There are many reasons why your iPhone may become stuck in headset mode and stop playing sounds from the external speaker. In most cases, dirt or moisture gets into the 3.5 mm jack, but sometimes there is a software error. In this instruction, we have discussed all the most effective ways to solve this problem, regardless of what caused it.
Note: Solutions to the problem are listed in order of effectiveness. Move from the first method to the last and one of them will definitely help.
Method 1: Clean the 3.5mm jack
The most common reason that an iPhone is locked in headset mode is dust or dirt that has gotten into the 3.5mm jack. The solution in this case is to simply clean the connector with any thin object, for example, a needle or toothpick.
There is no specific cleaning method. Carefully move the needle/toothpick in a circle inside the 3.5mm jack for 10-15 seconds and then blow through it. If there is no result, cleaning the 3.5 mm jack with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol may help. In addition, you should try to clean the connector using a folded napkin.
Method 2: Clean the power connector
A similar cleaning of the power connector can also be a solution to the problem. The technique is the same - moisten a cotton swab/needle/toothpick in alcohol and use it to clean the power connector, be it an old 30-pin connector, or Lighting. Please note that the connector must be wiped thoroughly.
Method 3: Put your iPhone in the cold for a couple of minutes
This advice sounds like some kind of cruel joke, considering how negative the cold is, but the method really works, as confirmed by numerous reviews. An iPhone stuck in headset mode should be placed in a cool place for 2-3 minutes (no more). In winter, in this case, a balcony or just going outside is suitable; in the warm season, a refrigerator is suitable.
Method 4: Blow out the 3.5mm jack with a hairdryer
Blowing out the 3.5 mm jack with a hairdryer can help solve the problem. As with previous cases, there is no specific method for purging. The only thing to remember is that prolonged blowing with hot air can be harmful to the iPhone battery.
Method 5: Repeated connection of charging cable/headphones
Another method based on cleaning the charging connector and audio output. Even a needle is not able to reach hard-to-reach places in the connectors, but the connectors fill the entire connector, resulting in maximum cleaning. The principle of operation is extremely simple: connect the iPhone, and then connect the charging cable and headphones to the appropriate connectors about 10-15 times.
Method 6: Connect a Bluetooth headset/speaker
It also happens that the iPhone freezes in headset mode due to a software error. They usually occur after installing a new version of iOS. In this case, connecting a wireless headset or speaker and then disconnecting the headphones helps. The operating principle is as follows:
Step 1: Connect the headphones to your iPhone.
Step 2: Connect your Bluetooth headset/speaker to your iPhone to output audio.
Step 3: Disconnect your headphones.
Step 4: Turn off your wireless device.
Immediately after this, you can check whether the sound has returned to the speaker of your iPhone.
Method 7. Force reboot with headphones on
Also, a forced reboot of the iPhone with headphones inserted into the 3.5 mm jack can fix the software problem. To perform a hard reset, you need to hold down the Home and Power buttons until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
It may also help:
- Sudden pulling of the headphone plug from the socket.
- Sucking dirt from the nest using a vacuum cleaner (
Headphones are indispensable in many situations - they are used at home, when it is necessary to maintain silence when listening to music or to perceive sound information more clearly, and outside the home - for example, during physical activity in nature. In any case, the failure of the headphones can greatly upset the user, ruining all plans. What to do if your favorite headphones suddenly stop producing sound?
Common reasons for no sound
If there is no sound from your headphones, there may be a number of factors causing this. They can all be divided into two large groups:
- software problems related to the sound source;
- technical problems with the sound source or the headphones themselves.
Depending on the type of breakdown, the sequence of actions to solve the problem of loss of sound will vary. You shouldn’t immediately run to the store for new headphones - perhaps they are not to blame for anything.
One of the most common problems that cause sound loss in headphones is that they are not connected correctly to the sound source and the equipment is not configured correctly. Sound drivers may not be installed, or sound output to another device may be configured. The problem could also be as simple as the sound volume is not adjusted.
In addition, the connector on the sound card of your computer, phone or TV may break. In the case of wireless headphones, the cause of the problem may be an incorrect connection or a breakdown of the Bluetooth transmitter.
A breakdown of the headphones themselves is, in fact, the most unlikely cause of loss of sound. But if you are convinced that everything is in order with the rest of the elements of the speaker system, it is worth checking this possibility.
Checking the sound source
Even if the sound in the headphones suddenly disappears, this does not mean that the headphones themselves are broken. Very often the problem lies in the sound source - a computer, phone or any other device. Before you undertake a not so simple repair of headphones, you should carefully check whether the headphones are connected and configured correctly.
