Here’s another #iPhone7 article for you. We plan on answering more iPhone 7 issues in the near future so if you encounter any problem with your device, make sure to let us know.
If you are looking for solutions to your own #iOS issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page.
When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.
Below are specific topics we’re bringing for you today:
iPhone 7 won’t record videos longer than 7 seconds
Problem 1: iPhone 7 won’t turn on, screen remains black
Dear Sir. 3 months ago, i bought an iPhone 7 from UAE. Then i back home in Bangladesh for vacation. 4 days ago, suddenly my phone is totally not working. I apply all steps but no result its same, nothing on display. I will be back in UAE after 2 months. Can u tell me sir how can i fix my problm from Bangladseh? Have any Apple Service Center in Bangladseh? It will be very helpful for me. — MD Wasim
Solution: Hi MD Wasim. If your phone still turns on but the black screen remains black, you should try to reset the phone first.
Reset your iPhone 7
This is a basic step in trying to solve this case. You should only try this if your phone still charges, makes sound notification, or vibrates. Here’s how:
- Press and hold the phone’s Power button.
- With the power button still held down, press and hold the lower volume button on the other side of the handset.
- Continue to hold both buttons while the display remains blank, until it comes back on with the Apple logo showing. If the iPhone’s screen remains black, continue to the next step.
Do a Device Firmware Upgrade (DFU) update
This procedure requires a PC or Mac. You also needs to ensure that you install the latest iTunes to the computer. Once everything is ready, do the following:
- Turn off your iPhone 7. If you can’t turn it off because the screen is not working, wait until the battery is fully drained until the phone turns off by itself.
- If you waited for the battery to drain, make sure to charge the phone for at least 30 more minutes.
- In your computer, make sure that iTunes is running.
- Once your phone is turned off, connect it to your computer via a lightning cable.
- Press and hold down the Power button on the handset for three seconds.
- While still holding down the Power button, press and hold the lower Volume button for about 10 seconds. Make sure that you time it properly since holding the power button too long may simply restart the device.
- After about 10 seconds, release the Power button. Make sure not to release the Volume down button together with the Power button. Wait for about 5 more seconds after releasing the power button before you release the Volume Down button.
- If you performed the process correctly, your computer should display “iTunes has detected an iPhone in recovery mode. You must restore this iPhone before it can be used with iTunes.” message.
- You can now start the Restore process by clicking on Restore iPhone button.
Remember, if the screen remains dark or unresponsive during and after the entire DFU update process, you must send the phone to an Apple service center.
The same is true if your phone is totally dead. Simply skip the steps and have the phone repaired. We can’t confirm nor deny if there’s a nearby Apple store in your area. Please contact Apple support for firsthand information.
Problem 2: iPhone 7 vibrates when playing music
Hi there. I would like to know if this issue I’m having is normal? I’m using an iPhone 7 and i noticed that everytime i played a video or music, i can feel the back of my phone has some vibrations. If louder the music, the vibrations gets stronger. I never experience this with my 5S. Is this issue normal? — Zuhailiyusof
Solution: Hi Zuhailiyusof. There are many iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 users experiencing the problem, especially if the sound volume is high so it’s normal. We also experience vibration in our screen in out iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus devices and so far, there’s no noticeable problem arising from it.
Problem 3: iPhone 7 rear camera became blurry after an update, won’t focus
After updating the iOS system last weekend, the iPhone 7 camera facing away from the phone became blurry and will not focus. The front facing “selfie” camera focus functions. The phone has not been dropped nor did it get wet. I tried closing the app and rebooting the phone with no impact on the focus. Pictures taken on Saturday before the update were fine. — Gwen
Solution: Hi Gwen. Does this problem only occur when using one particular app, for example the native camera app? If it does, you should focus your troubleshooting in the app or on iOS. If the rear camera works just fine when using third party apps with camera functions such as Facebook Messenger or Snapchat, the problem must lie on the particular app you’re using only.
However, if the issue occurs on ALL apps that uses the rear camera, you should consider resetting all settings first. Here’s how:
- From the Home screen, go to Settings>General>Reset.
- Tap Reset All Settings.
