iPhone ringer volume keeps turning down

I have an iPhone Pro Max 12, am on ios 14.4.2 and have the same problem. Additionally, I have 'change with buttons' off...but my side volume buttons still function the same. Totally confusing and annoying.

Apple..... WHEN are you going to address this issue.? Your phones are of no value if we mill all of our calls.

This exact thing is also happening to me. I rely on my phone to wake me up. I make sure the RINGER volume is set to max and in the morning after I've slept through my 2 alarms, it's set to about 25%. I can now no longer count on my phone to wake me up. Never had this problem before this phone & ios 13.

iPhone 11 IOS 13.2.3.

Hello Derryl S,

Thank you for using the Apple Support Communities! It's my understanding that you have an issue where the volume on your device appears to be lowering on its own. I am happy to help.

I have a few questions to gain more details:

-Do you have any wired, or Bluetooth headphones connected to your iPhone when you notice this behavior? If so, when you disconnect the headphones, does the behavior remain?

-Do you use a protective case on your iPhone? If so, when you remove this, does the behavior continue?

-Does your Volume key feel stuck or sticky in anyway?

-When you restart your device as normal, is there improvement to this issue: Restart your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support.

If you're using an iPhone X or later, please check to see if 'Attention Aware Features' is enabled, which lowers the volume of alerts: About Attention Aware features on your iPhone X or iPad Pro - Apple Support.

If you continue to have the same issue, please try a force restart next: Force restart iPhone - Apple Support.

Reach back out if you need continued support.

Take care.

I've stopped following this thread, I'm sad that Apple doesn't seem to know or care about this flaw (only one response from jeremy_v who is an Apple community specialist), here is what I've observed:

• Some people have reset their phones to factory, some report it fixed this, others report the flaw is still there
• This first started happening in iOS 13.1, I personally waited after the initial iOS release to update and this problem happened for the first time a few weeks after if I recall
• It doesn't matter what volume you want your ringer at, it will change, I prefer mine set to about 10% and it'll automatically adjust it to either 25% or 100%, I've seen it at 50% and 75% once or twice
• This doesn't seem to matter which iPhone you have, I have a XS, I'm seeing reports of iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 11 Pro
• We've established turning off FaceID aware features didn't fix the problem
• Some people suggested this is caused by BlueTooth and the devices the iPhone connects to, I only have my iPhone paired with a BlueTooth speaker/microphone which is frequently off and I've had this problem happen when I haven't used that in days, I'm considering toggling bluetooth using Control Center but this has the silly BlueTooth disabled until tomorrow which I don't know how to turn off and going into settings to keep that off won't work for me
• OP marked this thread as Solved because they turned off Change With Buttons and the problem went away, I refuse to turn this off and if Apple is going to offer a simple feature that doesn't work they might as well not have it at all
• There is a suggestion charging may reset the volume, I've had the volume change twice in hour when I hadn't charged all day
• Asking Siri to change Ringer Volume or Alerts Volume specifically will result in Media Volume changing (you get a volume change visual and it repeats back to you "Media Volume 10%" etc.)
• I often wear wired headphones using the Apple 3.5mm adapter and I also use the DragonFly Red USB DAC through the Apple USB + Charge camera adapter, I don't observe this problem happening directly after I use those

I'm filling out the apple feedback about this problem, if you all haven't done that yet maybe that's the best approach to get this fixed. https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

I am also having this volume issue. My ringer keeps dropping to about 25% from max. I have a iPhone 7 Plus and this started happening as soon as I did the 13.1.2 iOS update.

No! But this happens to me and my settings are already ‘off’ concerning changing the ringer volume with buttons. And it consistently causes me and my wife to miss calls because it forces the ringer volume down to 25% or less! Her setting is “on” concerning changing the ringer volume with buttons! Please fix this Apple!

FYI, turning off the change ringer volume with phone buttons in sound settings has worked for many people. It did for my issue of the ringer volume getting set down low after disconnect from Bluetooth system in car.

But this is NOT a fix, it’s only just a workaround. Never had to do that before iOS 13. I prefer, like many others, to be able to adjust the ringer volume with the phone buttons (rather than go into settings to do it which is what this workaround requires me to do).

My volume has been dropping as well and I haven't been able to pinpoint the reason why, but reading bruce02user's post was an "Ah ha!" moment. Doesn't seem to happen with Bluetooth speakers or headphones, but I do think it happens after connecting to my truck, and never happened before iOS 13.

Thank you so much for putting the above suggestion to fix the volume control issue. I tested the volume control by turning off attention and awareness features. It works!! So the bottom line is if you don’t care if your phone rings loudly while you have it in your hands, turn off the feature. Otherwise, it becomes intuitive and I guess it doesn’t want to blare your ears out while you are holding the phone in front of you.

iPhone XS iOS 13.1.3 doing the same thing. Forced ringer/alert volume down to 25%. I always have the setting “off” for changing volume with buttons. My wife has iPhone XR with setting to “on” for changing volume with buttons: her phone is forced down to 25% all the time. We’re missing important calls.. this needs fixed or this is a deal-breaker. It is not “solved” at all! It’s happening to that dude again I promise you that!

Derryl S,

Thank you for following up with your responses.

When you navigate to Settings > Sounds & Haptics, do you have 'Change with Buttons' turned on or off? Does it make a difference if it's on or off, or does the same behavior remain?

If the same behavior remains, and you noticed this only began after installing an iOS update, I would suggest restoring your device and setting it up as new to test. This will help identify a software vs. hardware issue. Here's how: Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support. Be sure to create a backup of your data using iTunes or iCloud first. You may see an option to update your iOS, as there may be a newer version available. Please feel free to also update your iOS to ensure you are on the latest version. During the restore process, when given the option, choose to set up your device as new and then test for the same behaviors. Note the results. You can then restore from a recent backup to confirm the issue is resolved.

Reach back out with an update, if the issue remains.

Thank you for your time.

This will fix your problem: turn off attention aware

Change attention settings

1. Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode.
2. Turn on or off any of the following: Require Attentionfor Face ID. Attention Aware Features. Haptic on Successful Authentication. These settings are turned off by default if you turn on VoiceOver when you first set up iPhone.

Now, the up volume doesn’t work, but the down volume works. But it shouldn’t, because I turned the haptics control off. AND, I cannot turn the phone off by pressing the button on the side because the haptics switch is off. This is awful!

I have the same issue, “change with buttons” has always been off.

normally my phone is on silent most all the time.

few times when it’s not, it’s on a low ringer volume, when i receive a notification or a call or even if the alarm rings, it’s so high and so annoying, and when i go to settings and the ringer volume would be at max level.

when i turn silent mode off, i keep on checking the volume and it’s normal, all of a sudden it gets to the max volume.

this only started after update to IOS 13