The iPhone garners popularity owing to its sleek design, intuitive interface, high-quality cameras, fast processors, and security features. Nevertheless, akin to any device, iPhones are susceptible to encountering software and hardware issues, such as battery life, screen responsiveness, and connectivity problems.
The earpiece of the iPhone holds significant importance as it directly influences the user’s experience. Nevertheless, it’s not uncommon for iPhone users to encounter problems with the earpiece, such as it only functioning during speaker mode. This situation can be frustrating and disrupt the phone’s functionality. In this guide, we’ll look into the common causes of earpiece malfunctions and offer troubleshooting tips to address the issue.
1. Check Your Volume Settings
If you find that you can only hear phone calls when using the speakerphone, the first step is to ensure that your call volume is adequately adjusted. Though seemingly straightforward, this setting might sometimes be inadvertently turned down.
Review the sound settings to ensure that sounds associated with various phone functions, such as incoming call ringtones or notifications, haven’t been disabled. Navigate to Settings > Sounds & Haptics to inspect the settings.
Here, you can make the following adjustments:
- Volume Slider: Ensure the volume slider is appropriately positioned to allow for audible alerts.
- Change with Buttons: Toggle the “Change with Buttons” switch to the on or green position, enabling volume adjustments using the physical buttons.
- Ringtone: Select a new ringtone if necessary.
- Text Tone: Set a new text tone to customize your notification alerts.
If this doesn’t fix the problem, you should try to make a test call:
- Make a Test Call: Adjusting the call volume is only feasible during an ongoing call. Therefore, to verify and adjust the call volume, initiate a phone call. Call one of your friends or family members or similar.
2. Check for Connected Devices
If adjusting the call volume doesn’t resolve the issue, it’s possible that your phone is linked to a Bluetooth device, a common oversight. Thus, ensure that your iPhone isn’t connected to your car, a portable speaker, or headphones.
To verify the device connections:
- Access the Settings on your iPhone.
- Navigate to Bluetooth
- Review the list of devices and confirm they all indicate “Not Connected.”
- If any device is listed as “Connected,” disable Bluetooth and attempt a call. Disabling Bluetooth will sever the connection, enabling you to hear calls without resorting to the speaker.
3. Verify headphone mode
Verify if the iPhone is stuck in headphone mode, as it can only transmit audio output to one source at a time. Despite the iPhone speakers functioning correctly, they may be trapped in headphone mode due to a glitch. This issue causes the iPhone to route audio to the headphone port, even when no headphones are connected.
4. Clean the Charging Port
Similar to the earpiece, debris accumulation in the charging port can trigger issues, such as the phone mistaking them for plugged-in headphones.
Inspect the port with a flashlight to ensure there are no lodged objects. If obstructions are present, employ the same cleaning methods recommended for the earpiece.
5. Check the audio output settings
Examine the audio output settings as your iPhone may unknowingly be linked to an external speaker through AirPlay. If so, redirect the audio output settings from the AirPlay speaker to the built-in iPhone speaker to restore sound output. Access Control Center and locate the AirPlay icon in the upper-right corner of the music playback control. If “iPhone” is not already selected, choose it to ensure audio plays through the iPhone speaker.
6. Restart Your iPhone
A simple reboot can resolve many iPhone issues and glitches.
If it’s been a while since your last reboot, your phone’s RAM may still retain temporary data, potentially causing issues. To remedy this, power off your phone, leave it off for at least 60 seconds, then power it back on.
7. Update the Software
If the problem persists after a reboot, it may be related to bugs in the current iOS software version.
New software updates often include bug fixes that address various issues. Check for available updates by navigating to:
- Settings
- General
- Software Update
- Your phone will automatically scan for updates, allowing you to install them if available.
8. Factory Reset the iPhone
If none of the above solutions prove effective, the final recourse is to factory reset your iPhone, erasing all data and settings.
To factory reset your iPhone:
- Ensure you have a recent iCloud backup.
- Access Settings
- Navigate to General
- Select Transfer or Reset
- Choose Erase All Content and Settings
- Upon confirmation, your phone will restart. Once the loading bar disappears, set up your phone as new.