iPhone ear speaker not working after update

It’s one apple does dislike the batteries years ago where they sent out a virus to mass peoples phones up especially if they’re paid off they mess up your phone so you will go get another one. They don’t care they give you a small little discount as long as you buy buy buy new new new.

FIX!!!!! I’ve had this problem twice now and it happens randomly. I was curious if I would hear anything if turning on the hearing aid compatibility and it was very low volume. I tried restarting my phone and made sure it was up to date and it was. What’s fixed it both times for me is squeezing hard around the earpiece I’m not sure what it is. I don’t know if it’s a loose connection inside the phone but it’s worked twice for me now. Hope that helps some people. I think it being after an update is just a coincidence and for people saying it randomly started working again probably bumped their phone or something just right and made the connection again.

I have got a problem with after a update of ios 17.4.1 even after fixes of bug and reset of all settings there is no other changes on my ear speaker please reply to fix it

I can’t hear anyone when my phone is on normal speaker only when on loudspeaker why is this phone recently been updated

I’ve had this problem twice now and it happens randomly. I was curious if I would hear anything if turning on the hearing aid compatibility and it was very low volume. I tried restarting my phone and made sure it was up to date and it was. What’s fixed it both times for me is squeezing hard around the earpiece I’m not sure what it is. I don’t know if it’s a loose connection inside the phone but it’s worked twice for me now.

[Software update is not the fix] Possibility that the update has caused a hardware failure which mean no update would fix it.

Here is why this conclusion: Like the rest, my ear speaker stopped working after updating to 17.4.1 and enabling the hearing aid got me some very low sound out of the ear speaker. Now to the real test: I tried a method of downgrading the iOS to 17.3.1 which was stable for me with no problems with the speaker. And you guessed it already, nothing worked, speaker issue still there.

Hello Tiffee143,

We see that you're having and issue with the speaker on your iPhone. We also understand that you've done quite a bit of troubleshooting to help to resolve this issue. Just to make sure we've checked everything, we'd like to have you go through the steps in the resource below that can help with this issue you're experiencing:

1. "If your device has a Ring/Silent switch, move the switch forward—toward the device's display—so that orange isn't showing. If you're using an iPad, you can also swipe down from the top-right corner to open Control Center and make sure that Silent Mode is off. 
2. 
3. Open Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb and make sure that Do Not Disturb is off.

Contact Apple Support

If you checked the sound settings and your device still has sound issues, contact Apple Support to discuss service options.

If you want to try more steps on your own

If you prefer, here are some more steps you can try on your own. After following these steps, you might still need to contact Apple Support to discuss service options.

1. Remove all screen protectors, films, or cases from your device. 
2. Check the speaker opening to see if it's blocked or dirty. On iPhone only, make sure that the receiver isn't blocked or dirty. 
3. If necessary, clean the speaker or receiver opening with a small, soft-bristled brush. Make sure that the brush is clean and dry.
4. Go to Settings > Sounds (or Settings > Sounds & Haptics), and drag the Ringer and Alerts slider back and forth a few times. If you don't hear any sound, or if your speaker button on the Ringer and Alerts slider is dimmed, your speaker might need service.
5. If you hear sound, try making a call with your iPhone and turn on speakerphone. On iPad or iPod touch, make a FaceTime call. If you still can't hear, or hear static or crackling, then your network or reception could be the issue. Try to call again later, or from a different location."

If you hear no sound or distorted sound from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch speaker - Apple Support

If the issue persists, you'll want to reach out to Apple Support for further assistance with this issue.

Get Support

Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

When we have done all these things, spoken with apple support, and gone to an in-person apple care specialist (someone I was sent to by apple support)...then what? The in-person specialist told me there was nothing he could do until Apple provides a "bug fix" for the issue. I'm on ios 16.1, but nothing has changed.

How did you fix the issue. I am facing the same . Kindly advise

(***I can't adjust the volume of an earpiece speaker during calls, also while listening voice messages on WhatsApp etc. It is only about the earpiece speaker, not the main speaker and sounds. I contacted Apple support and tried factory reset and diagnostics, but it doesn't work. How can iPhone users have this issue, my phone is very new. Even with cheap android I never had such issues. But the most expensive phone has it. It is just super annoying.)***

I also tested this with other phones which run on IOS 16 and had the same issue there. But phones with older IOS don't have this issue. I'm not sure if it is an issue, maybe Apple developers thought that it is a useless feature and they disabled it for Whatsapp, Telegram etc. But I use it every day basically. I receive dozens of voice messages on Whatsapp, and everyone has a different tone I don't carry earphones all the time, I just listen to them through the earpiece speaker and there is an absolute need to be able to adjust that volume. Maybe this is a strategy to force people to buy earphones. In this case, it would be a morally very cheap strategy. That is the very basic function of the phone and with IOS 16 we lost it. I hope it is just a bug and it will be fixed very soon.

What worked for you? I have the same issue.

Has anyone found any fix? I’m so frustrated as I use my phone for call everyday 😭

Same here.. I am using I Phone 13 & ear speaker issue after upgrade. Tried everything but didn’t worked. Apple support team please help with this issue & provide the solution asap.

Just a brief update to all those that posted comments about the same issue I had: the muted audio in voice messages while player on ear fixed itself out of nowhere and for no apparent reason. I listened a voice message by mistake on ear and it played as it used to. I think that it’s a bug of some sort that perhaps will be fixed permanently in future iOS updates. I wish you all that it will be solved as mine did!

Did you recently pay off your phone? I just paid mine off recently and now all of a sudden the ear speaker isn’t working after update. Apple does this and has done it before to get people to buy new phones. Just like the battery virus they got caught at I believe they did this to my phone. No doubt.