iPhone 5 headphone volume too low

@ Little-Jonny Hahah, that may just mean you're a bit deaf in one ear !!

Ok, here's my take on this, as a technician. I believe that yes the new cirrus audio chip has different qualities and characteristics to the previous phones.

It doesn't mean it is inferior or substandard. I have proved on my device as I said in a previous post, just by disabling EQ and any other setting in in the music settings in The IOS main settings, will

Greatly boost the volume and clarity.

The reason is the EQ presets in IOS were designed to work only on the older sound chips,

So when setting any preset like, rock, dance whatever completely messes up the dynamic range.

A whole update to the presets needs to be done so they work on this new sound chip.

It's like in the old days of HiFi separates we had a separate graphic equaliser, plugging graphic equaliser into another make of amplifier would make your music sound like pig swill, so you would have to set up the equaliser again.

Why do Singapore IP5's sound ok? Well they are probably made at a different factory where they maybe using the older original sound chip on the PCB, who knows.

So instead of using the current method of using ITunes to mess around with your files by boosting the volume,

Please have a go at making sure you turn the following OFF

EQ setting is OFF,

also sound check OFF

Volume limit is OFF, and volume slider in the limit setting is right up.

It would be interesting to see how many that works for, it works great for me and friends IP5 low volume without all the messing around with ITunes.

If this works for you guys then Apple need to sort out the EQ presets in IOS 6 or sort it when 7 comes out.

So if Leftbelow is right (and I suspect that he is).... then what are the options open to the consumer?

Can I exchange my iPhone5 for a 4S ?.. because the music is far more important to me than the other stuff. Really it is a huge disappointment because the reason I have always gone for iPhones is the convergence of technologies that integrates my music as well as my phone. Apps are just amusing add ons for people with too much time on their hands.

Give us back the music!

Give us a refund!

ROCKEULVEN wrote:

"So instead of using the current method of using ITunes to mess around with your files by boosting the volume,

Please have a go at making sure you turn the following OFF

EQ setting is OFF,

also sound check OFF

Volume limit is OFF, and volume slider in the limit setting is right up.

It would be interesting to see how many that works for, it works great for me and friends IP5 low volume without all the messing around with ITunes."

Sorry, rockeulven, this does not work for me. In fact this is how my default settings came on my IP5.

I can still barely hear my music, when I have earbuds in, walking down a street.

Just bought another iphone 5 16gb from egypt

Its louder about 20 to 30 % from mine which is 32gb which i bought from

Germany

So i concluded that some countries have ristrictions on headphones

Volume limit and some just don't

So if u had ur iphone from a country that has these ristrictions like

Me so u r stuck forever in low volume sound in headphones like me

That's the bottom line and apple have nothing to do for us

So dont wait for anything to fix that.

I had the same problem with my iphone, I reset it, & tried most of the suggestions on this site. I did not want to buy a new one. My husband is a mechanic, I handed it to him. He put he vacuumed the small speaker on the face of the phone and it works just like new now.

I've been looking into this issue for months and ended up discovering that Apple actually simply complies with the European legislation regarding prevention of hearing.

Here the link to this rule applied to all portable music player destined to be sold in the EU: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-09-1364_en.htm

The limitation is software only. Therefore only Apple can change it via a software update (or via jailbreak, where you can modify this software limit).

I honestly think that complaining here won't change a thing and would strongly suggest all of you to give your feedback where it belongs ( http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html ) and ask for an enhancement request.

As an addition to my previous, here's the part where the EU actually leaves options to the manufacturers:

"The safe exposure levels defined above shall be the default settings on products. Higher exposure levels can be permitted, provided that they have been intentionally selected by the user and the product incorporates a reliable means to inform the user of the risks.

A dequate warnings for consumers on the risks involved, and on ways to avoid them, including the situation when the original set of earphones is replaced with another type and this causes higher unsafe sound levels. The mandate is not prescriptive in terms of how this is done. Industry solutions could include for example – labels or digital information on the screen."

