How to Make Xiaomi Wireless Headphones Louder: From Basic Settings to Hidden Chips

Why Xiaomi Headphones Play Silently and What to Do About It

Xiaomi's wireless headphones are some of the most popular on the market for their price-performance ratio, but many users are struggling with the problem of not being loud enough. Even at the highest level, the sound can seem muted, especially in noisy environments or listening to music with deep bass. What's the reason?

First, the manufacturer’s limitations: Xiaomi artificially lowers the maximum volume on some models (e.g. Redmi Buds 3 Pro or Xiaomi AirDots 3) to protect users’ hearing. Second, smartphone settings: even if the headphones maintain a high volume level, your Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO can block the output signal via Bluetooth. Third, hardware limitations: cheap models (e.g. Redmi Buds 2 Lite) are physically unable to play sound louder than a certain threshold due to weak speakers.

In this article, we’ll look at 7 proven ways to turn up volume, from basic settings to advanced tricks with firmware and third-party apps. Importantly, some techniques can degrade sound quality or shorten the life of your headphones. Use them at your own risk!

1. Check the basic volume settings on your smartphone

Before you go into deep settings, make sure that the problem is not the trivial things. On most Xiaomi smartphones, the volume for Bluetooth devices is adjusted separately from the main sound.

• 📱 Unlock your smartphone and connect your headphones via Bluetooth.
• 🔊 Click on the physical volume buttons (on the side panel of the phone) – a scale labeled Media or Bluetooth should appear on the screen.
• ⚙️ If the scale does not appear, go to Settings. → Sound. → Volume and manually move the slider for Multimedia.
• 🔍 Make sure that the settings menu → Connected devices → Xiaomi headphones not activated Safe Sound mode (it limits volume).

If the sound is still quiet after this manipulation, the problem goes deeper, perhaps the Bluetooth profile or the equalizer settings are to blame.

⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Xiaomi Air 2) SE) When you first connect, your smartphone automatically sets the volume limit. To reset it, turn off your headphones, reboot your phone, and reconnect them.

2. Turn off volume limits in MIUI

Xiaomi has built hidden volume limits into its MIUI shell for Bluetooth devices, which can be circumvented through an engineering menu or customization, and works on most smartphones with MIUI 12/13/14.

Instructions for deactivating restrictions:

1. Open the Phone app and enter the combination: ##36446337###
2. You will be taken to the engineering menu (if the combination doesn't work, try ##4636###).
3. Go to Hardware Testing → Audio → Volume.
4. Find the Max Vol option for Bluetooth and set the value to 150 (usually 80-100 by default).
5. Save the settings and restart the smartphone.

If the engineering menu is not available, try an alternative method:

• 🔧 Install the app MIUI Hidden Settings from Google Play.
• 🔊 In the Sound section, find the Disable Bluetooth Absolute Volume option and activate it.
• 🔄 Reconnect the headphones.

⚠️ Warning: Changing the settings in the engineering menu can cause malfunctions in the audio system. If after manipulation the sound is completely lost, reset the settings to the factory (Settings) → The phone. → Resetting settings).

3.Use equalizer to amplify sound

The equalizer (EQ) allows you to artificially amplify certain frequencies, which visually makes the sound louder. MIUI has an integrated equalizer, but it is often hidden, and you can also use third-party applications to make it more flexible.

How to turn on the built-in equalizer:

• 🎵 Open the Music app (standard player from Xiaomi).
• 🔊 Put it on the icon. ⚙️ in the upper right corner and select the Equator.
• 📈 Choose a Bass or Rock preset – they amplify low and medium frequencies, which subjectively increases the volume.
• 🔧 Manually lift sliders at 60Hz, 230Hz and 910Hz on +3–+5 dB.

If there is no built-in equalizer, install one of these applications:

Importantly, the equalizer does not increase the actual power of the headphones, but only adjusts the frequency balance. Excessive amplification of low frequencies can lead to distortions ("hrypah") on cheap models.

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If the sound becomes hoarse after setting the equalizer, reduce the amplification at frequencies below 100 Hz and add +2 dB at 1-3 kHz to compensate.

