Phone speaker not working? 9 fixes for iPhone and Android

When a phone goes silent, the speaker itself is rarely the problem. Far more often the sound is going somewhere else, such as a car or earbuds over Bluetooth, or a setting has muted it. The fixes below start with those quick checks and then help you tell whether the speaker needs repair. They work on iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, Pixel, Motorola and most other Android phones.

Speaker or earpiece? Know which one is failing

• Loudspeaker (bottom): plays music, videos, ringtones, alarms and speakerphone.
• Earpiece (top): plays the other person’s voice when you hold the phone to your ear. On most recent phones it also acts as the second stereo speaker.

If calls sound fine but videos are silent, look at the loudspeaker. If videos play but you cannot hear callers, the earpiece or its grille is the issue. If nothing makes any sound, the problem is almost certainly a setting or where the audio is routed.

How to fix a phone speaker not working

Check where the sound is going

The most common reason for silence is audio going to another device. On iPhone, open Control Center, touch and hold the music card, and tap the AirPlay icon to see the output. Choose iPhone. On Android, pull down Quick Settings and tap the output button on the media player, then choose This phone or Phone speaker. Cars, smart TVs, Bluetooth speakers and earbuds sitting in a pocket or case are the usual culprits.

Samsung phones also have Separate app sound in Settings › Sounds and vibration. If it is on, one app’s sound can be sent to a Bluetooth device while everything else plays from the phone, which makes that app seem silent. Turn it off if you did not set it up on purpose yourself.

Silent mode, Focus and notification sounds

• iPhone 15 Pro and later: Silent mode is set with the Action button or in Control Center. Older iPhones have a switch on the side; an orange line means silent.
• Silent mode mutes ringtones and alerts, not music and videos. If videos are also silent, the cause is elsewhere.
• Focus and Do Not Disturb silence calls and notifications but not media.
• Notification sounds only: check each app’s notification settings, where sound can be turned off separately.

Test the speaker with built-in tools

• iPhone: go to Settings › Sounds & Haptics and drag the Ringtone and Alert Volume slider. You should hear the ringtone. Then record a few seconds in Voice Memos and play it back.
• Samsung: open Samsung Members › Support › Phone diagnostics and run the Speaker and Receiver tests.
• Pixel: dial *#*#7287#*#* to open the Pixel Diagnostic app on supported models, and run the audio tests.

If the built-in test is silent or distorted after a restart and with Bluetooth off, the hardware is at fault. Note which test failed, loudspeaker or earpiece, because it tells the repair shop exactly which part to check and can make the visit quicker. If both tests pass but one app is still silent, the problem is in that app or its settings, not the phone. That distinction saves a lot of time and money: nobody wants to pay for a speaker repair when the real cause was a muted app or a forgotten Bluetooth connection in the car outside.

How to clean phone speaker grilles safely

No sound after a software update

If the speaker went quiet right after an iOS or One UI update, restart the phone first, then check that the volume, Silent mode and output settings were not changed. Some updates reset accessibility and sound settings. Install any follow-up update, since sound bugs are often fixed within a week or two. If a single app lost sound after the update, update or reinstall that app.

Muffled, crackling or distorted sound

• Muffled: lint or dust in the grille, a case covering the holes, or water still inside after a splash. Clean gently and let a wet phone dry for a day.
• Crackling at low volume: usually a damaged speaker, often after a drop or water. It rarely fixes itself.
• Distorted only at full volume: some distortion at maximum is normal on small speakers. Lower it a notch.
• Only in one app: check the app’s own volume and sound settings, update it, or reinstall it.

After water exposure, see what to do if your phone gets wet. Apps and shortcuts that play tones to “eject” water may help a little with a damp grille, but time and air flow do most of the work.

iPhone 15 Pro: bottom speaker silent, top still works

Recent iPhones play stereo from the bottom loudspeaker and the earpiece at the top. If only the top works, music and videos sound thin and quiet, and the speakerphone may fail. To narrow it down:

Sound only from one side

Stereo phones play from both the bottom speaker and the earpiece. If one side is quiet, check the balance setting first. On iPhone, go to Settings › Accessibility › Audio & Visual and center the Balance slider, and turn off Mono Audio if you want stereo. On Samsung, look in Settings › Accessibility › Hearing enhancements for Left/right sound balance. If the balance is centered and one side is still silent, that speaker or its grille needs attention.

Low call volume or speakerphone problems

During a call, press volume up to raise call volume, which is separate from media volume. Clean the earpiece grille at the top of the screen gently with a soft, dry brush, since it collects skin oil and makeup. A thick screen protector can also partly cover the earpiece; check its cutout lines up. If only the speakerphone button is silent, test the loudspeaker with a video as described above.

Repair or replace?

A speaker replacement is one of the more affordable phone repairs. If the phone is under warranty and the speaker failed on its own, the repair is covered. Accidental damage from drops or water is covered under AppleCare+, Samsung Care+ or carrier insurance for a fee. See whether AppleCare+ is worth it. Back up the phone before sending it in, and try the fixes above first, since most silent phones are not broken at all. Until the repair, a pair of wired or Bluetooth earbuds keeps you able to take calls and hear alarms.