Apple iPhone 7 Plus Sound Management: How to access, configure and set sound, volume and audio settings

This post contains various methods that will teach you how to manage and configure sound, volume and notifications settings on your #Apple iPhone 7 Plus (#iPhone7Plus) to make it sound the way you want to hear it.

Aside from the advanced new camera systems, best performance and battery life, the latest iPhone versions also cater other significant enhancements to the most important aspects of the iPhone experience, including the speaker or sound system. The iPhone 7 along with the larger model, the iPhone 7 Plus both entrenched a new stereo speaker system, which is two times louder than that of the iPhone 6s and likewise features EarPods with lightning connector. It’s the first time for Apple to roll out such an iPhone device that comes with stereo speakers that deliver two times the audio output of the prior iPhone variants along with an increased dynamic range.

Read on to learn how to manage and configure various options on this new iPhone’s sound system including volume, notification alerts, and other audio settings for it to produce only the sounds you desire.

As to our readers who have other issues, visit our iPhone 7 Plus troubleshooting page for we have already addressed a lot of issues with this device. There could already be existing solutions to your problems so try to find issues that are similar with yours but if you need further assistance, then feel free to contact us by completing our iPhone issues questionnaire.

How to set emergency alerts on your iPhone 7 Plus

Any iPhone owners in the United States can receive emergency and AMBER alerts on their device. These types of alerts can be received in the event of an emergency. Alerts can be issued by the President or government agencies, alerts involving imminent threats to safety or life, or for extreme weather conditions. By default, Government Alerts are enabled or turned on for your device. You will hear a special sound that is similar t an alarm when you receive a Government Alert.

Follow these steps to modify and set emergency alerts on your new iPhone and turn it on or off:

1. Tap Settings from the Home screen.
2. Scroll to the bottom section of the Government Alerts section.
3. Tap the slider to enable or disable any of the alert features including AMBER alerts and Emergency alerts.

Alternatively, you can go to Settings-> Notifications-> scroll to the very bottom of the screen-> go to Government Alerts, and then tap the type of alert you want to turn on or off.

How to set sound for incoming email on your iPhone 7 Plus

Every mobile device comes with a default ringtone or sound alert for incoming calls as well as for incoming email messages. These can be modified and replaced by any sound file as desired by the user.

If you don’t like the default incoming email ringtone or sound alert, you can change to anything you want through these steps:

1. Tap Settings from the Home screen.
2. Tap Sounds.
3. Select New Mail.
4. Change the Vibration and Alert Tones.
5. To set the Alert Tone to None, just turn off Alert.

How to set ringtone for incoming calls on your iPhone 7 Plus

You can use your favourite song or any other downloaded audio files to replace the default ringtone assigned for incoming calls on your new iPhone. Ringtones for incoming calls can be changed and set to another audio file or tone by going to the following menu on your iPhone:

1. Tap Settings from the Home screen.
2. Scroll to and tap to select a desired ringtone to use.
3. Press the Home button at the bottom of your iPhone to save current changes.

How to set ringtone for calls from one specific contact

You can also assign a ringtone for calls that come from one specific contact. This way you can easily determine who is calling and from there promptly decide as to whether to take or reject the call. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Go to the Home screen.
2. Tap Phone.
3. Tap Contacts.
4. Tap to select the contact you want to change or configure.
5. Next, tap Edit.
6. Tap Ringtone.
7. Tap to select the desired ringtone.
8. When you’re finished selecting the ringtone to use, tap Done.

Alternatively, you can go to this menu to set your ringtone alert for specific calls and text messages on your new iPhone:

1. Tap Settings from the Home screen.
2. From the Ringer and Alerts, adjust the volume to your desired level.
3. Next, tap the Change with Buttons switch to turn On or Off.
4. Go to the Sounds and Vibration Patterns section, and then tap Ringtone.
5. Select the ringtone you want and then tap Sounds located on the upper-left of the screen. The selected ringtone will be marked with a check.
6. From the Sounds and Vibration Patterns section, tap Text Tone.
7. Go to the Alert Tones section, select the alert tone and then tap Sounds located on the upper-left of the screen to continue.
8. The selected Alert Tone will then be marked with a check.

Note: You cannot assign a ringtone to contacts that are stored on the SIM card or your iPhone’s internal memory.

How to put your iPhone 7 Plus into silent mode

Your iPhone 7 Plus is also designed with a Ringer switch that is located at the top edge of the device. This is Apple-patented switch that is used to turn Silent Mode on or off. You will know if the sound is off if the Ringer switch is in red position. Otherwise, it is enabled.

• To put your iPhone into silent mode, just flip the Ringer switch to the red position.

The silent mode or ringer notification briefly appears on the screen. If the switch seems to be stuck, then try to remove the case to make sure the switch is not blocked.

How to set microphone on your iPhone 7 Plus

If you are experiencing audio problems with phone calls, FaceTime, Siri, or any other audio applications on your iPhone 7 Plus, then you can test your microphone and ensure it is working properly. Follow these steps:

1. Tap Voice Memos to get started.
2. Tap the Record icon.
3. Speak into the microphone.
4. To listen to your recording, tap the Play icon.

You can also try to initiate a FaceTime call or use Siri to test the audio of your iPhone.

