iPhone 5: no sound from speaker while making calls.

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iPhone 5: no sound from speaker while making calls.

So, my iPhone 5, less than 3 days out of the box, will not project sound from the ear speaker under the following conditions: during calls, playback from apps that utilize that speaker, voicemail playback. The phone works with the earbuds and on speaker mode as it should but for some reason the ear speaker will not. This problem occurred after it had been working correctly for 2 days and i was able to fix the situation by repeatedly switching between speaker mode and normal mode during a call. However the problem returned the next time I locked the screen. The behavior is as if the phone things earbuds are installed even though they are not.

On an unrelated(maybe it is, im not so sure though) problem, my phone conveniently 'forgot' my voicemail password and all my wireless passwords but not app data, email passwords or any other data stored on the phone. It has not been dropped, wetted or abused in any way. I have not performed a factory reset as I fear it may be a hardware problem and am currently at work where phone restoration is not possible. My questions are 3 fold:

1)Has this problem shown up with anyone else's iphone 5?

2)Does this sound like a hardware issue?

3)What could have caused/lead to this issue or the issue with stored voicemail/wireless pwd's being lost?

iPhone 5, iOS 6, AT&T

Posted on Sep 28, 2012 5:55 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

easy_ian

Level 1

14 points

Sep 30, 2012 5:43 AM in response to kharma1425

I am experiencing a similar problem

My iPhone 5 is a 32GB Black A1429 unit, which is Factory Unlocked from Apple Singapore. It was working fine for 3 days then suddenly I started experiencing audio problems.

I do not get audio through the ear speaker when trying to make or receive calls. I can hear audio fine though, when using the speakerphone or the included headset.

Please note that my phone is NOT stuck on headphone mode as others have experienced. It's only during voice calls that the ear speaker does not work.

Hoping for some input from other out there and hopefully, some type of solution will be provided soon.

Very disappointed that this would happen to a brand new, iPhone.

Thanks,

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Answer 2

Oct 1, 2012 7:48 PM in response to easy_ian

Same issues here. Black 32gb iphone 5, preordered at midnight. I had call quality issues out of the box and then the speaker cut out for good. Mine is also not stuck in headphone mode, it is just a iphone 5 with manufacturing issues. Have any of you tried getting a replacement yet? Apples customer service is a joke unless you live near an apple store. (Which i do not) Now I have to come up with $700 to put onto my account before Apple can trust ME to send my iphone back for a replacement. I put my trust in apple when I waited 2 years for this phone and preordered with money that could have gone towards a phone that actually functions as a phone. I hope someone reads this, apple needs to make this right.

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Answer 3

Oct 3, 2012 2:47 PM in response to kharma1425

I am having this same problem.

I have a black 32g iPhone 5 as well.

The speakers sometimes work and sometimes do not. When it is not functioning, my alarm won't work, neither will my music, any of my notifications, not will my call speakers. When it works, it works.

I went to the Apple store Genius Bar to tell/show them my problem and because it was working at the time, they couldn't do anything, but note it in my log. I have to go in when it is not working, which can be at any time. I can't hang around the store hoping it doesn't work around them.

I am getting super frustrated. This is my first iPhone.

It seems that I have been more problems than it is worth.

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Answer 4

buckleb

Level 1

0 points

Oct 4, 2012 10:24 AM in response to kharma1425

I have the same problem with a white 32g 5. AND I got a replacement with the same issue... not a happy camper right now.

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Answer 5

Mrsjag

Level 1

0 points

Oct 4, 2012 12:15 PM in response to kharma1425

My husband surprised me with the iPhone 5 on 9/21 and three days ago my phone went silent! Spoke with apple for over one hour and they couldn't resolve the issue. I have to send it off and be without a phone for about a week! The other option was put a $600 hold on a credit card for them to send me a replacement. Extremely disappointed with the iPhone 5! I'm really thinking of going back to the 4s until they fix all the iPhone 5 issues.

