Hello? What?

May 17, 2009 3:11 AM

My iPhone's volume is too freaking low. How do I boost it? When calling out, the first ring is at a decent level, then it backs down to almost inaudible. When talking to people, especially if I'm outdoors, or if there is any background noise, I can't hear anything! Does anyone else have this problem? This is a first-gen iPhone, in case that makes a difference, and I've already traded one in at the Apple store for the exact same reason.
posted by valkane to Technology (4 answers total)

I did some googleing and came up with two rather obvious solutions:

One: If you still have the plastic shipping cover on the phone remove it - duh. Look into the ear piece and see if it has plastic covering it if you didn't do this day one.

Two: if you have a volume limiting option turned on, turn it off:

Click home , tap Settings, iPod - switch off Sound Check, and make sure Volume Limit says off.

Three: while on a call, use the side volume to control the ear piece volume (music it controls music volume, anywhere else controls ringer, on call controls ear piece.

Four: while on a call, turn on the speaker phone, LOWER the volume, turn the phone upside DOWN and talk that way. Home button on your ear.

Five: bluetooth headset
posted by glenno86 at 5:02 AM on May 17, 2009

These are going to be the really obvious suggestions but I'm going to post them since you have no answers yet.

Adjust the call volume while the call is in place with the volume control on the side of the phone. By default it's pretty low.
Make sure the little hole is lined up with you ear, it can be easy to miss since it's so small.

I find the iPhone call volume to be pretty decent.
posted by zephyr_words at 5:03 AM on May 17, 2009

I don't know the solution, but I would like to suggest that it might not be the iPhone that is at fault. When I had AT&T service, I had the exact same problem no matter which phone I used. The first ring would be at the correct volume, and at the end of the first ring the volume would immediately clip to something that's barely audible. Maybe you could try putting your SIM card in a friend's phone to see if the issue still exists, and if so, contact AT&T about it.

I did notice that the 3G iPhone is much louder than the previous one (and the new one coming in June will likely be just as loud) so you might want to consider upgrading when the new iPhone is released.
posted by helios at 5:04 AM on May 17, 2009

I have a first generation iPhone and haven't noticed that the volume is significantly low, but I do prefer to talk using earbuds. Mine are a Maximo in-canal set that block outside noise, so it's easier to hear the caller. They're also great on an airplane to block plane noise and enjoy an audio book.
posted by PatoPata at 12:52 PM on May 17, 2009