Having trouble hearing sound alerts from your iPhone 5? This post highlights a few handy tweaks that are used to rule out software-related issues that caused no sound problem on the iPhone 5 handset. Read on if you think you need this information.
Sound problems in mobile devices can be attributed to software errors, if not, hardware damage. Sound or audio settings that are not properly configured, rogue apps, and bad updates are usually among the common factors that trigger sound problems to occur on a device. In worst scenarios, no sound or no audio problems are due to hardware damage like a damaged speaker or other audio components. Considering the fact that both the software and hardware attributes can be the underlying cause of the problem, it is recommended to try some workarounds at home to eliminate software-related factors. And if that won’t yield positive outcome and the no sound problem continues, that’s when you should opt for service.
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Troubleshooting no sound problem on your iPhone 5
If your iPhone 5’s sound features were working perfectly fine and then suddenly they stopped, then software-related factors must be to blame. With that said, performing the following solutions will likely be able to resolve the issue. Don’t forget to run some sound-enabled apps on your iPhone 5 after performing each of these subsequent procedures to find out whether or not the no sound problem is resolved.
First solution: Reboot your iPhone 5.
In scenarios where the iPhone’s sound was working perfectly fine and then all of a sudden it stops, random firmware crashes are usually the underlying cause. This is likely what happens if your phone’s audio system has crashed. To resolve issues tied to minor system crashes, performing a soft reset is usually enough. Thus, if you haven’t already, restart or soft reset your iPhone 5 with these steps:
- Press and hold the Power (Sleep/Wake) button on the top of the phone for a few seconds.
- Release the button when the Power Off slider appears. The iPhone will then shut down.
- After a few seconds, press and hold the Power (Sleep/Wake) button until the Apple logo appears and then release the button.
If your iPhone seems to get stuck as the audio system crashed, then a forced restart would be necessary. This forces your phone system to shutdown and re-enter its boot-up sequence. To force restart an iPhone 5, simply follow these steps:
- Press and hold the Home button and the Sleep/Wake button simultaneously for about 10 seconds.
- Release both buttons when the Apple logo appears.
Various types of problems attributed to minor firmware crashes are resolved by performing a soft reset and a forced restart. Both methods don’t affect any saved data on the phone so there’s no need to worry of losing critical files or personal information in the end.
ALSO READ: How to fix iPhone 5s Bluetooth pairing issues after iOS update
Second solution: Turn the ringer switch off and back on.
On the top-left side of your iPhone 5 is a ringer switch, a physical toggle to switch from between mute and ring mode. Given the location of this switch makes it more susceptible to accidental flips especially when the phone is placed in tight pockets, pouches, etc. Having said that, there’s a higher chance that your device could just be switched to mute unintentionally. And this could be the main reason why you hear no sound coming out from your device. To clear this out, check and make sure that the ringer switch isn’t set to mute. You will know if it’s mute if an orange bar on the switch is visible. If you see that orange bar, then simply flip the switch up or in the opposite direction to switch it back to ring mode. Toggling the switch back and forth can also help fix minor audio glitches.
Also try to adjust or increase the volume to a higher or highest level. If you’ve checked your device and confirmed that it’s not muted but still has no sound, it’s possible that the volume is just set to a lower level. In this case, all you have to do is to increase the volume level. The easiest way to do so is by pressing on the physical Volume Up button found on the side of the phone. This however works only if you’ve enabled the option to change volume level with buttons on your phone.
Alternatively, you can manage the volume settings on your iPhone 5 with these steps:
- Open the Settings app from your Home screen.
- Scroll down and tap Sounds.
- Then drag the slider to the right to adjust the ringer and alerts volume on your device.
Volume for alerts and alarms on your phone will then be augmented.
Third solution: Disable Bluetooth to fix no sound problem on your iPhone 5.
If your iPhone is currently paired with a Bluetooth-enabled audio device, then it’s sound is bypassed and routed to its paired device. As a result, sound alerts and other audio outputs won’t be played through the iPhone speaker but rather to the Bluetooth device that it’s paired with or connected to. If that’s the case, disconnecting your iPhone from the Bluetooth device or turning Bluetooth off completely will surely fix the problem. Here’s what you should do then.
- From your Home screen, tap Settings.
- Tap Bluetooth.
- Then toggle the Bluetooth switch to turn the feature OFF.
To make sure that your phone won’t auto-connect to any saved Bluetooth devices, you can delete all saved Bluetooth accessories from its Bluetooth folder. To do this, your iPhone’s Bluetooth feature must be activated. Here’s how you do it:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen to get started.
- Tap Bluetooth and make sure the switch is turned on.
- Scroll to the list of saved Bluetooth devices.
- Select the name of the Bluetooth device then tap the information “i” icon next to it.
- Tap Forget This Device to remove the device from your phone’s Bluetooth directory.
- If prompted, tap the option to confirm that you want to delete the Bluetooth device.
