No sound on iPhone 4S after iOS 5.1 update

After trying the followings:

Power off then restart

Did not work

Full reset then full back up

Did not work

Cleaning headset-plug on iPhone

Did not work

Siri on off

Did not work

Bluetooth on off

Did not work

3G on off

Did not work

Turn off wifi then trying, it worked!!

I suggest trying each one above then test,

Since previously some of the above fixed it.

Hi all,

After having the same issue, no sound after update. Tried ALL of the above suggestions AND MORE!!
I rang Apple support. They sent me a new phone 2 days later and a reply paid box for me to send my old one back.

Easy fix.

Good luck

So I have an iPhone 4 and it's out of warranty. I called apple as I recently started losing sound (outbound) on calls - I could hear the person I was talking to but they couldn't hear me. This can at times be constant, but also, rarely, they can hear me at times, all be it short periods, between long mute periods.

I called Apple who told me to reset the phone, restore it, and restore setting it up as new - i.e. not restoring my music, apps and so forth.

I did all of this - of course restoring it to 5.1, as you can't (easily) downgrade. All the time, telling Apple I believe the issue is software and not hardware - as it's not constant. (being constant doesn't mean it isn't hardware but the signs of a loose connector etc. just don't add up).

So next up - I can use my headphones with the microphone built it - this rules out the microphone on the phone iteself - yet I get the same issue. I put the headphones in another iphone, no issues at-all. I can use the headphones (and mic) on my iPhone 4 and record voice memo's - so the issue is not the headset - alas, the voice memos also work with the iphone, constantly, without any issues.

So, this is without doubt a software issue, but currently Apple are insisting I pay for a replacement handset, all be it at a reasonable price. I won't be paying for the replacement - I can easily prove the issue is not hardware related. So we will see how this pans out.

Snapper

I, too, encountered my iPhone4S no longer ringing on incoming calls immediately after updating to IOS 5.1 last week. I was on the phone with a Verizon Apple specialist for almost an hour. He had me do everything OTHER than a HARD reset. He wanted to research if the IOS update was the culprit before having me have to go through the agony of a hard reset. Lo and behold, when all else fails, read the manual. I looke at "Finger Tips" this morning and discovered there is a slide switch above the volume up/down buttons. When facing away (down) from the screen the ringer is activated. When facing toward the screen (up) the ringer is deactivated and the phone is in 'silent' mode. A splash of color displays when in the 'silent' mode. I changed the switch to its normal position and now have a fully functioning iPhone4S again.

Sorry, but if that would be helpfull I would have done that 2 months ago.

My phone doesn't produce sounds without a headset plugged in, other than the ring on incoming calls which on the other hand works fine.

I guess there is nothing left for me than call Apple Support.

I had this problem.

I used a clean toothbrush to clean out the docking port on the phone-instantly solved the problem.

After trying all the previous suggestions, i discovered something interesting...TRY THIS...turn on music and select play...music will start playing without sound from speakers...INSERT DOCKING CORD, UNHOOKED FROM POWER OR ANY DEVICE....IMPORTANT, CORD ONLY NEEDS INSERTION, NO POWER.....SLIGHTLY DEPRESS DOCKING CONNECTOR TOWARD BACK OF PHONE....VOLUME CONTROL BAR SHOULD APPEAR AS LONG AS SLIGHT PRESSURE IS APPLIED TO CONNECTOR...RELEASE PRESSURE OR REMOVAL OF CONNECTOR WILL USUALLY CAUSE SPEAKERS TO QUIT AFTER A FEW MORE SECONDS. I HAVE TESTED THIS OVER AND OVER, WHILE IT MIGHT BE ARGUED THIS IS A HARDWARE PROBLEM, THIS HAS ONLY BEEN HAPPENING SINCE THE 5.1 UPDATE. APPLE NEEDS TO TAKE THIS PROBLEM MORE SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING THE MOUNTING NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS AND APPARENT REPRODUCEABILITY OF THIS PROBLEM.

same problem encountered, music from headphone only. Cleaned the 30-pin connector at the bottom and all the sound returned !

Wife's phone was doing the same thing.

I plugged in a fully disconnected (from computer or power) usb cable and the sound worked. When I pulled the cable out the sound quit working. Plugged it back in and it worked again.

I ended up doing a hard restart with the USB cable attached. After the phone booted back up I disconnected the cable and the sound worked again.

Hopefully the same works for at least some of you.

Phone was working fine and then during a call the speakerphone stopped working. Everything else about the phone was fine. Tried turning off an on. Tried syncing. Tried restore. Still no speakerphone (for calls, Siri, music, etc). Saw this thread, turned off Bluetooth. Immediately regained full use of the speaker function. Turned Bluetooth back on and the phone seems fine. Seems like a software glitch to me but what do I know? Thanks to those above who thought to try Bluetooth.

I am having the same issues. I installed the 5.1 update a while back but didn't start having this problem until 2 days ago. I have tried all the tips, cleaning the earbud jack and dock connector, resetting at least 10 times. My phone occasionally rings, but it sounds "strangled." I plugged my iphone into my computer to check for updates and after syncing, the volume works perfectly fine for all apps/alerts. However, it abruptly stops again within a few hours, then becomes "hit and miss" working for about 30 seconds out of every 4 hours. I don't want to have to replace the entire phone and loose all my data and messages. Any other suggestions????

yup, this is what worked! Except it's the other way around. The switch above the volume up/down buttons on the right side needs to be toward the screen. When the orange is showing, it's mute! Tells you this on the apple support site, too. Thanks Harbor Hill!

I just had the same problem. No sound. I plugged it into my charger and then unplugged it. Sounds came back.

Having the same problem with my iphone 4s 32g, backed up everything wiped phone set up as new iphone, still now external volume, however works with earphone fine, I also have a problem with siri, will not work when put to ear however will work when using the home button. This happened last week when i updated to 5.1.1.

Already tried

Hard reset

switch off bluetooth

turn off wifi

clean connectors

this really worked now my speaker and earpiece work fine!