- If presented, enter the passcode.
- Tap Reset All Settings to confirm.
It may take some moments for the reset to complete so just let the phone finish the job.
If you reset all the settings, you are basically just forcing the phone to delete customizations that happen after it was unboxed. This process won’t delete your personal data such as photos, videos, etc. so it can be done safely. We still recommend that you back everything up though before doing it.
After the phone has reset all settings to their defaults, test the camera again and see if it’s now working.
If nothing changes though, you should consider doing a full reset or factory reset to wipe the phone clean and restore all software and apps back to stock. There’s a chance that the problem is being caused by a third party app so a full factory reset is necessary. If you haven’t tried it, here’s how:
- Open Settings app.
- Tap General.
- Tap Reset.
- Tap Erase All Content and Settings.
- If prompted, enter your passcode.
- Tap Erase iPhone.
Remember, erasing all contents and settings means wiping the phone clean so be sure that you back your files up either in iCloud or iTunes or both. Also, make sure that you sign out of iCloud in your iPhone 7 to ensure Find My iPhone Activation Lock is removed.
After you’ve performed the procedure, check how camera app works again. If the problem remains, contact Apple support.
Problem 4: iPhone 7 only makes sound in left earbud, only left speaker makes sounds
The speakers on my iPhone 7 Plus are working fine but when I use the bluetooth to listen to my earbuds it only comes out of one ear bud. I have tried several different ear buds and they are all the same. It also only plays out of the left channel in my car when I am connected via BT. I can connect with the usb and it works fine just not while using BT. Do you have any suggestions? — Joel
Solution: Hi Joel. You may have set Mono Audio in your phone. To check, follow these steps:
- Open Settings app.
- Tap General.
- Tap Accessibility.
- Change Mono Audio slider to the left to turn it OFF.
If that won’t fix the problem, you can also check the Left and Right volume balance of at the bottom of that page. Putting the selector all the way to the left will cancel volume coming from the right speaker, naturally muting it. Make sure that the volume selector is in the middle.
Problem 5: iPhone 7 won’t record videos longer than 7 seconds
I was recording a video, picked up my phone and saw it stopped recording at 9 minutes. Tried the record the rest and every time pressed record it would do the recording beep noise and then the stop recording beep noise immediately. If it does record it’s either only for 7 or 16 seconds. I’ve got extra storage, I’ve tried closing and reopening the camera app and turning the phone on and off. — Lauren
Solution: Hi Lauren. We assume that your iPhone is running the latest iOS version at this time so this problem should not be specific to the current iOS. Since you’ve already tried the basics, you should consider doing the Erase All Content And Settings option to try to fix this problem. This will allow you to check if there’s a problem with the camera or the phone in general. Make sure that you create a backup of your files in both iCloud and iTunes. Also, you want to sign out of your iCloud account.
To wipe your phone, follow these steps:
- Open Settings app.
- Tap General.
- Tap Reset.
- Tap Erase All Content and Settings.
- If prompted, enter your passcode.
- Tap Erase iPhone.
If the procedure above won’t help, contact Apple support.
Problem 6: iPhone 7 wifi symbol is missing
I bought an iPhone 7 plus over the weekend and notice when I’m home, my wi-fi symbol doesn’t show, only the LTE. But my wi-fi is connected. I tried rebooting the phone, turn off the wi-fi assist and reset the phone and the LTE still shows. I don’t want to be using all my data especially I’m paying for wi-fi too. Please advise. Thank you. — Rwetgen
Solution: Hi Rwetgen. We’ve heard of this issue with older devices but in the iPhone 7 so it may be an iOS bug. Since you’ve already reset the phone, we suggest that you try a full restore. Make sure that you back your files up before doing it.
- Connect your iPhone to your computer with the cable that came with your phone.
- We assume you remember your phone’s passcode so simply enter it when you’re prompted for it.
- Select your iPhone once iTunes asks you for the specific device.
- Once you’re in the Summary panel or screen, select the option that will restore your device (Restore).
- Confirm by clicking on Restore button.
- Wait for a few moments while iTunes restores your device to its factory settings. It may also take some time if iTunes will need to install an updated operating system version.
