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iPhone 14 Pro No alarm sound from iPhone 14 Pro with headphones connected

A

alexberry

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 16, 2010
66
8
Hey, I'm looking for some help from some kind soul.

I have an issue with my new iPhone 14 Pro where when I set an alarm via the standard clock app, and the alarm goes off, if I have any bluetooth headphones (tried with Beats Flex and Airpods Pro) connected, there's no alarm sound from the phone itself. It's always been the case over years of having an iPhone, including ios 16 on my old iPhone 13 Pro (now returned), and confirmed by Apple as how it should operate, that the sound of an alarm would come from the phone's inbuilt speaker, as well as through any headphones, in case the user falls asleep with headphones that fall out while asleep. This is how I discovered the issue this morning.

Having been on the phone to Apple support all morning and through various updates and restores, they've decided it's a hardware fault and are sending me a new device, although it may take weeks given current stock levels. However, as there's nothing else apparently wrong with the phone, confirmed via remote diagnostics, I'm concerned the issue is perhaps with iPhone 14's in general, whether OS or hardware.

I would really appreciate it if you could spare me a couple of minutes, and have bluetooth headphones to hand and connected, please could you test that if you have an alarm trigger, that the sound comes from the phone as well as the headphones?
 
MrAperture said:
Is your volume slider down all the way under Sound Settings ringtone and alert volume?
Click to expand...
Hi, thanks for your response, much appreciated. No Ringtone and Alert Volume slider is up at around 66%, with "change with buttons" off to ensure it stays at volume...
 
MrAperture said:
What about the silence button toggle on the left of the phone?
Click to expand...
Yep, that too. And actually, that shouldn't matter according to Apple - having phone on silent with the switch silences everything except alarms you've set. Are you able to check that it's not affecting you on an iPhone 14 Pro? - I'd like to get a sense of whether the issue's with my phone specifically, as Apple support think it is, or a broader issue with the model and/or ios16.0.1
 
alexberry said:
Yep, that too. And actually, that shouldn't matter according to Apple - having phone on silent with the switch silences everything except alarms you've set. Are you able to check that it's not affecting you on an iPhone 14 Pro? - I'd like to get a sense of whether the issue's with my phone specifically, as Apple support think it is, or a broader issue with the model and/or ios16.0.1
Click to expand...
It’s not affecting me. I wonder if there’s some weird focus mode bug or something affecting your phone.

Edit. Ok it’s an issue on my end now.
 
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Glad it's not affecting you, and gives me hope the issue will be OK once the replacement comes.

It might be something like a focus mode or something. Hard to tell, and it's not happened to me on any previous iPhone. I did restore this new phone to factory defaults via my Macbook (DFU restore) in order to rule out anything weird with my settings transferred over from last phone, but that didn't help. I've seen reports of it happening to folk in the past, but nothing recently and not with the iP14. I'm going to try to see if it's Magsafe, because I've seen that happen before where Magsafe has some strange effect and I've got a Apple magsafe case on the phone...

Edit: It's not the magsafe case...
 
alexberry said:
Glad it's not affecting you, and gives me hope the issue will be OK once the replacement comes.

It might be something like a focus mode or something. Hard to tell, and it's not happened to me on any previous iPhone. I did restore this new phone to factory defaults via my Macbook (DFU restore) in order to rule out anything weird with my settings transferred over from last phone, but that didn't help. I've seen reports of it happening to folk in the past, but nothing recently and not with the iP14. I'm going to try to see if it's Magsafe, because I've seen that happen before where Magsafe has some strange effect and I've got a Apple magsafe case on the phone...
Click to expand...
I’m using a Apple leather case with MagSafe on my 14 Pro with no issue.
 
Seeing this on an SE 2020 as well. Notification sounds play just fine with headphones off, not playing through headphones when those are powered on.

Volume sliders are up, mute switch is off, no Focii set.
 
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Ok I’m now replicating this. When listening to Spotify and the alarm goes off the alarm sound only plays through the AirPods while my phone just vibrates.

Maybe it’s an iOS 16 issue/bug.
 
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Same thing here 14 PM iOS 16.01.

I never knew the alarm was supposed to play through the phone speakers with headphones connected.
I’ve never set alarms with headphones or AirPods connected always.

If it supposed to play the alarm through the speakers as well as connected headphones I think it may be a software bug and not hardware.
I would think with a hardware issue no sound would play through the phone speakers at all.
 
I’m now finding other strange behavior with the alarm.

If I sit the phone next to me on the sofa the alarm will play full volume just for a few seconds and stop. If I sit the phone across from me on a surface the alarm will play normally.

I checked with a friend with a 13 PM on iOS 16 same behavior as far as alarm only through AirPods.
 
Maybe working as designed, if you have an Apple Watch. And for the life of me, can't recall if in 15 it works this way as well. Will test later on my iPad since that is still (obviously) 15.

When phone is unlocked and have a Watch, sound will play on the phone. If phone is locked, Watch will vibrate. I just tested this combo with headphones and got this exact situation. Phone locked, Watch vibrated and no sound, unlocked, got notification sound through headphones.

 
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I tested it on my iPad and a alarm will play through the AirPods and speakers simultaneously. iPadOS 15.7 Gen 9 iPad.
 
Looks like a problem with ios16.0.1 and perhaps iPhone 14.

I just tried with my Apple Watch switched off entirely, and it made no difference - alarm sounds through headphones (faintly) but nothing from the iPhone itself. Incidentally, I can feel haptic vibrations from the iphone, but no sound. Haptic vibes are not much use if the phone's on your bedside table!
 
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In case of any doubts, here's what should happen:

How to set and change alarms on your iPhone - Apple Support

Learn how to set, edit, or delete an alarm.
support.apple.com support.apple.com

See the bit at the bottom, "If the alarm volume is too low...", where it says, "If you connect headphones to your iPhone, the alarm plays at a set volume through the built-in speakers on your iPhone as well as wired and wireless headphones."

Unfortunately it doesn't offer a solution, but at least it confirms I'm not imagining it, and alarm sound should come from iPhone even with headphones conencted. I expect Apple are wasting their time sending me a new iPhone, and there will need to be a fix pushed out in iOS.
 
Looks like 16 bug and maybe iP14 as well: alarm rang on speaker for me, but paused audio/playback on podcast app I was using on the headphones, no alarm sound in headphones.
 
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alexberry said:
Looks like a problem with ios16.0.1 and perhaps iPhone 14.

I just tried with my Apple Watch switched off entirely, and it made no difference - alarm sounds through headphones (faintly) but nothing from the iPhone itself. Incidentally, I can feel haptic vibrations from the iphone, but no sound. Haptic vibes are not much use if the phone's on your bedside table!
Click to expand...

If it’s a problem with the 14 PM then it must be a problem with the 13 PM because a friend with a 13 PM iOS 16.0 confirmed the same behavior. So it’s more than likely a software issue.
 
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old iPhone 13, experiencing the same behavior described here since upgrading to ios16. No change in settings, and once the headphones are disconnected ... alarm is back to speakers at full volume. *sigh*
 
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Well, believing it to be a hardware issue with the iPhone 14 Pro I picked up on launch day last week, Apple sent me a replacement device which arrived yesterday. After spending 3 hours setting it up, the issue remains and there's no alarm sound from the iPhone itself when headphones are connected. Added to all the comments from others above, it seems beyond doubt that this is a bug with iOS16. I'll buy a separate alarm clock, because as things stand, I can't sleep at night for fear of missing my train to work in the morning! I hope someone at Apple picks this up and it doesn't get swept under the carpet as a minor glitch, although I suspect that's all it is for most people.
 
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