iPhone 4 low earpiece volume after ios 5 upgrade

I went by the nearest Apple Store Genius Bar yesterday for help with this problem. Turns out the guy who helped me had an iPhone 4 that he hadn't upgraded to IOS5 andthe volume out of his phone was much louder than mine when we compared them with both the speaker and the SAME set of ear buds. His best advice was to wait it out for the iOS5 update due out later this month but, he had no idea whether the volume issue is being addressed or even acknowledged by Apple.

And yes, turning off the EQ and sound check improve the volume somewhat. I also have noticed my Pandora app plays louder than the iTunes app (now just named "Music").

BTW, if you are having the same problems with your iphone as the other folks in this thread, please post a comment. The more we pile on, the more likely Apple will be to respond.

Left feedback as suggested and did also call into the genius bar a couple of days ago. They acknowledged the difference in audio volume but weren't very helpful beyond that. They wouldn't provide a replacement phone since they had none in stock and suggested I call Apple support and exchange the phone under the two week swap out program. I didn't really see the point in a replacement since it seems pretty obvious to me that this is a software issue.

I've got to say that this bug is by far the worst I've encountered on any iPhone i've owned - and that's quite a few. I use the music playback feature extensively and the lack of decent volume has completely hosed one of the best aspects of owning an iPhone.

Hey everyone, I'm haveing the same issue with the iOS5 update, I've tryed all the "fixes" here and none of them work for me. I'm hopeing that the iOS 5.0.1 update will fix the problem, I'm waiting to hear weather or not it fixes the problem. Pls if anyone has updated and it has fixed the issue let me know, thanx.

I thought i was crazy but it must be true! I noticed the earpiece volume was WAY lower after upgrading to 5.0.1. I sure hope it gets fixed, even the speakerphone is lower to. c'mon apple, your making android phones actually look superior.

same here, iPhone 4, al music sounds low and like crap, distorted, tried ALL, including volume adjustment in itunes 10.5, up, down, whatever!. I think Itunes is also guilty here, as when i change volume to mp3, sometimes it's not applied, first time I see it. I even restored mp3 with time machine. ALL. Desperated.

Anyway, 5.0.1 didnt fix it, my music was crystaline before this f***ing update. Tried even to downgrade to ios4, which is impossible, so we are trapped. This is a robery.

I had the hope 5.0.1 was going to fix this nightmare, I miss my music, I miss the "ipod" icon of ios4, and I miss Apple being PROFESSIONAL.

I regret the update to ios5 every single minute since october 12th.

Hi, I have the same problem too after upgrading my iPhone 4 to iOS 5. It's fine sometimes but out of the blue the headphone volume can go noticeably lower than it should be (with the volume slider still set to max) when I'm playing music. And I always have the volume limiter switched off.

The only way I can get the volume back up to what it should be is turn the phone off and on again. I'll try the language settings fix next time to see if that works as well. 🙂

Does anyone from Apple support actually read these forums out of interest?

I had this issue with my iPhone4S (music was noticably softer on the 4S compared to my iPod Touch). Was able to "fix" this by:

1) play a song on your phone with earphones on.

2) while music is playing, go to Settings - Sounds

3) Adjust the Ringer volume (by doing this the music will cut out and you'll hear the ring tone).

4) Go back to your music - volume should be louder.

Anyway, this worked for me so hopefully it does for you too.

I noticed this problem after the upgrade to 5.0.1. My iPhone the headphone volume is ok for telephone calls or playing music, but ALL alerts are barely audible. I wear a headset while exercising and also plug my phone into the AUX jack on my care stereo. When I get message, email, text, appointment, etc. alerts, they are so low in volume I don't hear them or barely hear them. Even while I was talking to Apple tech support, I missed several text message because I couldn't hear the alert. Tech Support wants me to restore my phone to "see" if that fixes it.

Ok, I tried your Voice Recorder solution and it WORKED!

The problem I was having was the iphone wasn't fading the sound (music, app, conversation, etc.) to the headset to play the alert. After trying your solution, it now fades properly so that the alert volume rises up loud enough to be heard.

Thank you!!!

I am also having the same issue with low audio gain when using the headset. While driving in my automobile I can not hear the other person while on a phone call after update to IOS5.0 I have tried the tips other have suggested no luck.

Contacted so call apple experts they will not admit that there is an issue.

Prior to update and driving on the same roads I could hear with out any problems.

Current updated installed iOS 5.0.1 the same problem is present.

I ask that others post there findings as the more noise we make perhaps apple with consider a fix.

Repeat that what did you just Say?

After trying all the suggestions offered to restore the audio gain without success.

I did what I should done first!

Checked the headset. I used another OEM Apple headset and the volume was very loud.

I embarrassed to say that it was my headset that was faulty in my case.

That is not say to that the new IOS 5.0 did not degrade the audio gain.

I upgraded to ios5 the day it was available and noticed no difference in the ear volume... until today. I have no idea what triggered the problem. During phone calls I could hardly hear the other person. The only thing that worked for me was resetting the phone back to "factory defaults". It was a last resort and I was reluctant to do it but I sync with my Mac whenever I recharge so I had a reliable back up. I'm not much of a gamer so I don't know what effect a "reset and restore from back up" would have on games. Ear volume is back to normal now.

I have had the same issue. I have tried every fix listed in this blog and others to no avail. Tomorrow I have an appt at store, we will see what happens. 😟 My girlfriend's phone has the same 5.0.1 and her phone is way louder at the earpiece. I hope their is a fix!!!! Very annoying saying I can't hear you...

I went to Genius store on my 10 month old iPhone and got it fixed. Apparently it needed a good cleaning! The apple guy took it in back, cleaned it with a toothbrush and canned air a few times and it is as good as new. Anyone that has had a phone for a while should try this on the earpiece and speakers. Looks like new afterwards. Thanks apple dude!!! This confirmed for me that it was not a software issue for me because I also tried the other advice with no luck.

Good luck!

Thanks a lot! this worked for me. I have iPhone 3GS and i upgraded the OS to IOS5. My speaker volume was very low after the upgrade and changing the Language settings reset iphone to my original volume.Thanks a lot.