My iPhone sometimes stops outputting sound after I remove my earbuds/headphones? How can I fix this?

My iPhone sometimes stops outputting sound after I remove my earbuds/headphones? How can I fix this?

Though the fix for this particular issue has remained unchanged for some time now - which can be surprising because it is so un-elegant - this issue continues to come to us from iPhoneFAQ readers. It also continues to pop up on Apple's iPhone discussion forums and on other iPhone related websites. So, we figured we'd publish the all-too-uninteresting solution.

For those unfamiliar with the issue, on occasion, the iPhone will stop outputting sound out of its external speaker after headphones are removed from the headphone jack . Essentially, the iPhone thinks the headphones are still connected and will continue to ouput sound only through the headphone port until you're able to "convince" it that the nothing is plugged in. Often, even powering down and back up one's iPhone won't solve the problem.

Why? Because that attempted solution is just too fancy. Believe it or not, the only known fix to this issue is to repeatedly insert and remove a device from the headphone jack. Remember to play a song or otherwise output sound when plugging and unplugging your earbuds, headphones, etc.

We've forwarded this solution to everyone who has written in with this same issue, and we've yet to hear back from anyone reporting that it did not solve the problem.

Newest iPhone FAQs

VIEW ALL FAQS

tags: 
Audio
Audio

Comments

LuckyBird replied on

Go to Settings > General > Accessibility >
scroll down to Hearing, then LED Flash, Mono Audio, and then L/R.
Make sure the slider thing is not all the way to the Left of Right. Center it instead.

rejnstuff replied on

lol also check the switch on the side with iphone 4s that mutes most sounds....had this issue when i put on this lifeproof case and didn't realize it. Switches it off when you jam it in.

bill replied on

I have the same problem with my new blue tooth head set.

I often carry my headset in my shirt pocket, and would prefer to just leave it on, but I have to turn it off if I want my phone to ring.

Any ideas?

My head set has a tiny switch to turn on and off, I'd prefer somethiing like the Motorola hs85 that turns on and off when you swing the boom in and out. The last one I had was supposedly not compatible. I think I will try another one of these.

Shivy Woods replied on

FOUND THE LEGIT FIX!! I BOUGHT A USED IPHONE 4S WITH THIS PROBLEM AND I THOUGHT IT WAS BROKEN BUT REALLY ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS TAKE A SKINNY CARD OR PIECE OF PAPER AND CLEAN OUT THE DIRT/LINT IN THE BOTTOM OF YOUR PHONE (THE CHARGING PORT). I GUARANTEE THIS WILL WORK.

Anonymous replied on

I've been having the same problem with my iPhone 3G. Yes, I know it need to update it, but I'm trying to hold out for the new one this fall! :)
Anyway, I tried all of the solutions listed here in this forum, and no fix. Then I decided to blow the compressed air in the dock connector. Suddenly, SOUND! I hope this helps someone else!
Thanks for all of the suggestions.

Layla replied on

Hi my sound does not work on my iPhone 4 when I keep taking my headphones in and out the music stops and I keep taking the charger in and out what am I doin wrong? X

Anonymous replied on

500 euro hone and i have to convince the fucking thing that the earphones arent in it!! clearly after two days im not convincing perhaps you have some tips i could use to bribe it

Anonymous replied on

Giving it a BLOW was a NO GO! Head phones IN and OUT still NO sound about! . . . BUT what worked for me was when I gave it a lite SQUEEZE in the middle of the SCREEN and what you know SOUND CAME BACK with Eaasee!!! so try it if you Please :D LOL!

Vass replied on

Lol I tried everything!!! And then I shook the shit out of my iPhone and it worked o.o

Anonymous replied on

This didn't work for me until I did this aswell. I plugged in the heaphones, flicked the mute button on the side of my iphone then removed the headphones and unmuted the phone. Then it worked. Thanks again

CVG replied on

The culprit was 'Pocket lint', at least in my case.
So, when blowing didn't work, I examined the headphone socket under bright light and found small balls of pocket lint in it.
Took them out with a straightened paper clip and the song started playing out loud :)

Apple! That's the test case you forgot to include in your list! Pocket lint in socket!

