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. 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.
Cherie says
Hello, I went into Settings and turned off Lock Sounds and the sounds came back! Thank you!
Robert stauffer says
Thank You, I did #4 squeeze the bottom right hand side of phone, and it brought all my sounds back, alarm, phone ring , text etc….
Lee says
Great, tried all these methods but it was the blowing and sucking that worked for me. Ridculous thing to have to do on a brand new phone! I have the option period of 28 days in which to exchange this phone for a new one! Think I’ll give persevere. 🙂
khady says
I laughed a lot, but STEP 4, squeezing the bottom right hand corner was the solution to my no sound problem… I cleaned it like crazy, as this was the solution that I found all over the web… but this didn´t work for me… well, it worked afterwards, as now I can hear everything louder because it is clean!
Sara Parker says
I tried ALL of the ideas. Spent the better part of two days trying to get my sound back. Finally got so frustrated that I slammed my phone against the wall twice. Sound is fine now!
ryan r says
Squeezing it worked!
Vishal says
My dock connector 2 pins are separate from it does it make no sounds from speaker
Vishal says
My iphone4 I tried all ways but it’s not working what should I do I m from nepal
Sarel says
I did all the steps but nothing, then tried step 4 2 or 3 times and eventually it worked, great, thnx
saranya says
thank you so much .. i did the 5th step you mentioned it does works..
aman singh says
I KEPT A MAGNET ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER , IT WORKED FOR ME .
Morgan says
None of these has worked for me unfortunately
Karen says
None of those fixes worked for me. What finally did? In desperation I connected a Bluetooth headset, which worked fine and when I disconnected the Bluetooth, voila! My sound was working. Seems like the headphone jack software was not disconnecting and maybe by connecting the Bluetooth it fixed that.
Dana says
Omg! Squeezing the bottom corners worked!!
sanjay thakur says
Before when I used to increase volume it used to increase but now volume of headphone increase.
Wendy says
It really work god bless u for these
Wendy says
Every body try number 2
Jaskirat says
Hi ,the solution worked on my phone is great .. I did turn of lock sound in settings and it worked … Wowwww. M very happy 🙂
promod says
this help me to solve the sound problem in my i phone 5. step 4 is quite wired but it worked in my phone. before doing step 4 i tried all possible ways, i reset my i phone twice without removing data and after with removing all data as well . but it did not work at all. but step 4 is quite wired but it works in many people. thanks
Thiruselvam says
Hi, I am using IPhone 3GS past 2 years its good only but last week what happen suddenly not working speakers only vibrated several steps I used but not working speakers please help me and my contact no. 8951521288
Chris Touhey says
Tried all of them but none worked!!! HELP!!!!!!
DJ says
Chris, I posted this in the comments last year, perhaps it could help.
Open the voice memo app, click on the blue speaker icon to turn it white. exit the app and everything was working ok.
Vadrevu simhachalam says
App’s sound is not working if working with voice call only
Vanessa says
It was a simple is re-booting for my phone, so often the solution, very happy to have fully functional device again!
Ian says
I fixed it quite easily, the problem is as described in Step 1 but the solution was more complicated because in General settings, the “loud/silent” for me is set to make it the “lock/unlock”. If that is the case for you, check those settings, but first pull up from the bottom in case you muted your device using the 5th of the five buttons in the center.
Sari gallegos says
I Just thought I would pass this on. My volume was fine with maps and then suddenly would only work for calls. Directions stopped and YouTube was silent. Somewhere someone posted about adjusting the volume during a podcast. (I have searched and can’t find the link where I saw it,sorry I can’t attribute the tip to the person who helped me)
Anyways. It worked immediately. I Had already muted and immuted, checked blue tooth and airlock, turned the phone off and on, and pressed on the lower right corner of the phone for 30 seconds to no avail! I Had to download a podcast to do it, but as soon as I pressed the phone volume button while the podcast was running silently the volume blazed on full force. Hope this helps someone else!