- After this factory reset, all software settings should be restored to their defaults.
If the problem remains, contact Apple so they can take a look at your device.
Problem 7: What does IP67 certification in iPhone 7 means
My phone fell in the salt water on the beach (for about 30 seconds) and then also got splashed with water on it. So is there any problems the phone is gonna face in the coming days because of the salt water? Just worried. — Jof
Solution: Hi Jof. The iPhone 7 is IP67 certified which means that is offers dust and water resistance to some degree. For a more detailed explanation about what IP67 certification means, check this article. In spite of that protection, we still discourage users to intentionally submerge their phones, or put the phone in a position where high pressure water jets happen. The general rule is to treat your iPhone like your baby. It needs care and subjecting it to unnatural environment may have serious consequences.
Problem 8: iPhone 7 mobile data connection, SMS very slow
I got the new iPhone 7 plus just 2 weeks ago and I hardly ever get internet connection with it and it seems to get pretty warm at times. Where I’m at, I received so much better connection with my 5S that I had before and never had the problems that I’m having with this new phone. Sending out texts seems to take forever to do so or just fails doing so it’s very frustrating. — Bobbi Jo
Solution: Hi Bobbi Jo. We assume you’re referring to your mobile data connection here and not wifi. If that’s the case, it may also explain why your SMS takes a long time to send or even fail to send. Have you checked how many signal bars there are in the status bar? If it only gets 2 bars most of the time, that means that the service in your area is poor. If you are with the same carrier when you were still using your old iPhone 5S, they may be having some network-related issues at this time so you need to contact them.
If you’ve switched carrier, you still need to contact your existing carrier so they can help you improve the signal in your area (if that’s possible using a signal booster), or fix the problem on their end.
Needless to say, if your phone has poor signal reception, that’s not a phone issue but a carrier or service problem. There’s nothing much that you can do about that in terms of device troubleshooting. To be on the safe side though, you might want to perform the Erase All Content and Settings procedure so you can compare how your phone fares when it’s running stock iOS with no third party apps installed versus the current software state.
Problem 9: iPhone 7 can’t edit Facebook post using Safari browser
On my iPhone 7 plus my Facebook app no longer allows me to edit my timeline posts. The edit function button appears on each post but it times out when I click on it. I can edit my posts on PC or on my iPhone via another browser but not on the default Facebook app through Safari. I assume it’s a browser issue but my browser and OS systems are both up-to-date. What do I do? — GF
Solution: Hi GF. This must be a bug in your Safari browser. It’s definitely not a Facebook issue since the function works when you’re using another device. Consider resetting all settings first, and doing Erase All Content and Settings if nothing will work.
Otherwise, just stay away from your Safari browser when accessing your Facebook account until Apple figures the issue out.
Problem 10: How to cancel out game sound when playing music in iPhone 7
I was wondering if there was a way to play a game while listening to music on my iTunes and not have the sound coming through from the game. Only hearing the noise of the noise of the song playing on the iTunes. I looked for a menu in the particular game I was playing (wheel of fortune) and there was very little setting options. So it’s possible that it depends on the game. — Robert
Solution: Hi Robert. You’re right Robert. The only way to customize the default behavior of an iPhone 7 sound system is by going under Settings>Sounds, which is very limited. This is one of the weak points of iOS compared to Android. If you want to cancel out the sound of the game you’re playing while listening to music at the same time, you have to pray there’s an in-game setting that can control the game volume.
Problem 11: Can’t lower media volume while iPhone 7 is in a call
How to reduce just the media volume while on call? Why is it so complicated to reduce volume of media while on call? Like when one is on call and yet trying to see Facebook videos or anything likewise, why can one not mute or reduce the media volume and talk to other person yet be able to watch video with the use of headphones. Hoping to receive a good & easy solution. — Vaidehi Aj
Solution: Hi Vaidehi Aj. Your issue is similar to Robert’s above. If you want mute the sound of the video you’re watching, you have to go the video itself and lower down or turn off its volume. So, for example, if you’re watching a Facebook video during a call, you must switch to your Facebook app first and turn the video volume down.