If you have no sound on your Apple iPhone 3 / 3GS / 4 / 4S / 5 / 5S / 5C/ 6/ 6Plus/ iPhone 6s/ 6s Plus/ iPhone 7, 8, 8Plus and the iPhone X, iPhone Xs volume bar, it is unbelievably frustrating as you most probably already know.
I have been looking for cures over the web as there are many out there. Below you will find a list of all these including the one that worked for me. Also, this list is in chronological order of what seems to be most successful. It is a process of elimination but it has to be done.
The symptoms of iPhone no sound Problem/ Issues include:
– iPhone will ring but speaker will not work for anything else.
– iPhone no sound at all for calls, apps, music, etc
– iPhone no sound as stuck in headphone mode
Follow these steps and hopefully, your iPhone will be back to its prior glory.
iPhone No Sound – How To Fix & Tutorials 2020
Step 1 – Check Silent Mode Switch
Loud/ Silent switch on the exterior of the iPhone is switched to the silent mode which is orange. If so, flick the other way to loud mode. This is a step that so many people miss, but it is the simplest! Also once you have flicked the silent mode off, ensure your volume is turned up by pressing the volume buttons on the side.
Step 2 – Restart Your iPhone
To restart the iPhone, hold the power switch and home button together for 10 seconds. This will restart your iPhone, you will not lose any media, contacts, data, etc. If there is a temporary glitch on the iPhone this will eliminate that glitch. Also if there is a glitch this may help terminate a temporary glitch.
If you have an iPhone X or newer, you can simply restart the device by pressing and holding both the side button and one of the volume buttons. Once done, you’ll then be promoted to restart the iPhone. When off, click the side button to turn on again.
Step 3 – Reset iPhone Settings
Reset iPhone. Go to Settings> General> Reset> Reset all settings. Make sure to backup your iPhone to the cloud / iTunes as this will wipe your media, music, and apps although photos will be left on the iPhone. This is a follow on to step 2 and another way you will be able to eliminate the glitch on the iPhone.
Step 4 – Press Corner Of iPhone
This one is a bit weird but it worked for me for a while and has worked successfully for other people. Squeeze the bottom right hand corner of the phone above where the speaker is.
The left Side is a mic, not a speaker, so don’t worry about that side. Hold that grip for about 20 seconds. This is done as the connector may be loose and had to be repositioned correctly. Yes, strange but most of these solutions are!
Step 5 – Clean Your iPhone
Use a tooth brush to clean the docking area where you charge your iPhone. With dirt, dust, grime, and so on it, may block the connectors working correctly and makes the phone think it is on a music dock. When you do this do it gently and get the bristles into there good.
Also if you use rubbing alcohol or acetone it will help get all the extra dirt out. As these products evaporate it will not do damage to the connectors. Do not use mineral terps when cleaning as it is oil based and will not dry!! This seems to be one of the most successful solutions. To avoid this happening in the future, its best to have a case that avoids dust and grime getting in.
Step 6 – Insert Headphones
Get your headphones and insert them into the headphone jack and then quickly pull them out. Continue this for a couple of minutes as sometimes it gets stuck in headphone mode so this normally undoes that. Also this may remove any dust or grime that may have been lodged in there.
You can also watch this video below which has a full list of fixes listed in this tutorial plus a few more that will restore sound to your iPhone!
Step 7 – Restore Your iPhone
Restore your iPhone on iTunes. Click on your iPhone icon when plugged into iTunes and go to restore. If you do this make sure your iPhone is backed up as YOU will loose all data, media, contacts, pics, and so on. This puts your iPhone back to factory settings.
This is similar to step 3 as it is a full reset of the device, this should help eliminate any glitch that have have come out in a recent update such as iOS7 or iOS8. Also when doing this step check for updates.
Step 8 – Jailbreak iPhone
Jailbreak your iPhone to find the file directories that are causing the fault. By doing this you are deleting the file that is making the iPhone think it is on a dock. You will still be able to use a music docking station etc. If you have a jail broken iPhone or willing to do it then this will be the best option for you. Very simple video and easy to follow, to jailbreak follow my simple tutorial.
Step 9 – Dry iPhone
This worked for me!! The squeezing step worked for me for a small amount of time. Not much else worked so thought I would try my own cure…. An old hair dryer!! Turn on low heat and hover over the speaker outlet for about 5 minutes.
