The situation when only one headphone starts to sound from a pair of Xiaomi Mi True Wireless Earbuds Basic (known as AirDots) is one of the most common problems in the budget segment. Users often face the fact that after extracting from the case, the device connects to the smartphone, but the sound is broadcast exclusively to the right or left channel. This does not necessarily indicate a physical break in the speaker or a rupture of the plume. In the vast majority of cases, the software connection between the two headset modules is broken.
The point is, TWS-The True Wireless Stereo is a master-sleave headphone, and one of the headphones (usually the right one) acts as the master device that receives the audio stream over Bluetooth and transmits it to the slave (left one), and if that communication bridge is broken, you only hear music in one ear. Fortunately, you can restore the efficiency of both channels by software methods without contacting the service center.
In this article, we will discuss in detail the algorithms of forced synchronization, methods of deep reset and ways to eliminate software conflicts that interfere with full stereo work. The main reason for desynchronization is the simultaneous removal of headphones from the case with Bluetooth on the phone, which makes them connect independently. Following the instructions below will help you return full stereo sound.
Diagnosis of the problem and initial inspection
Before you start to make complex adjustments, you need to rule out some basic factors that are often ignored. Battery discharge in one of the headphones can be critical even if the light is on. Put both earphones in the charge case and leave them for at least 30 to 40 minutes. Make sure the contacts at the bottom of the headphones and inside the case are clean and not oxidized.
Check if your smartphone's mono-earphone mode is activated. Some versions of Android and iOS have a "mono-audio" feature in the special features section that force the stereo to one channel, and it's also worth checking the balance of sound, which can be accidentally shifted completely left or right.
If the charging is full and the balance settings are normal, but the sound is still coming from only one speaker, then the internal synchronization between the modules is disrupted, in which case you need to force the break of communication with the smartphone and repair the left and right earphones between each other.
Full reset (Hard Reset)
The most effective way to get Xiaomi AirDots to work in pairs again is to perform a complete reset procedure, which clears the internal memory of the headphones from old connection profiles and forces them to re-find each other.
To start, remove the device from the paired list on your phone. Find the name Mi True Wireless EBs in the Bluetooth list. Basic_R or AirDots, click on the gear or information icon and select "Forget this device" or "Unpair it." Then turn off Bluetooth on your smartphone so it doesn't try to automatically connect during the setup process.
☑️ Algorithm of resetting headphones
Now you have to take both earbuds out of the charging case. Both devices have touchpads. You have to hold the sensors on the left and right earbuds at the same time and hold them for about 20 seconds. The indicators have to flash red several times and then go out. Then press the sensors again for 20 seconds until the indicators light up and start flashing white quickly 2-3 times, after which they go out. This means that the reset is done.
⚠️ Warning: During the reset procedure, don't bring your headphones close to your phone. If Bluetooth is on, it can intercept the connection signal before the headphones sync with each other.
The process of reconjugation of channels
Once the Hard Reset is successfully executed, the headphones go into standby mode. Now the key is to get the right sequence of actions to create a new pair. Put both headphones back in the charging case and close the lid for 5-10 seconds, which will give them time to completely shut down and prepare for start.
Open the case cover, but don't take the headphones out. Give them a few seconds. Then pull both of the headphones out at the same time. You'll see the lights on them start flashing. At that point, you're looking for a partner. This usually takes 5 to 15 seconds. Once one of the headphones (usually the right one) finds the left one, the lights will stop flashing often and start blinking slowly every few seconds (or go out, depending on the model), signaling that you're ready to connect.
Why do the indicators flash differently?
Now turn on Bluetooth on your smartphone and start looking for devices. Basic_R Note that there should not be two devices on the list that are the same, and if you see two devices with the same name, they have not paired with each other, and you need to repeat the reset procedure.
Table of indicators and their values
Understanding color can help diagnose headphones without connecting to a phone, and different blinking modes tell the user about battery status, pairing process, or errors.
| Indicator mode | Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Slow blinking | White | Connection waiting mode (TWS pair created) |
| Frequent flashing | White | Device or pairing search mode |
| It's burning all the time. | Red. | Charging is in progress. |
| Gasnet | - | Charging is complete or the headphone is off |
| 5 quick blinks | Red. | Low battery charge or pairing error |
Note that in some Xiaomi AirDots revisions, the colors may differ, for example, blue may indicate a successful connection, and red may indicate a low charge.
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If you're pairing the sound to only one channel, try playing the audio and pressing the volume button "Up" on your phone, sometimes it wakes up the second channel.
Specifics of the Mi Earbuds application
For more in-depth tuning and diagnostics, you can use the official Mi Earbuds app (or Xiaomi Earbuds), which allows you not only to manage basic functions, but also to check the charge of each earphone separately, which is critical when you have a single channel problem.
The app can show the real percentage of charge on the left and right earphones. If the app shows that one of them is discharged (0%), even though you just pulled them out of the case, this indicates a problem with the contacts in the case or a malfunction of the battery of a particular module.
Firmware Update through the app often solves software bugs that cause desynchronization. If the software version is outdated, the connection algorithms may not work correctly with new versions of Android or iOS. Connect your headphones to your phone, open the app and check for updates.
⚠️ Warning: During firmware updates, do not open the case cover or move the headphones away from the phone. Interrupting the recording process can turn the headphones into a "brick" that cannot be turned on.
Problems with charging and contact
Often the reason that only one earphone works is trivial — it just doesn't charge in the case, and the dust, the pile from your pockets, or the oxidation of your contacts, prevents the current from passing, and as a result, when you pull out the headphones, one of them has a full charge, and the other one has a 0% charge or close to it.
Take a cotton swab lightly moistened with alcohol (not abundantly!), and gently wipe the golden contacts on the headphones themselves and the pins inside the charging case. Let the alcohol completely evaporate before use. Also check if the headphones are sitting tight in the sockets. If the case is old, the spring mechanism may have weakened and the contact disappears.
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If after cleaning contacts and a long charge (more than 2 hours), one headphone still does not light up with a red indicator in the case - the battery inside this module is likely to have failed.
There's also a way to pump the battery, where if the headphone was long dead, it could have gone into a deep discharge, and leave the headphones in the case charging for a few hours (or even overnight), even if the light doesn't light up right away, and sometimes the current starts coming in after a long time.
Elimination of software conflicts in the smartphone OS
Sometimes the problem is not the headphones, but the Bluetooth cache on the smartphone itself. Accumulated errors in the A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) profile can interfere with the transmission of the stereo stream, in which case cleaning the Bluetooth cache helps.
On Android devices, this is done via the developer menu or app settings. Go to Settings → Apps → Show system processes → Bluetooth. From the menu that opens, select Storage and click Clear Cache and Clear Data. After that, the phone will reboot and the list of saved devices will reset.
On iPhone, try resetting your network settings. Go to Settings → Mainstream → Removing or resetting iPhone → Reset → Reset network settings.This action will delete all stored Wi-Fi passwords and Bluetooth pairings, but often solves sound problems in the network. TWS-headsets.