Galaxy Buds Volume and Balance Issue

[Electr0]

!! ALL POSSIBLE FIXES LISTED BELOW !!

Wow... two years later and people are still having this problem.
I decided that I'd go though this massive thread and try to compile all the possible fixes, to make it easier for people to (hopefully) find a solution that works for them. Let's go...!

1. Pair with another non-galaxy device

1. Pair to your Galaxy Phone
2. Setup using Galaxy Wearables app
3. Reset using Galaxy Wearables app
4. Place the Buds in the case and wait at least 10 seconds
5. Remove Buds from the case & Pair with your other non-galaxy device
6. Un-pair from your other non-galaxy device
7. Place Buds back in the case and wait at least 10 seconds
8. Re-pair to you Galaxy Phone and setup using the Galaxy Wearables app.

2. Blow on the speaker driver

1. Remove the silicon cap on the faulty ear-bud
2. Cover the ear piece with you mouth and blow VERY GENTLY

3. Clean the metal mesh under the cover

1. Remove the factory wax/glue from the sound exit grid
2. Remove the metal grid (it will require a tool, eg. use a small pocket knife) and the dark mesh under it
3. Clean the mesh under the grid (possibly ear wax between the mesh and the metal grid)
4. Put back the mesh and the grid

4. Check for defects and ensure proper charging

1. Check for dents on the faulty ear bud
2. Ensure they sit in the case properly
3. Charge the ear buds fully
   1. Place the ear buds in the case once at a time
   2. Make sure that the case registers both of them - the central light in the case flashes when each bud is placed correctly.
   3. Make sure each ear bud is "seated" correctly
   4. Leave them to charge for a minimum of 20 mins 

 5. Toggle "Call Audio" and "Media Audio"

1. Open the bluetooth menu
2. Navigate to the Galaxy Buds settings
3. Turn off, then on: "Call Audio" and "Media Audio"

6. Adjust "Media Volume Sync"

1. Open Bluetooth settings -> Advanced
2. Turn on "Media Volume Sync"
3. Go to Settings -> Accessibility -> Hearing Enhancements
4. Adjust the balance of the ear buds

7. Battery Discharge

1. Fully discharge both the ear buds and case to 0%
2. Fully charge both the ear buds and case to 100%

8. Reconnect Speaker Cable

1. Take you ear buds apart completely
2. Disconnect then reconnected the ribbon cable to the speaker
3. Reassemble the ear buds

9. Throw them against a wall  😅 (?)

10. Reset the ear buds

1. Go into the Galaxy Wearables app and then into "About earbuds"
2. Click "Reset earbuds"

I hope that at least one of these solutions will get them working again for you.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far!

Good Luck! 🤞

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1. Hey All,

I've been using my Galaxy Buds for about 2 days now and this afternoon when I put then in, I noticed that the right earbud is significantly quiter than the left. I would say about 75% quieter.

When I put the left bud in, it chime as usual, but now when I but the right bud it, it doesn't chime at all.

I've tried up-paring and re-pairing them to my Galaxy S10+ and have also reset them from within the Galaxy Wearables. My Galaxy Wearables app is up to date, as is the.software on my Galaxy Buds. 

Has anyone else had this issue? 

Is seems that lots of people had this issue wi h the 2018 IconX Buds, could if be something similar? 

[Spac3m0nkey]

That sucks, cleaning them for some reason worked and now they seem fine. If that doesn't work for you I don't know what the solution is, I only know what worked for me 😎 

[ToxicVirus]

I tried the steps listed in your post but it did not fix the problem.  Please help me I don't know what to do.

[Spac3m0nkey]

I'm not sure, perhaps yours is a software issue. Did you try seeing how they sound without the grill on the faulty one completely off? As soon as I removed mine it started working, so I removed the little black silicone thing and cleaned it, they was actually quite a bit of wax and dirty, put it back and the grill and it worked totally fine. Not sure why but that fixed it. Perhaps yours is a different problem though, I only know what worked for me. Hopefully you get them working again, or if not try sending them back to Samsung if you're able to with a warranty 

[papicolti]

I attempted to do this but couldnt get the metal mesh off.

However, through scraping out earwax or bangin it around enough. It magically started working.

I have tried ALL the other suggestions about resetting, and connecting to other devices and have been without the left earbud for about 2 months. 

But this worked.

Thank you.

[astrobody]

I found a website that said how to clean these properly (https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-clean-galaxy-buds).

Apparently, a toothbrush can be used on the metal grate to break up the ear 'gunk'.  

I did this for a minute or two and my earbud went back to working normally -- without any further surgery.  

[MissingLink]

It seems that the major issue is the earbuds getting dirty (with ear wax...)

Even though the earbuds might be new they could still have earwax in them... Each person is different.

To me, it looks like Samsung made a bad design error causing this issue to happen a lot. So, yeah...

Even though they are Greate earbuds with Greate sound quality and features it seems like they have 1 MAJOR design flaw.

[Kryst0fHad3k]

Yooo

This is the only metod I have tried after 4 months, that worked!!!!!!!

Thank you sooooo much

You actuallly made my day a way better!

[PauTodo]

You won't this believe guys. I DID solve it. 😎But I must warn you: this is a rather radical trick, so please try this at your own discretion. I had problems (as almost all of you) with the right-side earphone. I tried everything you say here. The unpairing-repairing increased like a 10% the volume level, but nah, it didn't work. So I decided to a bit wilder:

1 ) Remove the silicon tip /ear protector. You'll see the mini grid of the speaker. 

2) Get a needle. (I actually did it with a pin button from David Bowie

3) With a lot of care, insert the needle in one of the holes of the grid and gently remove the grid. You'll see that it comes very easily (actually it comes out almost without any resistance).

4) With a gentle stirring movement, clean the interior of the cavity.

5) That's it. Put the grid and the silicon protector back.

I confess I was like 99% sure that would do nothing; even worse, that I just broke the whole thing. BUT IT WORKED LIKE MAGIC!!

Cheers! 

[gracklepod]

I have the same issue with left being much much quieter than the right.  I tried all the solutions posted in this thread without any luck.  Sent the earbuds in to the repair center since I purchased them in Dec. 2019 for a warranty based solution.  The email I received advised they were "damaged" and it would cost a bit over $90 to repair since they were deemed out of warranty. I did not get a written explanation of the "damage" but was told over the phone that there were scratches on the outside of the bud and also that the plate to the cradle had a scratch.  Since the earbud registered a 100% charge when I was trying the solutions, I know lack of charge is not the issue and can't really understand how cosmetic scratches on the outside of the earbud would cause an approximate 75% audio drop. Seems to be a convenient way of ducking out of the warranty by claiming the device is "damaged.  I don't think I'll be buying nor recommending these to anyone.  Pretty dissatisfied with the product and also the warranty.

[BLANKCOMMUNITYNAME]

Trust me ppl nd dont do anything like this u will just end up wasting ur time if one of the methods didnt work. The problem is sometimes that u produce earwax which end up inside those tiny holes so all u hv to do is suck it out by removing those small rubber kind of thing that get inserted into ur ear nd using something to suck it out. U may suck it out by using ur mouth if u okay with not being hygienic or get a straw and use anything that can create a suction like those rubber suction thingies and inserting the straw into the suction area nd sucking out the was using the straw which is attached to the rubber suction thingy which is the way i did it. But using ur mouth is the faster way to go about it. If this doesnt work well most probably u dont hv earwax there nd hv another problem. If this was the fix for u plz do give me an upvote.