I also did the headphone jack as well. There must of been some residual moisture build up which the hair dryer eliminated. The speaker was sputtering on and off during this time but finally came to life :). If you don’t have a hair dryer, you can also put your iPhone in dry rice while turned off. This can suck up all that unwanted moisture. Best to leave in rice for at lease 12 hours.
Step 10 – Hardware Problem
It may be a hardware problem and simply need to get a replacement through your provider who may offer insurance if chosen or apple support. This no sound and speaker is getting more known know by Apple there is a good chance you may get a replacement or a hardware fix.
Step 11 – Ultimate Destruction
If iPhone still has no sound there is always ultimate elimination… Not endorsed. See below….
**** UPDATE **** 18/03/20
Thank you everyone for such an overwhelming response! Also to those that have put up there own solutions that have worked for there iPhones. Initially when I created this website I did not envision the large response of people with the same issues. So here are some new solutions and steps that are popular on the comment feed.
iPhone No Sound Solution Step 12
As dirt and grime like to build up in the charging connectors of the iPhone it is necessary to clean it out. Similar to the step with cleaning it with a toothbrush you will be using compressed air instead. The best and easiest way you can do this is to blow air out your mouth with a good force into where the iPhone would get charged.
Do this for 1 minute to insure that it removes any dust or dirt particles. After that, plug and unplug your charger into the slot about 5-10 times.
iPhone No Sound Solution Step 13
This is similar to the step above but you will be cleaning out the headphone jack on the iPhone instead of the charging connectors. As above blow into the headphone jack for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, this should vanish any dust or dirt that is lodged in there.
Once that is done insert a ear bud/ q tip into the headphone jack and twist for about 30 seconds. Â That should dislodge any other dirt or grime that the blowing process may have missed.
If your iPhone X is not turning on, then you should check out my full guide here.
iPhone No Sound Solution Step 14
There have been more than a dozen comments saying that bluetooth may be interfering with the sound on the iPhone. One good method is to insure that your iPhone is not connected to any bluetooth device as it may be playing sound thru that device. Also another successful step that has been recommended is to turn off bluetooth and then turn on again.
iPhone Has No Sound Step 15
As a continuation to step 5, there have also been several reports of people who have also cleaned their iPhone with a wooden toothpick.
While a toothbrush works quite well, there is typically quite a lot of dirt still stuck in the charing port which can only be gotten out with a pointy object. Just be careful not todo any damage to your iPhone charge port. This seems to work well with older iPhone 4 and also the new iPhone 8 and iPhone X.
These are just some of the steps I have found and come up with which have shown success for iPhones with no sound.
Anne says
Step 2 worked for me! No more stressful Google searching for me! Thanks! 🙂
Ashley says
I tried everything and then decided to create a suction with my mouth like Tammy stated and I could hear the music. I decided to use my vacuum, that didn’t work and continued to use my mouth. It eventually worked but then stopped again. Not sure what to do next.
Luke says
Try the suction mouth technique cover the whole speaker and suck hard for at least 10 seconds (don’t make that’s what she said jokes) I just tried this and it works !!!
Randy says
I was going crazy. Had to be able to hear texts from work loud enough to wake me up.
Step 5 with the toothbrush and rubbing alcohol did the trick.
Stella says
iPhone No Sound Step 4, worked for my phone 😀 Thanks so much!
Jewels says
Thanks you! Tammy’s comment did the trick for now!
elham says
Step 5 worked for me with baby wipes without toothbrush, hope it would not harm my phone
Lucie says
hi!,I like your writing so so much! share we be in contact extra approximately your article on
AOL? I need an expert on this area to unravel
my problem. May be that’s you! Taking a look forward to peer you.
jtl says
Step 6 worked like a champ….dipped the headphone jack in alcohol and inserted/removed it a bunch of times, now it works great.
Joe says
Qtip, alcohol, tooth brush and some suction. Thanks for the tips
home speakers system review says
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Chelsea says
HOLY COW!!! Number 4 worked….I can’t believe it!!!!! SOOOOOOO happy!!!!
Gorjuz says
Try the suction mouth technique cover the whole speaker and suck hard for at least 10 seconds (don’t make that’s what she said jokes) I just tried this and it works !!!
