Is My iPad Air M3 Speaker Too Quiet? Just Bought — Need Feedback

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Level 1

22 points

Is My iPad Air M3 Speaker Too Quiet? Just Bought — Need Feedback

Hi everyone,

I just bought a new iPad Air M3 from the Apple Store three days ago, and I’m concerned about the speaker volume. Even with the volume set to 3 bars, I can barely hear anything. At 5 bars, it’s still quite soft. I need to turn it up almost to maximum before the sound becomes clearly audible.

Is this normal for the M3 model?

Could my unit be defective?

Do any of you experience the same issue with your iPad Air M3?

I’ve checked all the basic settings — volume, mute switch, Bluetooth, etc. Everything seems fine. But the sound is much quieter than I expected

Would love to hear your thoughts or experiences. Thanks!

Posted on Aug 1, 2025 9:38 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Phil0124

Level 10

214,777 points

Aug 1, 2025 12:18 PM in response to keong8867

The volume control on an iPad does not have bars. It's a single bar in control center and should have around 16 levels, though not indicated directly on the bar, its the amount of times you can press the physical volume buttons up from completely silent to maximum volume.

Are you sure you are looking at the right thing when increasing volume?

Can you post a screen shot of what you are seeing.

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Answer 2

sventek_

Level 4

1,345 points

Aug 1, 2025 11:39 AM in response to keong8867

Is this behavior consistent across different apps?

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Answer 3

Phil0124

Level 10

214,777 points

Aug 1, 2025 2:36 PM in response to keong8867

As I said, you should be able to press the buttons 16 times to get to full volume, so yes, 3 and 5 presses would be fairly low volume in relation.

Are you sure you cannot press the volume buttons more than 5 times? Normal hearing volume on mine for instance is usually around 10 or 12 depending on what I'm watching.

Also, make sure you don't have earphones connected, or a bluetooth headset paired.

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Answer 4

keong8867 Author

Level 1

22 points

Aug 1, 2025 1:34 PM in response to Phil0124

Hi Phil0124,

Thanks for your reply! I understand that the iPad doesn’t show volume bars in the UI. What I meant is: when I press the physical volume button on the iPad, I count the number of presses from mute — for example, 3 presses equals “3 bars” in my own reference, and 5 presses equals “5 bars.”

I tested this while watching YouTube videos or listening to music, and I feel the sound is quite low. At 3 presses, I can barely hear anything, and only at 5 presses does it become slightly audible. I'm not sure if this is just my perception or if my unit might have an issue.

Would love to hear your thoughts on whether this is normal behavior for the iPad Air M3. Thanks again!

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Answer 5

keong8867 Author

Level 1

22 points

Aug 1, 2025 1:36 PM in response to sventek_

Hi sventek_,

Thanks for your question! I just bought the iPad a few days ago, so I haven’t used many apps yet. For now, I’ve only tested the volume using YouTube, since that’s what I’ve been using most often. I’ll try checking other apps like Apple Music or Netflix soon to see if the behavior is consistent.

Appreciate your help!

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Answer 6

Aug 1, 2025 4:00 PM in response to keong8867

75% - 100% volume should be loud to hear a video.

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