iPhone 6 ear speakers sound distorted on phone call

I found this thread because I was having the same issue. Tried the cleaning with a q-tip and alcohol. No difference. Tried the hearing aid trick. Nothing. Tried the LTE trick. Again - no difference. Lastly I tried the headphone trick - plugging them in, turning them down, then unplugging them and turning the volume up on my phone and BAM - works like new. Glad someone suggested it!

Yes I have this same issue. Taking it Genius Bar tomorrow

I'm having this same issue. Audio from the earpiece is distorting during calls and also when listening to voicemail. If I turn the phone volume way down it sort of goes away. When listening to the same audio (during calls & voicemail) through the speaker option it sounds crystal clear.

I'm an idiot, it ended up the screen protector I installed had a piece that was covering the ear piece. The Apple Store Rep noticed right away. Unfortunately, we couldn't save the screen protector, but all is well now.

Thanks for the update. Wish this was the case with me, but I've got nothing on my phone, and I'm still hearing distortion. I guess I'll run it back to the Genius Bar. Ugh.

Thanks so much for the update. Am going to head up there this afternoon. Cheers!

Hello all!

I Am havnig the same issue except it occurs intermittently. I'm assuming that it is a software issue and not a hardware issue. I went into the Apple Store and they were not able to reproduce the issue in-store (Just my luck). Occasionally the ear-reciever sounds mufled as if the person I am talking to is holding their phone to their neck. I'm not sure what is happening, as it is extreamly hard to understand people while conversing. The speaker-phone (speaker on the bottom of the phone) is flawless when placing phonecalls; I struggle to understand what people are saying while using the iPhone ear-reciever. The genius representative was unable to assist me. What is frustrating is that my iPhone 4 ear-reciever is much more clear than my brand new (5 days old now) phone 6. I have tried to figure out the issue and have not been able to conclude anything. I've tried mobile to landline calls, my carrier to someone one the same carrier, calling someone on a different carrier, I've tried calling in public, I've placed calls at home, work, the mountains... Nothing seems to change the call quality. I've tired placinf calls on FaceTime-audio... Not much better. I'm desptate! Help me! Th guenis bar is claiming that I'm the "girl that cried wolf" and is "trying to create a problem that does not exist." (paraphrased of corse). I have a follow-up meeting with the genius rep in about a week to solve this issue. if you are havjng similar issues, where and where did you recieve your phone, (by mail? In-store pick-up, are yoi located in California, or South Carolina?) any info at all is greatly useful for finding a solution to our problem.

Hi All,

This is the first time I have ever posted on any forum so you must know this is a genuine issue. Having put my trusted iPhone 5 to one side, I looked forward to unveiling my brand new iPhone 6 and I wasn't disappointed, impressed with the quality of the product, I enjoyed setting it up and admiring the larger screen UNTIL there was a phone call and much to my disappointment, I could hear distortion. Whilst the other person spoke, it sounded like the earpiece speaker was vibrating or had blown. Subsequent calls revealed the same issue except I had varied results whilst adjusting the earpiece volume. The loudspeaker sounded absolutely fine but the in call quality was worse than my previous phone. Naturally, it will have to be exchanged but frustratingly, it is out of stock so I am forced to use my old phone until a replacement arrives. Not a good start!

I am also having the same issue. I wonder if it's a hardware issue or a software issue. My wifes iPhone 4 runnjng 7.1.2 does not exhibit this behaviour. I wonder if I am holding it wrong. Lol. My wife pointed out to me that I hold it at an angle ( upwards )to my ear. when I press it flat. it sounds clear and crisp. When i hold it how i normally do it sounds distorted. Volume helps a little but not much. I have an appiontment with a genuis On Thursday to compare to other models. But just thought I would give you my Experience.

Hello everyone!

I had this problem with my iPhone 6 as well. (Speaker sounded like it "blew")

Here is my solution:

For Sprint users: Settings > Turn OFF Enable LTE > Reboot Phone >> Start up your phone and go back to Settings > Turn ON Enable LTE > Reboot your phone. Should solve the problem.

Other carriers such as AT&T have an additional step in their settings, so try this: Settings > Enable LTE > Select Off > Reboot Phone >> Start up your phone and go back to Settings > Enable LTE > Select Voice & Data > Reboot your phone.

If that extra step does not help you guys that have AT&T, you can go back to Settings > Enable LTE > Select Data Only > Reboot your phone. (No need to switch back your settings)

I hope this helps you guys out..

Thanks for the advice. As a uk user I don't have let but assumed you ment 3G/4g (dependent on carrier). I did try this but sadly no cigar. I'm starting to think maybe I'm being to sensitive about this as the volume in the 6 is considerably louder than the 4s I had and the 4 my wife had. Maybe it is just on to loud and its pushing the speaker to hard at certain tones as voices are usually clearer than dialing tones and when I turn down the volume it all but remoces the issue.

Hi, this has such an easy fix you wont believe it. Basically when you purchase a NEW iPhone, its comes with a screen protector and this screen protector for some odd reason covers the speaker hole. so to fix this you'll have to remove the screen protector and Voilà

the sound will work 🙂 hope that helped.

Am in the UK and problem occurs if I make a phone call from iPhone 6 using headphone earpiece. Whilst holding the phone to my ear the conversation is clear, sound quality excellent . I prefer to make calls using the headphone and built in mic but after a minute or less, the sound quality will degrade with high frequencies disappearing and the overall conversation sounding muffled. Not great. Anyone know of this issue it sounds similar to PWJJ...