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How To Fix No Sound in iPad Apps

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Does your iPad not make sound in apps? Sometimes the iPad will make sound while in some apps or with headphones plugged in, but it won’t play sound through all apps over the iPad speakers.

The iPad has an interesting mute quirk, which can result in no sound coming from certain apps over your iPad speaker, even though volume is turned up and you can hear the sound with headphones.

This Soft Mute “feature” mutes app music and sounds, but not the audio from Hulu or Netflix, which makes it difficult to diagnose, especially since your headphones still work, but thankfully it is easy to fix.

How to Fix No Sound in iPad Apps

One of the first things you can try is restarting the iPad. This can solve a lot of problems in under a minute. If that doesn’t help you should also try plugging headphones in and removing them. Sometimes this will fix sound issues, as will blowing canned air into the headphone jack port.

If that doesn’t fix the issue, you will need to unmute the iPad using the directions below. Even with the iPad muted, some apps may make noise. It’s odd, but that’s what happens.

Fix no sound in iPad apps.

Fix no sound in iPad apps.

  1. Swipe up quickly from the bottom edge of the iPad. You need to do this from the very edge of the screen.
  2. This opens the Control Center.
  3. Look for the mute icon. It may show up as a bel, or a bell with a slash through it.
  4. Tap on the bell to unmute your iPad.

You can also check the volume on this screen and turn it up to make sure you can hear the audio.

Another thing to check on older iPads is to see if you have the mute switch on the side turned on. This is a small switch button, that you need to flip to unmute the iPad.

Check Sound in iPad Apps

Another thing that you should try to fix no sound coming from apps on your iPad is to see if there are volume options inside the app.

Sometimes you can mute an app’s music or background noises using the settings of an app. This is very common in many mobile games, which allow you to turn off some or all in-game sound.

  1. Open the app, go to the main menu and then tap on the settings and look for anything related to sound.

While you are doing this, you should also use the side volume buttons to try turning the volume up in the app. Sometimes the volume may simply be down, and this can solve it.

What to Do If You Still Don’t Have Sound on Your iPad

The next step is to backup your iPad to iTunes, and then do a factory reset to see if that solves the issues. From there you can restore a backup and get back to using your iPad with sound.

You can also schedule an appointment for help from Apple. If your iPad is less than a year old it should have a warranty on it, but even if it is older, Apple support can likely help you fix simple problems for free in store or possibly over the phone. Get in touch with Apple here.

iOS 12 vs iOS 11: What’s New in iOS 12.4.1

iOS 12.4.1 Features and Fixes

iOS 12.4.1 Features and Fixes

The iOS 12.4.1 update focuses on security fixes for a major bug that Apple fixed once before, but that is back in iOS 12.4. This security issue would allow an app to essentially gain full control over your phone. 

  • Available for: iPhone 5s and later, iPad Air and later, and iPod touch 6th generation
  • Impact: A malicious application may be able to execute arbitrary code with system privileges
  • Description: A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management

This is what allows people to jailbreak iOS 12.4, which is a plus for some users, but most users will want the security that comes from iOS 12.4.1.

274 Comments

274 Comments

  1. Robert Johnson

    09/17/2011 at 2:07 pm

    Awesome!  Thanks for the help!  This has been bugging me for SO SO long.

    • Brett

      08/27/2012 at 5:18 am

      how come no one who works for Apple know this?? I have been trying to fix this for the last 4 months and took me 10 secs with this advice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Lisa

      09/22/2012 at 12:52 pm

      Works instantly!

    • Mary Murphy

      05/01/2013 at 11:21 am

      I don’t have a speaker icon. I have a landscape orientation icon. Everything else looks the same as the image above.

      • Sue

        07/08/2013 at 3:24 pm

        Same here, did you get help with this?

      • jbachynski

        07/17/2013 at 5:15 pm

        Yeah me too

      • kurteknikk

        09/26/2013 at 3:03 pm

        Same issue here, seems like an ios bug.

      • wackyfiasco

        09/27/2013 at 11:16 am

        I also have an orientation-lock instead of a speaker icon. Is it unique to iPad 1?

