Mute Switch Not Working on iPhone? Try This

Some iPhone users may discover the side mute/silent switch on their device has randomly stopped working. Given that the mute switch is the only physical switch on the iPhone, and it’s sole job is to put the iPhone into silent mute mode and unmute, it’s pretty inconvenient if this buttons tops working as expected.

If you’re experiencing problems with the Mute switch not working on iPhone, try the steps below to get it working again, or use the workarounds offered to find another solution to continue to be able to mute and unmute your iPhone without a functioning silent switch.

Fix the Silent Button Not Working on iPhone

Here are some common troubleshooting tricks to get the silent / mute switch working again on iPhone.

1: Hard Restart the iPhone

Often restarting the iPhone will remedy difficulties and problems encountered with the device, and that includes things like mute switches and hardware buttons randomly not working.

To hard restart any modern iPhone, press Volume Up, Volume Down, then press and hold Power/Lock until you see the  Apple logo on screen.

After the iPhone restarts and boots back up, try using the mute switch again to put the iPhone on silent, it should work as expected.

2: Use Assistive Touch for a Virtual Mute Button

You can get a virtual mute button by using Assistive Touch, which will perform the same function as hitting the Mute switch on the device itself.

1. Go to Settings
2. Now choose “Accessibility”
3. Go to “Touch”
4. Choose Assistive Touch and toggle that to the ON position
5. Now tap on “Customize Top Level Menu”
6. Tap any of the icons that you want to replace with the “Mute” function, then choose “Mute” from the list of options

Now the Assistive Touch button will be visible at all times, which you can tap on and then choose the “Mute” or “Unmute” option, which will put the iPhone into silent mode just like the hardware mute button does.

If your physical mute switch stops working completely, the Assistive Touch method is the way to go to mimic that feature through software.

Curiously, there are no ‘mute’ toggles available in Control Center or in Settings, so if your Mute switch goes out on the iPhone and it’s due to a hardware issue, you’re going to have to get comfortable with either the iPhone being in whatever position it’s stuck in, or using Assistive Touch.

3: Turn Volume Down All the Way in Control Center / Settings

You can also manually put your iPhone into silent mode by going to Control Center or Settings and sliding the Volume slider all the way to mute.

Swipe down from the top right corner to access Control Center, then drag the Volume slider all the way to the bottom until the iPhone is on silent mode and muted.

You will need to return to Control Center to get the iPhone to unmute and play sound and audio again, assuming the Mute / Silent switch is not working.

4: Mute Switch Being Ignored? Try Gently Banging it Against Your Hand

If the mute switch input is being ignored, this trick may get it working again: Turn the Mute Switch to the ON position, then gently bang your iPhone screen side up against the palm of your hand, where the iPhone hits your hand should be around where the mute switch is. Sometimes gunk or other minor hardware issues can cause the switch to flip without activating, and a little force will fix the issue. Obviously do not hit the iPhone too hard, and don’t bang the iPhone against any hard surface.

5: Hardware problem? Contact Apple Support

If your iPhone is under warranty then any hardware issue with the mute switch will be covered by Apple, unless it was caused by damage to the iPhone anyway.

Regardless, if you continue to have hardware issue with the mute switch not working with the iPhone, it’s probably worth contacting Apple Support to see if they have a solution or if it’s a known issue with the device you’re using.

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Did you get your mute switch working on iPhone again? Did you end up using Assistive Touch instead? Let us know your experiences with the iPhone mute switch malfunctioning in the comments.