I've had this phone for a few months now but tonight all of a sudden the ear speaker isn't working. everything else works fine and i can use it with the headphones in. any ideas on what may be wrong here?
thanks,
Allan's suggestion is correct. There is a mechanical connection in the earbud socket that can get stuck just as if the earbuds are plugged in -- causing the normal earpiece to be muted.
Insert the earbud plug rapidly and remove it rapidly about 10 times. This isn't guaranteed to cure your problem but it is the first thing to try.
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Also try a hard reset of the iPhone: Hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button simultaneously for about 10 seconds. The power off slider will appear -- ignore that. The screen will go black -- ignore that. The Apple logo will appear -- now, at long last, release those two buttons and wait for your iPhone to finish rebooting.
If neither of these fix your problem you likely have a hardware failure. It happens. Check with Apple for service or replacement.
--Bob
thank you both! this morning it seems to be working after putting the headphones in and out a couple times! OK dumb question-what is the sleep/wake button?
thanks for your help!
ps... have you ever used an app that allows you to print emails/documents? i downloaded one call Soonr, but haven't used it yet. any advice or tips on an app like this would be great. i have a wireless printer at home and would love to get that hooked up to the phone.
The Sleep/Wake button is the button on the top of the iPhone next to the ear-bud jack -- the one you use to make the screen go dark (put the iPhone to sleep).
I don't know the answer to your printing question (I do printing from my Mac, not from my iPhone). I suggest you ask that in a new thread with an appropriate Subject so those who do know the answer might see it.
--Bob
I began having a similar issue five days ago. It, perhaps coincidentally, began occuring the day after I updated to v3.01 firmware. I have a first generation iPhone. The ear speaker did not work when I placed a call. But the speaker phone speaker, bluetooth and headphone jack speakers all worked fine. I performed a soft reset and the issue was resolved. The next day the same behavior occurred. This time I noticed that when the bluetooth was being used, I only had the options for bluetooth or speaker--not iPhone for my the available speaker sources. Again, resetting the phone resolved the issue. It has since happened three more times. I tried inserting and removing the headphones and that did not resolve it. Resetting the phone seems to do so, but is intermittent. It definitely appears to be a software bug and I'm wondering if something was released in 3.01 since I did not experience this previously.
jmrascio... I have the exact, very same problem! It only started after I installed v3.0.1. This phone of mine has worked perfectly ever since I purchased it. I feel strongly that it is some kind of software problem. Please let me know if you hear a resolution to this problem.
Same problem here, ever since I updated my original Iphone to 3.01. It really makes the phone useless unless you use the speaker phone or earplugs, which I do not normally use when talking on the phone. The bluetooth to my car works fine.
Really upset that Apple has not send out a patch to this and that there are not more people on the discussions notifying all about this issue. I have told friends of original Iphones not to update until Apple solves this problem!
Anybody else experiencing the same problem? I tried the suggestions posted but no cure.
Yes!!!!! I am having the same problem and am ready to order a new original Iphone.. I am glad I saw this..
So it's a software problem.. I have bluetooth turned on too, I wonder it that is the problem
I was on the phone with apple ready to order a refurbished one since I am too cheap to change plans and spend another $18 a month for a 3gs phone.
I am having the exact same problem. I didn't notice it right after installing the latest upgrade, although I installed the upgrade then about 2 days later went on a two week trip out of the country so I didn't use my phone at all. After I returned the phone was fine for about 1 week, then all of a sudden I couldn't hear anyone after I made/received a call. I looked online and saw that others had this issue. My headphones and speakerphone work fine, so it's just the ear speaker. I went to AT&T last weekend to see what they would do but they said b/c its the 1st Gen iPhone it's not under warranty and they sent me to a cell phone repair place. I talked with them and they want to charge me $75 for a new ear speaker. Knowing the new iPhone 3G is $199, I'm considering just upgrading to a new phone. Although I really think Apple should create a fix for this issue!!!
I'm having exactly the same problem, can only hear and be heard when using the headset and the iphone is definitely convinced the headset is connected even when it is not (I can tell this by the icon on the screen when I adjust the volume setting). Have rebooted twice to no avail. Also did a software restore to no avail. This problem presented itself shortly after upgrading the phone to version 3 and probably the very first time I used ipod after upgrading the software. Plugging and unplugging the headset has not solved the problem. I have no intention of buying a new iphone because the one I have is suddenly not working correctly anymore, think about the logic of that!
I wonder if there's a way to downgrade the software version?
I have the same problem with my 1st gen iPhone. however I had this problem with software version 1.0.2 I think. I have since upgraded to 3.0.1, and problem still exists. The only way I could temporarily fix it was by dipping a cotton bud in some methylated spirits, and giving the inside of the headphone jack a good rubbing. This worked and I could play music through the internal speaker and the internal speaker worked fine. However it didnt last long and then went back to the way it was before. I tried it a few more times with varying success, and re-booting the phone had no effect. Im not overly concerned as I use I dont use the phone very often, but it would be nice to fix it
My right ear bud speaker went out too about a week ago. The podcast I was listening to just crackled in and out until it stopped working all together. The click function by the mic still works though, and haven't tested the mic to see if it still works with phone calls. I hope this is a software issue, because these ear buds are nice and I really don't want to drop the money for new ones that might do the same thing.
Bob, your "Hard Reset" instructions worked for me when just an ordinary reset (moving the slider) did not. In fact nothing worked for me except your suggestion, which did work. Thank you!!!
