Iphone Xs max earpiece speaker not working

Exactly the same happens to my XS since iOS 12.1.1 including the latest official release (12.1.2) today.

70-80% of the time it has no sound, and during this i mean really no sound like music, video, ringtone, notification and alarm clock.

When i reboot the phone all things are working properly for some hours until this issue returns.

In the last weeks i overslept more than 5 times, and i still don't know if this happens again tomorrow.

Simply said, my device is nearly useless at the moment.

On my own i tried all things I can find, like Headphone mode, maybe connected Bluetooth speaker, DND mode and so on... (and yes i read the audio related Apple support articles)

After that i tried a full reset and restore over phone settings, and a full reset with new Firmware over Itunes.

Each of this one time with a Backup over iCloud, one time with Backup over iTunes and latest without a Backup (new Phone).

Everytime the issue returned some time later.

Then my XS was replaced due to AppleCare+, unfortunately the same happens with this replacement device again.

At this time i am sure, that this can only be a software issue.

As a full time software developer and due to my experience with apple devices i know, that i can create a software log with the official Apple configurator utility which is available in the mac AppStore.

So i created such a logfile at the time, when the issue returned and without surprise i got several iOS API errors related to CoreAudio API on the device.

Then (last week) i told the customer support the whole story again, and in the end i was asked to upload this log for the software engineers to Apple.

Since this day i have no response from Apple, but i will call them again tomorrow.

So please Apple, look for this issue.

A device with this kind of issue isn't a phone anymore. This is not more than paperweight.

Ya I’m having the same problems the ear speaker works fine on calls but when on YouTube or intagran or anything the ear speaker does not work only the bottom one does. I hope this is not a hardware issue as I just spent $1249 on the iPhone XS Max.

Definitively not after device replacement, and definitively not while i could see this on another Xs and XsMax devices as well.

When i read this thread, it's the exact same sporadic issue.

The support confimred, that this has to be a software issue for sure. And this is the same what i suppose with my experience.

Are you running the latest version of iOS 12?

Most new phones do need an update out of the box.

Also, here are two links which may help:

If you hear no sound or distorted sound from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch speaker

If you can't hear a person on a call or voicemail or if the sound isn't clear on your iPhone

My iTunes restore failed twice. I had to switch USB ports on my PC. The restore finally worked. There are a few people experiencing the issue but it hasn’t caught on yet. My daughter got her Xs Max yesterday. I have her checking often.

I have returned 2 Xs Max phones already. The 3rd one is having the same issue. I can’t keep returning phones. Apple should fix this or at least acknowledge that it’s there and let us know when it will be fixed. I paid $1250 for a device and I expect it to work properly. All facets.

That should not be the case; you may want to make a Genius Bar appointment to have your phone examined.

Don't worry; if it is a hardware issue, that's why there is a factory warranty.

You can verify how audio is supposed to work on any of the demo iPhone XS/XS Max models on display in the store.

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

There appears to be a bug where an unknown event will cause the upper speaker to go silent; rebooting the phone should restore proper operation.

You may want to try the procedure mentioned above to do a soft reset if the reboot doesn't restore the speaker, but I've yet to have a reboot not work.

If it does not, you may want to schedule a visit with your local Apple Store's Genius Bar to have your phone examined.

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

Mine goes low on calls so hard to listen on a phone call . And it started just like that

No I’m running on iOS 12.1.2

I am using an Iphone XS Max 256 GB and I too have this problem. I first noticed it when I was playing PUBG Mobile and I wasn't hearing sterio audio. I'm IOS 12 (not the beta) and a restart is a good solution. I hope it is just a software bug that can be resolved.

Hello Guys,

I have checked on different forums and it seems many users are reporting this problem and it seems to be software related.

Try to have a clean restore via iTunes and do not immediately restore your backup.

Once your iPhone is freshly restore do a test with whatever video or music. It should work.

I am having the same issue. My first Xs Max arrived on September 27th. By the 29th, the speaker in the earpiece had failed. I took the phone back to the Apple store on 10/01. They ran a hardware test. The Mic failed, the receiver failed and the speaker in the earpiece failed. They tried to reload the software and that failed. They gave me a new Xs Max. Today, a day later, the speaker has failed on the new device. Apple support had me do a restore via iTunes. After 3 attempts, the restore finished. The speaker works but I fully expect it to fail by tomorrow. I will more than likely return the phone and continue using my iPhone X for a few months until these issues are fully resolved.

Really irksome pain in the balls. It only works immediately after a restart and at some point afterwards it just stops.

Phone calls work fine, but music only works after a restart.

Bottom speaker works fine.