- Also remove any other saved Bluetooth devices that are not in use so that they won’t cause any sort of conflict when trying to pair your iPhone 5 with a new Bluetooth accessory.
- After deleting all Bluetooth devices, turn Bluetooth off.
Then, test its sound functions without any saved Bluetooth devices and the Bluetooth feature disabled on your iPhone 5. If it still has no sound, continue troubleshooting and try the next applicable solutions.
ALSO READ: How to fix an iPhone 5 that keeps losing Wi-Fi signal
Fourth solution: Turn off Do Not Disturb feature, if enabled.
Another possible reason as to why your iPhone has no sound for incoming call alerts and notifications is due to its Do Not Disturb feature that’s enabled. As the name implies, this feature will silence all sound alerts (except for alarms) on your iPhone whenever it’s locked, unless you’ve set some exceptions. To rule this out, turn of Do Not Disturb on your iPhone 5 with these steps:
- From your Home screen, tap Settings.
- Scroll to and tap Do Not Disturb.
- Toggle the switch to turn the feature OFF or manage options to set some exceptions.
Alternatively, you can launch the Control Center on your iPhone 5 then deeply press to quickly adjust your phone’s Do Not Disturb settings or simply toggle the DND icon to turn the feature ON or OFF.
Fifth solution: Install all pending software updates on your iPhone.
Installing software updates may also be the key to resolving the no sound problem on your iPhone 5 if it happens to be bug-inflicted. Software updates usually embed fix patches that are schemed to eliminate bugs and malwares along with their associated symptoms. A faster way to check for updates is through your iPhone settings. In order to do so, your iPhone must be connected to the Internet and has sufficient battery life. Also consider allocating some space to save the new update file, if available. To get started, simply follow these steps:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Select General.
- Tap Software Update.
If an update is available, read and review the information then follow the onscreen prompts to download and install the update on your iPhone 5.
Aside from iOS update, also consider installing all pending app updates to make sure all your apps are updated. Audio problems may also be isolated to certain audio-enabled apps that are acting up or unstable. And the usual way to fix unstable or rogue apps is to update them to the latest version available. To check for pending updates for your apps, just head on to the App Store. Here’s how:
- Tap to open the App Store from your Home screen.
- From the App Store screen, scroll down to the bottom then tap the Updates tab. Doing so will open a new screen containing a list of apps with pending updates.
- To update individual apps, tap the Update button next to the name of an app.
- To update all apps at once, tap the Update All button on the upper-right side. This button is only visible of multiple app updates are available though.
After installing all app updates as well as iOS updates, reboot/soft reset your iPhone 5 to clear and refresh its memory. Doing so will likewise save the recent software changes. After your phone reboots, test its audio system and see if the no sound problem is fixed.
Sixth solution: Reset all settings on your iPhone.
If the no sound problem started after installing new updates and that it persisted after rebooting the phone, then it’s possible that the recent updates have overridden your sound settings and eventually resulted in disabling sound outputs. To clear this out, restoring the original configurations on the phone can help. So here’s what you should try next:
- Go to the Home screen then tap on Settings.
- Tap General.
- Scroll to and tap on Reset.
- Select the option to Reset all settings.
- Enter your device passcode if prompted.
- Then tap to confirm that you want to reset all settings on your iPhone.
This reset will erase all your customized settings and then restores the original values and options. To use features that are disabled by default, you will need to re-enable them again.
Last resort: Factory reset or restore your iPhone in iTunes.
If all the above solutions failed to fix the problem and that your iPhone 5 still has no sound, your next option would be to perform a full system reset or factory reset. This is usually necessary if the problem is inflicted by complex system errors, malwares and stubborn bugs. Performing this reset will erase everything from your device, thus giving it a clean and fresh start-up. If you wish to proceed, don’t forget to back up all critical data saved on your iPhone storage. You can back them up to iCloud or iTunes as you would prefer. Then follow these steps to factory reset your iPhone through settings:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Tap General.
- Select Reset.
- Tap Erase all content and settings from the given options.
- If prompted, enter your passcode to continue.
- Then tap to confirm that you want to erase your iPhone and restore factory defaults.
You can also use iTunes to manually erase your iPhone and then set it up as new or restore from a recent iOS backup. The latter option is usually needed if the no sound problem happens to be a post-update issue that couldn’t be rectified by any of the prior procedures.
ALSO READ: How To Fix The Apple iPhone 5C No Service Error Issue
Still having no sound problem or no audio outputs on your iPhone 5?
If you’ve already exhausted all the previous methods but to no avail, then it’s very likely that your device has obtained some sort of hardware damage, particularly to any of its audio components. A previous impact or liquid exposure might have eventually resulted in a busted speaker and therefore caused the entire audio system to fail or stop working completely. To clear this out, you can bring your phone to the nearest Apple Genius bar in your place and ask a technician to examine it closely. If hardware damage is present, then your iPhone 5 needs service.
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