iPhone 7 Plus Speaker Problem? Here’s Why & The Real Fix.

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.

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.

If the volume on your iPhone is too low, you may not be able to hear audio output from your speakers or headphones. It’s easy to flip the silent switch or accidentally turn the volume all the way down on your iPhone, especially if you’re using a big, bulky case.

There are three ways to turn up volume on your iPhone:

How To Turn Up The Volume Using The Volume Buttons

1. Unlock your iPhone.
2. Tap or hold the volume up button which is located on the left side of your iPhone.

Turn Up The Volume In The Settings App

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Sounds & Haptics.
3. Use the Ringer and Alerts slider to turn the volume all the way up.
4. If you don’t hear anything, you may have a problem with your iPhone speaker.

Turn Up The Volume Using Siri

1. If you’re already listening to something on your iPhone, you can turn up the volume using Siri.
2. Home button until Siri appears, or say, “Hey Siri.”
3. To turn up the volume say, “Turn up the volume.”

Apple repairs iPhones at the Genius Bar in Apple Stores and through their online mail-in repair service. Apple repairs are high-quality, but out-of-warranty repairs can be much more expensive than third-party solutions. If you’re looking to save some money you’re not covered by Apple’s warranty, you may want to check out our other recommendations.

How To Repair Your iPhone With Apple’s Mail-In Service

1. Visit Apple’s support website to begin the online mail-in repair process.
2. Alternatively, call 1-800-MY-APPLE (1-800-692-7753) to set up a repair.

How To Repair Your iPhone At The Genius Bar Inside Your Local Apple Store

1. Visit Apple’s website to make a Genius Bar appointment before you go into the store. Apple Stores are extremely busy, and if you don’t have an appointment, you may have to wait for hours or end up being turned away. (Editor’s note: I’m a former Apple tech and we’re not exaggerating — please, do yourself a favor and make an appointment first!)
2. When you arrive, go to the Genius Bar to check in for your appointment.
3. Genius Bar appointments always include free diagnosis. If you’re under warranty, many repairs can be done on the spot, but it all depends upon which parts are in stock. If you’re not under warranty, the Genius will give you a quote for the cost of a repair.

A DFU restore has the potential to fix software problems by completely erasing the code which may be causing your problem. The code is rewritten as if your iPhone is brand new, so the software problem may get solved.

Think of it like a house that has cracks in the foundation. Rather than try and fix the cracks, we are building an entirely new foundation.

If you can, back up your iPhone before completing a DFU restore. Any time you do a restore, it erases everything from your iPhone. However, after the restore is completed, you restore all your backed up data back onto your iPhone.

How To DFU Restore An iPhone SE, 6s, Or Older

1. Using a Lightning cable, plug your iPhone into a USB port on your computer.
2. Open iTunes if you have a PC or Mac running Mojave 10.14 or earlier. Open Finder if you have a Mac running Catalina 10.15 or newer. It doesn’t matter if your iPhone is on or off.
3. Press and hold the Home button and the power button simultaneously.
4. After 8 seconds, release the power button, but continue to hold the Home button.
5. Let go of the power button when your iPhone appears in iTunes or Finder.
6. Your iPhone’s display will be completely black if you’ve successfully entered DFU mode. If it’s not, try again from the beginning.
7. Restore your iPhone using iTunes or Finder.

How To DFU Restore An iPhone 7 Or 7 Plus

1. Using a Lightning cable, plug your iPhone into a USB port on your computer.
2. Open iTunes if you have a PC or Mac running Mojave 10.14 or earlier. Open Finder if you have a Mac running Catalina 10.15 or newer. It doesn’t matter if your iPhone is on or off.
3. Press and hold the power and volume down button simultaneously.
4. After 8 seconds, release the power button, but continue to hold the volume down button.
5. Release the volume down button when your iPhone appears in iTunes or Finder.
6. You’ll know your iPhone is in DFU mode if the display is completely black.
7. Restore your iPhone using iTunes or Finder.

How To DFU Restore An iPhone 8 Or Newer

1. Connect your iPhone to your computer using a charging cable.
2. Open iTunes (PCs and Macs running macOS 10.14 or older) or Finder (Macs running macOS 10.15 or newer).
3. Quickly press and release the volume up button.
4. Quickly press and release the volume down button.
5. Press and hold the side button until the screen goes black.
6. When the screen goes black, press and hold the volume down button while continuing to press and hold the side button.
7. Hold both buttons for five seconds.
8. After five seconds, release the side button while continuing to hold the volume down button.
9. Keep holding the volume down button until your iPhone appears in Finder or iTunes.
10. Restore your iPhone using iTunes or Finder.