My iPhone ring/silent switch is stuck on mute, how can I turn on sound?

Some iPhone owners have had their ring/silent switch stop working. In some cases the switch gets stuck on ring, which means that entering silent mode requires special workarounds to fix. In other cases, the switch gets stuck on mute, which means your iPhone will only vibrate or be silent depending on the settings.

There is a fix for a mute button that's stuck on mute. Again, if you need to fix a ring button that won't go silent, check these instructions first. You can regain control of your iPhone and bring back the sound with the following instructions.

The best way to circumvent a broken ring/silent switch is with software. There is a jailbreak app that will allow you to control silent or ring modes without the switch, whether or not it's broken. The app requires that you jailbreak your iPhone and open the Cydia app store.

In Cydia, navigate to Sections -> Utilities or use the search function to find one of the following apps:

For devices running firmware earlier than iOS 4.0, look for Auto Profiles Manager.
Those with newer iPhones should install Auto Silent.

Although this app will cost around $3 as of this writing, it's a small price to pay to bring back ringing functionality to your iPhone. Once installed, you can make your iPhone ring again by following these steps:

1. Run the AutoSilent app
2. Tap Disable iPhone Silent Switch
3. Touch OK to continue

Now you have circumvented your broken hardware switch and the iPhone should have normal sounds restored.

Note: Depending on whether or not your switch is stuck in mute or ring mode, enabling or disabling the hardware switch with Auto Silent will toggle the sound on your iPhone!