4. Update the firmware of headphones and smartphone

The manufacturer regularly releases updates for Xiaomi wireless headphones that can improve sound and eliminate software volume restrictions. You can check the relevance of the firmware through the official Mi Home or Xiaomi Wear app.

Instructions for updating:

1. Install the Xiaomi Wear app (for AirDots) or Mi Home (for Redmi Buds).
2. Connect the headphones to the phone and open the application.
3. Go to the Devices section → Your headphones. → Settings (⚙️) → Firmware update.
4. If a new version is available, click Update and wait for the process to complete (don’t turn off the headphones!).

Also check the updates for the smartphone itself:

• 📱 Go to Settings. → The phone. → Updating the system.
• 🔄 If a new version is available MIUI, set it up.

⚠️ Warning: When updating your headphone firmware through Mi Home, don’t interrupt or leave the app. If the update takes more than 10 minutes, restart your headphones (press the button on the case for 15 seconds) and try again.

5. Reset the headphone settings to factory

If Suddenly headphones have become quieter for no apparent reason, their internal settings may have gone wrong.Resetting to factory settings often solves the problem, especially after unsuccessful experiments with an equalizer or connecting to multiple devices.

How to perform the reset:

• 🔋 Make sure your headphones are at least 30 times charged%.
• 🎧 Place both headphones in the case and close the lid.
• 🔄 Press and hold the button on the case (or touchpad on the headphones if the button is not) for 10-15 seconds until the indicator flashes red and white.
• 📱 Open the case cover and connect the headphones to the phone again (they will appear in the Bluetooth list as a new device).

For different models, the reset process may differ:

After reset, check the volume – often this helps to return factory sound settings that may have been changed by accident.

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Resetting the headphones removes all the conjugated devices from their memory, and after the procedure, you have to reconnect them to each gadget.

6 Advanced methods: firmware modification and sound modification

If none of these things worked, radical methods remain, requiring technical skills and may be warranty-free, but sometimes producing a noticeable volume boost.

Method 1: Modified firmware for headphones

Some enthusiasts are creating custom firmware for Xiaomi wireless headphones that remove volume restrictions. For example, for Redmi Buds 3 Pro, there are firmware with an increased power limit of speakers.

1. Download modified firmware from the 4PDA or XDA Developers forum (look for a theme for your model).
2. Install nRF Connect or Flippy (for FlipBuds) on your PC.
3. Connect the headphones to the PC via Bluetooth andfollowing firmware instructions.

Method 2: Use of a sound amplifier

If the headphones are physically unable to play louder, you can use an external Bluetooth amplifier (for example, FiiO BTR3K or Creative BT-W5). These devices connect to headphones and amplify the signal, but cost from 3,000 rubles.

Method 3: Root access and modification of system files

On smartphones with unlocked bootloader and root rights, you can edit the file /system/etc/audio_policy_configuration.xml, This is a very risky method, because an error can cause the device to lose sound.

⚠️ Attention: Installing custom firmware on headphones or modifying the system files of the smartphone will void the warranty.In addition, increasing the volume above factory limits can disable the headphone dynamics due to overheating or mechanical damage to the membrane.

7. Hardware causes of silent sound and their elimination

If the software didn't work, the problem could be physical malfunctions in the headphones or the smartphone, and here are the most common hardware reasons:

• 🔊 Contamination of speakers: Dust, earwax, or moisture can block the sound holes. Clean them with a soft brush or compressed air (do not use alcohol-containing liquids!).
• 🔋 Battery discharge: Xiaomi headphones automatically turn down the volume when the charge level is below 15%. charge them to 100%.
• 📶 Poor Bluetooth connection: If the signal is weak (for example, due to interference), the smartphone can reduce the bitrate of the sound, which affects the volume.
• 🛠️ Damaged speakers: If the sound is quiet in just one earpiece, maybe the wire has broken off or the membrane has been damaged.

To check if the headphones are to blame, connect them to another device (like an iPhone or laptop). If the sound remains quiet — the problem is the headphones, if it has become normal — it is your smartphone.

If headphones are guaranteed, contact the Xiaomi service center. A list of official SCs can be found on the mi.com website.

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Before you visit the service center, reset your headphones to the factory settings and remove them from the list of associated devices, which will speed up the diagnosis.

FAQ: Frequent questions about the volume of Xiaomi headphones