How to Fix Poor Audio Quality In TikTok [Compression Etc]

After some experimentation, I figured that the audio quality problem was due to the fact the Noise Reducer was switched on by default. I couldn’t figure out why my videos kept sounding like they were recorded underwater in a tin can. Here’s how to fix that.

To fix poor audio quality in your TikTok videos, go to the audio settings by clicking on the drop-down arrow on the right side of the screen after you’ve uploaded a video. Ensure the option “Noise Reducer” hasn’t been selected, otherwise, you could hear undesirable noise reduction and compression.

The Primary Solution For Fixing Bad TikTok Audio Quality

Contents - Sidebar TOC ->

How to Fix Poor Audio Quality In TikTok [Compression Etc] - In-Article — Is your TikTok quality trash? Here’s the process for fixing the issue in a little more detail than what I shared at the start of the article.

1) Open TikTok and Then Press the Upload Button

1 - TikTok - How to Fix Poor Audio Quality In TikTok [Compression Etc] — The first thing you want to do, obviously, is open up your TikTok application as your normally would and select the Upload button.

While you’re at it, you should probably ensure there are no weird filters or anything like that turned on in the toolbar on the righthand side.

2) Select the Video You Want From the Recents Folder and Then Choose “Next”

2 - TikTok - How to Fix Poor Audio Quality In TikTok [Compression Etc] — In some cases, you may have to go into your photos first through TikTok to actually bring the video onto the platform.

I’ve already imported the video into TikTok via the camera roll so I didn’t have to do it here.

3) Select the Downward-Pointing Arrow to Bring Up More Audio Settings

3 - TikTok - How to Fix Poor Audio Quality In TikTok [Compression Etc] — Once your video has been imported, hit the downward-pointing arrow that’s shown here.

This will bring up additional audio settings and various configurations.

4) Look At The Noise Reducer Option And Ensure It’s Turned Off

4 - TikTok - How to Fix Poor Audio Quality In TikTok [Compression Etc] — As you can see here, the pesky “Noise reducer” has been turned on, which was the culprit in terms of my video’s terrible sound quality.

Why Does Audio Sound Different on TikTok?

Streaming Platforms - How to Fix Poor Audio Quality In TikTok [Compression Etc] — Some of the various platforms you’ll probably be uploading your music and content to.

Generally speaking, audio sounds different on TikTok due to compression, limiting, and noise reduction. TikTok has put these in place to ensure that radio and video quality has been standardized across the application, otherwise, there would be considerable and unmanageable variation.

So what does this mean for you though? I’ve found it pretty difficult to find audio and video standards for TikTok on the internet, unlike Spotify, for instance, who tells users that audio should be -14 LUFS.

TikTok doesn’t have the same guidelines for uploading content to their platform which I find annoying. At least I haven’t found those standards yet. That said, if you’re able to upload something first to YouTube Shorts, you’ll probably be able to get it on TikTok without much problem.

But thankfully, we can use YouTube’s recommendations as a guideline for how to upload on TikTok. If you take a look at this article from Sweetwater, they say that YouTube has publicly stated you should aim for -13 dB LUFS to -15 dB LUFS, and to go no louder than -9 LUFS for transient peaks.

Transient peaks just refer to the moments during your audio recording where it’s louder than average. These are the peaks, which I talked a bit more about in my article on reference tracks. You can learn a good deal there.

On account of YouTube’s recommendations, it’s safe to assume then that you should aim for -13 dB LUFS to -15 dB LUFS when uploading to TikTok as well. Although it’s possible TikTok’s recommendations could be slightly different, they won’t deviate by much.

Notice how the recommendations for YouTube aren’t terribly difficult from Spotify’s audio recommendations. You can also find some great comments in this Reddit thread which discuss mastering social media platforms in detail.

Important Things to Note About TikTok Audio Quality

1) Social Media Platforms Will Probably Decrease The Audio Quality Regardless

Regardless of how much you tinker around with the audio, I imagine that most platforms will degrade the quality of your audio no matter what. The reason is they have a lot of content going up every single day, and they can’t have these super high-quality file sizes. It would just take too much.

Until we figure out a way to get even smaller file sizes without affecting the quality at all (which will probably happen sometime in the future), you’ll just have to deal with the fact your songs don’t sound as good as they did in your DAW.

2) Use Other Sharing Platforms As A Guideline

As I mentioned earlier, YouTube Shorts and Spotify could probably be used as a benchmark in terms of how you should master your songs. Just aim for -14 dB LUFS like what Spotify asks of you and you’ll be good. Use the YouLean Analyzer if you must.

Andrew Siemon is the principal creator of ProducerSociety.com, a website dedicated to all things music, including music production, music theory, recording, and how to use the most popular DAWs. Starting out as a metal guitarist, Andrew has since moved into other areas of music production including hip-hop and fusion

Marketing, Social Media