Fix My Speakers

How to Fix an iPhone Speaker That Sounds Bad

iPhone-specific checks for a quiet, muffled or crackling speaker, from the silent switch to a service appointment.

Device-specific Updated 3 min read

Key takeaways

  • Check silent mode, Focus and the AirPlay route before anything else.
  • The bottom speaker and the earpiece both play media, so test them separately.
  • Crackling at every volume after cleaning means a service visit.

Try the tool. Not sure which speaker is the problem? Test left and right separately.

Open the stereo sound test

Check silent mode and volume

The ring/silent switch or Action button mutes ringtones and alerts but not music or video, which leads to confusing results. Test with something that always plays: open a video, press the volume up button and watch the on-screen slider move.

Then check Settings, Sounds and Haptics, and drag the ringtone and alerts slider back and forth. You should hear the ringtone from the bottom speaker. If the slider is greyed out or you hear nothing, note that for later.

Check where audio is going

Open Control Centre and look at the media tile. Tap the AirPlay icon in its corner and make sure iPhone is selected, not AirPods, a HomePod or a television. Switch Bluetooth off for a minute as a quick test.

Also check Focus modes. A Focus can silence notifications and calls without the phone looking muted.

Check balance and mono

In Settings, Accessibility, Audio and Visual, make sure the balance slider is in the centre. If it has drifted to one side, one speaker will be quiet in every app. Mono Audio is in the same place and is worth switching off while testing.

Test each speaker

iPhones use two speakers for media: the one on the bottom edge and the earpiece at the top. Hold the phone sideways and run the left and right sound test. If one side is clearly weaker, you know which grille to clean or dry.

Clean the grilles

The earpiece slot collects skin oil and make-up, and the bottom grille collects pocket lint. With the phone off, brush each one gently with a soft, dry, clean brush, with the grille facing down. Do not use pins, compressed air or liquid. The method is in the guide to cleaning phone speakers without damage.

Check for a screen protector or case covering the earpiece slot. It is a common cause of quiet calls on a new phone.

If it got wet

Water resistance keeps water out of the phone’s body, not out of the grilles. Run the water eject tool with the speaker pointing down. The steps and the speaker positions are in the guide to ejecting water from an iPhone speaker.

Restart, update, reset

  • Restart the phone.
  • Install any pending iOS update in Settings, General, Software Update.
  • If the problem remains, use Settings, General, Transfer or Reset iPhone, Reset, Reset All Settings. It keeps your data but returns sound and network settings to their defaults.

When to book service

Book a service appointment if the ringtone slider test is silent, if the speaker crackles at every volume after cleaning, or if the phone has been dropped or soaked. Back up first. A speaker replacement is a routine repair.

The general checklist for fixing a phone speaker covers the same ground for any phone. If only calls are affected, read how to fix a quiet ear speaker.