How to use speakerphone with your iPhone 7 Plus

The speakerphone is only available while on a call. It will automatically be disabled once the call ends. To use the speakerphone, tap the Speaker icon while on a call to turn it ON. You will know if it is on when it is highlighted.

How to connect your iPhone 7 Plus to a headset

You can connect your new iPhone to a wired headset. Even though this smartphone does not offer a built-in 3.5mm port, you still can listen to calls or music using a headset with the following alternatives:

• use a Bluetooth headset
• use the supplied EarPods with the Lightning connector
• connect the Lightning connector to a 3.5mm adapter by connecting the supplied adapter and connect to the Lightning port on your iPhone and finally, connect the headset to the 3.5 mm port on the adapter

How to turn on Vibrate Mode on your iPhone 7 Plus

Instead of putting your iPhone into Silent Mode, you can use Vibrate Mode to let you know when a call or message arrives even without your phone sounding. Follow these steps to set your iPhone to vibrate on ring or silent mode:

1. Go to the Home screen.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Sounds.
4. Navigate to the Vibrate section.
5. Tap an option to turn on. Among your choices include Vibrate on Ring and Vibrate on Silent.
6. Just tap to select your preferred option.

How to adjust volume controls on your iPhone 7 Plus

If you are not getting notifications, sounds, or vibrations when receiving texts or emails, adjusting volume controls can help. Here’s how it works on your new iPhone.

Press the Volume buttons on the left edge up or down to adjust the following:

• earpiece volume while on a call
• media volume while listening to music or playing videos or games on your device
• ringtone volume when not on a call and no media apps are actively used or running

To adjust the volume settings when not on a call or actively using an app, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Home screen.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Music.
4. Tap Volume Limit.
5. Adjust the Volume Limit and then tap Music on the upper-left corner to go back to the previous menu.

Working with Notifications on your iPhone 7 Plus

Notifications are designed to keep you up to date from app alerts to information about your day, so you never miss a thing. Here’s how to use your iPhone’s notification center and manage message alerts on your device. The Notification Center is where you can see most recent alerts including a calendar event or a missed call.

• To view Notification Center on your iPhone, swipe down from the top of any screen including the Lock Screen.
• To open an alert in the Notification Center, just tap on the alert. To clear or remove the alert, tap the X icon.

Using 3D Touch to manage notifications on your iPhone 7 Plus

On your iPhone 7 Plus, you can use 3D Touch to respond to a notification in the Notification Center. Here’s how:

• Press deeply on the notification to respond.
• Press deeply on the X and then tap Clear All Notifications to clear your notifications with 3D Touch.

Customizing notification alerts on your iPhone 7 Plus

You can also change or configure your notification settings to limit what you see on the Lock screen. You can customize your notifications using different alert styles so you can act quickly on emails, calendar invites, or messages. Here’s how you do it:

1. Tap Settings.
2. Tap Notifications.
3. Select an app to add or change an alert style for a notification.

Among the notifications alerts styles for an app include banners, alerts, badges, and sounds. Subsequently elaborated are their distinctive purposes and uses.

• Banner alerts – appear at the top of the screen and automatically disappears. To reply, swipe down on the banner or swipe up to dismiss it. You can also respond to a banner alert with 3D Touch. Just press deeply on a banner to respond to it.
• Alerts – requires you to act before you can move on. You can dismiss the alert or reply to it, depending on the app you’re using.
• Badges – is the red number that shows up on an app icon and lets you see how many notifications you have for the app.
• Sounds – played by an app to alert you when you receive a notification.

Notification alerts in iOS 10

In iOS 10, you can interact with notifications on the Lock screen to respond to messages, catch up on news and do more actions without unlocking your iPhone. The following are some ways for you to view and interact with notifications from the Lock screen of your iPhone 7 Plus:

1. Press the Home button or Sleep/Wake button to view your lock screen. Alternatively, you can just lift your device to view the Lock Screen.
2. Swipe left over a notification or use 3D Touch to respond to a notification. When using 3D Touch, just press deeply on the notification then respond to it.
3. Swipe right over the notification to open the app to respond.

How to manage location based alerts on your iPhone 7 Plus

You can also configure your new iPhone to turn off location based alerts if you don’t want to get alerts or reminder to call someone when you get to a specific location or when you leave for your next destination. Location based alerts are integrated functions in some iOS applications.

• To turn off these types of alerts, go to your iPhone Settings-> Privacy-> Location Services and then tap an app to turn off or disable alerts based on your location. You can turn them back on anytime you want by going to the same menu.

What to do if you don’t see notifications for specific app?

If you don’t see notifications for a specific app, make sure that the app supports notifications. You can navigate to Settings-> Notifications-> select the app-> and verify if Notifications are turned on.

If you’re not receiving alerts and you have notifications enabled for an app, then it is possible that the alert style might be set to None. To check on that, go to Settings-> Notifications-> and then see if your Alert Style is set to Banners or Alerts.

Also ensure that Do Not Disturb is turned off on your iPhone. To check, go to Settings-> Do Not Disturb, tap Manual and see if it is turned on.

Engage with us

If you have other issues with your Apple iPhone 7 Plus, we are always willing to help. Contact us through our iPhone issues questionnaire and provide us with all necessary information about your problem so we can find a solution to your issue.