iPhone 11 Speaker Not Working? Here’s The Real Fix.

It’s important to back up your iPhone before doing any major restores (such as a DFU restore). If something goes wrong while you’re trying to fix your iPhone, having a back up means you won’t lose any of your data (such as contacts, photos, apps, and more). Restoring from a back up is a lot more convenient than having to go and reenter all the information that was saved on your iPhone.

There are a few different ways to back up your iPhone:

Backup Your iPhone Using iCloud

1. If you have a WiFi connection, you can back up your iPhone using iCloud.
2. Open the Settings app.
3. Tap on Your Name at the top of the screen.
4. Tap iCloud.
5. Scroll down and tap on iCloud Backup.
6. Make sure the switch next to iCloud Backup is on. You’ll know the switch is on when the switch is green.
7. Tap Back Up Now.
8. A status bar will appear to tell you how much time is remaining.

Backup Your iPhone Using iTunes

1. Plug the Lightning connector on your Lightning cable (charging cable) into the Lightning port on your iPhone.
2. Plug the other end of your Lightning cable into a USB port on your computer.
3. Open iTunes on your computer.
4. Click on the iPhone icon in the upper left hand corner of iTunes.
5. Click the circle next to “iCloud” or “This computer” to select whether you want to backup your iPhone to iCloud or your computer.
6. Click Back Up Now to backup your iPhone.
7. When the backup is complete, you’ll see the time and date updated under Latest Backup.

Backup Your iPhone Using Finder (Macs Running Catalina 10.15 or newer)

1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac using a charging cable.
2. Open Finder.
3. Click on your iPhone under Locations.
4. Click the circle next to Back up all of the data on your iPhone to this Mac.
5. Click Back Up Now.
6. When the backup is complete, you’ll see the time and date updated under Latest Backup.

If your iPhone is running an outdated version of iOS, you may run into problems that could be fixed simply by updating to the most recent version of iOS.

There are two ways to update iOS on your iPhone: in the Settings app and by using iTunes.

Update iOS In The Settings App

1. Open up the Settings app.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Software Update.
4. If an update is available, tap Install Now or Download and Install.

Update iOS Using iTunes (PCs and Macs running macOS 10.14 or older)

1. Connect your iPhone to a computer using a Lightning cable.
2. Open iTunes.
3. Click the Phone button in the upper left-hand corner of iTunes (see image 3).
4. Click Check For Update.
5. If an update is available, click Download and Install.

Update iOS Using Finder (Macs running macOS 10.15 or newer)

1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac using a charging cable.
2. Open Finder.
3. Click on your iPhone under Locations.
4. Click the General tab.
5. Click Check for Update.
6. Click Download and Install if an iOS update is available.

Many iPhone problems are caused when Settings isn’t set up correctly or by corruption within individual Settings app files. Restoring the Settings app back to factory defaults doesn’t fix every iPhone software problem, but it is a go-to fix for Apple technicians because it does solve a lot of problems that would be very difficult to to track down by hand.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap General.
3. Scroll down and tap Transfer Or Reset iPhone.
4. Tap Reset.
5. Tap Reset All Settings.
6. Enter your passcode, if prompted.
7. Tap Reset All Settings again to confirm your decision.
8. Your iPhone will shut down, complete the reset, and turn itself on again will automatically turn back on when the reset finishes.

Over the course of a day, a lot of debris can get stuck in your iPhone’s speakers, especially if you keep your iPhone in your pocket. If your iPhone speakers are full of lint, dirt, or any other gunk, they may sound muffled or not make any noise at all.

1. Wipe off the speakers using a microfiber cloth.
2. Clean out more compact debris using an anti-static brush or a brand new toothbrush.

A DFU restore is the last troubleshooting step you can take to rule out a software problem on your iPhone.

