Start with the silliest and most common cause: the iPhone's side switch or Action button, which puts the handset on silent with no warning on screen (Solution 1). Next check whether a Focus or Do Not Disturb is active, including on an automatic schedule (Solution 2). If videos have sound but the phone does not ring, the ringer volume is separate from the media volume and sits at zero (Solution 3). If nothing makes a sound anywhere, the iPhone is probably still sending audio to a headset or to the car over Bluetooth (Solution 4), or the speaker grille is clogged with dust (Solution 5). And if the only issue is hearing the person on a call, jump straight to Solution 6.
What causes this problem
- The side switch is in the silent position, or the Action button on newer models was pressed by accident and turned silent mode on.
- A Focus or Do Not Disturb is on, sometimes through a schedule or an automation set up months ago and forgotten.
- The ringer volume is at zero. It is separate from the media volume, and the side buttons do not always control both.
- The iPhone is still connected over Bluetooth to a headset, a speaker or the car system, and sends all audio there.
- The speaker grille or the earpiece is covered in dust, pocket lint or a screen protector, muffling the sound until it seems gone.
- One specific contact is muted, or the option to silence unknown callers is on, which is why only some calls do not ring.
- Pin down the symptom: is there no sound at all, no sound only on calls, or is it you the other person cannot hear? Each case leads down a different path.
- Run a test you control: open a video in the Photos app and turn the volume up. If the video plays and the phone does not ring, the problem is the ringer, not the speaker.
- Look at the lock screen and the top of the display for a moon icon or any Focus symbol. It explains most cases of a silent phone on its own.
- If the iPhone got wet, do not use a hairdryer or compressed air. Let it dry naturally with the charging port facing down before testing anything.
- Take off the case and any screen protector before judging how clean the speaker openings are. Many cases partly cover the grilles.
Solutions, in the order to try them
1Check the side switch or the Action button
This is the number one cause, and the most deceptive precisely because nothing appears on screen when the iPhone is on silent. The switch sits on the left edge, just above the volume buttons. On newer models it was replaced by an Action button, which can be set to silent mode and is triggered with a long press.
- Look at the left edge of the handset, above the volume buttons. If you can see an orange stripe in the switch opening, the iPhone is on silent.
- Push the switch forward, towards the screen, until the orange stripe disappears. The handset vibrates and shows the ringer banner on screen.
- If your iPhone has an Action button instead of the switch, hold it for a second and watch whether the silent banner appears and disappears.
- To check without relying on the switch, open Control Centre by swiping down from the top right corner and look for the crossed-out bell button.
2Turn off Focus and Do Not Disturb
Focus silences notifications and calls exactly like silent mode, but with a nasty twist: it can switch itself on by time, by location or when you open an app, because of a setting made long ago. If the iPhone only goes quiet at certain times of day, this is almost certainly it.
- Open Control Centre by swiping down from the top right corner and tap the Focus button to turn off whatever is active.
- Go to Settings and open Focus. Open each Focus in the list and check for a Set Up Automation by time, location or app.
- Inside each Focus, review the people and apps allowed to notify you. A badly configured Focus blocks calls even from important contacts.
- Check too whether Sleep mode or a bedtime routine is stretching the quiet period past the hours you assume.
3Set the ringer volume, which is separate from the media volume
The iPhone has two independent volumes. The side buttons control whatever is playing at that moment, meaning media. If nothing is playing they may adjust the ringer, but not always. That is why a video can be loud and the phone ring silently at the same time.
- Go to Settings and open Sounds and Haptics.
- Drag the Ringtone and Alerts slider close to maximum. You should hear a sample of the ringtone as you drag. If you hear nothing here, the problem is hardware or the sound outlet, not a setting.
- Turn on the option that lets the side buttons change the ringer volume, if you prefer that behaviour.
- On the same screen, tap Ringtone and pick a sound from the list. If the sounds in the list play normally, the speaker is fine.
4Check whether audio is going to a headset or the car
This is the classic case of a completely silent iPhone. If a Bluetooth headset was left switched on in a bag, or the handset is still paired with the car in the garage, iOS sends all sound there and the iPhone's own speaker stays dead quiet, calls included. The device gives no obvious warning.
- Open Control Centre and look at the music tile in the top right. Tap the waves icon and see which device the sound is being sent to.
- If the name of a headset or the car appears, select the iPhone in the list.
- If that does not fix it, go to Settings, open Bluetooth and switch Bluetooth off entirely. Test the sound with it off.
