iPad via HDMI to monitor, no sound

Here's some info that I found that worked for me. I'll simply quote them here :

" ... in the end it was my iPad set to mute. If you swipe up there is an icon of a bell which mine was set to mute. Unchecked this and I got sound. Hope it helps."

And for those with a mute toggle switch:

"... the mute button was turned on. As several have mentioned. It’s the little switch above the volume control buttons on the upper left side of the phone. All's well"

I feel your pain. When a VGA cable from the monitor to the IPad adaptor is used the sound on the IPad returns. However, the VGA resolution transferred to the monitor creates a problem. DP (Display Port) may be the answer. I don’t have a DP port on my USB C adaptor to confirm that this works but DP delivers audio only as does VGA. Since the IPad was not sending audio to the monitor it is retained the audio source we the PAD. The audio will play to AirPods with the HDMI capable plugged in.

Todd

I have the same problem. It is frustratingly intermittent. For months and months I am able to use a Bluetooth speaker for sound while my iPad mini is connected to a monitor via HDMI cable. Then, suddenly, that combination ceases to work. The Bluetooth speaker appears in the list of connected devices, but it’s icon does not appear in the top right corner of the screen where it usually does. And there is no sound from either the Bluetooth speaker or the iPad. When I disconnect the HDMI cable, the Bluetooth speaker works fine. Note: a recent iOS update can NOT be the problem. This iPad is still on 13.4.1. My suspicion (and hope) is this will resolve itself once again after I repeatedly disconnect, shut down the monitor and speaker, and reboot the iPad.

I agree that it feels like a really easy problem to solve - but I know nothing about these things. But it is a really frustrating problem to live with. I too am surprised apple doesn’t pick up on it.

Just get some cheap speakers. You can get good ones for $50 or more. Usually the monitor will have a 3.5mm headphone jack output or some kind of audio output. If not, I suggest upgrading the monitor. The speakers will also provide much better sound than the iPad and also you don't have to always use headphones.

I’m having the exact same problem! I’ve managed to get audio to work only by using my AirPods. Maybe another Bluetooth headphone set might also work? It’s a pretty sucky solution if you can’t/don’t want to listen with headphones...but still.

I have the same issue. Why Apple did this I don't get. My pc has no problem with an external monitor at all.

The only way (I think) it can work is if your monitor has speakers, and your HDMI is 2.0

What good is the adapter if you cant get audio? Using Bluetooth is not a great option, (not tried) because if your watching a video you get a lag. Not great with dialog.

For zoom I had this problem where I could get sound from my phone to my tv via HDMI and FireWire connector, I restarted my phone with the connected cable in my device. Restarted zoom app. It took a bit then the phone put sound through to the tv. I don’t know why but it worked for me.

Not sure what kind of docking station you may be using. I encountered this issue while using an iPad Pro with a Dell WD19TB docking station connected to a television via HDMI cable. Connected the USB-C to the iPad and received a picture but no sound. Tried changing the settings of the TV to external speaker and also used a cord with a yellow audio jack on one end and the headphone jack on the other end. Neither option worked. I finally acquired an hdmi-to-display adapter and put the tv sound back to tv speaker and voila! Although everyone does not have the same docking station, I hope this gives you a lead in finding a resolution to your issue.

I have an external USB-C hub where I have connected an HDMI monitor, an Ethernet LAN , an external USB HUB and USB external speakers. While with my MacBook Pro I can choose which device I can direct the audio to, and I can reach directly the USB speakers, with the iPad Pro 11 2021 this is impossible. The USB speakers are invisible to the audio driver. With the above solutions I can only choose a generic “dock” connector (which does’t reach the USB speakers) or others bluetooth and Wi-Fi speakers…

I now have discovered that I can reach the USB speakers from the iPad if I connect them to external USB HUB and not to the USB-C hub.

Weird.

SOLVED!

WOW. I was on a chat and a phone call with an apple representative using my AppleCare+ and neither of them knows a solution to this issue, but your comment did!!!

Its disappointing for them to say that i can only achieve this by connecting a screen monitor to my MacBook Air, and NOT my iPad. :)) they need more technical training.

Macobs30 explains the problem very well. Most of the replies talk about connecting a BT headphone. But the title of this help service is not about BT headphones but “no sound” on the iPad itself. In my case, after many attempts on different days, it worked once. I understand it is not about connecting a BT headphone. It is an iOS bug. Otherwise, it would not work at all.

So how it once worked then:

I was only playing with the Voiceover settings. There is an option called “Send to HDMI” with an explanation below: “Any externally connected media devices should be reconnected for this change to take effect.” Turning it off and reconnecting my external screen via HDMI cable worked only once. I thought maybe I was missing something on the Voiceover settings and it worked fine after just following the above instructions. But no way…

The next day after I unplugged and reconnected the screen via the same HDMI cable, the sound on the iPad was gone again. As macobs30 mentions, the Dock Connector cannot be turned off. So the issue is not resolved. Frustrating actually.

I have the iPad pro 2020 12.9 and AirPods do not work while hooked up to hdmi no Bluetooth speaker works either. It is terrible.

Do you have any type of Bluetooth speaker you could try?

You could route the audio to a wireless, Bluetooth audio sound source.