iPhone Volume changing despite being dialed all the way up?

Your iPhone and the country that you live in protect you with the safety norms. Due to regulations and safety standards, headphone notifications can't be turned off in certain countries or regions.

Reduce loud headphone sounds in Settings · Go to Settings , then tap Sounds & Haptics (iPhone 7 and later) or Sounds (earlier models). · Tap Headphone Safety.

Use headphone audio level features on iPhone - Apple Support

Headphone notifications on your iPhone, iPod touch, or Apple Watch

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPod touch.
2. Tap Sounds & Haptics, then tap Headphone Safety.
3. Turn Headphone Notifications on or off.

Headphone notifications on your iPhone, iPod touch, or Apple ...

This is an issue with connecting third party earbuds (anything but Airpods or Beats). It's an intended feature for those outside their ecosystem, they know it, and they should be ashamed of it.

After doing some research this has been going on for around ten years. If you connect any third party BT audio device, the ringer volume lowers itself, which is understandable. However it doesn't correct to the last setting when you disconnect, and doesn't provide an option to turn it off as a preference. They've made it clear you either buy their $250 earbuds, or you deal with having your volume settings changed unwillingly. It happens automatically when you connect, they can make it change back when you disconnect, they just don't.

And for all the reps replying with "check face awareness settings" are you kidding me? You work for this company. Depart from the script for two seconds and acknowledge the actual issue.

Apple. Fix it. This is absolutely ridiculous.

I have an iPhone 12 Pro and I am facing the same issue. My best guess is that there’s a bug in “Attention aware features” in which whenever the phones FaceID gets activated or when it senses a face, the volume automatically drops. It’s only supposed to work when the phone is ringing but some bug is causing it to work on all media volumes. I’ve also noticed this only works when my iPhone is low on battery.

Hello SravanKra,

Many thanks for sharing your suggestions. 

At first, solution number one resolved the issue.

However, the audio volume lowers as though “it” thinks it’s in the background as I view an incoming alarm notification or I undertake any task

Despite the initial success of solution number one, it appears the audio controller (or whatever it’s called) thinks it should lower when in the background. 

After a while the volume appears to slowly raise to its former state.

In my opinion, this strange Apple quirk appears to be associated with recent software updates.

Even as I typed this response after leaving this page to look a at some other settings, the audio slowly crept up to the former level.

But the volume lowered when a notification appeared at the top of the screen and again when a “Low Power Mode” notification was displayed.

The volume slowly raised as I finished typing the above paragraph.

The volume lowered then raised again.

Regards,

Seamus Warren.

This is because Apple takes control of the volume out of your hands and gives control of your volume to apps.

If, for some strange reason, this functionality is required to make some apps work, Apple really should put it behind a permission toggle.

I bought and paid for my phone I OWN it. I know that Apple prides itself listening to the W. H.O. Guidelines. Well I tell you when WHO or Apple Pay’s my bills then they can tell me not to listen to MUSIC , Headphones too loud. You have NO right to CONTROL my choices even if it is bad for me. Does APPLE go out and take drugs away from addicts? Does the WHO take drugs away from addicts. They have the money to destroy any and all flow of drugs if they wanted to. Go control someone that wants to be your robot. Sad you can t really own anything out right anymore.

This seems to happen if I accidentally cover the lower speaker with my finger. It’s like the volume reacts to that and turns itself down. I’m not sure what sensor is being triggered by this. But then it takes a long time before it pops back up.

I have the opposite problem. I turn my phone volume all the way down (audio volume, not ringtone. Ringtone is always on mute, of course) but when I go to play a video, volume goes right back to where it was before I turned the volume down, then I have to turn it down again. I have to wait until a video plays before turning the volume down again if I want it to stay. Kinda sucks if I’m trying not to wake someone up or disturb someone nearby.

did anyone post a solution to the volume automatically putting itself up despite turning volume all the way down? its getting really annoying. I have always had equalizer on Spotify off, my phone case is off, and on the latest version of iOS.

so I've got this iPhone 12 Pro and I've had it since it first came out pretty much and roughly 2 to 3 years ago I noticed I wasn't getting my calls because I wasn't hearing the phone ring. i've always had android phones and my son did tell me that the iPhones are more like a little computer. Anyway I finally noticed that when I go into sounds and haptics the sound is turned right down even though when you go from right down to left corner turn it up with the side button it's not turning it up. Now I'm in a lot of strive because I've just missed my doctors phoning appointment four times this morning even though I checked to make sure that the phone was turned up yesterday can someone please help me I don't listen to anything through headphones all I do is charge my phone and listen to YouTube on it. Please this is really starting to distress my life I need to get this sorted and find out what's happening .😢

The volume is all of a sudden lower in all older iPhone models. My wife’s is newer, and hers didn’t have a problem. I will look at this like Apple did this intentionally to make us all buy newer phones.

Needs to figure this out and come up with an update to fix it immediately. Some of us just don’t want air pods bro. Stop limiting the use of our devices.

i have an iphone 12 and i like to be on my phone in school but no sounds allowed, i’ll turn my sound all the way down and immediately my phone turns it back up and i don’t know until sound blasts out my phone

I am using a 12 Pro Max, Running Ios, 17.4.1. I was on a call about a week ago when suddenly my volume dipped significantly. I thought the other person had moved away from their phone or something, So I told them to speak closer to their phone, They told me that they had not moved. I brushed it off, Thinking the problem was network related. It was not. Ever since then, my volume for everything, Media, Calls, anything is very low, Below audible. I have to rely on a BT speaker now to hear anything since I do not own any Airpods. Please help

All the answers take in account you listen to music, have some kind of music app turned on, or use spotify....... I don't do either, have everything turned off or removed when I could and .... My sound goes up and down as if the phone is posessed. I can turn the sound down, put the phone next to me on the table, and the sound goes up and down on its own.... no input from me required.......... Are there any solutions out there for this? I really use the sound only when I have navigation on, when you can't hear one direction and the next time it gives directions it's so loud it makes you jump.......

[Edited by Moderator]

Apparently they made some iPhone 12 minis with sound problems? I’m pretty upset cause my phone is brand new and my volume randomly lowers and the battery is bad. I better get a refund or the volume better get fixed.