Some Apple Watch Series 10 Users Experiencing Speaker Volume Issue

[MacRumors]

If the audio playing through your Apple Watch Series 10's speaker becomes harder to hear after repeated use, you are not alone.

There are a growing number of complaints about a potential Apple Watch Series 10 speaker issue across the Apple Support Community and Reddit. Affected users say the speaker audio becomes quiet or muffled over time, even after using the Water Lock feature to eject water from the speaker following swimming or another water activity.

The low volume affects both phone calls and music, according to the complaints.

It is unclear how widespread this issue is, or if there is an underlying hardware or software problem. If a hardware issue affects enough customers, Apple sometimes opts to launch a service program offering free repairs. If a software issue is discovered, then Apple should be able to address it with a future watchOS update.

Apple Watch Series 10 models launched in September 2024. I was unable to replicate the issue on my Apple Watch Series 10, but I have only owned it for about six weeks and have not used the speaker much, as I tend to use AirPods Pro.

We have reached out to Apple for comment about this matter, and we will update this post in the unlikely event that the company responds.

Update: Apple has published a support document outlining steps to try if your Apple Watch's speaker or microphone are not working as expected.

Article Link: Some Apple Watch Series 10 Users Experiencing Speaker Volume Issue

 

[Hayden_]

Weirdly enough, I literally had this issue yesterday. I woke up, and the speaker sounded muffled/distorted. I ran it under watch and using a little brush on the speakers, which seems to have resolved the issue. Maybe it's to do with the speak grille being big this time round and as such, easier for it to get obstructed with lint, etc?

 

[zilchfox]

I guess I'm the only one who keeps my watch continuously muted forever, and never use it for music or phone calls since I use my iPhone and AirPods for that. Perhaps I should test this to see if I'm affected, too.

 

[Godspeed8230]

We have reached out to Apple for comment about this matter, and we will update this post in the unlikely event that the company responds.

So Apple is known for not responding to this type of inquiry?

 

[Razorpit]

You're listening to it wrong. 😉

I had what sounds like (see what I did there?) a similar issue. This was going back to the days of the 0. Turns out I had dirt behind the speaker grill that I could not see. Brought it in to the store and the Genius Bar was able to clean it out for me.

 

[jz0309]

I had this issue on my SBSS S4, got it replaced under AC+

 

[PCtoMAC1]

Yes, and it is driving me crazy! The only way I have found to fix it is by turning on the swim mode, running water, then ejecting it.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

Planned obsolescence, trying to get people to upgrade to the iWatch Series 11!

 

[JapanApple]

Well I haven’t had any issues.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Not just a problem with the series 10.
My Ultra 1, which i’ve had for over a year, have used in water plenty of times, and has never given me any issues, has terribly quiet muffled sound after watchOS 11.3.
It is absolutely a software issue.

 

[DrRadon]

I rarely ever use the watch speaker beyond the phone ringing or an alarm/timer ringing.

 

[ELman]

Maybe Apple has decided to take this feature away again like they did with my Series 3.

 

[hagjohn]

I have experienced this as well. It is much quieter than my last Apple Watch.

 

[thefrost]

That's weird.

 

[jasonsewell]

Every Apple Watch I’ve ever owned — and I’ve owned a lot of them — has had this problem. I’ve never figured out if it was a hardware bug, a software bug, or just an accretion of crud inside the speaker housing. But it never bothered me enough to solve it.

 

[Trausner]

The speaker of my Apple Watch 5 somehow stopped working. I first thought it was a feature. I switched from an Apple Watch 3 and i felt like the speaker was so quiet when it expelled water, when in reality it just didnt work at all. It took me a year to figure that out. Whenever i talked to people through the watch, i thought i had bad reception, or bad connection to the phone coz i could never hear them. By the time i figured out that my speaker was damaged all along i didnt have warranty anymore and couldnt do anything about it. I am still using the Apple Watch 5 for sports but it kinda disgruntled me that i had a faulty product and couldnt get it replaced. Based on that experience, I am not sure if i wanna buy a new watch once this one completely fails.

 

[Rychiar]

I don't think I've ever used the speaker on mine. I'd be cool without one at all lol

 

[jblank]

I tried the speaker playing a podcast right after I bought the watch. It was in the shower, so obviously the background noise is gonna muffle things a bit.....BUT, it seemed VERY quiet, even at full volume. I've never used it since because that's the only time I really would use it and it seems to fail at being audible in the shower.

 

[lobwito]

Happened to me as well around 2 weeks ago (bought in September). Brought it to Apple Store and received a replacement under warranty. So far so good! 🤞🏻

 

[goonie4life9]

Not to worry, everyone, because the official Apple Support protocol is in effect:

1. This is not an issue because if it was, Apple Support would know about it before it ever affected a customer, because Apple Support talks to millions of customers a minute.
2. For this known issue, the first step is to restart the device. If that doesn't resolve the issue, the next step is to force reboot the device.
3. If the force reboot doesn't work, unpairing and re-pairing the device should resolve the issue. When you re-pair the device, be sure to set it up as new.
4. If re-pairing the device doesn't work, Apple Support will need to make an RTA to Engineering. To do that, you'll need to submit logs. Apple Support will collect logs from the Settings app, with Mail logging enabled, just to be safe.
5. Once the logs are collected, the RTA to Engineering will be started. Engineering will reply within 48 hr.
6. Engineering's reply will be that they are aware of the issue, keep your device up to date, and no further troubleshooting will be provided.

 

[itti]

I just got my new s10. Finger crossed.

 

[jblank]

Try yours in the shower and see if the sound is clear and audible at full volume. I'd genuinely like to know if mine is an aberration.

 

[CIA]

I have an older watch and a current Apple Watch 10 purchased back in November. I recorded a voice memo on both, and played it back on both with the volumes at max. The older watch was loud and clear, the AW10 was very quiet, distorted and sounded like a blown speaker. Guess I have the issue.

 

[svish]

Thankfully there is no issue with my Series 10. Hope it is not a widespread issue and also not a hardware defect and a simple software update can fix it.

 

[polee]

I was just going to get one and now I am not so sure...