8 Ways to Fix iPhone Silent Switch Not Working

I have an iPhone XR with the latest software update iOS 14.4. My silent ring button no longer works. When I toggle this switch, there is no message displayed on the iPhone saying silent mode is on or silent mode is off. The phone rings no matter the position of this toggle switch. Is there a fix for this? Any workarounds? This problem just started happening today.

You might already know how important the silent mode on any smartphone is. After all, there are times when we have to put our iPhone on silent mode. Though the iPhone silent button is not working, it can cause unwanted issues for you. Don’t worry – facing the iPhone silent switch not working is a common issue that can easily be fixed. In this post, I will troubleshoot the iPhone silent button not working issue in different ways.

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Part 1: How Do I Turn My iPhone on Silent Without The Side/Switch Button?

Method 1: Use the Assistive Touch to Enable Silent Mode

Assistive touch enables you to turn on silent mode without the silent switch button. It will provide different shortcuts on the screen that you can access. At first, just go to your phone’s Settings > Accessibility and make sure the “Assistive Touch” feature is turned on.

Now, you can find a circular floating option on the screen for the Assistive Touch. If your iPhone’s silent switch is not working, tap on the Assistive Touch option and go to the Device features. From here, you can tap on the “Mute” button to put your device in silent mode.

You can later follow the same process and tap on the icon to unmute your device (to put the phone off silent mode). If the iPhone silent switch is not working, the Assistive Touch would be a substitute for it.

Method 2: Turn the Ringer Volume Down

Even if the iPhone silent button is not working, you can still minimize your device's volume. For instance, you can turn the ringer volume down to the minimum value, which would be similar to a silent mode.

Therefore, if the iPhone silent mode is not working, go to your phone’s Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringers and Alters/Ringtone and Alert Volume. Now, slide the volume down manually to the lowest value to fix the iPhone 6 silent button not working issue.

Method 3: Set up a Silent Ringtone

You might already know that there are different ways to set up ringtones on our device. Even if the silent button is broken on your iPhone, you can set a silent ringtone to get the same effect.

Simply unlock your iPhone and go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtones. Now, go to the Tone Store from here, look for a silent ringtone, and set it as a default ringtone on your phone.

Method 4: Set the Text Tone Feature to None

If you have set up something else for the text tone, it can overwrite your device's silent mode. Therefore, if the iPhone silent mode is not working, you can go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics. Now, go to the Text Tone option (under Sound and Vibration Patterns) and make sure it is set to “None.”

Part 2: How to Fix iPhone Silent Switch Not Working?

Fix 1: Check the Silent Button on your iPhone

Before you take any drastic measures, make sure that the silent button is not broken on your iPhone. You can find the Ringer/Silent switch on the side of your device. First, check if your iPhone silent button is stuck and clean any dirt or debris from it. If the button is broken, then you can visit the service center to get it fixed.

Apart from that, make sure that the silent button is placed correctly. To put your phone in silent mode, you need to slide the button down so that the orange line would be visible on the side.

Fix 2: Restart your iOS Device.

If your phone has not started properly, it can also cause the iPhone's silent mode not to work. A quick restart would reset the power cycle of your phone to fix this issue.

If you have an iPhone X, 11,12,13, or a newer iPhone, you can press the Side and either the Volume Up or Down keys simultaneously.

In case you have an iPhone 8 or an older generation model, then simply long-press the Power (wake/sleep) key instead.

This will display a Power slider on your phone that you can slide to turn off your device. Later, you can press the Power/Side key again to restart your device.

Fix 3: Enable the Airplane Mode

This is another temporary fix that you can follow to fix the iPhone silent button, not working problem. If you turn on the Airplane Mode, then the default network on your phone will automatically be disabled (and you won’t get any calls).

You can just go to the Control Center on your iPhone and tap on the airplane icon to enable it. Alternatively, you can also go to your iPhone’s Settings to put your phone in airplane mode.

Fix 4: Fix the iOS System for your Device.

If none of these things seem to work, then chances are a software-related issue causing the silent mode not to work. To fix this, you can simply take the assistance of Dr.Fone - System Repair (iOS).

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Here is how to use Dr.Fone - System Repair (iOS) to fix the iPhone silent switch not working without data loss.

• Step 1: Click the button below to download Dr.Fone and then install it on your computer (Win or Mac).
• Step 2: Open Dr.Fone software and click “System Repair”. Use the USB cable to connect the iPhone with a not working silent switch to the computer.
• Step 3: Choose “iPhone” > “iOS Repair” > “Standard Repair” after the tool detects the iPhone.

• Step 4: Then, put your iPhone in recovery mode, and then you can choose a firmware to repair your system. Click "Download" after confirming the device information.

• Step 5: The iOS firmware will be downloaded automatically. Wait for the firmware download to complete. And then click “Repair Now” after the firmware is verified.
• Step 6: The repair process will take a few minutes, keep the device connected until the repair process completes.

• Step 7: Wait for the iPhone restarts and the iPhone silent switch should work now.

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Conclusion

I’m sure that after following these suggestions, you would be able to fix the iPhone silent mode, not working problem. In case the iPhone silent button is stuck, you can easily resolve the issue. If the silent button is broken on your iPhone, you can consider getting it repaired. Lastly, if there is a software-related problem behind the iPhone silent mode, not working, then a dedicated tool like Dr.Fone - System Repair (iOS) can easily fix the issue.