How to Fix iPhone Speaker Greyed Out During Calls

Can’t figure out why your iPhone speaker is greyed out during calls?

Whether you are working on a report or preparing lunch, putting your iPhone on loudspeaker allows you to receive calls without holding your device.

Loudspeaker also comes in handy if other people in the room need to speak with the person on the line. 

If you are here, you might be surprised to see that the speaker option is greyed out on your iPhone. 

A greyed out speaker option on your iPhone indicates two things: 

• Outdated or faulty software
• Broken speakers or sound controller

In this guide, we’ll show you what to do if your iPhone speaker is greyed out during calls. 

Let’s begin!

1. Restart Your iPhone. 

Restarting your iPhone is always a good start when troubleshooting issues. Turning your iPhone off and on should clear your RAM’s data. 

This should flush temporary and fragmented data, which should resolve minor software problems. 

For iPhone X, 11, 12, or later: 

1. Hold down the Volume Down button and Side button until the ‘Slide to Power Off’ prompt appears. 
2. Now, drag the slider to the right and wait for 30 seconds. 
3. Press the Side button afterward to turn on your device. 

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For iPhone 6, 7, 8, or SE: 

1. Locate the Power button on your device. 
2. Now, hold the button until the ‘Slide to Power Off’ prompt shows up.
3. Drag the slider to the right and wait for 30 seconds before turning on your device. 

Try calling one of your contacts to check if the speaker option is still greyed out. 

2. Toggle Bluetooth Off and On. 

A glitch may have occurred on your iPhone, causing it to think that it’s still connected to a Bluetooth device. This could be the reason the speaker option is greyed out during calls. 

Try toggling Bluetooth off and on to reset any connections. 

Here’s what you need to do: 

1. Go to your iPhone’s menu and open Settings. 
2. Look for Bluetooth and tap it. 
3. Tap on the toggle switch to turn off Bluetooth. 

4. After 5 to 10 seconds, turn on Bluetooth again. 

Once done, see if the speaker option is still greyed out on your iPhone during calls. 

Related: How to Fix iPhone Stuck in Headphones Mode

3. Force Restart. 

A force restart can also help resolve this issue since it restarts your iPhone at a hardware level. 

When you perform this, power is cut off from your device, which should flush its memory. This should clear any unused data on your iPhone’s memory. 

See the steps below to restart your iPhone: 

1. First, press and release the Volume Up button. 
2. After that, press and release the Volume Down button and hold the Side button. 
3. When the Apple logo appears, release the Side button and wait for your iPhone to initialize. 

Make another call to check if the problem is solved. 

Related: Difference Between Restart and Force Restart

4. Update Your iPhone. 

A software update might also help fix the issue with your iPhone’s loudspeaker. The version of iOS installed on your device could contain bugs or errors related to speaker control. 

To rule this out, see if there are available updates for your iPhone. 

Here’s what you need to do: 

1. Open Settings from your home screen. 
2. Go to General > Software Update. 
3. Wait for your iPhone to check for updates. 
4. If there’s an available update, tap on Download and Install. 

5. Follow the instructions to install the update. 

Enter another call to check if you can now use the loudspeaker. 

5. Reset Your Settings. 

You might have recently changed some of your configurations and caused conflict with the loudspeaker. 

Instead of figuring out what setting caused the issue, simply reset your iPhone’s settings. This should roll back any changes to your configurations and ensure everything works. 

See the steps below to reset your settings: 

1. Open your device and tap on the Settings app. 
2. Next, tap on General. 
3. Scroll down and tap on Transfer or Reset iPhone. 
4. Tap on Reset and choose Reset All Settings. 

Try making a call to see if the speaker option is still greyed out on your iPhone. 

6. Adjust Audio Routing Settings. 

iOS has an option that allows you to set where audio is heard during phone calls. 

If the speaker option is greyed out during calls, you can pre-set your iPhone to route audio to your speakers from the start. 

However, keep in mind that this will automatically put every call in loudspeaker. 

Follow the steps below to adjust your audio routing settings: 

1. Open Settings on your iPhone. 
2. Scroll down and tap on Accessibility. 
3. Under the Physical and Motor tab, tap on Touch. 

4. Look for Call Audio Routing and tap on it. 
5. Select Speaker from the options. 

Once done, check if you can now use loudspeaker during phone calls. 

7. Contact Apple Support. 

If none of the solutions above worked, you might be dealing with a hardware issue.

Usually, a greyed-out speaker option during calls indicates a bad audio IC. This issue can only be resolved by replacing the audio chip through micro-soldering. 

Visit the nearest Apple Store in your area to have your iPhone checked by a professional. If it’s indeed a bad audio IC, check if your device is still covered by warranty. 

If you’ve just purchased your iPhone, you can ask for a replacement device or refund. You have 14 calendar days to return an item from the date you received it. 

Keep in mind that only items purchased directly from Apple can be returned to their store. 

That ends our guide on how to fix your iPhone speaker if it’s greyed out during calls. If you have questions, please leave a comment below, and we’ll do our best to answer them. 

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