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Answer 6

kharma1425 Author

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Oct 4, 2012 2:15 PM in response to kharma1425

OK, so I have an update on my issue with the earpiece. As author of this thread i'll pass along the information I have gathered thus far. I hope it's helpful. I was able to return to the Apple Store in Greenville SC(im maybe 10 mi. away) where Gia was able to help me in a very professional and efficient manner. He told me that the issue was with the reciever and that the phone was not stuck in 'headphone mode'. side note: a quick check to verify if your phone is or is not stuck; play music with headphones plugged in. remove the headphones and verify if the music pauses or not. if the song in fact pauses when the headphones are removed, chances are the issue is with the reciever in the earpiece and requires a visit to the Genius Bar for service. Gia then informed me that a reciever can be replaced relatively easily but that no supplies were in stock. His next recourse was to do a replacement, with no charge to me. I was very pleased with my experience there and hope that this provides some good information to others with the same problem.

Jadefeenix, it sounds like you may be experiencing a different problem. My issues were limited to phone calls and apps that utilized the earpiece. The external speaker was not the problem.

Williams37: I have gotten a replacement with no issues(the phone or with customer service). I was not charged anything for the replacement, except time.

Ian: that is exactly what my phone was doing and I was able to get a replacement from the Apple Store with no problem.

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Answer 7

Bricks44

Level 1

4 points

Oct 4, 2012 5:55 PM in response to kharma1425

Just got my brand new white iphone 32gb moments ago, and I notice that there is no sound for any of my apps I downloaded from the app store. This ***** man.

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Answer 8

Bricks44

Level 1

4 points

Oct 4, 2012 7:34 PM in response to Bricks44

Well I feel stupid. I never noticed that little silent mode switch on the side of the iphone 5. My phone is fine, boy do I feel dumb.

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Answer 9

xmeeza

Level 1

0 points

Oct 7, 2012 4:34 AM in response to kharma1425

Same Problem, After about 3 days using iphone5 my bos used headphone to hear the music, after he pull out the headphone, the iphone5 cannot back to the normal mode, its stuck in headphone mode, i can see it the status when i push the volume button without headphone plug in.

After reset the setting and do replug the headphone for several time its still doesnt work. So he should answer the phone call using the headphone, what terrible experience using the iphone5.

please tell us the solution.

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Answer 10

Mingsong

Level 1

0 points

Oct 8, 2012 10:55 PM in response to kharma1425

I am suffing this problem right now! When a call come in, I have to swith on the loudspeaker like an idiot!

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Answer 11

Oct 14, 2012 2:41 PM in response to kharma1425

i am having a pretty similay problem, my loudspeaker doesent work. every time there is supposed to come a sound, it makes a tiny cracking noise. the ear-speaker and headphones work fine.

i have had my iphone for about two weeks. the problem first accured when the phone was 2 days old, but it got fixed 😝. then after a while, it started to mess up again.

it is a white 16 GB factory unlocked iphone 5.

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Answer 12

Dec 1, 2012 9:07 PM in response to kharma1425

Guys problem solved just Turn Off your Bluetooth will work fine!

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Answer 13

Dec 2, 2012 5:11 PM in response to castrofilho

Nailed it. My phone is often connected to the bluetooth in my car. Perhaps the phone thought it was still connected or something.

Settings > Bluetooth > Off
Wait a few seconds and then switch it back On again.

Thanks, castrofilho!

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Answer 14

Dec 2, 2012 5:50 PM in response to Jamie Pichora

No problem, that was the same what I have here with pairing my Bluetooth in the car now I turn off and it's working fine!

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Answer 15

Dec 4, 2012 6:23 PM in response to kharma1425

I thought that I'd add my experience with my 2-month-old iPhone 5. Inexplicably, the iPhone 5's speakers ceased to work and I got the "notification" that I was using headphones. . . which I wasn't. The phone worked just fine with my Jambox; and, when I tested the ring-tones (switching them around), the speakers on the phone worked. But, that's the only time the speakers worked.

I tried every trick recommended -- vacuumed the headset hole; blew in the headset hole; re-booted the phone; cleaned the headset hole; turned bluetooth on and off; turned silent switch on and off; pulled the headset jack in and out several times; and, generally tried any old thing that occurred to me.

I awoke at 3:30 am and started worrying about the hour-long drive to the nearest Apple store during the holiday rush; then, an Ah-Ha moment came. I needed to do the equivalent of zapping the P-RAM (younger users may need to google that). So, at 3:45 am I did a hard re-boot: I pressed the Home and the Sleep-Wake button until the phone shut down and re-started. That did it.

Reflecting now: probably a restore from a backup would accomplish the same thing.

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