Anonymous replied on

So I guess Im like the only one but this is not helping!!! I was reading another website and it said to backup all my files and reset the whole phone. Would that work?? I really dont want to do that

Gus replied on

This is bullshit this doesn't work at all I'm better off just getting a new one

Anonymous replied on

even i have the same problem but your solutions r not working out :(help me pls :(

Anonymous replied on

ok like i have the same problem i have tried ligitly every little thing they have said to do and nothing has freakig worked this is a bunch of bs i have used a air compresser i have blown on it i have ued a tooth pic i have plugged and unplugged the headphones in and out of the headphone jack over 5 billion times i have tried the calling my phone n the speraker thing and still its not working im so overly fustrated!!! :(

Anonymous replied on

use to wrk for me but now my sound comes and goes an if I get lucky it just comes back to life. once I dropped my phone really hard and the skins came back so everyone once in a while I would beat my phone up and that's the only solution for me. and my phone would be soundless for like months too.

Dara replied on

*Raises hand* This solution isn't working for me; I tried it twice. It won't play sound from apps, but it will do keyboard clicks and the like.

Dara replied on

Jklol, I'm an idiot. Plugging in headphones didn't help, but blowing into it did. My sound was turned all the way down when I tried blowing, haha. Are we heading back toward an era where 95% of electronics problems can be solved by rebooting or blowing into a port? :)

Anonymous replied on

i have iphone 5 and got the same problem.
This works for me.

I plug in the headphone and power off the iphone and then wait for awhile power on the iphone with the headphone still intact.

Once start up, you can unplug your headphone and everything works fine.

Waheed replied on

I have on my lock sound and keyboard clicks but iPhone is mute while I lock it or type a message.plz do the need full

Anonymous replied on

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IT HAS HAPPENED TO ME .. TRIED UNPLUGGING EARPHONES A FEW TIMES NOTHING... BUT POWERING OFF AND BACK ON WORKED !!! BRILLIANT THANKS FOR THE ADVICE PEOPLE !!!

mks replied on

Take a toothpick(plastic one is better) and insert into the earphone plug then move the toothpick around the plug so it touches the plug wall couple of times. That worked for me.

Solzrd replied on

OK, I have tried EVERY suggestion that has been posted, but I STILL HAVE NO SOUND! What the Heck?! There is sound when I am in settings, but not any time else. And another weird thing is...when I am in settings and I plug in the headphones I can hear sound through the headphones AND through the speakers! I am so frustrated I don't know what to do next. And I only got my phone yesterday!!!
Somebody please help!

Anonymous replied on

I've tried EVERYHTHING AND ITS STILL NOT WORKING ! THIS IS ANGERING ME SOO MUCH AHH LIKE I JUST BOUGHT MY IPHONE 4S ANYWAYS PLEASE SOMEONE HELP :3 ILY <3

Anonymous replied on

I dropped my iphone 4s in a a puddle and kicked it into some snow... No music, but alarms/timer/reinger all worked. This did the trick in no time! thank you!!

Anonymous replied on

My audio wasn't working without headphones on iPhone 4S. I read about putting headphones in and out. Cleaning top microphone. Using a toothpick for a switch I can't even see. But gently pushed on either side of home button and the sound came back on.

Dincer replied on

Hi guys, i never had this problem until i got the new EarPods and started to use them with my 4S. The new headphones are just as big of an improvement as iPhone itself i guess, but c'mon why block the output thru speakers!? Plugging in and out (which for me is equally embarrasinng as those days back when we had to restart windows all the time) worked multiple times that is correct, but since the last time the problem had occurred 'the solution' has proven ineffective, at least for the first 20+ times I've tried it (and counting:))

Jeff Chan replied on

After all this time, you'd think Apple would have solved this problem. Overnight, I lost all sound from the speakers (headphones work, vibration works) on my iPhone5

Have tried all the remedies, all to no avail!!

1. Shutting down and restarting
2. Toggling the mute switch
3. Blowing compressed air into headphone jack
4. Inserting headphone plug multiple times
5. Simultaneously pressing home and off buttons
6. Shaking the phone
7. Preessing the bottom right corner for 20 seconds (getting desperate)
8. Resetting everything on the phone (after a fresh backup) before and after restoring data and settings
9. Restoring to factory settings and then restoring data and settings through iTunes

Did not try throwing into a blender, altho even that was suggested as a last resort

Anyone with new ideas?

Anonymous replied on

Did NOT work :( Still no volume, except with headphones.

Anonymous replied on

my iphone 4s used to work perfectly but when i woke up one morning they weren't working but still worked perfectly with earphones and when someone calls me i cant hear them and they cant hear me even when someone calls me or i receive a text message when im listing to music on my phone with my earphones the sound just goes off and if i answer they cant hear me and i cant hear them plz help me i tried restoring it from itunes but still it didnt work

Pages