Classic case. One earbud plays at full volume, the other whispers like it got caught stealing the neighbor's WiFi password. Usually this doesn't mean the earbud is broken. More often than not, the cause is earwax, a dirty charging contact, or your phone's own balance setting. Luckily the fix is easier than making your morning coffee.
What went wrong?
The most common cause is earwax. It builds up on the earbud's sound mesh so slowly you don't notice until one side already sounds like a whisper. Second most common is dirt on the charging contacts: the bud isn't charging properly and can't run at full power. The third possibility is the left/right channel balance in your phone's accessibility settings, which has drifted off center.
So it's rarely a broken driver or a dying battery. Usually the culprit is a blockage or a setting, and both are fixable at home. It's a bit like turning on the TV on mute: everything works, but nobody enjoys it.
How to fix it
Try this first:
- Place both buds in the charging case
- Connect the charging cable to the case
- Hold both earbuds' touch panels down for 5 seconds
- Wait for the blue light to flash once on each
- Take the buds out of the case and reconnect to your phone
- Check whether the right bud now sounds normal
If the problem persists, remove the pairing entirely and start over:
- Remove the earbuds from your phone's Bluetooth settings completely
- Put the buds in the case and connect the charging cable for a moment
- Take the buds out of the case, they'll enter pairing mode automatically
- Reconnect to your phone as if it were the first time
Also check these:
- Phone’s volume balance – some phones let you adjust the balance between left and right channels separately. Check your phone’s accessibility settings to ensure the balance isn’t skewed.
- Earbud’s charging case contacts – wipe them with a dry cloth. Dirt builds up there surprisingly easily.
- Ear canal – this sounds silly, but earwax clogs the sound port surprisingly often. Gently clean the earbud’s mesh with a dry, soft brush.
If that doesn’t help
If the right bud is still whispering like a conspiracy theorist in a library after the reset, it may be a driver fault. Send us an email at info@valco.fi – include your order number and a short description of the issue. A photo helps too, even if it’s hard to take a picture of a quiet sound.
If the device is under warranty, the Kajaani service team will take care of it. We repair things here, we don’t throw them away – even if it’s just one small bud that has forgotten how volume works.