        • wackyfiasco

          09/27/2013 at 11:29 am

          UPDATE: I figured it out. The side switch controls are reversed in the settings, somehow. In settings under General, change the side switch control from mute to orientation lock. It’s backwards, I know, but that made the speaker icon appear, instead.

          • Aurora

            10/31/2013 at 3:47 am

            Thanks! My iPad works now.

          • Mochagirl

            11/05/2013 at 7:09 pm

            Thank you so much. I thought there was something wrong with my IPad. This was bugging me for a long time.

          • Ooz

            06/18/2014 at 4:38 pm

            thank you so much, dear WackyFiaso. You’re neither wack or a fiasco:) You’re a genius!

          • Terry

            06/28/2014 at 8:10 pm

            Thanks. This was driving me insane!

          • Stephanie

            06/22/2015 at 3:58 pm

            Thanks so much that was bugging the life out of me

  2. Guest

    09/22/2011 at 1:07 am

    Thank you very much!

    • Plash Saikia

      09/24/2011 at 4:55 pm

      No, still there is no sound coming out from the inbuilt speaker. Please help. Email [email protected]

      Palash Saikia
      Assam, India

      • John

        11/03/2012 at 3:21 pm

        Cleaning the charge port and the audio plug in port with air/small toothpick fixed this for me.

  3. Anonymous

    09/26/2011 at 6:03 pm

    Thank you very much for the tips. I almost wanna go to the Apple store to get their help, your tips was such a relieve to me, thanks again

  4. Uptownvandal

    09/27/2011 at 11:23 am

    thank you!!! after resetting, restoring, re-booting, I finally found your thread! thought I was going to have to get a new ipad!!

    • Leena india

      12/21/2012 at 6:52 pm

      Nice..even i was wondering where speaker button has gone.thanks for letting me know hoe to get it.Josh it worked superawesome tks :)

  5. Dlee

    09/28/2011 at 6:15 pm

    After hours of hair pulling I discovered you must have the hard button orientation lock in settings ON to see the soft mute button onscreen

    Otherwise you see the orientation lock button onscreen in the lower left

    • Paulapips

      10/27/2011 at 1:49 am

      Thanks, your comment helped me, thanks again

    • Mom2threemiracles

      11/02/2011 at 6:33 pm

      Thank you for the tip! It worked!!! My kids were having a cow. Thank you! Thank you!

    • Sk Mhrj

      01/14/2012 at 11:03 pm

      im looking for the hard button orientation but can’t find it in settings, where is it??
      cheers

      • Sk Mhrj

        01/14/2012 at 11:06 pm

        lol never mind got it, haha thank you xD

        • CassperNY

          01/22/2012 at 6:31 am

          GENERAL : Use Side Switch To : Lock Rotation

          It took me forever to find it also.

          Thanks!!!

    • Sarvesh01

      04/13/2012 at 6:39 pm

      Thanks. Your post saved me some hair.

    • Gg

      09/06/2012 at 8:39 pm

      I had the same problem great to have found this thread.. Especially the tips and responses like the orientation lock under general settings was set to mute had to change it and then i was able to view the sound icon after double tapping the home button..

    • jessymum

      10/14/2012 at 12:20 am

      Dlee – you are a LIFE SAFER – I was going bald quickly! :)

    • Mel

      10/18/2012 at 1:42 pm

      THANKS! This was the tip I needed!

    • Joanne Jacobson

      11/03/2012 at 2:46 pm

      Thanks Dlee – you provided the final solution to a very annoying problem. What did we do before Google!

    • Molly Lafley

      11/11/2012 at 8:43 pm

      Your solution about sliding the horizontal button turned on my iPad3 apps to play thru my speakers and not jut my earbuds. Thanks!

    • Cathy

      11/28/2012 at 7:41 am

      Thank you so much…to both you and Josh. I have never been a “tech” person. I leave that for my kids. But I’m learning to not be so intimidated by all of this. I have just started adding apps to our IPAD and was continually frustrated by this problem of no sound. Thanks to both of you and your advice, everything is working fine now. I agree with all the others’ comments-how amazing that a short 5-second fix was all we needed! Thank you again!