In other words, Apple CAN implement an unlock of the volume limit by warning the user of the risks involved in doing so.

when i used to listen songs using my headphones,,, the sound was good but recently even when the volume is full the sound coming from headphones is low now........ what seems to be the problem?????? help needed >>>>>>>>>

Might be my imagination but there does seem to be an increase in volume under iOS 7.

Yes this is frustrating. The problem is real and I contacted Apple about it in January 2013, now it's August . . . stony silence. Apple appears to be burying its head in the sand. I don't think Steve Jobs would have allowed this to go on. I experienced the same issue when upgradng from iPhone 4 to 5. So far I have found out that the sound output card in the 5 is different from the 4/4S to conform with the laws about sound output.

That said, the new output stage looks as if it has been poorly considered as it doesn't take into account the impedance of the headphones being used. Indeed the cheaper your headphones (more efficient) the less you will experience the reduced volume. The low efficiency upmarket headphones are affected much more.

If Apple were smart they would make an iOS headphone section where you enter the make and model of the headphones and it would adjust the output. Unfortunately since they are using a different (and possibly less powerful) output stage, they may have shot themselves in the foot. I suspect that since I have had no answer from Apple that Apple has no answer. Apple hasn't yet realised that this head in the sand attitude is goint to come back and bite them as "uncaring" and reduced street cred.

So, what can I share? That the "Manufactured for Apple" logo has now become meaningless, well yes when referring to headphones and the iphone 5. Do NOT buy headphones without listening to them first!!!!
Ignore all the reviews, most reviewers conspire to be silent on this issue, trust your own ears and warn friends with an iPhone 5 so that they don't spend £150+ only to be disappointed.

Hi Malcolm,

Intrigued that you say the volume limitation is software only. Is that referring to the button in iOS Settings> Music> Volume Limit ? If yes, that is not the issue since everyone experiencing the problem has that turned off.
If no, why hasn't Apple done anything about it? I suspect that Apple has used a less powerful (possibly cheaper) output stage . . . more's the pity. Shame on such a brilliant phone.

I agree with you that complaining here doesn't seem to do much but I complained through the feedback link back in January and 7 months later, nada, absolutely nothing, zilch. At least here we can warn each other.

I purely think this is the hardware issue too. I took 4s when it was launched but had to change couple of months before due to its battrey problem, the new phone I got from apple store has the problem of less volume I went back to them they just replaced it and the new phone I got has the same problem. I went ot my freind he brought 4s along with me and he doesnt have this problem at all. I tried comparing my phone to few other freind phone who have brought 4s in the begeninng, who ever has new 4s has this problem but whoever has old 4s there volume is crystal clear.

Hi,

It is more than just the "volume limit" button in the settings. It is a software limitation (not accessible/changeable by the user as such) taking into account the region where the iPhone was meant to be sold.

For instance an iPhone 5 for switzerland has the part number MD662FD/A. The FD part refers to Austria or Switzerland. An American iPhone would have a part number MD662LL/A, where LL stands for North America.

Long story made short: FD gets EU volume limitation, LL doesn't.

I take as a proof that is possible to overcome such software limit with a jailbroken device where you may manually modify a .plist file containing all the region codes where volume "should" be limited to overly comply with the EU legislation.

I had an iPhone 4S (FD) that I jailbroke and managed to change the appropriate parameters in the regional limit file. After a restart, output volume from the headphone was much higher (equivalent to an iPhone 2G that I bought in the U.S., i.e. without any EU volume limit).

Guys, my suggestion made previously still remains: Send Apple your feedback on product improvement and ask that they implement an unlock of the volume limit by warning the user of the risks involved in doing so.

If you have done so already, do it again and again and again and again... Apple won't be able to remain with closed eyes with so many complaint/improvement requests made through the official channel.

I just can't believe there is no other way around this issue than jailbraking. It seems with all the complaints already, Apple is content with being apathetic and irrational.

There is another way. Look what pm2012 wrote a few posts back about impedance.

So use some other headphone. I found that my old iPod headphones plays much louder.