Have you ever been listening to music on your iPhone and then all of a sudden the volume just stops? And it’s not because you turned off the sound, but because one of those volume buttons finally gave up? If so, then this is for you.
In this post, we’re going to cover some quick fixes that will hopefully get your phone working again without having to take it in for an expensive repair.
Although in most cases this problem can be fixed by following these steps, if none of them works or if they don’t seem right for your particular device, you can head over to Apple Support and get it repaired.
How to fix the iPhone volume button not working:
1. Use Assistive Touch
If your iPhone’s volume button isn’t working, you may need to enable Assistive Touch. This is a built-in feature of iOS that allows you to control your device using gestures. To enable Assistive Touch, open the Settings app and go to General > Accessibility.
Tap on Assistive Touch and turn it on. Now you can use the virtual Home button, to adjust the volume up & down, just like you can do with functional volume buttons. You can also use the control center(volume slider) by swiping down from the top-right of your screen.
2. Restart your iPhone
Restarting your iPhone is a temporary fix— and it doesn’t take long. All you need to do is hold down both the home button and power button until the device powers down, then turn it back up again.
Next time, before restarting the device, head over to Settings > General > Reset > Reset all settings in order to erase any other potential problems lingering inside of your phone waiting for you like hidden termites.
An added bonus to restarting your iPhone is that it can help clear up minor software glitches and speed up your phone.
If you’re having other problems with your device, like Wi-Fi not connecting or the screen freezing, a restart may be all you need to get back on track without taking your phone into an Apple store.
3. Clean the volume buttons
Clean out any dirt from under the button with a damp cloth. Dirt can affect how well something works.
When you press the volume button on an iPhone it should depress about 1mm below its surroundings rather than hovering above them.
If there is dirt build-up in this space it may make users think that their phone needs to be recalibrated when ironically, it just needs to be cleaned properly.
Apply some pressure with a blunt object like paperclip across all four tabs of your home button. The contact points for buttons protrude slightly from the surface of the phone so that when you press them, an electrical connection is made.
If these contact points become recessed due to dirt or debris, it may result in intermittent button response or no response at all. Use a can of compressed air to remove any dirt from in and around the volume control buttons.
4. Hard Reset Your iPhone
If your iPhone volume button isn’t working, don’t despair! There is a fix. Hard resetting your phone will usually do the trick. Here’s how to do it:
First, make sure your iPhone is turned off. If it’s not, hold down the power button until the “Slide to Power Off” slider appears.
Once your iPhone is off press and hold down the home button until the Apple logo appears and then connect your iPhone to your computer using the USB cable that came with it.
Next, open iTunes on your computer and wait for your iPhone to show up in the Devices section. Once it does, click on the summary tab and then click on the “Restore” button.
iTunes will warn you that this will delete all of the data on your iPhone, but don’t worry – that’s what we want to do! Just click on the “Restore” button again and iTunes will start restoring your iPhone.
Once your iPhone has been restored, it will restart and you must be able to use the volume keys again!
5. Put Your iPhone Into DFU Mode
DFU is a state that you can put your iPhone into where it will connect to iTunes but not load the entire operating system.
This means that if there is an issue with your iOS operating system, you can use DFU mode to update it without losing any of your data. To put your iPhone into DFU mode:
1. Connect your iPhone to your computer and open iTunes
2. Hold down the Power button and the Home button at the same time for 10 seconds
3. Release the Power button but continue holding down the Home button until iTunes says “iTunes has detected an iPhone in recovery mode. You must restore this iPhone before it can be used with iTunes.”
6. Make Sure Your iPhone’s Volume Buttons Are Enabled
Volume buttons on your iPhone allow you to quickly and easily adjust volume of whatever is playing without having to dig through settings menus. By default, these buttons are enabled so that you can use them right out of the box.
However, there may be times when they stop working for some unknown reason. If this happens, don’t worry – it’s usually an easy fix!
The first thing you need to do is make sure that your volume buttons are actually enabled on your iPhone.
This is a setting that can be turned off accidentally, or simply forgotten about over time. To check, open up the Settings app and navigate to Sounds & Haptics.
Under the section called Change With Buttons, make sure that the button next to Volume Up is turned on. If it’s not, turn it on and then try adjusting the sound level on your iPhone again.
7. Update Your iPhone to the Latest Version of iOS
If your iPhone volume button isn’t working, the most important thing you should do is update your iPhone to the latest version of iOS.
Apple regularly releases updates that address bugs and other issues. By keeping your iPhone up-to-date, you can ensure that you have the latest fixes and features.
To update your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Software Update. If an update is available, it will be listed there.
Tap Download and Install to install the update. Your iPhone will restart automatically when the update is installed.
What if volume buttons still don’t work?
If the volume buttons on your iPhone are still not working after trying the solutions mentioned above, then you will need to take it to an Apple service center for repair.
The technicians there will be able to determine if the problem is caused by a physical issue with the buttons themselves or if there is another major hardware problem that needs to be fixed. They will also be able to tell you how much the repair will cost.
If you have an iPhone insurance policy, then the repair may be covered by your plan. However, if you do not have insurance or if the damage is considered to be accidental and therefore not covered, then you will need to pay for the repair yourself.
The cost of a volume button repair can vary depending on the model of iPhone that you have, but it is usually around $100-$200.
So if your iPhone volume buttons are not working, don’t worry! There are a few different solutions that you can try before taking it in for repair.
And if all of those fail, then Apple has got you covered. Just take your phone to an Apple service center and they will take care of the rest.