    • Leena india

      12/21/2012 at 6:53 pm

      Leena india 12/21/2012 at 6:52 pm
      Nice..even i was wondering where speaker button has gone.thanks for letting me know hoe to get it.Josh it worked superawesome tks :)

      Reply

    • Kat

      12/29/2012 at 11:41 am

      Thank you, Dlee…I was having the same problem and didn’t know about this setting. Problem solved!

    • Jamie

      12/31/2012 at 5:47 am

      Thank you for this info. I was having issues with my apps no sound, but movies & music played fine. Did not know about “hard button orientation” so none of it worked until this last comment. Although my “mute” was not “on”, toggling it off & on seemed to do the trick! Saved me a 45 drive to Apple store.

    • nelan1

      01/15/2013 at 2:17 pm

      It din’t work for me my ipad is now locked in landscape!!!Where do I find the hardbutton orientation lock!!

    • Judy Hoskin

      04/26/2013 at 6:46 pm

      Thanks for the advice. You saved me the amount of hair pulling that you experienced.

  6. Polmec

    10/25/2011 at 7:53 pm

    Thank you. I have been going crazy trying to get the apps sound back and you are the ONLY who made suggested this suggestion. IT WORKED!!! Thank you
    polmec

  7. Nimadayani

    11/06/2011 at 3:16 pm

    U r smart. I went to the apple store. They couldn’t figure it out either.

  8. Ruggy

    11/12/2011 at 3:13 am

    Such a simple fix for such an annoying problem. Genius! Thx so much

  9. Snowyt2002

    11/17/2011 at 10:15 pm

    Thanks so much. It’s not often that I can get good, accurate, and quick service that actually works. Once I rebooted after following your instructions, my iPad responded perfectly. Thanks again.

  10. Chrissyvac

    11/29/2011 at 8:32 am

    Thank so much!  Once I restarted my ipad it worked!  Sound once again!

  11. Gerry

    12/10/2011 at 4:46 am

    Fantastic! Your post helped us to resolve this problem on 30 iPads to be used at a conference!

  12. Ms 0000

    12/12/2011 at 10:57 pm

    Yeaaahhh thanx didnt think about that my 18 month old had it and then no sound i was worried he broke something :)

  13. Curvy Diva

    12/13/2011 at 4:37 am

    THANK YOU!  I’d tried everything!

  14. Kamalbhachu

    12/27/2011 at 11:39 am

    Thanks it worked for me

  15. Jrush12000

    12/28/2011 at 10:26 am

    Thank you !!!!

  16. Joanne Nagano

    12/28/2011 at 1:02 pm

    You are absolutely brilliant!! No other resource on the web forums gave workable advice. I followed your directions and it worked like a charm immediately. The solution was not intuitive. Thanks!!

  17. Sbland314

    01/01/2012 at 3:48 pm

    Thanks for your help! I was getting really frustrated with no sounds coming from my apps.

  18. Cutetcher

    01/02/2012 at 1:46 pm

    I have tried that and it still doesn’t work. Now what.

  19. Andrewidi

    01/05/2012 at 12:25 am

    thank you… it is very help full for us, now my sound already working normaly.

  20. Tiggernjado

    01/05/2012 at 3:18 pm

    Thank you so much, I bought my iPad off of Ebay and was thinking I got a bad deal…You saved me so much trouble I greatly appreciate it.

  21. Grgck04

    01/07/2012 at 8:40 am

    Thanks for posting this. Very helpful.

  22. [email protected]

    01/14/2012 at 7:20 pm

    Brilliant!!! I hate when things bug me for so long and the solution is so simple.

  23. Dan

    01/14/2012 at 10:38 pm

    My iPad frequently goes soundless.  No apparent reason.  I power down and then power back up and it is fixed.  It’s tiresome, but it works.  The problem is Apple.  They need to fix this.  THey know about it, but ignore it.

    They should come clean and admit the problem and give us a fix

  24. Shyam

    01/14/2012 at 11:52 pm

    hey, i used your advice and the sound came back, however it continuously goes mute, and doesnt let me adjust the sound without earphones again and again.
    any tips would help please??

    • Marcia

      03/16/2013 at 8:03 pm

      I cannot adjust the sound without the earplugs plugged in. When the earplugs are not plugged in, there is no slider to adjust the sound. This just started happening and it makes no difference whether the sound is muted or not. Is there any way to fix this?

