Does iPhone Volume Drop By Its Own? Here’s How to Fix It

• Caution, Reducing Loud Volumes and accidentally pressing the button may cause your iPhone’s volume to automatically decrease.

• To fix this issue, you can disable Attention Alert features, turn off the ability to change volume with buttons, and disable Reduce Loud Noises.

• If the problem persists, disable Bluetooth, turn off Focus Modes and restart your iPhone. If all else fails, contact Apple Customer Support.

Does your iPhone automatically lower the music, video or ringtone volume? Don’t worry; You can fix this problem by turning off iOS features like Attention Awareness, Loud Noise Reduction, and other settings. Here’s how to fix automatic volume drops on your iPhone.

Why Does Your iPhone Automatically Reduce the Volume?

Your iPhone may automatically reduce ringer or media volume for a variety of reasons, such as:

• Attention Awareness is enabled, causing the ring volume to decrease when you look at the iPhone.

• The device is set to reduce “Loud Noises” when using headphones to protect your hearing.

• The volume buttons are accidentally pressed and the volume levels are reduced.

• Your iPhone automatically enables Do Not Disturb or Focus mode.

• A damaged volume knob or fluid ingress will cause decreased volume.

To stop your iPhone from reducing the volume on its own, we’ll start by turning off iOS features that may be affecting it. If you fail to do so, we will also cover standard troubleshooting tips that may help you.

Disable Attention Awareness Features

Attention Awareness features on iPhone use the TrueDepth camera to detect whether you are paying attention to the device. When you look at the screen, the volume of ringtones and other alerts is reduced. And when you think you’re not like that, the screen goes dark automatically to save battery.

So, if you notice the ringtone decreasing on your iPhone, it may be because the Attention Awareness feature is automatically lowering it in the background. Here’s how to turn it off.

First, open “Settings” on your iPhone.

Tap “Face ID & Passcode.” Enter your iPhone passcode for access.

Scroll down to the “Attention” section and disable “Attention Related Features”.

Turn Off “Replace with Buttons”

The volume buttons on the side of your iPhone only change media volume by default, and only when your phone is unlocked. However, if the “Change with Buttons” option is enabled in your settings, these buttons will also change the ringtone volume when your iPhone is locked; This means you can accidentally lower your iPhone by pressing the buttons in your pocket or bag.

To prevent this from happening, we recommend disabling this feature. Here’s how.

Open “Settings” on your iPhone, then scroll down and select “Sounds & Haptics.”

Turn off the “Switch with Buttons” switch.

This is it. The volume buttons will no longer affect the volume of ringtones and alerts. If it doesn’t solve your problem, you can always re-enable it later.

Disable “Reduce Loud Noises”

The Loudness Reduction feature on iPhones automatically reduces the volume when listening to loud audio through headphones.

Although the goal is to protect your hearing from being damaged by loud sounds, iPhone may be too quiet because it automatically reduces the volume without telling you. Here’s how you can turn it off.

On your iPhone, go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics.

Scroll down and tap “Headset Security.”

Turn off the “Reduce Loud Noises” switch.

Turn Off Bluetooth or Disconnect Devices

Sometimes volume changes can also occur through Bluetooth devices connected to your iPhone. If the wireless speakers or headphones paired with your iPhone have physical volume controls, someone can use them to reduce the volume.

Similarly, if your iPhone speakers are connected to nearby AirPods or another wireless audio device like headphones or a car stereo, you won’t hear sound from your iPhone speakers.

Therefore, to test if this is causing the problem you should turn off Bluetooth and check if the issue still occurs. Swipe down from the top right corner Open Control Center on your iPhone. Tap the Connectivity section to expand it, then tap the “Bluetooth” icon to disable it. It needs to change from Blue to White.

If your iPhone keeps connecting to a Bluetooth device you don’t recognize, go to “Settings” > “Bluetooth” > tap the “I” icon next to the connected device.

Tap “Forget This Device.”

Finally, tap “Forget Device” to confirm.

Turn Off Focus Modes (and See If It’s Scheduled)

Focus Modes on iPhones It is designed to reduce distractions and help you focus on what you are doing. When enabled, they can be configured to temporarily silence notifications and other alerts on the device.

If your iPhone goes silent or stops ringing at a certain time of day or in certain locations, Focus Modes may be the culprit. You may have accidentally activated one, created a schedule, or enabled it automatically by turning on Smart Activation.

When Focus Mode is enabled, the icon appears in the status bar and lock screen. Here’s how you can turn it off on your iPhone.

Open “Settings” on your iPhone.

Tap “Focus.”

Here you can view and manage all available Focus Modes. By default these include “Do Not Disturb”, “Personal”, “Sleep” and “Work”.

Tap one, then scroll down and select “Smart Activation.”

Turn off “Smart Activation” to prevent Focus mode from automatically turning on based on your location, app usage, and more.

Now repeat these steps for each Focus mode. This will prevent any Focus Mode from automatically turning on depending on the time of day or your current location.

You can also disable Focus Modes via Control Center: Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen to open Control Center and tap the “Focus” button to turn it off.

Does the Volume Randomly Drop While Playing Music?

If your iPhone’s volume randomly drops or decreases for a second or two while watching videos or listening to music, it’s most likely caused by app notifications. iPhones are designed to temporarily reduce volume to help you hear voice alerts for messages, apps, and games on the plane.

I recommend for an uninterrupted experience Put your iPhone in Silent Mode. If you frequently receive notifications from a particular app, you can disable sounds specifically for that app. Go to Settings > Apps and select the app in question.

Press “Notifications”.

Turn off the “Sounds” switch.

This will preserve notifications but fix the volume drop by turning off the sound alerts that accompany them.

Restart your iPhone

Restarting your iPhone It can fix temporary bugs or glitches caused by iOS or third-party software. To restart your iPhone, trigger Siri, say “Restart my iPhone,” and confirm when prompted.

Alternatively, on iPhones with Face ID, press and hold the Side button and any of the volume keys and slide to turn off. On iPhones with a home button, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and slide the slider to turn it off. You can then restart the iPhone by long pressing the Side or Sleep/Wake button.

Reset Settings

If you can’t figure out what’s causing the volume changes on your iPhone, it’s best to reset your settings. This will only affect your iPhone settings, leaving your files and apps intact. Follow the steps below reset all iPhone settings to factory defaults.

Open Settings on your iPhone. Tap “General.”

Then scroll down and press “Transfer or Reset iPhone”.

Tap “Reset”.

Select “Reset All Settings”.

Enter your iPhone passcode to confirm. Your iPhone will remove all customized settings and restore them to default values, including sounds and ringtones, display preferences, and network settings. You may need to repeat the above steps again.

Nothing Working? Contact Apple Customer Support

If nothing works and your iPhone keeps adjusting the volume levels on its own, you may want to back up your iPhone and try a complete factory reset. But if that’s not possible or you’re not confident in backing up your device, it’s best to Contact Apple Customer Support and have your iPhone checked by Apple.