iPhone 5, iOS 7: Alert/Ringtone volumes low...

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Level 1

12 points

iPhone 5, iOS 7: Alert/Ringtone volumes low...

I updated my black 32gb iPhone 5 to iOS 7 last week and one of the very things I noticed was how many missed calls/texts I had. I couldn't understand why until I went to change my tones to something more attention grabbing.... I noticed that the volume of the alerts and ringtones, including the classics, are too low to be useful. At first I thought it was my imagination until I went to work and my coworkers IDENTICAL phone started ringing, and boy did it sound great. Clear, crisp, loud. I compared her phone running iOS 7 to mine and there was a huge difference in the ringtones & alerts.

So, now that I know it's not just my imagination - I have spent all day looking for other people having this same issue. I have found a few, but nobody has a solution. This is occurring on not only the iPhone 5 but also the iPhone 4 & 4s - but not to everyone. That would lead me to believe that there may be a hardware issue with my phone but here's the rub: It sounded loud, crisp & clear when I was using iOS 6.1.4. So a software issue? If so why wouldn't it be affecting everyone and not just a few of us? This is beyond baffling and frustrating...

Before I take this phone to Apple (thank goodness it is under warranty) I was wondering if anyone here has experienced this issue and FIXED IT. What I've tried so far is turning the volume down and up, turning up all volumes not just the ringer and restoring the phone to factory settings through iTunes. None of it worked (thus this post), therefore as I said if anyone has a solution to this prior to me making the several hour journey to the Apple store I would love to know what it is. Thank you in advance.

Shawn G

Posted on Sep 26, 2013 9:14 AM

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Answer 1

Sonnet33

Level 1

12 points

Jun 1, 2017 9:46 PM in response to dilbert41

This might help.:

Certainly helped me!

Ring/silent switch: This switch, which is on the left side of your

iPhone, lets you quickly switch between ring mode and silent mode. When the switch is set to ring mode — the up position, with no orange dot — your iPhone plays all sounds through the speaker on the bottom.

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Answer 2

sgaske Author

Level 1

12 points

Sep 26, 2013 9:15 AM in response to sgaske

I have also soft-reset the phone and changed the language. No go.

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Answer 3

bem601

Level 1

0 points

Sep 26, 2013 4:39 PM in response to sgaske

I'm having the same issue, I have tried the soft reset, the hard reset and the reset all settings, still no luck. My volume is lower that it used to be since I updated to the OS7. Someone at the Apple store said they could do a check on the phone for the speaker. But I didn't have time for them to check it, so I will have to try later.

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Answer 4

Sep 27, 2013 10:43 AM in response to sgaske

I too had the same issue. Turning sound-check off in Settings-Music fixes it. Apple needs to fix this.

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Answer 5

Bizio61

Level 1

4 points

Sep 27, 2013 12:06 PM in response to DaveC-007

Thanks but it did not work for me.

I had already Sound check off and ringtones are still low.

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Answer 6

sgaske Author

Level 1

12 points

Sep 28, 2013 9:40 AM in response to Bizio61

I tried toggling sound check but it made no difference. I'm thinking that the bass output on the phone is broken. I listen to music that is bass heavy and the speaker crackles. Sounds to me like something is blown. Made an appointment at an Apple store for Tuesday - really hope they fix or replace my phone.

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Answer 7

Sep 28, 2013 3:28 PM in response to sgaske

Same problem here

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Answer 8

Sep 28, 2013 3:40 PM in response to sgaske

I have experienced the same issue of low ringer volume and the penny dropped when music settings came up. I hooked up bluetooth last night to a sound system and changed EQ from bass booster to late night to increase volume on music played from my iPod, which worked, incidentally. I turned off bluetooth and changed EQ from late night to flat and issues were resolved. Turned bluetooth back on played music checked ringtones and volume and not working again. So. Sounds aren't cooperating when bluetooth is enabled for sound I'm guessing. It's the only bluetooth device I'm using now. The same problem exists with TEXT SPEAK which is what I was attempting to get iPhone to do when this ordeal started! I'm exhausted with the minutia of iPhone 5, iOS7 and all things Apple!

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Answer 9

sgaske Author

Level 1

12 points

Oct 1, 2013 7:14 PM in response to sgaske

Well, I took my phone to apple and they ended up replacing the speaker. Honestly it doesn't sound any better. Guess I'll try restoring as new once more but at this point I think this will be my final apple product.

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Answer 10

Bizio61

Level 1

4 points

Oct 1, 2013 8:55 PM in response to sgaske

I put my new iphone 5 on sale too. I think it is a good toy but IMHO it is not the proper phone for work.

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Answer 11

Bizio61

Level 1

4 points

Oct 2, 2013 1:58 AM in response to Bizio61

I just reported the problem of low ringtones here, please do the same.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

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Answer 12

Oct 3, 2013 7:33 AM in response to Bizio61

Go to settings. turn off sound check in music. your ringtone volume will be back to normal. but the problem is music will not be normalize. hope apple will have an update for this soon.

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Answer 13

cerrense

Level 1

4 points

Oct 3, 2013 5:20 PM in response to sgaske

I had the same problem. No sounds. I realized then, like a moron, I had 'Do Not Disturbe' 'Manual' 'on'

I turned it off and started getting sounds.

However, now I have a new problem. I've assigned different sounds to 'New Mail', but no matter what I assign, I keep on getting for New Mail the 'Classic Ding' sound.

No matter what I do, I cannot get a different sound for my new mail...

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Answer 14

Oct 4, 2013 2:02 PM in response to sgaske

I have the 4S, and after doing the update I've noticed that too. The sound quality is totally off sounds horrible in the ringers don't sound correct. I've done everything that everybody is said from changing settings to turning stuff off and nothing is fixing it. I hope they fix it soon or I may never buy another Apple product again. Or at least give us the ability to go back to the original software. I didn't pay all this money for a phone and it sounds like this.

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Answer 15

Oct 4, 2013 4:13 PM in response to sgaske

I'm having the same problems. I've mostly noticed with text messages. It was fine until I updated to iOS7. I have an iphone 4.

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