E foley says
Thanks so much. Step #4 actually worked.
rogerthat54 says
Squeezing for 20 seconds, step 4 actually worked for me too. Tried other steps without success. Hard to believe but that solution works
Emelia L. says
Help! My iPhone 5c is barely even a month old and it’s already messed up! I tried playing music, but my phone won’t make any sound. It won’t even ring if I’m getting a call. It only works if it’s connected to a Bluetooth speaker or if I have my headphones plugged in. I’m thinking the speaker is blown but I have no clue. What do I do??
Jon C says
Perfectm that little “invisible” switch in point one was indeed set to silent “orange”.
Fixed in a second, thanks very much for the help
Christopher G says
Thank you so much for the Settings then Lock Sounds tip. My Iphone 4 was ringing loudly but had gone silent for all other notifications such as text, email, etc. Thanks again!!
John S says
I cleaned the case ABOVE the contacts, not THE contacts with a baby wipe and a small thin flathead screwdriver and this worked for me even though there was little if any dirt
himesh says
hi i have a problem with my music player in iphone i cant turn up or down volume and can not listen songs trough the phone speakers, but phone ring perfectly and can listen with ear phone, give me a advice please tnx
Danyal says
A new way to fix some issues:
I recently got so angry and throw my 5c so hard that the screen didn’t just break, but the whole assembly came apart. I went to apple store and they decided to charge me 350$ for replacing the screen. I then ordered a genuine apple LCD and digitizer from eBay. now here is the problem and its solution:
After doing a very good and clean repairing, I turned the phone on and everything was good. After the first phone call I realized that the incoming sound gets noisy and people don’t either hear me on the other side or get the noises just like I do. I tested the sensor, earpiece speaker, the loud speaker, and the microphone. using apps like Viber and TextNow but surprisingly, they were all good in phone calls over WiFi. I then contacted apple hoping it is a software issue making problems with Phone app. They told me that my iPhone may have been repaired wrongly (by themselves, 😀 and they did apologize). They told me the iPhone has not been assembled just like the new ones so there is a connection between earpiece and the cellular antenna. They offered me a free repair; but I decided to get it fixed by myself. I opened it and saw that there is this possibility that the speaker is getting connected with those metal parts so I cut a paper and put it in between. there is no noise anymore and my phone calls are very clear and smooth just like they used to be.
If you have problems with phone calls using simcard (not WiFi, 6, and 6+ sometimes use WiFi for normal phone calls) after a drop, water damage, or repair (even by apple), I would suggest this fix.
k9 says
Tried most except reset. Hairdryer trick finally worked. Never even got it wet so not sure why this happened. Thanks for the solution!!!
Rodney says
Hair dryer worked for me.
Sarah says
Hi I have just recently updated my iPod touch 5th generation and I go to play music and no sound will come out of the speaker unless I have my headphone in and it is starting to annoy ME can someone please help (the update is the iOS 8.1.)
Jessica says
I have an iPhone 4 and the volume suddenly stopped working. I could still hear the phone ring, but I could only hear the person on the other end if it was on speakerphone. I could not hear any music unless I put headphones on. I tried the tricks listed and did not have any success, but when I went into general settings, under music and toggled the switch that says “sound check”, suddenly everything seems to be working fine. Hope this helps someone.
Shmas says
squeeze worked thanks man!
Frank says
Hi, I would like to share my situation.
I was skiing and yah, I fell and quite badly hence my iPhone6 was skiing too (lol), and the headphones jack was wet. Return to my hotel and found no sound from music but alarm was working fine. So I looked online and found this post, helpful! Hinted me that my headphone jack was wet, so here goes my method:
I held my phone upside down, had a real firm grip, and started a throwing gesture, of course not really throwing the phone hence the firm grip! and not 5seconds, magic happened! water out, music back on, crisp and clear! Please include this method cause this seems to be fastest way to cure water-in-the-jack! and to emphasis, the faster you get the water out the better!!!! Good luck guys!