Wired headphones and headsets are usually connected to a standard line output - a mini-jack connector with a diameter of 3.5 mm. This connector can be found on the body of any laptop or modern mobile phone, as well as on the sound card of a personal computer. If the connector of a mobile device is broken, it is very easy to determine the failure - when connected, the headphones will not be detected by the smartphone. The corresponding icon will not appear on the top bar of the phone's desktop, as it does in normal mode.
Computers, as a rule, do not notify the user in any way that headphones are connected. But determination can nevertheless occur. To find out if the computer sees the headphones, you need to do the following:
- go to the control panel located in the Start menu;
- find the “Sound” menu and go into it;
- on the main screen of the window that opens, all devices used for sound output will be listed - for a laptop these will be built-in speakers and headphones, for a desktop computer - only headphones.
If no devices are detected or only the laptop's built-in emitters are visible, the problem lies in the connector on the sound card. It is not recommended to repair it yourself - it is better to contact a service center.
If the device is detected, but there is no sound, it may not be selected as standard. You can do this by right-clicking on it and selecting “Default device”. After this, you can check the sound output using the corresponding drop-down menu item.
If this does not help, restart your computer. There may be a glitch in the system that will be corrected after a reboot.
If it turns out that your computer's sound card is faulty, you can act in different ways. The main options are:
- Repairing an existing card in a service center is rational for laptops and discrete cards on desktop computers, but there is no particular point in repairing an integrated desktop card;
- buying a new sound card;
- using USB headphones with their own built-in sound card.
Sound settings
If everything is fine with the headphone connection and sound card, the problem may lie in the software of the sound source. You may need to adjust the audio to get sound back. This is done very simply.
The first thing you need to do is check the drivers for sound. They could stop working or be deleted altogether for various reasons: exposure to viruses, hardware conflict, system update, etc.
To find out if the drivers are working, you need to go to the device manager of your computer. It is located in the properties of the “Computer” menu - open this folder, go to properties through the menu item that appears when you right-click. The device manager will be available to the computer administrator (if the computer is personal, you are the administrator); you can access it using the link on the left side of the properties window.
The manager will list all the equipment connected to the computer. The drivers you are looking for are located in the “Sound, video and gaming devices” menu. Expand the drop-down menu with this name and find the sound card - you can identify the device by the letters HD in the name - they indicate the sound processing standard. If there is no exclamation mark next to the name of the sound card, everything works fine.
If the drivers do not work, they need to be reinstalled. A modern version of Windows can do this automatically, but if this does not happen, you will have to go to the sound card manufacturer's website and download the program yourself. After installation and restarting the computer, the headphones should work.
To configure the sound, you need to do the following:
- go to the control panel, “Sound” menu;
- select the device you are using and click the “Properties” button;
- check all settings - volume level and channel balance, additional effects, etc.
Correct tuning will make the sound clearer and more pleasing to the ear.
Headphone repair
If everything is fine with the sound source, you will have to repair the headphones themselves. You can verify this by simply connecting another acoustic device to the sound source, and also connecting headphones to another device.
Headphones can be subject to three types of breakdowns:
- plug malfunction;
- cable damage;
- speaker failure.
Cable repair is the simplest, although such a breakdown is relatively rare - most often it becomes obvious, since the cable breaks along with the braid. However, rupture is possible without damaging the outer layer of plastic. To understand that the reason for the lack of sound lies in the cable, the wire of the turned on headphones needs to be bent in different places until some hint of sound appears.
Cable repair is carried out as follows:
- the wire is cut at the break point;
- the edges are stripped of insulation and a transparent protective layer;
- copper wires are twisted and soldered;
- the channels are isolated from each other, after which the twisted area is tightly wrapped with electrical tape or covered with a heat-shrinkable nozzle.
If everything is in order with the cable, the problem may lie in the loose fit of the wire to the plug contacts. In this case, the plug can either be disassembled and the damage repaired, or replaced. To do this, you need, as in the previous case, to cut the wire and strip the wires, then solder the ends of the wires to the contacts on the base of the plug. The channels are connected to short strips of copper, the ground is connected to a long strip.
Headphone speakers are rarely repaired - the body of the device is very difficult to disassemble, and parts for the emitter are almost impossible to find. It is much easier to buy new headphones if the speakers of the old ones are broken.
You can read more about self-repairing headphones in.
Thus, the sound in the headphones can disappear for a variety of reasons, most of which can be corrected very simply. This does not require any special skills; you just need to carefully study the devices used in the speaker system.
Apple technology is the most reliable on the modern market, but even it has glitches when, for example, the sound on an iPhone only works through headphones. This kind of problem doesn't happen very often. Find out possible troubleshooting solutions if you can't hear the other person without headphones connected to your mobile device.
