iPhone 4S won't ring outloud

Flip the switch on the side of the iPhone just above the volume buttons.

Hope that helps

It happens. I've had the Otter Box case before and it's hard to tell if the switch is flipped. Now I have a Lifeproof case and sometimes it still hard to tell. Now you know what to look for in the future. Glad I could help

What if the switch is on and still no external sound?

I tried. I was not getting sound for text or ring inbound and just got the otter! This was the problem. Thanks so much!!!

Thanks! I wondered what I had done as I had been going through my settings...

Otter box here too, and my question is how the heck it got switched off to start with. I would never have done that intentionally. I was searching and found my silent-ringer answer here too. Switch is back on and the ringer works now.

I Have my phone in an Otterbox as well and I don't understand how you all didn't know that switch was there. You do not have to remove the case to get to that switch either. On the Otterbox there is a flap that covers that switch, just lift it up to access that switch. Now I thought that switch was only to force phone into silent/vibrate mode or ring out loud mode depending on how you have it switched. So out of curiousity what would be the solution if the O.P. had that switch in the up position from the start and didn't change any settings, would a complete phone reset need to be done to get ringtone to be heard again when an incoming call came in?

Here's one reason why some of us might not have known (or remembered) that switch was there: When I got my phone, they put the Otterbox on immediately. I never ever even SAW IT. If you've just gotten a new iPhone there's a HUGE amount of information to learn about from the start. And with every upgrade, even more. A nearly hidden switch beneath a closed flap on a flat black rubber box is hard to see. Out of site. Out of mind. If you don't use it, it's easy for a new user to forget after the avalanche of technical information presented when you first get one. I turn my phone OFF when I want to silence it. So it seemed redundant to start with.

Michael Goettee wrote:

Here's one reason why some of us might not have known (or remembered) that switch was there: When I got my phone, they put the Otterbox on immediately. I never ever even SAW IT. If you've just gotten a new iPhone there's a HUGE amount of information to learn about from the start. And with every upgrade, even more. A nearly hidden switch beneath a closed flap on a flat black rubber box is hard to see. Out of site. Out of mind. If you don't use it, it's easy for a new user to forget after the avalanche of technical information presented when you first get one. I turn my phone OFF when I want to silence it. So it seemed redundant to start with.

New users should always read the manual: http://support.apple.com/manuals#iphone

Don't assume i didn't read it. I always read the manual. ALWAYS when I first get something. But as I said, there's a LOT of information to absorb at first. This time without knowing what the problem was, I wouldn't have known to even look for a forgotten switch that I never even saw on my iPhone. I'd have wasted a good part of the day re-reading it and hoping I'd stumble on an answer. You have to know it's even there to look it up. SO... it seemed like a "settings" problem.

Michael Goettee wrote:

Don't assume i didn't read it. I always read the manual. ALWAYS when I first get something. But as I said, there's a LOT of information to absorb at first. This time without knowing what the problem was, I wouldn't have known to even look for a forgotten switch that I never even saw on my iPhone. I'd have wasted a good part of the day re-reading it and hoping I'd stumble on an answer. You have to know it's even there to look it up. SO... it seemed like a "settings" problem.

I never said you didn't read it. I just suggested that new users should do so.

There are only five physical button/switches on the phone: Ringer/Silent Switch, Two Volume Buttons, A Sleep/Wake Button, and a Home Button. With all due respect, I'm at a loss as to understand why it was difficult to remember one of these five buttons.

Also, the manual is searchable, and you can click on internal links to quickly navigate. Simply typing 'sound' in the search field brings up: 31 Sounds and silence

You must be so proud. Making your point so beautifully. I suppose that someone like me, with 26 years on commputers is simply not capapable of maintaining a phone and a computer and every single technical gadget I have without missing one hidden button that I have no use for until it's accidentally turned off. One single thing among seemingly THOUSANDS in this technical world. You're right, I'm wrong. YOU WIN. Now doesn't that just make your day much better. You need a salute? YOU GOT IT.

Michael Goettee wrote:

You must be so proud. Making your point so beautifully. I suppose that someone like me, with 26 years on commputers is simply not capapable of maintaining a phone and a computer and every single technical gadget I have without missing one hidden button that I have no use for until it's accidentally turned off. One single thing among seemingly THOUSANDS in this technical world. You're right, I'm wrong. YOU WIN. Now doesn't that just make your day much better. You need a salute? YOU GOT IT.

You must be having a bad day. Nothing I said was rude or offensive.

That got out of hand quickly ... what happeneded to the etiquette rules:

https://discussions.apple.com/static/apple/tutorial/etiquette.html

🙂