Sound works fine, but headphone controls no longer work? IOS7 Iphone5

Hey there mtexter,

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.

I would like to recommend the troubleshooting steps outlined in this article named:

Troubleshooting iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch accessories

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2634

2. Latest Software Version

Installing the latest version of iOS may resolve the issue. Learn how to find out which version of software is installed on your iPhone and update if necessary.

Note: If the device does not update successfully, the issue may be with device and not with the accessory. See one of the following articles, depending on your device:

• iPhone
• iPad
• iPod touch

3. Disconnect and Restart

Disconnect the accessory and turn it off, if possible. Restart iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad by turning it off and then back on. When the Home screen reappears, reconnect the accessory.

4. Isolate

Isolate the issue to the accessory, if possible. Or, if available, try to reproduce the issue with another identical or similar accessory.Examples:

• If there is static coming from the left audio channel when using headphones, try connecting the headphones to a stereo, or try connecting a different set of headphones to the device.
• If the device is not syncing when connected to the dock, try connecting it directly to the computer using the Dock Connector to USB Cable, or try another USB port.

5. Search the Knowledge Base

Search Knowledge Base for any articles about this accessory. Use the name of the accessory as your keyword in quotation marks:

• "iPhone Dock"
• "Bluetooth Headset"
• "Stereo Headset"
• "Earphones with Remote and Mic"
• "In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic"
• "iPad Keyboard Dock"

6. Restore iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Restore iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to its factory default state. You should rarely need to use this step with an accessory issue. If the issue only affects a third-party accessory, contact the manufacturer before restoring the device.

Additional Information

If playback does not resume automatically after switching applications or making or receiving calls, please resume playback using either the accessory or your iOS device.

All the best,

Sterling

It was a little pocket lint in the headphone socket that kept the switch on my headphones from working.

I used a toothpick to dislodge it while holding the device with the headphone jack pointing down.

Blowing, and picking until it all fell out.

It did not take much lint, to cause the problem, but once it was out, the problem went away :-)

Pocket lint in the charging socket had to be removed, to get that working on a few occasions as well.

Happy Listening....

THANK YOU tcoop2232.

I just took lots of lint out of the audio jack port, and now my earpods work again !!

My old EarPod controls stopped working and the sound was degraded.

I bought a new pair of EarPods which also didn't work properly. It was the lint.

I've brought my iPhone into the Apple store to clean lint from the microphone multiple times,

yet they never cleaned the power or audio jacks for me.

Apple should remove lint as a standard practice at the genius bar.

Don't buy new EarPods until you first clean the lint out of the ports.

Same issue

The headphone remote/control works on a another iphone but not on mine.

Music does work , its only the controls on the headphones that don't work

Phone - Iphone 4

Tried restarting the phone, syncing the phone, resetting it from withing the phone, holding the buttons & then through itunes .. No use...

Issue happens across any pair of headphones including Apple's

Same happens in music app and 3rd party apps like spotify , tunein radio .

Can't use the buttons on the headphones to pick or answer call's as well .

I drive 4 - 6 hours a day and can't change songs on the go. Looks like this update screwed my phone .

The iphone 4s in my family is still on ios 6 and I don't plan on updating it . Tha's been my general advise to everyone I see and talk with a iphone , as this looks like a update related issue.

I have the Iphone 5 and I have updated to iOS7, the most recent version. I too thought the update screwed something up with the head-phone controls.

I believe I have a solution: clean out the audio jack! There's probably a bunch of lint in there.

I had to clean out my charging jack a couple months ago because it was loaded with lint and thought, maybe it could help the head-phone controls too. And cleaning out the audio jack worked!

I hope this helps you! I used a piece of wire (a twisty-tie, like for a loaf of bread). I was surprised how much lint came out. It seems like these ports are attracting lint....

Tried like you said & cleaned it , but still the same problem ...

I hope apple come out with a proper update

Iphone 5 and the same problem, remote control of original iphone earphones stop to work after updating to ios7

I try to replug and restart, and the problem still

There isn't any solution for this problem yet????

tcoop2232's solution worked for me. Clean out the audio jack port. Had some lint in there, now my controls work properly. Huzzah!

iPhone 5c 32g

I have the same problem my ori earphone iphone5..sound work normaly but mic, remote n vol control not working...after restore my iphone still got that problem..any solution..?

I was having this issue, sound was working but lost control of the buttons on the earbuds suddenly they had been working fine trying to find time to get this issue resolved and considering going to the apple store to see if there was something they could do. Reading some of the remarks about updating the os caused the issue an that the earbuds had a shelf life of 6-8 months both seemingly ridiculous and very unapple.

I worked my way through and came across your post, I had a feeling that it was jammed up with lint but you verified that I wasn't imagining things. I cleaned it out with some narrow twizzers from a small hardware set and low and behold I cleaned out as you said a good deal of lint and the earbuds are working again Just wanted to thank you for your logical post and it was a great help.

tcoop2232 solved my problem as well. I have an iphone 4s that appeared to not be detecting the control signal nor would it recognize my headphone was in place. So calls would leave the microphone active. This happened once before with the apple earbuds and a replacement resolved it. I assumed it was bad apple earbuds until a new pair did not solve the problem. I had tried a number of potential fixes until coming across what now is quite obvious. I should have recognized all of the issues were connected to the loss of contact to the control ring. Along the lines of the first rule of troubleshooting, make sure the thing is plugged in. I used a toothpick a removed quite a bit of lint.

tcoop2232's did the trick! I was very skeptical. I didn't think there was any way anything could have got down into the jack and I was even more skeptical I would be able to clean it out. But, it did feel like the plug wasn't going all the way in, so I took some canned air and blew into the hole. I'll be damed but a big chunk of something came out! Plug went all the way back in and controls started working again. Genious.

Thanks tcoop2232

Tried blowing into iPhone jack to get any lint out. Then decided to use a toothpick and I was surprised to pull a big piece of lint stuck in there that I couldn't see.

🙂

IT WORKED FOR ME GUYS... ROLLED A SMALL PAPER PIECE.... DRILLED INTO THE JACKS PORT ABD KEPT ROTATING..... FOUND SOME LINT INTO IT.... IT STARTED TO WOEK AS NORMAL