What To Do If Your iPhone Is Stuck In Headphone Mode

You're watching a YouTube video, but no sound is coming from your iPhone's speakers. You increase the volume but nothing happens. You check if you accidentally muted the video and it turns out you did not. Then you check, several times, if your headphones are still connected — they're not. What's going on? Your iPhone is stuck in headphone mode. It's behaving as though headphones are connected, even though they clearly aren't.

This is a known and well-documented glitch. It's strange, but it happens from time to time. The good news is that it's usually easy to fix, so there's no reason for concern. However, causes vary. To get your device out of headphone mode and have the iPhone audio working properly, you need to first determine what's causing the issue. Here are four recommended fixes you should consider before taking your phone to an Apple Store to get it looked at by a professional.

Apple removed the conventional 3.5mm headphone jack in 2016, when it launched the iPhone 7. This was a controversial move at the time, and it's still being debated in some circles. More convenient times aside, if your iPhone is stuck in headphone mode, it's possible your phone's headphone detection mechanism malfunctioned for some reason. If you're using a Lightning Connector, plug and unplug your headphones, and see if that does the trick.

If you own Bluetooth headphones, you should unpair them. You can do this easily via the Settings app. Navigate to Settings > Bluetooth, then tap Forget This Device. Bear in mind, however, if you have AirPods and do this, they will be unpaired from other Apple devices you own, provided that you are signed in with the same Apple ID. In many cases, this fixes the issue and gets your iPhone out of headphone mode. You can then pair your headphones to your iPhone again.

If connecting and disconnecting your headphones didn't work, you should clean your iPhone's port (headphone jack, Lightning, or USB-C port, depending on the model). Dust and debris will gradually build up in there, which can cause your phone to "think" headphones are connected, leaving it stuck in headphone mode.

If you've ever googled how to clean your phone's charging port, you know that there's a lot of conflicting information out there. Some recommend using cotton swabs, others claim compressed air works best. You might have also come across guides and YouTube videos that recommend using a paper clip, but this would be a bad idea, because metal might damage the port. Apple, meanwhile, advises against using compressed air, and says it's crucial to avoid getting moisture in any openings.

We recommend using a toothpick. So, power off your iPhone, get a flashlight, a paper towel, and a toothpick. Inspect the inside of the port, and gently scrape it with the toothpick. 

It's plausible that your iPhone is stuck in headphone mode due to a software issue. If this is the case, your best bet is to restart your iPhone — restarting typically helps with minor software issues, so it's always worth a shot. To restart your iPhone, navigate to Settings > General > Shut Down. Drag the slider, and wait for your phone to turn off. To turn it back on, press and hold the side button.

Operating system updates, too, can sometimes solve stubborn software issues. You might not have automatic updates enabled, but you can enable them via the Settings app, and update your iPhone to the latest iOS version immediately. Open Settings, scroll down to General, and select Software Update to check for any available updates. Note that if you have an older iPhone it may not be compatible with the latest operating system version, which is iOS 17 at the time of this writing.

If you tried every method to get your iPhone out of headphone mode, none of them worked, and going to an Apple store is not in the cards at the moment, you might want to consider resetting your iPhone to factory settings. A factory reset will restore your iPhone to its original state, erasing all data and settings. This is a last-ditch option, so think twice.

With that said, if you want to factory reset your iPhone, you should be able to do so in a few minutes, as the process is fairly straightforward. Go to Settings > General. Scroll down to the bottom, and tap Transfer or Reset iPhone. For a full wipeout, select Erase All Content and Settings. Note that you'll have to authenticate your account in order to complete the process. 

If your iPhone is stuck in headphone mode even after a hard factory reset, then you have no other option but to take it to an Apple Store.