      Thanks in advance.

  25. Mechtildes

    01/15/2012 at 6:28 am

    Thanx very much, i have. Read a hundred ideas, but you were the only one to explain so clear, my apps has sound again, and also i discoverd how to continue hearing music from you tube while navigating through other apss and safary.

  26. Jim Waring

    01/16/2012 at 1:42 pm

    Ta very much , this was soooo annoying ….

  27. RT

    01/17/2012 at 9:23 am

    Thanks for your informative help. I was so frustrated and was ready to redo a complete restore again with i tune. Thanks again. You have been a great help

  28. Johnsonvinson

    01/20/2012 at 9:10 am

    It has a icon for the light and for a I pod what should I do for that

  29. Michelle Skold

    01/22/2012 at 3:43 am

    Thank you so much! What a simple fix for a baffling issue. :)

  30. Rachel Simpson300

    01/23/2012 at 5:44 am

    Hi. My iPhone 4 is having the same problem but the mute button doesn’t appear there. Any suggestions. Cheers r

  31. SOngPrince

    01/24/2012 at 8:06 pm

    OMG. thank youuuuuuuuuu

  32. Forsberg98

    01/31/2012 at 2:37 pm

    THANK YOU!  I can’t tell you how long this has been bothering me!

  33. Stephanie Darlington

    02/04/2012 at 9:58 am

    Amazing thank you!!

  34. Summer

    02/04/2012 at 1:57 pm

    My Video App’s sound was cutting out after a minute or less and sliding the progress bar back would fix it for a few seconds. This Fix worked like a charm. You are my hero!

  35. Paultinz

    02/07/2012 at 1:23 am

    You are a gem!Thank you so much!

  36. Nancy Garza

    02/07/2012 at 11:51 am

    Great!! Thanks for your help!!!

  37. Sidric The Viking

    02/11/2012 at 5:37 am

    Thank you. This was driving me nuts! I have nine machines I’ve been using for iPad classes and two of them were muted. Such a simple thing.

    Sidric

  38. Hfhfh

    02/11/2012 at 9:13 pm

    greaattttttt

  39. Yasin

    02/17/2012 at 2:56 am

    Thank you but I cannot find speaker icon on the far left of my iPad

    • Joyce

      09/01/2012 at 9:24 pm

      I didn’t have one either until I “locked rotation” then it appeared. Go figure!

  40. Professor

    02/18/2012 at 1:38 am

    Thank-you thank-you thank-you !

  41. Fred

    02/18/2012 at 8:00 am

    I called vodafone who referred me to Apple for this problem. Apple employees advised me to restore my iPad. I expected a simpler solution and you provided it. It is astonishing that Apple pay people who cannot solve such an easy problem. Thank you for saving so much hassle as I planned to send it back. Thank you. apple should give you a job training their staff

  42. Bigweed61

    02/24/2012 at 3:55 am

    Thank you. I thought I broke my iPad plugging it into a dock yesterday for the first time. Phew

  43. Ktchem

    02/24/2012 at 5:55 pm

    Thank you so much! Such an easy fix (once you know about it).

  44. Cyber

    02/28/2012 at 1:51 pm

    Boom!!! exactly what I needed

  45. Angeleila1

    03/05/2012 at 6:09 pm

    Thank you so much! I thought my earphones were busted.

  46. jigs

    03/10/2012 at 5:03 am

    Thanks in a million

  47. none

    03/12/2012 at 6:09 am

    Yea…I have been having this problem for much…what a quick and easy fix…duh!  THANKS!

  48. JP

    03/14/2012 at 8:34 am

    Wow. Thanks! This is crazy stuff. I had to go into General Settings and change “Use Side Switch to:” from “Lock Rotation” to “Mute.” Why in the world would that make a difference? But the change seems to have worked. Yay!

  49. RM

    03/18/2012 at 3:48 pm

    Instant fix you are a star!

  50. Mtqinaz

    03/30/2012 at 5:00 pm

    You are awesome!!!!! I was going crazy not having app sound!!! Woo hoo ty Ty Ty !!!

