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.
jasebo says
Thanks for this page, you might want to add “remove and re-insert SIM card” among the earlier options (before wipe/restore) – this worked for me. iPhone 5 would not produce any sound on a phone call, although it would if you used speaker phone.
Nothing seemed to fix it, until I took out the SIM and put the SIM back in again. Then it worked as normal.
Md.Saiful Islam says
i phone4 play video but not sound why?.
Juan Carlos Gutierrez Oldemburg says
Mi iphone solo se escucha cuando repica y cuando suena la alarma…si quiero escuchar música o alguna nota o vídeo que me envían por whattapps debo de colocar mis audífonos …si sirve de algo esto sucedió al actualizar a IOS 9.1
Trevor says
Mine was stuck in headphones mode thanks for the tips
Norma says
OMG! What worked for me was was sucking the heck out of the headphone jack. My phone was stuck in headphone mode!
Kuhan Datuk says
You are a marvel. My gf was so sad when her brand new iphone 6s went silent after just buying it yesterday. It was just the top switch that was accidently switched to silent. Thanks my friend. I could not have advised her if I didnt see this blog. Thank you.
Reuben Francia says
Step 5 worked for me. Thanks to the Creator
Tony G says
I had already tried the first three. Once I got to step 4, it seemed strange and way too easy, but I pinched the corner for 20 seconds and sure enough, my sound came back. Thanks so much. Gotta love the whacky solutions.
James says
Fantastic!! N. 4 worked for me as well, I wish I’d found this sooner!!😁 Thanks.
G-Bow says
iPhone 5 sound worked fine with headphones or plugged into the car stereo deck via the power port but suddenly stopped working from phone speakers. Tried many of the steps with no luck but didn’t want to do a reset. Removing the SIM card and reinstalling it worked for me. Thanks for the tip Jasebo!
Kim says
Step 3 worked for me. Phew!
Shelley says
Thank you so much for the advice , it works now 🙂 I was so frustrated heheh .. X
Suzie says
Putting the headphone plug in and out about 10 times worked for me thanks so much I’m so happy it didn’t work at first so keep trying x
Jennifer says
Step 4 worked 4 me. Thanx.
Rachel says
Pinching the corner worked for me, i didnt think it would but somehow it did, thank you !
Ali says
i did not understand step 4 how to squeeze bottom right corner… can you explain it how i would do it???
Thom Knoles says
4S. Had tried everything, and then The Toothbrush Technique worked like a charm.
Logical, too.
Thank you !
Johnny says
Step 4 worked a treat. Thanks for all the info on this page. 🙂
ahwen says
no. 6 worked to me thanks
just need to do more often because it will take only 1 hour to have a sound then eventualy the sound will gone out
Birdy says
Hi all, I had an issue where I could not get no sound on my phone apart from phone calls.
My issue was simple… My volume on my music was off and this prevented sound on everything apart from calls…
Hope that can help someone else
jess says
i having same promblem did
u fix it
susantha says
recently i bought a new iphone5. i cant hear any keypad sound and incoming call when my headphone is plugged in but headphone is also work other sound like you tube,video,music etc. but other person listen my conversation but i cant listening his/her voice when plugged in headphone. when plugged out the headphone everything OK. please suggest me anyone what can i do now ?
Merry says
Resetting worked…this page is a godsend for the technology-impaired. 🙂 Thank you!
Kate says
This site was useless, I have had my phone since last Friday from a cheap bloke on eBay and the speak has gone and there is no sound being produced out of my phone, I suggest anyone who wants a trusty reliable source goes to apple
Aske says
Step 6 Worked for me. Was almost about to give up, but after 20 times or so it worked! Brilliant guide! Thank you
Zaly says
Solution no 4…..it’s work for my iphone4 …save me a few bucks for repair….thanks mate for sharing… Thanks again…awesome..
warsha says
Thanks you very much . it’s worked for me (Step 01)
Md.Saiful Islam says
sound problem iphone 4 play video any one solve this please ?.
Emily says
Yayyyyyyyyy thankyou thankyou thankyou iPhone 5 c, speaker hasn’t worked in about a month, read this article, I tried squeezing the bottom right corner and BAM! I have sound again :))))))
Old lady says
Brilliant…. Thanks. Step 2 worked for me. Why is this not in the apple support advice?
Cece says
#1 lol thank you! Duh on my part! 🙂
Kate A says
Step 6 worked for me….I did it about 100x.
Whew!
Chase says
Yay!!!! Step 6!!
Trina says
Kate 11/18/15:
Instead of tearing apart the apple site, look at yourself….
You said in your 11/18/15 post…
“This site was useless, I have had my phone since last Friday from a cheap bloke on eBay and the speak has gone and there is no sound being produced out of my phone, I suggest anyone who wants a trusty reliable source goes to apple.
DID YOU EVER THINK THAT BECAUSE YOU WERE CHEAP AND BOUGHT YOUR IPHONE FROM A CHEAP BLOKE ON EBAY that that is where your problem lies???! Poor choices on your part don’t mean that poor outcomes are someone else’s fault. You are directly responsible for everything that is going wrong with your phone ….. Next time don’t be a cheap, uninformed consumer.
Heiðrún says
Step 6 worked for me (y) thank you!
Bev says
# 4 weird but worked
Amber says
I tried these all non worked still no sound on my phone don’t want to jailbreak it would like to fix with out spending money. Please help
Sophie says
Thank you, a really good clean with a toothbrush and holding the corner fixed mine!
Teri says
Thank you so much, step 2 worked a treat
Jono says
I had no sound except ringtone on my iPhone 6 I found that this was caused by having paired with a bluetooth receiver, after trying all the suggested fixes, I turned the bluetooth off and hey presto!! all sounds working normally.