iPhone speaker not working: How to fix it

Onur Demirkol
May 21, 2023
Updated • May 18, 2023
Apple, Tutorials
|
1

iPhones are one of the most used smartphones in the world, but they are also pretty pricey compared to some of the other models. This makes its service fees to be one of the highest in the industry, too, and that is why sometimes fixing basic issues by yourself could save you a lot of money. Today, we will show you how to fix the "iPhone speaker not working" issue.

One of the easiest solutions is to clean your iPhone's speakers, but it doesn't always work. If you are having trouble with our iPhone speaker, keep reading because you might find the solution by trying out our recommendations!

iPhone speaker not working: How to fix it?

iPhone speaker not working: Reasons why it isn't working on your phone

There might be several reasons why your iPhone speaker is not working. It could either be a software issue, a basic mistake caused by you, or the worst-case scenario is a hardware problem. Below you will find a couple of solutions that could help in case of software problems or other very basic and small issues that were overlooked by you.

If it is a hardware issue, you will probably need to contact Apple or a certified service because they will need to go under your iPhone's hood and either replace or repair the speaker. Here are a couple of solutions for you to try if you are facing the iPhone speaker not working issue!

Mute switch and volume buttons

To start things off, let's start by checking your mute switch and volume buttons. As mentioned, sometimes people overlook these small steps and think something happened to their iPhones, but the truth is different.

Make sure that your mute switch is on and the volume is turned up enough for you to hear the sound coming out of your iPhone's speaker. You can also go to settings and ensure all the sound options are turned on. To do so, here are the steps:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Find Sounds & Haptics.
  3. Raise the "Ringtone and alert volume" level.
  4. Turn on "Change with buttons" so that your ringer and alert sounds will also increase with the buttons.
iPhone speakers

Disconnect any other Bluetooth devices

Another overlooked fix is to disconnect any other Bluetooth devices so that your phone will set the speaker as the main source of the sound. Sometimes people forget they are connected to their AirPods or any other Bluetooth device, including an external speaker, any headphones, or sometimes even smart TVs.

The issue might be that your phone is still connected to a Bluetooth device that you are no longer using. If it is still connected, your phone will select the device as its main source of sound, and you won't hear anything coming out of your speaker.

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to Bluetooth.
  3. Check if any device is connected.
  4. If you see a connected device, disconnect it and try your speaker again.

Restart your iPhone

If you are still facing the iPhone speaker not working issue, you might want to hard reset your phone. Hard resetting your iPhone will fix any software glitches that restrict you from using your phone's speaker. It may not be the best fix, but it is pretty easy, and you can do it in a couple of seconds. It won't hurt to try. The starting process is different for certain iPhone models. If you don't know how to restart your iPhone, follow the steps below:

  • iPhone 6 and below: Press and hold your phone's Power and Home buttons until you see the Apple logo on the screen. The phone will turn off and on again, don't release the buttons until you see the logo.
  • iPhone 7/7 Plus: Press and hold your phone's Volume Down and Power buttons until you see the Apple logo. The same restart process will happen again; don't let go of the buttons.
  • iPhone 8 and above: Press and release Volume Up and Volum Down, respectively, then press and hold the Power button until you see the Apple logo reappear on your screen.
Courtesy of: iFixit

Run third-party apps

There are some third-party apps that will help you get rid of some of the speaker-related issues. Running low-frequency sound can fix your phone's speaker and there are a couple pf third-party applications that you can try.

Clear Wave is one of the applications that you can try. It doesn't remove any water from your speaker but tests it, which will help you see if you can hear anything when the decibel goes up or down. It will also help you run a test on your speaker that might help you with the iPhone speaking not working error. The app makes high-pitch and high-volume sounds to test your speaker, which may help you overcome the issue. Here is how to use it:

  1. Go to App Store.
  2. Type "Clear Wave" in the search box.
  3. Find the app and download it.
  4. Open Clear Wave.
  5. Tap the blue icon under "Check Sound Now" to run a test.
  6. Tap "Tone" and swipe up or down to adjust frequency to see if you hear anything.
  7. Go to dB meter and try the feature.
  8. Tap Stereo to check your speakers.

Contact Apple

If none of these steps helped you, then it might be time to contact Apple. You might be facing the iPhone speaker not working issue because of a hardware issue or any other thing that you can't solve on your own. Apple service can be pretty pricey, but if there is nothing else you can try, you might have to do it nonetheless.

Advertisement

Previous Post: «
Next Post: «

Comments

  1. sam said on May 21, 2023 at 12:34 pm
    Reply

    You wont believe this. Cleaning the top ear speaker and below speakers with dry toothbrush also helps significantly. Just remove the dry dirt.

    It happend with me. Took it to Apple and that is what they did in front of me and to my surprise it’s what worked with my iPhone.

    Use sim card pin to clean the lightning connector if its not holding it well.

    Thank me later.

Leave a Reply

Check the box to consent to your data being stored in line with the guidelines set out in our privacy policy

We love comments and welcome thoughtful and civilized discussion. Rudeness and personal attacks will not be tolerated. Please stay on-topic.
Please note that your comment may not appear immediately after you post it.