  51. Attiecarrivick

    04/02/2012 at 6:07 am

    I don’t have a speaker icon only, sorry just found how to change it and yep,it was muted. Thank you so much. This was so easy to fix once I knew how.

    • Nichole

      03/04/2013 at 9:45 am

      This is the same for me. Can I ask how you changed it? Thank you

  52. Jasa Michelle

    04/07/2012 at 5:26 am

    Awesome. This was the only suggestion that actually worked…out of all the forums. Thanks!!

  53. MakalaAtkins

    04/07/2012 at 11:07 pm

    I still need help

  54. Marc in Italy

    04/08/2012 at 2:26 am

    Fixed – Thank you!

  55. Francesca M.

    04/08/2012 at 5:17 pm

    Thank you!

  56. Hungry Hippo

    04/10/2012 at 2:15 am

    Thank you – it was so perplexing why the kids’ apps weren’t working yet my music was! Problem fixed, very grateful.

  57. Points_johnson

    04/12/2012 at 8:08 pm

    Thank you! That was so easy and helpful!

  58. Anon

    04/12/2012 at 11:15 pm

    Thank you so much! My 3 year old accidentally muted all of her educational apps and I could not figure out how to fix it for weeks! How she managed it I will never know, but I greatly appreciate you for knowing how to fixit.

  59. Raugl Kishore

    04/17/2012 at 4:06 am

    Thank you 

  60. GG

    04/17/2012 at 10:14 pm

    thanks a lot, it really helped.

  61. spartan10072

    04/18/2012 at 11:03 am

    thanks very much my 8 year old changed something and i called apple and they told me they could help but it would cost 29.95 to fix you fixed it for free thank you thank you

  62. Slater_20

    04/20/2012 at 3:26 pm

    I had this problem and your advice really helped but now when I turn the volume down on the iPad it doesn’t change?? The volume stays the same even when the volume is completely down?? Please help!!!

  63. Edsmith327

    04/22/2012 at 2:36 pm

    Still having trouble I did what u said but there’s no picture of a speaker. it has a circled arrow and it say when tapped on it portrait orientation locked or unlocked please help still no sound out of apps

  64. Denise

    04/24/2012 at 11:06 am

    You said, “Double tap the home button” —– I have an iPad — but do not understand what the “home” button is.  I have a power “button,” audio “button” and a lock “button.” What am I missing??

  65. Velo

    04/26/2012 at 7:02 am

    Thank you. I downloaded a bunch of apps for my grandchild and could not get the sound. This worked!!

  66. Mdworks

    04/26/2012 at 6:27 pm

    Much respec my boss

  67. Jazzy

    04/27/2012 at 11:15 am

    wow, that was soooo easy!  Thanks so much!

  68. Nicikola

    04/28/2012 at 4:47 pm

    Thanks this really fix the problem!,

  69. London_salsa

    04/29/2012 at 6:05 am

    Thanks for the help getting my sound working with my language apps! It was driving me crazy!

  70. Cherngo20

    05/01/2012 at 9:26 am

    Thank you for this. This article helped me!

  71. QDdd

    05/02/2012 at 2:43 pm

    Thank you!
    This was driving me crazy, now its fixed!

  72. Marilyn

    05/06/2012 at 10:56 am

    Thanks, Josh: your suggestion to double click home and unite the speaker solved my silent iPad problem. M

  73. James

    05/06/2012 at 6:48 pm

    For those of you that do not see a speaker icon, simply go to the settings icon and the go down to the section where you will see rotation and probably mute. The mute is probably checked. Click on the rotation and the once again following the instructions on this site and you will now see the speaker icon with a slash on it. Click on it and try your app and it will work now

    • Mary Murphy

      05/01/2013 at 11:28 am

      Found the speaker icon. Still no sound. =-(

  74. Pam

    05/08/2012 at 3:40 pm

    Thank you SO much! I wonder how the settings got changed in the first place?

  75. Tanya

    05/10/2012 at 4:21 am

    Wow, thanks! My three year old changed something, he has a knack for changing the weirdest most obscure settings and I can’t for the life of me figure out how to fix them.

    Your solution worked the first time. Thanks again.