Watch our step-by-step DFU restore guide on YouTube, or follow the steps below:

1. Plug your iPhone in a computer.
2. Open iTunes (on PCs or Macs running macOS Mojave 10.14 or earlier) or Finder (Macs running macOS Catalina 10.15 or newer).
3. Press and release the volume up button.
4. Press and release the volume down button.
5. Press and hold the side button until your iPhone’s display goes black.
6. When the screen turns black, press and hold the volume down button while continuing to hold the side button.
7. Hold both buttons for five seconds.
8. After five seconds, release the side button, but continue to hold the volume down button.
9. Release the volume down button when your iPhone appears in iTunes or Finder.
10. Your iPhone appears in iTunes or Finder, it’s in DFU mode!
11. Click Restore and follow the on-screen prompts to DFU restore your iPhone.

Even if you’re hearing other sounds on your iPhone, your iPhone may not be ringing because the ringer volume can be set independently from the volume of the other sounds your iPhone. So while the rest of the sounds your iPhone makes may be getting louder because you are turning up the volume of your iPhone, your ringer volume may be stuck on nothing — or very, very low.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Sounds & Haptics.
3. Use your finger to move the slider all the way to the right to turn your ringer volume all the way up.
4. If you want to use the volume buttons on the left side of your iPhone to turn up the ringer volume, make sure the switch next you Change with Buttons is turned on. You’ll know the switch is on when it is green.

Your iPhone can be “tricked” into thinking that headphones are plugged in if there is gunk, lint, or other debris in the Lightning (charging) port. If your iPhone thinks that headphones are plugged in, audio won’t be streamed through the speakers.

1. One quick way to see if your iPhone is stuck in headphones mode is to press the volume buttons on the left side of your iPhone. If the notification that pops up says “Headphones” then your iPhone is in headphones mode.
2. Using a flashlight, inspect your Lightning port or headphone jack for lint, gunk, or any other debris.
3. If you see something stuck in your Lightning port, brush it out using an anti-static brush or new toothbrush.

Disconnect from AirPlay devices to make sure your iPhone isn’t streaming audio through another device (such as an Apple TV) rather than your iPhone speaker. Sometimes, your iPhone will automatically reconnect to AirPlay devices that you’ve used before.

1. Open Control Center by swiping up from below the bottom of the screen.
2. Tap the AirPlay icon  which looks like a TV. You’ll know your iPhone is connected to an AirPlay device if the AirPlay icon is blue  and the name of the device (such as Apple TV) is next to the AirPlay icon.
3. If you are connected to an AirPlay device, tap Turn Off AirPlay Mirroring.
4. Now that you are disconnected from AirPlay devices, sounds will be streamed through your iPhone speakers.

Turning off Bluetooth is an important troubleshooting step for diagnosing sound or ringer-related iPhone problems. Often times, even though it seems like an iPhone isn’t playing sounds at all, the iPhone is connected to a Bluetooth device like an external speaker or headphones, and the sound is playing through that device and not the iPhone. Turning off Bluetooth disconnects your iPhone from those devices and is an easy way to eliminate that possibility.

There are three ways to turn off Bluetooth:

Turn Off Bluetooth Using Siri

1. Press and hold the Home button to activate Siri, or say, “Hey, Siri.”
2. To turn off Bluetooth, say, “Turn off Bluetooth.”

Turn Off Bluetooth In The Settings App

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Bluetooth.
3. Tap the switch next to Bluetooth. You’ll know Bluetooth is off when the switch is gray.

Turn Off Bluetooth In Control Center

1. Open Control Center by swiping up from below the bottom of the screen.
2. Tap the Bluetooth icon, which looks like a “B” made of triangles.
3. You’ll know Bluetooth is off when the icon is black inside of a gray circle.

The Ring/Silent switch is used to quickly and easily turn your ringer on and off. If your switch is flipped to silent, your iPhone won’t ring.

1. Take a look at your Ring/Silent switch, which is located on the left side of your iPhone.
2. You’ll know the your iPhone is on silent when you see a small, orange line because switch is pulled away from the screen.
3. To turn your ringer on, pull the switch towards the screen.