Causes of breakdown
The essence of the problem is this: after you listen to music on your iPhone through the headset, the sound in the speaker completely disappears. At the same time on the screen:
- The volume level icon is shown periodically
- the icon remains inactive when changing the sound
As a result, the phone does not play system notifications or calls through the speakers. At the same time, there is a notification that the headset is connected.
Complete absence of sound can occur for the following reasons:
- damage to the speaker if the iPhone was dropped or strong pressure was applied to it. In this situation, it is impossible to do without replacing the faulty part.
- dust and dirt in the headphone jack. Most often, this problem occurs on smartphones that have been in use for a long time. If the connectors are clogged with dust and dirt particles, the sound parameters will not work correctly. To solve the problem, just clean the connector on your smartphone, which only has sound when the headphones are turned on
- moisture gets inside the phone, resulting in oxidation of the microcircuits that monitor the activation and deactivation of the headset connection function, as well as the volume level adjustment. In this case, the sound disappears completely. To restore it, you need to clean all contacts affected by corrosion or replace damaged elements
- Using low quality headphones. In this case, there is only one piece of advice - change them to a new original headset
The sound may also disappear if you turn off the headset unsuccessfully, for example, when the phone is performing an internal software update.
Solutions
The reason for the lack of sound on iPhones may not only be a hardware failure. If it disappears and appears only when you turn on the headphones, or the phone does not see the connected headset, then this may indicate a system failure. You can restart your iPhone to solve the problem.
As a rule, for most owners of iOS devices, the sound disappears, the volume buttons do not work, and the phone does not recognize that the headset is turned off precisely because of a simple error. If the sound on your iPhone only works through headphones, follow these instructions:
- insert and immediately pull out the plug from the socket to completely disconnect the headphones. Perhaps the operating system simply did not react that the headset was removed, and the conversation mode launch update did not occur
- connect another headset. This will help if the sound has disappeared due to the use of a low-quality accessory
- restart your iPhone. Simply rebooting your phone can be an effective way to solve the problem. To do this, turn off your smartphone by pressing the power button, and then turn it on again
- Clean the 3.5mm jack. All kinds of contamination lead to short-circuiting of contacts, which is why the smartphone stops playing sound. Use a flashlight to inspect the inside walls of the headphone jack. If you find foreign bodies inside the canal, clean it using a cotton swab or toothpick
- restore iOS. If there is no system failure or problems with the headset connection jack to the device, you can update the OS from DFU mode. Perhaps after this the sound will appear
Before entering DFU mode, be sure to back up the data on your smartphone. This is necessary if you do not want to lose important files while restoring your gadget if the sound is lost.
How to put iPhone into DFU mode
To put a smartphone that has stopped playing sound into DFU mode, you need to follow a few simple steps. If there is no sound without headphones and you can no longer hear the other person, do the following:
- turn off your headphones
- turn off your smartphone
- connect your iPhone to your PC, which should already have iTunes running
- hold down the Power and Home keys, after 10 seconds, release the Power button while continuing to hold the second key
- when the program installed on your computer shows detected devices, play the recovery program by clicking on the corresponding button in iTunes
Do not interrupt the iOS recovery process on a smartphone that has no sound without headphones, and do not unplug the cable until the procedure is completed, so as not to damage the OS.
Professional help
If your phone cannot play call mode, and the methods described above did not help solve the problem, then seek professional help. Without the skills and special tools, you should not try to disassemble a device that does not produce sound yourself. Often, problems with volume control are associated with severe damage to the circuit board, and Apple phone parts are very fragile and can be easily damaged.
Despite the positioning of Apple devices as the most reliable, failures still occur, for example, in the iPhone, the sound in the headphones disappeared .
The problem when the sound does not work on iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 4s, iPhone 4 and so on can be divided into several parts:
- no sound without headphones;
- no sound in headphones;
- bad sound.
Most often this occurs in smartphones with a decent service life and is associated with clogged connectors. Then it happens that the sound does not work without headphones.
What to do? It’s easy to clean the connector, but if oxidation of the contacts occurs, you may need to replace the damaged elements.
What to do if there is no sound in iPhone without headphones
The reason that the iPhone does not play sound without headphones may not only be a hardware failure. If the sound appears only when you connect headphones, then a software failure is possible.
Often this problem can be resolved by simply rebooting the phone. You can also insert and immediately remove the plug again.
Most often this happens through a broken socket. It has a contact that may not connect when used for a long time - then the connector usually needs to be replaced.
The last method is resetting or flashing. If you are sure that everything is fine in the hardware, this almost always eliminates the problem.
If the iPhone only plays sound through headphones, then the problem is almost always a worn-out connector.
What to do if there is no sound in headphones on iPhone
One of the main reasons when there is no sound in the headphones is that the connector has become loose or the cable has come loose.
