tap on the info icon (i) next to your AirPods.

On the following screen, tap either on the Left or Right under the Press and Hold AirPods section.

Next, ensure that Noise Control is selected.

Finally, choose either two or three noise control modes you want to access when pressing and holding on your AirPods.

What are the Noise Control Modes in AirPods?

If you do not know by now, let me clarify, there are two Noise Control modes in AirPods: Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency. Want to know what these are and how they work, then read between the lines below:

Active Noise Cancellation uses outside microphone or microphones to identify outside noises. Your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max then use anti-noise to filter out the outside sounds before you even hear them. The AirPods also have anti-noise to block out any undesirable internal sounds that are picked up by an inward-facing microphone.

However, the Transparency mode is just opposite to the Noise Cancellation mode. It allows you to hear what is going on around you by allowing outside sound to enter your ears so that you are not completely cut off from the outside world.

A third Noise Control option is also there, Off, which is just used to turn off any of the two enabled modes.

Okay. That’s all folks! I hope the above write-up was helpful and you now know how to noise cancel AirPods using different devices and the AirPods itself!