Luke,
your suggestion worked! My gosh! I almost jump when I hear Celine’s song! I did the mouth suction and thank G! I can call my husband now for he is sick worried about my iphone when I talked to him an hour ago. Thanks to this site!
Mags says
Step four worked out perfectly for me.
Thanks alot 🙂
Knitknee69 says
I started with 1, by flipping that switch a couple of times but it was in the proper position to begin with and I didn’t test result. I then tried 4, then tested and my sound was restored!
Falckeredet says
Alcohol on the jack, brush and suction. Magic!
Thanks!!!
Jojo says
I sucked the speaker an it worked
Z says
Step 9 worked for me! I got stuck in the rain and didn’t realize that water got stuck in my phone. The hair dryer really worked! I cannot thank you enough!!(:
Chelsey Taylor says
Honestly none of these worked for me, but reading them did help me figure out that my phone was stuck in headphone mode. The trick that worked for me I actually remembered from when my boyfriend had problems with the sound on his iPod. Just put it in the freezer for a minute. It might just need to cool off.
a says
I love ur trick Step 5 toothbrush it Work really well eventhough make my iPhone a little bit slow but i Will figure it out about it thanks
raj says
step 9 worked for me thanks heaps:)
Jason says
Step 9 worked like a charm!!!
outdoor kitchens says
Hi, i think that i noticed you visited my website thus i got here to go
back the favor?.I am trying to to find issues to improve my site!
I suppose its good enough to make use of a few of your concepts!
!
Serina says
Oh my gosh! Thank you so much!!! I accidentally poured water on myself (don’t ask. I’m an accident prone) and some of it got into the speakers. I was kinda going crazy until I found your site. Step 4 really worked!!!! Thank you!
Ish says
Thank you soo much the Austrailan video did the trick. Delete the file on jailbroken iPhone. Watch the video!
Alex S says
Number 5 for me 🙂 thanks for making my heart attack go away!
Jeff says
The freezer worked!!! It must have been stuck in headphone mode
harleen says
amazing i squeezed bottom to top ..it worked for me….thanx for it
Roxanne says
Thanks so much. Turning it off did the trick for me.
I can’t believe I didn’t try that already, and here I was, all ready to go to the store, to find out what was the matter with my month old phone!
Min Zhe says
My phone is stuck in headphones mode, I tried step 6 but it doesn’t work for me. Any other ways?
Tim Schaumloffel says
I Had The Same Problem; I Tried Number #6, And It Work.!! Thanks.!!!
Fox says
If none of those work (didn’t for me) and your symptoms are: phone isn’t on silent, volume buttons make ringer screen pop up but with no control, no slider for volume on music player or video player? Try this
Set some music playing via the music app. Make sure the little clock is ticking up. Notice at the bottom there is no volume slider. Make sure phone is on loud (not silent). Plug in headphones which will almost definitely work. The volume slider appears on screen but goes again when you unplug them. If you have a dock plug the phone into that and then remove it. Phone was stuck in dock mode so thinks its outputting to an amp, hence no volume control.
May also work by plugging in the charger and removing it but I use an alarm clock dock.
SushiQ says
No. 5 worked for me. While brushing, the volume would come on, but, wouldn’t stay. But, the next morning it was working. Maybe it had to dry out. Thanks!
MutDm says
so my iphone speakers have not worked in a month. the ear speakers did so I could make phone calls. i tried a few of the tricks here but none worked. what worked for me this morning is that I set an alarm last night and now the speakers work now. shit is random.
Andi Roberts says
I said a prayer and then pressed the left side bottom corner of my phone really hard for about 10 seconds and IT WORKED!! Thank you!
Miranda says
Step one worked for me .. So obvious but I just didnt know about the button so great help cheers
Allie says
I loveeee step 9 my phone was on the grass and it rained all week so it mustve had moisture from the grass evaporationg so it saved me going to bestbuy
Allie says
I loveeee step 9 my phone was on the grass and it rained all week so it mustve had moisture from the grass evaporationg so it saved me going to bestbuy! love you step 9
Nandar says
Step 4 worked! Thank you!!!
Allen says
My headphone jack was stuck in headphone mode, I put one drop of 3-in-1 oil on the headphone plug, inserted it in and out of the phone about four timed and it unstuck the switch that turns off the speakers when in headphone mode. Workin fine now (note I cleaned out all dust first with air)