Speaker volume low in call Apple watch

[Kal El]

Mine was the same. Read somewhere that apparently it's a bug and a reset sorts it out. Tried it on mine and it made it much louder.

To do a reset hold the digital dial and the button down together till the phone restarts.

Worked for me so worth trying if anyone else is having this problem.

 

[TheNaz]

Just tried it. Could be louder but I think it would work in a car.
Did notice a delay, but We were using our home phone and watch in same room. Don't know if this would be as apparent in a call from a remote caller.

 

[mynameisjosh]

Mine is very low too. I've done plenty of hard resets and the volume is still the same. Could barely use it in my car yesterday as I just couldn't hear.

 

[Stevenpaulross]

I brought it into apple. They compared it against someone else's and confirmed its much lower. They made me unpair and repair. Problem still exists. Will try a hard reset in the am. Has to be sent out for service. Really hate that the store doesn't have replacements.

 

[lsutigerfan1976]

This should be solved by a wireless earpiece no?

 

[Stevenpaulross]

The wireless earpiece in my opinion is not a solution to a faulty speaker. I will be calling apple for a express service in the am.

 

[Stevenpaulross]

Update. Replacement device came and it sounds much better

 

[Banich2]

Mine is so low that it's basically useless. The Genius at the Apple store said that's how it's supposed to be...
But 45 seconds into the Apple Watch commercial 'Rise', a woman is shown taking a call via her watch in a subway/train station! And for a feature that Tim Cook said he loved or whatever and touted as being one that he had dreamed about since he was a child...I'm sure that my experience with the speaker can't be what he is talking about.

 

[Stevenpaulross]

Mine is so low that it's basically useless. The Genius at the Apple store said that's how it's supposed to be...
But 45 seconds into the Apple Watch commercial 'Rise', a woman is shown taking a call via her watch in a subway/train station! And for a feature that Tim Cook said he loved or whatever and touted as being one that he had dreamed about since he was a child...I'm sure that my experience with the speaker can't be what he is talking about.

Lol. Get it replaced. It's a world of difference since I got the replacement. Not as loud as the Samsung smart watch but much better than before.

 

[eddiexhart]

Lol. Get it replaced. It's a world of difference since I got the replacement. Not as loud as the Samsung smart watch but much better than before.

How did you go about getting a replacement, Apple Store or Apple Care Support? And did it count against you with the Apple Care? Like did you have to pay? Etc.

 

[dictoresno]

so is this a confirmed defect or are people just perceiving the replacement watch to be louder?

 

[melman101]

Mine is real low too.

 

[JWorld127]

I got mine replaced in the Apple store to. I brought it in and complained that other are louder they replaced it and its night and day difference.

 

[dictoresno]

How loud is it supposed to be. Mine can't be used in a driving car as it's too low. And even at home when it's quiet it's a struggle to use it.

How much lower than an iPhone 6 on speakerphone is out for comparison. My watch sounds like if the volume on the iPhone speakerphone was only on 2 or 3 notches.

 

[NovemberWhiskey]

I've used several watches and they are all low in volume. There is no reset fix, and swapping it out likely won't help.

It seems to just be a trade-off with the water-proofing. There is no way to waterproof the speaker without sacrificing output.

 

[Stevenpaulross]

I've used several watches and they are all low in volume. There is no reset fix, and swapping it out likely won't help.

It seems to just be a trade-off with the water-proofing. There is no way to waterproof the speaker without sacrificing output.

This actually is not true. The Samsung is water proof and the speaker is very loud.

 

[LewisChapman]

I've used several watches and they are all low in volume. There is no reset fix, and swapping it out likely won't help.

It seems to just be a trade-off with the water-proofing. There is no way to waterproof the speaker without sacrificing output.

I own a lifeproof case for my iPhone 6 and when that is on call volume on loudspeaker or just the earpiece is still excellent - maybe Apple should take some notes.

 

[ClutchThese]

I believe this to be a software related issue. If you compare the sound difference from notifications to calls, it's noticeably off. The notification volume, IMO, is perfectly acceptable while the call volume is far too low.

I'm sure Apple is aware and i'm hopeful that WatchOS 2 will have a better volume range. If any developers who have WatchOS 2 installed can chime in, it would be quite beneficial.

 

[Recognition]

Has anyone noticed that the speaker volume is low after getting the watch wet?
I've had mine since launch but only just noticed that it was really quiet the other day, despite being at max volume, phone calls are barely audible.
Did the force reset and repaired to phone but no improvement.
Left it on the charger over night and it was back to normal in the morning.
This evening I gave the watch a quick rinse and the volume was very low again.
Hopefully it will improve overnight but I'm worried that the waterproofing for the speaker may of failed.
Anyone else experiencing this? Will take it to Apple at the weekend for a check anyway.

 

[lankox]

Has anyone noticed that the speaker volume is low after getting the watch wet?
I've had mine since launch but only just noticed that it was really quiet the other day, despite being at max volume, phone calls are barely audible.
Did the force reset and repaired to phone but no improvement.
Left it on the charger over night and it was back to normal in the morning.
This evening I gave the watch a quick rinse and the volume was very low again.
Hopefully it will improve overnight but I'm worried that the waterproofing for the speaker may of failed.
Anyone else experiencing this? Will take it to Apple at the weekend for a check anyway.

I've experienced the same thing.

 

[Recognition]

I've experienced the same thing.

Well the speaker is back to normal volume again now!

I did a quick sound level check with my works old sound meter.

Last night I was getting about 32db @ 2 kHz on the loudest setting of the volume slider in Settings - Sounds & Haptics.
This morning, after spending all night on the charger, I'm getting about 45db @ 2 kHz max on the loudest setting!
Doesn't look like much of an improvement but it sounds a lot louder.

 

[Royksöpp]

I thought it was just me but I guess that's just how it is.

 

[Stevenpaulross]

I thought it was just me but I guess that's just how it is.

I'm sure they will fix all of this for the next version.

 

[jmiracle299]

Anyone else confirm low volume on phone call?

yes mine is low also very low, even after trying to asdjust

 

[yogalady]

Does anyone notice it's hard to hear speaker in Apple watch when making a call?

Answer: Yes, I agree, it's way too low. I can understand implementing restraints to prevent "noise pollution," but when the User cannot hear it only 12-18" away, in an environment without background noise, well, that's just poorly designed.

It makes me wonder if Apple is "setting us up" for the "new & improved" model coming next.

This reminds me of the iPad. The iPad 1 was, like, "WoW!" until the iPad 2 came out with vast improvements in just about every sense of the word. Of course, we all ditched our original iPad, and were more than happy to spend our hard-earned cash because of its incredibly tempting enhancements.

I own Apple stock so complaining does not help my holdings, but hey, I doubt if Steve would have let it out the door.