  76. Ruth

    05/12/2012 at 1:54 am

    Thank you. I wasn’t sure which button was “HOME”. And then I tried to swipe Left to Right on the screen rather than at the bottom with the icons.
    Third try, it worked. Many thanks.

  77. Maggie

    05/12/2012 at 7:03 am

    I looked at the settings, mute is checked but I still don’t show speaker…. Help I have the new ipad

    • Mary

      05/26/2014 at 5:18 pm

      Go to general and then click lock rotation and mute will uncheck and this will check and sound should work good luck

  78. Susanne

    05/12/2012 at 7:54 am

    Thank you! I was going crazy trying to figure out the lack of sound. I appreciate your assistance and clear instructions.

    • Tessa

      06/01/2012 at 12:33 am

      Don’t seem to have the mute icon although have found mute in settings and it is checked but am unable to uncheck…help!

  79. Asa

    05/12/2012 at 2:36 pm

    THANKS ALOT!!! I THOUGHT IT WAS BROKEN!!!!!!!!!! Mute was already checked, however, the rotation lock button appeared when I double-tapped the home button, so I check the ‘rotation lock’ & the mute button appeared. Apple must have made a mistake and switched them around, hopefully the next update will fix this issue!

  80. Annie

    05/13/2012 at 1:19 pm

    Thank you…it was such a mystery because some things had audio and some didn’t…the mute option solved the problem!!

  81. 74zones

    05/16/2012 at 5:43 am

    Hat off to you Josh. I was going through all the usual menu settings and no clear sign of why volume on games wasn’t working. Such a simple fix but not obvious since other apps worked with volume!

  82. Rich

    05/16/2012 at 9:24 pm

    Thank you!
    I’ve been up all night trying to figure this out and that was it!
    You saved me a night’s sleep and a nervous breakdown!

  83. jim

    05/17/2012 at 12:12 am

    TO CLARIFY WHAT Asa SAYS: If it’s only showing the ‘rotation lock’, go to SETTINGS and you will find it has a toggle for bottom swipe, either ‘rotation lock’ or MUTE. Change it so MUTE is checked instead. Then go back to the original instructions above!
    Double tap the home button,
    Swipe from left to right,
    Tap the speaker icon to the far left
    It should show “Mute Off” below the play button
    Listen to app sound once again

    • Les

      05/30/2012 at 7:30 pm

      Awesome solution. never would have figured that out in a million years. Thank you so much!

  84. jeani

    05/18/2012 at 7:24 pm

    LOVE U

  85. Morgan

    05/19/2012 at 6:59 pm

    Oh my goodness!!!!! You are an absolute lifesaver!!!!!!!! I have been fighting with my ipad for days on this. Somehow all of my kids programs were muted, but my video ones were fine. Of course this led to “mommy fix it” which led to “hubby fix it” which didn’t work. I would pay you if I could!

  86. Sarah

    05/22/2012 at 2:27 pm

    Thank you so much, I was going crazy! My mute / rotation is switched too, would never have sussed it so I’m happy as larry now. You are all stars! X

  87. ARt

    05/23/2012 at 8:39 pm

    Aesome, this totally did the trick!!!

  88. hoomun

    05/24/2012 at 2:58 am

    tnx worked

  89. aitchang

    05/24/2012 at 12:05 pm

    I had been worried about my ipad and dont wat to do on how to fix the sounds. Thankyou soo much. I

  90. Nathanlai

    05/26/2012 at 12:19 am

    U r awesome!

  91. Nicole

    05/26/2012 at 7:00 am

    Thank you so much,it’s been me crazy!!!

  92. Jim De.

    05/26/2012 at 7:28 pm

    I have the grunts and groans in Temple Run back!!! Thanks!!!!

  93. Johanna

    05/26/2012 at 9:03 pm

    Yayyyyyy it worked thank u

  94. brealei

    05/27/2012 at 5:03 pm

    Thank you so much! Hulu volume wasn’t working and i was considerring unsubscribing!

  95. David h

    05/29/2012 at 10:40 am

    I have done this, even changed the options . Still I has no sound. There is no option to slide the volume up or down.

    • Kay

      11/11/2012 at 2:31 am

      Same problem for me too

  96. Sandip

    05/31/2012 at 11:44 am

    Thanks!

