How To Fix Sound Issues on iOS 14

Getting sound issues on your iPhone or iPad running iOS 14?

Apple’s new iOS 14 release came with a ton of new exciting features. For one, you can now hide unused apps in the App Library, where you can also access all the apps on your iPhone. Additionally, widgets are now extremely popular for your home screens.

Have you checked the new ‘App icons into Shortcuts’ trick yet? There’s a ton of customization that Apple added in this iOS update for us Apple users. Unfortunately, losing all your sound is probably not among the list of things you were excited about.

Sound issues after an iOS update are a very common annoyance. In this article, we’ll help you fix your sound issues for iOS 14.

Let’s get started!

 

1. General Troubleshoot.

Let’s start by troubleshooting your phone for general problems. These can range from all sorts of out-of-the-box issues; going over these simple mistakes should fix your problem.

Your iPhone is in Silent or Vibrate Mode.

Did you accidentally set your iPhone in silent mode? Let’s be honest. It’s happened to the best of us. Additionally, if you’re a new iPhone user, then perhaps you unknowingly turned on the Mute button on the side of your iPhone. Make sure it isn’t showing the orange color because that means your phone is muted.

fix sound issues on ios 14


Turn Up The Volume.

Yes. It’s pretty common to accidentally press on the wrong side of your iPhone and turn down the volume. Furthermore, you can try opening up a YouTube video and then increasing the volume. This should trigger your sound software to refresh as the sound increases.


Drain The Water.

Did you just recently take your phone out to a swim? Even if your iPhone is waterproof, water clogged in your speakers can muffle the speaker’s sound. Clean this with a piece of tissue and leave your phone upright to let gravity do the rest. Wait for about 10-15 minutes for this one. After that, try to play an audio file like a song to try it out.


Update The App You Have A Problem With.

Having a problem with just one app? If your calls are always muted, or your videos play without any sound, you may have an update pending. iOS 14 is a relatively new operating system, which makes all your apps “newer” as well.

fix sound issues on ios 14

Third-party applications can take weeks to be fully iOS 14 compatible, try to check for an update on the App Store to see if you have one available.

 

2. Turn Off Bluetooth.

Brace yourself for this. Are you connected to a Bluetooth speaker? Having a Bluetooth sound system can feel like absolute magic, especially when playing music or videos in a large room. However, it can also give you a heart attack if you’re watching something while connected to your Bluetooth home speaker downstairs.

Additionally, even if you aren’t connected to anything, your iPhone can still send packets of data to phantom Bluetooth devices as a bug.

Here’s how you can turn off Bluetooth on your iPhone:

  1. First, swipe up on your home screen to bring up the Control Center.
  2. Once it’s open, tap on the Bluetooth icon located at the top-left corner of your screen. Make sure it’s disabled.

fix sound issues on ios 14

Now, open up Spotify and play a song to test your sound problems.

 

3. Turn Off Do Not Disturb.

While this shouldn’t turn off all sounds from your iPhone, it will silent all notifications, messages, and calls. Turning on ‘Do Not Disturb’ (DND) is a great tool to have when you’re busy and trying to work. Apple added this feature to intentionally silent any distractions your phone generates.

However, leaving it on even when you’re done is a mistake that anyone can make. Try to check and make sure that DND mode is disabled so you can receive notification prompts again.

Here’s how you can disable ‘Do Not Disturb’:

  1. First, open up your Settings and navigate to Do Not Disturb.

fix sound issues on ios 14

  1. Once you’re there, simply toggle the feature off by dragging the slider to the left.
 

4. Make A Call.

Similar to opening up a YouTube video, making a call can sometimes fix your audio problems. These sound issues are usually caused by a bug in the software. Initiating a call could very well forcefully fix these irregularities and resolve your sound problems.

You can either try asking your friend to call your number or do it yourself towards them. Either way can work, but unlike calling them yourself, your iPhone is the one readying the software to connect the conversation.

Here’s how you can quickly make a call:

  1. Look for and open the Phone app on your home screen.
  2. Now, pick any of your contacts, preferably a close friend, and send them a call. You can also tell them beforehand, so as not to shock them. However, spontaneous calls can be a good thing.

make a call for sound

Hopefully, this resolved the sound issues on your device. If the issue persists, simply proceed to the next methods below.

 

5. Restart Your iPhone.

If you’ve ever tried turning something off and on to fix it, you can do the same method by restarting your device. Restarting your iPhone will terminate all running software programs, including the operating system.

Any bugs or glitches that are causing your problem should also be completely removed from your iPhone’s memory or RAM. This way, when you reboot your device, your software applications and operating system should function like normal.

Here’s how you can restart your iPhone:

  1. Start by locating and holding down the power button of your iPhone. This should be located on the right side of your device.
  2. Do this until a red slider that says ‘Slide to power off’ appears on your screen. Drag the slider to the right to shut down your iPhone.

restart your iphone

  1. Finally, wait for about 10-15 seconds after your iPhone turns off and press on the power button again until you see the Apple logo.

Your phone should begin booting up like normal. Now, contrary to a lot of articles, force restarting your iPhone is nothing different from a normal restart. Furthermore, force restarting is even potentially hazardous to your device. You can read more about it here.

 

6. Update iOS.

Perhaps you’re overdue for an update. iOS 14 came out with a lot of cool new features but sadly came together with a ton of bugs as well. Since then, Apple has been focused on releasing patches full of fixes for these software problems.

As of October 12, 2020, the latest iOS version is currently 14.0.1. Depending on the time that you’re reading this, Apple may have already released a newer update with even more bug fixes. Software updates are a great way to keep your device up-to-date, especially against software issues like this.

Here’s how you can update your iOS:

  1. With your Settings app open, navigate to General.
  2. Now, tap on Software Update.

update your ios

  1. A clear indication should be on your screen if an update is available. Simply tap Install Now and proceed through the prompts until your iPhone restarts.

This can take a couple of minutes, depending on the speed of your internet connection and the performance of your hardware. But once you’re done, you should be running the latest version of iOS. Play a sound file to check for audio issues.

 

7. Factory Reset.

You might be thinking about a factory reset right about now. If you’re at the end of the line, it might not be such a bad idea to reformat your iPhone. Reformatting your device will reinstall a fresh version of iOS 14 on your system.

This authentic version should be clear of any software defects, which should fix your sound system. However, if your issue is due to a hardware problem, you may have to have it checked by an electrician. Here’s how you can factory reset your device.

factory reset your iphone

You can easily troubleshoot your device for hardware problems by recalling if anything physical happened to your iPhone. Did it fall or get slammed by anything? If anything related to this has happened to your device, you might want to have it checked at a nearby Apple Store.

Furthermore, if the problem really is from your iPhone’s hardware, checking for a warranty might help you cut costs. Now that you’ve reached the end of this article, we hope to have helped you fix your sound issues on iOS 14. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment down below.

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂

Author

  • Mako Young

    Mako is a staff writer at Saint. He's been writing about tech for more than a decade. When he isn't reading about the latest news on Apple, he's busy studying cybersecurity, cryptocurrency, cloud computing, and other IT-related sectors. His exceptional work graces technology and Apple-related blogs like How-To Geek, VEED.io, Macgasm, onMac, PhotoWorkout, GameRant, and many more. He also has a Bachelors in Computer Science and has been writing since 2018, with over 400 posts published. LinkedIn X (Twitter)

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