In recent years, Apple has invested heavily in making iPad speakers sound as good as possible. And if you’re an iPad owner, then you’ve invested a lot in listening to that audio. Therefore, it can be a big annoyance when there is no sound on an iPad.
This article explains why this might be happening, along with some solutions you can try yourself to get your iPad loud again.
Why doesn’t my iPad have sound?
There are several reasons why an iPad may not play any sound. It could be something as simple as an incorrect setting, which is pretty easy to fix. There may also be a software issue, which may be a bit more difficult to resolve. It depends on whether it is a small bug or a major system glitch.
Physical problems can also cause speakers to fail. This could be due to water damage, the iPad being dropped too hard, or simply because the iPad’s speakers have worn out over time. If this is the case for you, you may end up needing to replace the device to play audio again.
We’re not going to cover any physical damage fixes in this post, so if you know you recently submerged your iPad or dropped it with particular force just before the audio stopped working, then you may need to buy a new one. . Otherwise, you don’t need to know what’s causing the problem for one of the fixes below to be your solution.
Turn off silent mode and make sure to turn up the volume
The first two things we’re going to try are pretty straightforward. Let’s make sure the device is not in silent mode, which can cause certain apps to not play audio. And then we’re going to make sure the volume is all the way up because we don’t want you to stress over such a small problem.
Silent mode, like putting your iPhone on vibrate, silences certain sounds like notifications and incoming calls. But it can also mute apps like games if you forget to turn it back off.
Here’s how to disable Silent Mode:
- If your iPad has a mute switch on the side, flip it over so it’s not red. This will fix the problem most of the time. Only older iPads have a mute switch, so don’t worry if you don’t have one.
- If your iPad doesn’t have a mute switch, you have to open Control Center. You can do this by swiping down from the top right of your iPad or up from the bottom of your iPad, depending on your iPad model.
- When you open Control Center, look for the bell icon. It will be colored if it is on and neutral otherwise. Tap it to change it to neutral.
- If you don’t have a mute switch and don’t see the option to turn Silent Mode off/on in Control Center, open the app Settings on your iPad. Press Control center and then click the green icon + next to the Silent Mode option.
You should now see Silent Mode in Control Center when you slide it open. Repeat step 2 now.
Try unplugging/disconnecting the headphones
For users who are not able to get the audio to play through the headphones, then the solution will be a bit different. In this case, the goal is to see if something is wrong with the headphones or the connection between your iPad and the headphones.
Here are some steps you can try:
- Try another pair of headphones. If you have another pair of headphones nearby, you should try them to see if they don’t work as well. If they work, your current headphones are most likely broken. If the new ones don’t work either, then there is probably something wrong with your iPad.
- Clean the auxiliary port of your iPad. For iPads that still have a headphone jack, you can try cleaning it. To do this, unplug your headphones and blow hard into the headphone jack or use compressed air. Do not insert anything into the headphone jack to clean it.
- Try forgetting and reconnecting the Bluetooth headset. For Bluetooth headphones like AirPods, forgetting them and reconnecting them can cause them to start playing sound again.
- To do this, open the Settings on your iPad and tap Bluetooth. Find the headset you want to reset and tap the blue icon on the i with them.
- Press forget this device.
- Repeat the process of reconnecting these headphones (you can do this from the same Bluetooth settings page that we just opened). You can also try restarting your Bluetooth headset. You can read how to do it for AirPods here or see the instructions that came with your Bluetooth headphones.
Check if you are connected to a Bluetooth device
Speaking of Bluetooth headsets, the reason for this could also be due to a Bluetooth device. You may be connected to a Bluetooth device, such as a speaker or a vehicle, without realizing it. If that’s the case, then your audio is playing from there instead of your iPad.
You may need to try these troubleshooting steps below:
- Check if you are connected to a Bluetooth device. To do this, open Settings and tap Bluetooth. If any of the devices in your Bluetooth settings say Connected, tap the blue i icon and tap Disconnect.
- turn off bluetooth. Open Control Center by swiping down from the top right of your iPad or up from the bottom of your iPad (depending on your model). Tap the Bluetooth icon on the connectivity panel.
Try to play the sound again after doing this.
Turn mono audio on and off
The next solution is to turn mono audio on and off. This works like a soft reset for your iPad’s audio settings.
To restore mono audio on an iPad:
- open the app Settings.
- Tap Accessibility.
- I touched Audio and Visual under the header AUDIO.
- Tap the switch next to Mono Audio to turn it on, and then turn it off again. It should turn green and then return to neutral.
- Test your audio to see if it has started working again.
Restart iPad
Lastly, if all else fails, you can try to fix this issue by restarting your iPad. This will eliminate most software issues that might be preventing sound from playing.
To restart your iPad:
- Hold down the power button and the home button for a few seconds, and then slide to turn off. Hold down the power button again after a few seconds to turn your iPad back on.
- On iPad devices that don’t have a home button, press and hold the power button and the volume up button for a few seconds. Swipe to power off when appears at the top of the screen. After a few seconds, press and hold the power button to turn your iPad back on.
If your iPad still won’t play sound, it’s time you contact the apple support.
Troubleshooting sound on an iPad
We explain some of the main ways to solve the problem of no sound on an iPad. If you continue to have problems, you should contact Apple Support. They can diagnose the problem and tell you exactly how to fix it.