Why? This occurs due to mechanical damage or moisture ingress. What to do? As a rule, you can’t do without a service.
After repair, in the future, do not unnecessarily insert or remove the plug from the socket, as this greatly affects wear.
Sometimes plugging the headphones firmly into the jack can help - just don't overdo it.
It happens that the iPhone sees the headphones, but does not play sound - the problem may be in the headset itself.
Why is there bad sound in iPhone headphones?
Poor sound can be due to poor quality recording or poor quality of the headphones themselves.
Another situation is when the sound is weak. The quiet sound may be due to the fact that you have a restriction enabled in your settings.
To disable it, go to settings, select music, then “Volume limit” and in the new window move the slider to maximum volume.
iPhone headphone tricks
— To stop playback, press the center button of the remote control. Repeat the same action to resume.
— Scroll forward through a song by quickly pressing the center button on the remote control and holding it for a longer time after the second press. Rewind works the same way, except that the center button on the remote control must be pressed three times and held longer after the third press.
— Switch to a new incoming call by pressing the center button of the headphone remote control. You can end this connection by holding the center button for two seconds.
— Press the volume button once to take a photo. Note. This trick only works in the system photo app on iPhone, it does not work with external apps like Instagram.
- Press and hold the center remote control button for a moment to launch Siri. If the assistant is turned off in the system, performing this gesture will launch standard voice control. Note. Siri is only available to iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 owners.
— Press the center remote control button twice to skip to the next track in the playback queue. You can also press three times to go back to the previous song.
— Quickly press the center button on the remote control to answer an incoming call. The same action applies if you end conversations.
— Press and hold the center button on the remote control briefly, then release it. You will hear a short tone informing you that the incoming call has been successfully rejected.
According to SquareTrade research, iPhones are the most reliable smartphones on the market. However, even Apple devices are prone to malfunctions. In some cases, after listening to music on an iOS device through headphones, the sound from the speakers completely disappears. Sometimes the device displays a volume icon that does not respond to changes in sound level. The problem is quite rare, but it does happen. For those who have encountered this for the first time, we offer instructions on how to restore the operation of the gadget.
Why does my iPhone think it has headphones connected when it doesn't?
The gist is this: you listen to music on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, take out your headphones and... system notifications, sounds, ringtones are no longer played through the built-in speaker. There may be several reasons, but the most common are the following:
- Failure occurred when removing the plug from the device.
- You turned off the headphones while the device was performing internal operations.
- You used headphones or a headset of poor quality.
- Problem with the 3.5mm jack.
Software or hardware problem
In fact, not only problems with hardware, but also a failure of the operating system can lead to such an incident. As practice shows, for the vast majority of victims, the problem manifested itself precisely because of a banal mistake. What can you do in this case:
Insert and remove the plug out of the nest headphones. There is a possibility that iOS did not have time to detect that the headphones were removed. If the user suddenly pulls out the plug, the system may continue to believe that they are still connected. Sometimes it is enough to insert and remove the headphones several times for the device to start working normally again.
Connect other headphones. This can really help. If the problem is with the connected accessory. Yes, yes, especially if it costs less than 300 rubles.
The problem of poor quality accessories isn't new, but to make sure it's not just your headphones, it's a good idea to try an alternative.
Restart device. A simple reboot of your device may solve your problem. Coupled with a Chinese headset and a glitch in the OS, it is quite possible that the smartphone will not understand what happened.
Check the headphone jack. If none of the methods above helped you, then it’s time to use the deduction method. What if something got into the iPhone's 3.5mm jack? Various contaminants can lead to short-circuiting of the contacts between the headphones and the smartphone. Take a flashlight and look inside. If something does get in there, you can use a toothpick or cotton swab to clean the connector.
Remember that everyone needs moderation. Pressing with all your might and scraping against the walls is also not the best option.
Restore or update iOS. If there are no problems with either the connector or the system, you can use a more radical method.
Try updating iOS from . There is a chance that after the update everything will fall into place. Especially if you had any system tweaks installed.
Jailbreak?
Third-party software installed from an unofficial Apple store can lead to similar consequences, especially if the user installing the jail is a beginner. In this case, you can try to remove all used tweaks. And if it doesn't help, try the previous steps.
Service center
Unfortunately, if the methods described above did not lead to the desired result, then the last thing that can be recommended is to contact an authorized service center. You should not try to disassemble the device yourself, even if you are confident in your abilities. It often happens that violations are associated with damage to the printed circuit board after exposure to moisture. Some users have reported audio problems after their iPhone has been in water or had liquids spilled on it.
We hope that the above tips helped in eliminating this annoying problem. Remember that most problems with iPhone and iPad can be resolved quite simply.
