iPhone ringer volume keeps turning down

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.

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).

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.

3. Are you having this problem with an iPhone X or later? If so, you may want to check this particular setting. This setting is called Attention Aware Features. iPhone X and later models include TrueDepth cameras. Your iPhone’s TrueDepth camera, by using the face detection algorithm, will decide if you are looking at your device or not. When this feature is enabled, your iPhone will lower the volume of alerts if you are looking at your iPhone.

On your device, go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode and see if Attention Aware Features is enabled or now. If it is enabled, turn it off to see if your issue is fixed.

I believe this is because of the "Attention Aware Features" in the FaceID Settings... I had this issue when I first got my 11, but it was a while ago and I think this is what I did to fix it... just turn that feature off and it should go back to normal.

I found the problem, or at least narrowed it down to a device process or app. After getting frustrated and upgrading my phone, the problem persisted. I heard someone mention an issue where bluetooth devices were changing ringer volume. I have the Sony WH1000-XM4 headphones that were paired with my phone and iPad simultaneously. I rarely use them with my phone, so I turned off the option to have the headphones connect to 2 devices simultaneously and only have them connected to one device of my choice at any time. The problem has not recurred for nearly 2 weeks. Don't know if it is a BT issue, Sony hardware issue, or Sony app issue, but I no longer have the issue of the alert/ringer volume randomly turning down. Did not have this issue when I had the Sony WH1000-XM3 headphones, but the issue began around the time of an iOS update, so I can not narrow it down any further than that. Hope this helps someone chasing the same issue.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251565180

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.

I had this problem. Finally I reset the phone and restored from a backup. After a few days, it seems the ringer volume is stable since the restore.

It kind of makes sense that Apple would not have a massive, reproduceable problem and not solve it.

Software is complicated in that it can occupy so many (billions) of states, not all can be seen during design verification in the lab. A restore puts the software in a known and tested state. And behold, it works properly again.

Do the reset and restore. It only took 15 minutes and was painless.

A: Only the original poster can mark the thread as solved. If you're not happy with the answer, then start your own thread.

B: Making it "solved" doesn't take it "off Apple's Radar"... This is strictly a user forum.

Now... That being said, try this.

I recently noticed similar behavior. For some unexplained reason, my ringer and notification volume would go way down...

I had set it near full volume and turned off change volume with buttons...

Pay attention every time you connect to and use a bluetooth device.

I found that after using one of my bluetooth headsets, AND having used the volume controls on that specific headset, the ringer volume would be drastically reduced.

Exactly why it's doing that, I'm not sure, but I've been able to replicate the behavior at will. It ONLY happens with that one device, nothing else.

Once you identify the device causing the change, you can either be alert to check it when you're done with that device, or use a different device instead.

Personally, I'm going to throw that headset in the trash as soon as I get a replacement for it.

Shutting off the change with buttons feature seems to have fixed it. It still flashes the volume decrease but further inspection showed it is now the Bluetooth volume. When I turned of the device, all of my volume settings immediately went back to max and I can still adjust ringer volume with the buttons. Do they not test the software before releasing? I feel like I am dealing with an old Microsoft product.

So I disconnected my Bluetooth from my truck five days ago and the ringer has not gone down...so I do think it is a Bluetooth / Apple CarPlay combo issue. I drive a GM as well but a Ford guy commented and said he was having the same problem so I think it’s something to do with Bluetooth and vehicles.

Update: still haven't heard back from Apple yet. I decided not to wait for Apple and just do a complete erase and restore to factory settings. Last week I did a restore installing from a back up which didn't resolve the problem. So today I did a fresh factory install and have spent the better part of the day getting all my settings dialed in. So far so good. If this ends up working then there was obviously something corrupt in an app or the previous iOS install. For those who haven't tried a restore to factory settings, it's worth a try if all other remedies haven't worked. As always, back up your iPhone first so that if the new (factory) install doesn't resolve the issue you can always restore from the back up. Again, I only recommend this as an absolute last ditch effort because there is a chance of losing data when you restore to factory settings. This is a time consuming way to go so give yourself plenty of time before you need the phone again.

I too had the problem with my iphone operating at 1/4 volume even though every setting was full. I updated to 14 and the problem persisted. I read the solution of going to "Settings" / "Sound & Heptics" / and turning off "Change with Buttons". Problem solved!