enable noise cancellation with single airpod

How to Enable Noise Cancellation with Single AirPod on iPhone and Apple Watch

If you’re an AirPods Pro user, you probably know that they offer pretty good noise cancellation. Plus, the transparency mode offered by AirPods Pro is really useful as well. However, in order to use ANC on AirPods Pro, you need to be wearing them in both your ears. That makes sense, but what if due to some reason you can only wear one AirPod and still want to use noise cancellation? Well, that’s possible as well, but you need to change a few settings. So, here’s how to enable noise cancellation with single AirPod on iPhone and Apple Watch.

How to Enable Noise Cancellation with Single AirPod

AirPods can be used with your iPhone, MacBook, and Apple Watch. That means you can use noise cancellation regardless of which device you’re using them with. In this article, we will take a look at enabling ANC with single AirPod on both Apple Watch and iPhone. You can use the table of contents below to head over to a relevant section if you’re looking for the steps for a particular device.

Enable ANC with Single AirPod on iPhone

On an iPhone, you can enable ANC with single AirPod by following the steps below:

  • Go to Settings -> Accessibility.

accessibility option in settings

  • Scroll down and tap on ‘AirPods’

airpods accessibility settings

  • Enable the toggle for ‘Noise Cancellation with One AirPod’

enable noise cancellation with single airpod iphone

You can now use a single AirPod in your ear and activate noise cancellation.

Enable ANC with One AirPod on Apple Watch

  • Go to Settings -> Accessibility on your Apple Watch

accessibility settings apple watch

  • Scroll down and tap on ‘AirPods’

airpods accessibility apple watch

  • Enable the toggle for ‘Noise Cancellation with One AirPod’

enable noise cancellation with single airpod apple watch

You can also enable ANC on single AirPod on Apple Watch using your iPhone

  • Open the Watch app and tap on ‘Accessibility.

apple watch accessibility settings

  • Tap on ‘AirPods’

airpods accessibility settings apple watch

  • Enable the toggle for ‘Noise Cancellation with One AirPod’

enable noise cancellation with single airpod on apple watch with iPhone

Use Active Noise Cancellation with One AirPod

While there aren’t a lot of use cases where you want a single AirPod with noise cancellation, the feature is useful. It’s an accessibility feature, like the back tap accessibility feature in iOS 14, so it’s not really meant for everyone, but it’s there for anyone who wants it. I think Apple enabled this feature for users who have hearing impairment in one ear. But if you too want to use it, you know how to enable it now.

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