  97. emma

    06/01/2012 at 5:17 am

    thank you!!! now my baby will enjoy the sounds of the books that i downloaded for her.

  98. Chew

    06/01/2012 at 8:34 am

    I’m facing sound problem also. When I fix the sound, the screen can’t rotate. When I fixing the screen, the sound can’t work. Any idea how to set it got sound and the screen can rotate?

    • Chreebob

      06/02/2012 at 9:24 pm

      You need to turn the slide switch on. It is next to the volume buttons on the side of the iPad 2. Then follow the directions above.

      • Trent

        08/25/2012 at 6:55 am

        I am new to apple os. I was also having sound issues, but got it figured out inside settings to get the sound icon to show up. Then the screen orientation was locked. I never noticed the small switch just above the volume buttons. Turned it on its side, bam, there it was. Now my volume AND screen are fixed. THANKS

  99. Ann

    06/01/2012 at 9:10 pm

    Thank you so much! My iPad is just out of warranty and this was something I have reset several times in settings and it never took. Do u have any ideas how many times I have reset this ipad back to factory settings? 6 times toooo many

  100. JM

    06/02/2012 at 6:20 pm

    THANKS JOSH!

  101. Mehtab

    06/02/2012 at 11:40 pm

    Many thanks for the useful tip

  102. Jiefang79

    06/06/2012 at 9:35 pm

    A BIG THANK YOU! Thanks for the tip. It solved my problem.

  103. nanqueen

    06/08/2012 at 2:22 pm

    Big thank you, glad to have found this simple tip after trying several restarts!

  104. Tom

    06/08/2012 at 10:13 pm

    Thank you sir, This was so easy yet hard for us that have no clue how it was turned on in the first place, I had never seen that sound bar before.

  105. Richard

    06/09/2012 at 1:04 pm

    What happens in my case is that there is no slider for the sound in the controller. The slider grove is there but not the slider. Any ideas?

  106. Diego Medeiros

    06/11/2012 at 10:49 am

    Thanks! This article saved me!

  107. Dina

    06/13/2012 at 5:22 pm

    Thanks for your help!.it solved my problem!

  108. Alex

    06/15/2012 at 10:46 am

    Thank you! Gracias.

  109. Harris

    06/16/2012 at 6:46 pm

    Thank you so mush. This worked after reboots and syncs didn’t!

  110. Mrs.J

    06/18/2012 at 7:13 pm

    Thanks, worked wonderfully!

  111. Matty d

    06/18/2012 at 8:37 pm

    I tried that. When I slide to the left I dont have a sound icon but rather a lock logo that I can select to lock it to portrait mode or not. Why is mine different?

    • Nigel L

      06/23/2012 at 10:39 am

      Im experiencing the same thing

      • SeanMike

        07/09/2012 at 12:41 pm

        If you are like me, you have iPad 1. Have not found fix yet – please let me know if you do!

        • SeanMike

          07/09/2012 at 1:12 pm

          Seconds after posting, I fixed the problem, which has been going on for over a month! It was the little lock slider button above the volume control on the side that I never use! This controls strictly the app sounds, I guess… when it is on, the on-screen volume indicator will continue to go up & down, but it is not referring to app sounds.

  112. Rosiecakes

    06/19/2012 at 7:35 pm

    THANK YOU!! SO GLAD!

  113. Noj

    06/20/2012 at 8:22 am

    Lifesaver !!!!!!

  114. springrowell

    06/20/2012 at 7:59 pm

    Awesome…so simple and it helped with the car trip!

  115. Awolnick

    06/21/2012 at 5:44 pm

    Tried the fix for no sound. But when I slide to left I have an orientation lock button. Guess i am stuck with earphones?

  116. Ali

    06/22/2012 at 1:13 am

    Thanks. Problem solve

  117. Ali

    06/22/2012 at 1:14 am

    Thanks. Problem solve!

  118. Lisa Clarkson

    06/23/2012 at 12:52 pm

    Heads up, if you look at the bar and only have the “orientation lock”, try going to Settings > General > then USE SIDE SWITCH TO: and change that to “Lock Rotation”.

    Then look at the bottom bar again and you should have the mute icon.

