How to Fix iPad Sound Not Working

By Amy Spitzfaden–Both Thu, 08/20/2020

Did your iPad’s sound mysteriously stop working? Have you lost audio while playing music or using apps? If you have no sound on your iPad, and you've already tried rebooting it to no avail and you know there are no headphones plugged in, follow these steps to fix the most common causes of iPad sound not working.

We've already written a comprehensive iPad multitasking guide, gone over what to do if your iPad is slow, and what to do if your iPad or iPhone won't update. For more great iPad troubleshooting advice, check out our free Tip of the Day.

Unmute Your iPad to Fix Sound

There's a Mute setting within Control Center on your iPad, which is handy, but it also means you might have accidentally turned it on if you go in there often. Or maybe you were sharing your iPad with someone else and that person enabled Mute and forgot to turn it back off.

  1. Open the Control Center. (If your iPad does not have Face ID, open Control Center by swiping up from the bottom. If your iPad does have Face ID, access Control Center by swiping down from the upper right corner.)
  2. Find the Mute button (it looks like a bell) and make sure it's not turned on, which will ensure sound is enabled on your iPad.


Older model iPads have a Mute switch on the side of the device. If you have an older iPad, check to make sure this button is off.

Check Do Not Disturb

Another setting to check is your iPad’s Do Not Disturb feature, which can also be found in Settings or in Control Center.

  1. Go to Settings, then Do Not Disturb.
  2. Make sure Do Not Disturn is not enabled. If it is already in the correct mode, it couldn’t hurt to toggle it on and off again.

Check Bluetooth

If your iPad is connected to an external device, like speakers, that means Bluetooth is enabled and your iPad itself will not produce sound.

  1. Go to Settings, then Bluetooth.
  2. Make sure this is turned off. Like in the previous step, even if it’s already off, toggling it on and off again may successfully activate sound.



     

Turn up the Volume within an App

Sometimes a conflict between apps is the reason behind sound not working. This could happen if you frequently go back and forth between apps. Also, most video game apps have their own volume control that’s separate from the iPad’s own volume setting.

  1. Open the app that has no sound.
  2. While in that app, use the Volume Up button on the side of the iPad to increase the app’s volume.
     

Reset Network Settings

If none of the above steps work, try resetting your network settings. This has been known to correct an iPad’s sound issue and it won’t erase your iPhone like a factory reset would, so it’s worth a try. It will casue your iPad to forget all Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices and you will need to rejoin and re-pair.

  1. Go to Settings, then General, then tap Reset.
  2. Tap Reset Network Settings.

Mysteriously losing sound on an iPad is more common than you might think. Before cleaning the headphone jack or contacting Apple Support, give the above steps a shot. It’s likely that one of them will fix the issue.

Top image credit: Farknot Architect / Shutterstock.com

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Topics

How-To
iPad
Bluetooth
Buttons & Ports
Volume/Sound/Haptics
Troubleshooting

Author Details

Amy Spitzfaden–Both's picture

Author Details

Amy Spitzfaden–Both

Amy Spitzfaden Both is a Feature Writer at iPhone Life, an award-winning novelist, and an iPhone enthusiast. Over the past decade, her work in the publishing industry has included live coverage of industry events including the Yale Publishing Course and Magazine Innovation’s ACT 9 Experience, providing editing services for several start-up publishing houses, and acting as newsstand consultant for magazines such as The Old Farmer’s Almanac and The New York Review of Books. She graduated from M.I.U. with a Bachelor’s in Literature and Writing, and has gone on to publish two novels and two short stories. Her debut novel Untold won the 2014 Chelson Award for Fiction.
Writing everything from book reviews to skincare tips, Amy discovered a passion for bringing exciting and useful information to even the most casual researcher. The mix of usability and endless possibilities is what drew her to Apple products originally, and the more she learns, the more she loves.
Amy lives in New Hampshire with her husband and daughter. When she’s not writing or glued to her iPhone, she enjoys hiking, traveling, and creating her own tea blends.