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.
jess says
step 5 worked, I got wet yesterday with phone in pocket.
Jody says
#5 with rubbing alcohol worked for me!! My phone had gotten wet, thank you so much for the solutions!!
Cases says
Hey I am having issues with my iPhone 16gb 4s sound not working I have tried most of the thing up the top except jail breaking and the rebooting but if I shake my iPhone it seems to work for a while then stops again any ideas
Sandi says
Step 3… Reset settings worked for my iPhone 5 🙂
iphone 3gs repair malaysia says
Hey There. I found your blog using msn. This is
a very well written article. I will make sure to bookmark it and return to read more of your
useful info. Thanks for the post. I will definitely comeback.
Shadi says
No. 8 worked like a charm (after rebooting the iDevice). Thank you very much !!!
Tammy says
Ok so this is gonna sound like a totally sarcastic answer but in swear it just worked.
I was blowing into the speaker thinking there may have been dust or something. I sealed my mouth over the edges of the phone and blew into the speaker. When I took a breath in… I heard my music. When I stopped inhaling. It stopped. If I inhaled again I heard it. (Kinda like taking a drag off of a cigarette with lips sealed to create a suction. I inhaled once harder and there was my sound. I seriously think the speaker was just out of place and I moved it back!
Good luck!
mona lovero says
try this all and now I have the picture of the horn on the screen and cant get it off
karan says
thank you so much for your help, step no 6 made my phone work. cheers
Barb B says
Step 5 – toothbrush with alcohol restored my sound! thanks
JWL says
After reading these posts I tried to see if my headphones worked. They didn’t! By wiggling the plug around I was able to get static bursts but no real sounds. I sprayed an electronic contact cleaner into to the headphone jack and inserted and removed the plug several times to get the sound to stay on. The volume buttons started working and it seems to have been returned to normal operation. As a precaution, I also gave the the charging dock a spray. I think I’m going to add a cover to the open headset jack to prevent any debris/moisture from getting into the jack.
someonehappy says
pinching the mic on the bottom right corner worked for me, thanks man I was pretty pissed off about it
dave villanueva says
# 10 work for me grabeh lupit
Cleland says
Thanks for the suggestions. Turned out my mike jack hole was full of dust and pocket debris. So dug that out and full sound has been restored! Life can now continue!
Simpson says
#3 solution worked- thanks
Rita says
I think just by reading it it worked for me lol. I just tried by plugging the earphone jack a few times. I had no sound for 3 days and coincidently ir not it started workung after cleaning the jack. Thank you! I really thought there was the end if my phone:)
PR says
Thanks so much! #3 worked; I was on verge of paying $70 for new phone speaker system.
Joe says
#5 worked for me – it was dirt in the docking connector, as soon as I had brushed the connector with a toothbrush the sound came back to life!! Thanks!
Blake Parker says
None of them worked, so I decided to watch the video! Only to remember I HAVE NO WORKING SPEAKER!
Blake Parker says
I don’t know if this officially worked. But if not its working for the moment. The sound would play though my headphones and through apps, but not through the speaker. And I tried everything here except the master reset and calling apple. (And of course blending my phone) but so I figured there wasn’t a problem with the speaker or head phone jack, it must be the charger area. So I put the charger In multiple different ways putting more pressure on one side one time and the other side the next just kinda playing with it. Then boom, sound turned on and hasn’t turned off for the past 5 minutes or so! Yay! Hope this helps someone!(:
Irene says
Thank you step 2 worked for me panic over
eyal says
Weird problem for me, on iphone 3gs ios 5.1.1;
side buttons are not working at all (volume control and silent button), ringtone is playing but earpiece doesn’t work – only the speaker. However, the speaker does not work in any other instance (music, lock sounds, etc.).
All of these problems also exist when headphones are connected, even though when i plugged them in i could hear those static sounds that indicate the sound does indeed exist.
I am dumbfounded by this, no idea what so ever. Any help?
Lucinda says
Number 4 actually worked. My sound wasn’t working good. I squeezed the right bottom corner and its fixed!!! Thank you!
Raju says
Thank you very much for me solution no 6 worked
Peter says
Cheers bro, step 5 worked for me, lot of gunk and grime in the connectors.
Thanks again.
Kk says
Step #2 did the trick, can’t sleep without my app!
Sarah says
Step 2 worked for me, great website thanks
Doina says
Step 5 worked wonderful!! Thank you do much!!!
Shannon says
I just turned mine off for about 5 minutes and that corrected it. WEIRD!
Rin says
Owh man i pinched it! And i got it! Kesha’s die young! Haha yay ☆ʅ（^∀^）ʃ
Cat says
I’ve tried them all. I get sound with headphones in. And now if You take the charger in and out I get sound for a minute, without the headphones. It most defiantly seems to be a connection problem. Still working on this. I bet a little of all these scenarios may end up working for me. Just keep swimming.
Punimino says
Dropped my phone in the toilet… Used the hair dryer (step nine!) and it worked like a charm. We’ll see if it lasts! The toothbrush step also worked for a friend!
Icecoldeye says
NR. 5 lebt :-))))
punkt nummer 5 ist spitze ! seit dem funzt das drec.steil wieder :-)))
Squeaker says
Believe it or not….number 4 worked! Gave it a squeeze and it came back to life, lol 🙂
So glad I found your article. Thank you!
Riocanada says
Did a few other things first and then I tried Tammy’s blowing into the speakers and that worked. Phew!
Cindy says
Not sure which one worked but cleaned out the dock with rubbing alcohol then sucked one the speaker and it works again thanks
Amy says
Blake Parker’s suggestion worked! I, too, tried all but jailbreaking and fully restoring. Wiggling around the charger finally fixed it – wahoo!!! Thanks, all (and especially Blake)!
ANetliner says
Number 5 helped for speaker audio. Still had problem with audio when speaker off. Eventually tried this from another forum: go into Settings and swipe Volume line back to zero and then up to high. Volume during calls came back. Worth a try.
Jeff says
I wish my over rated I phone would screw up- What a piece of useless junk right out of the box. Only no life brainless idiots need all that crap on a cell phone- My wifes I phone has these problems and I found this site- I’m begging her to take my phone and I want a phone that makes calls and takes pictures– the rest is all junk that is a aggravating waste of time. If you want to use a computer- go use a real one- these smart phones are a poor excuse of a computer.
Mads says
I was getting so angry and frustrated because none of these solutions worked. But then I completely shut down my phone for an hour, then it worked. I joyfully started dancing and playing music from the speakers that were not working.