- Once you confirm that was the cause, go back to Bluetooth and remove the pairing for the offending device using the info icon next to its name.
5Clean the speaker openings and release headphone mode
Speaker grilles collect dust and pocket lint over time, and the sound fades bit by bit until it seems to have gone. A related problem happens when the charging port is damp or dirty: the iPhone thinks a headset is plugged in and sends all audio to an outlet that is not there. The symptom is seeing the volume indicator labelled headphones instead of ringer.
- Take the case off and look at the speaker grilles on the bottom edge and the thin slot above the screen, used on calls.
- Clean with a soft, dry bristle brush, such as a new toothbrush, using light sweeping strokes. Never use a needle, paper clip, metal pick or compressed air: they push the dirt deeper and can puncture the membrane.
- Shine a torch into the charging port and look for compacted dirt. If there is any, clean it out very carefully with a wooden toothpick, with the device switched off.
- Turn the volume up and watch the on-screen indicator. If it says headphones with nothing plugged in, the port is the cause.
- After cleaning, restart the iPhone and test again.
6No sound on calls only: check the earpiece and the in-call volume
If music plays loud but you cannot hear the caller, the problem is in the thin speaker above the screen, the one you hold to your ear, or in the volume set during the call. That volume is a third, independent control, separate from media and ringer, and it can only be changed while a call is in progress.
- During a call, press the volume up button. That setting is remembered for future calls.
- Still on the call, tap the speaker button. If you hear well on speakerphone and badly at the ear, the problem is the top earpiece, nearly always dirt: go back to Solution 5.
- If you hear fine and it is the other person who cannot hear you, the problem is the microphone. Record a short clip in the voice recording app to confirm.
- Check whether silence unknown callers is on in the Phone app settings. It sends calls from numbers outside your contacts straight to voicemail without ringing.
- Also check that no call forwarding is active in the Phone app settings, left over from some old configuration.
7Review custom ringtones and muted contacts
When only one person calls without ringing, or only one app makes no sound, it is not a device fault. It is an individual setting: a custom ringtone set to none, a muted thread, or that app's notification sounds switched off.
- Open the contact in the Contacts app and look at the Ringtone and Text Tone fields. If either is set to none or vibrate only, fix it there.
- In your message threads, swipe a conversation sideways and check for a crossed-out bell icon indicating hidden alerts.
- In Settings, open Notifications, find the silent app and confirm that sounds are enabled for it.
- Check that the app in question is not listed as blocked inside some Focus.
8Restart the iPhone, and force restart if needed
The iOS audio service can hang after a call, a badly ended headset connection or an update, and in that state no setting has any effect. Restarting reloads that service. A force restart is safe and deletes nothing: it just cuts power to the system and brings everything back up.
- Try a normal shutdown first, holding the side button together with one of the volume buttons until the power off slider appears.
- If that does not help, do a force restart: press and release volume up, press and release volume down, then hold the side button until the apple appears on screen.
- Only let go once the logo shows up. The process can take around 15 seconds with a black screen, and that is normal.
- Test the sound as soon as the device comes back, before opening any app.
9Update iOS and, as a last resort, reset all settings
If nothing above worked and sound is gone everywhere, two fronts remain: a software fault an update has already fixed, or an inconsistent configuration built up across restored backups. Resetting all settings deletes no photos, messages or apps, but it returns things like saved Wi-Fi networks, Home Screen layout and permissions to their defaults, so set aside time to reconfigure.
- Go to Settings, open General and then Software Update. Install whatever is available with the device charged and on Wi-Fi.
- If it stays silent, go to Settings, General, and find the section for transferring or resetting the iPhone.
- Choose Reset and then Reset All Settings. Do not choose the option that erases content and data.
- Set Wi-Fi up again and test the sound before restoring any backup, so you do not bring the problem configuration back.
- If there is still no sound and even the test sounds in Settings do not play, it is a hardware fault: take it to an authorised service centre.
Applies to
| System | Status |
|---|---|
| iPhone with a Ring/Silent side switch | Confirmed |
| iPhone with an Action button instead of the switch | Confirmed |
| iPad | There are no phone calls, but the volume, Focus, Bluetooth and cleaning solutions all apply |
Menu names can change slightly between versions. If a step above does not match what you see on screen, the official support page from the manufacturer has the most current wording for your version.
Frequently asked questions
Last checked: Jun 20, 2026 · We review this guide whenever the manufacturer changes the process.