  119. Terri Barrett

    06/27/2012 at 2:03 am

    WOW, mine had the orientation lock also, so I followed your instructions and I am a VERY HAPPY CAMPER!!! Thank You so very much. I was at my wits end, thinking my little Grandson had surely ruined my IPad for good! WHEW!!!!!:)

    • Marla

      05/14/2014 at 7:30 pm

      I got my iPad the problem no sound I tried everything but is not work and I seen something near the battery is got logo luck I don’t know a how to fix my I pad please help me I appreciate

  120. janine

    06/29/2012 at 5:53 am

    i did what you said but whenever i turned off the mute the rotation is on so i couldnt rotate then if i turn off the lock rotation then there is no sound! what to do???

  121. Lu

    06/29/2012 at 5:59 pm

    Yay..Ithoughtibwas solo stupid!

  122. Sanjay Kadel

    07/01/2012 at 10:24 pm

    Thank You! Very! Much!
    I thought there is a problem with the hardware but you reinforced my confidence in the hardware of Apple!
    I Hope Apple is equally thankful to people like You!

  123. Jan

    07/04/2012 at 2:22 pm

    Thank you so much!

  124. Azra

    07/07/2012 at 8:47 am

    There is a small button on the right where the volume control is…switch that to where there is no red dot showing and your problem of “not rotating but has volume’ should be solved :)

  125. Lauri

    07/10/2012 at 11:16 am

    A million thank you……. Everything else failed. Thanks

  126. GmaC

    07/11/2012 at 7:17 pm

    You were more helpful than my IPad help site! Thank you! My granddaughter will enjoy her children’s songs so much more with sound!

  127. Jim

    07/19/2012 at 7:41 pm

    Thank you soooooooo much! You’re our hero.

  128. Raul

    07/21/2012 at 4:32 am

    Hi, I was having this problem and followed your instructions, and it worked!!! Thank you so very much.

  129. Manoj

    07/22/2012 at 1:42 am

    Awesome I solved sound problem with your instructions.

    Thank you very much.

  130. Sri Lakshmi

    07/24/2012 at 3:42 pm

    Thanks for your tip
    It has worked for me

  131. NancyS

    07/25/2012 at 8:02 am

    Thank you so much for your tip. It was extremely helpful and definitely fixed the problem.

  132. Ryad

    07/30/2012 at 7:44 am

    This didn’t work at all, to start off, my iPad doesn’t even have the button on the picture shown, instead of a music note and sound button, I have a rotation sign and an iPod?

  133. shari

    07/30/2012 at 6:19 pm

    You rock! I’ve been trying to fix this problem for 2 weeks.

  134. Jean Parker

    08/01/2012 at 12:59 am

    Now that I have sound back on my apps it seems that I am stuck in the position where I have to put up with my rotation being turned off or my mute (as shown in your pic) being turned on. Up until today I was able to have rotation plus the sound on all my apps. Can you explain why this issomebody please.

    • dizzydragon987

      05/09/2013 at 5:34 pm

      There is a lock rotation button on a part of your iPad or iPad a switch

  135. Jean Parker

    08/01/2012 at 1:10 am

    Now that I have sound back on my apps it seems that I am stuck in the position where I have to put up with my rotation being turned off or my mute (as shown in your pic) being turned on. Up until today I was able to have rotation plus the sound on all my apps. Can you explain why this issomebody please. So pleased to tell you that I just saw my answer a few posts back by azra and moved the little button above the volume button on the upper right side of the iPad and lo and behold I have my rotation back. What a performance! Thankyou all!

  136. Jean Parker

    08/01/2012 at 9:00 am

    It seems that if you go to settings on iPad you can swap the actions of the little switch located just above your volume control from controlling mute (on/off) to controlling rotation (on/off) and when you tick rotation off in general settings your little switch controls rotation and when you tick mute in settings your little switch controls mute. Hence the appearance of either symbol on the left of your music control when you swipe from left to right after double tapping your Home button. The symbol will indicate rotation if your little switch controls mute and the symbol will indicate speaker if the switch controls rotation. Therein lies the answer to all the puzzlement. It makes me laugh to think that even apple people couldn’t help some of you suffering the frustration of not knowing what was going on.

  137. WillT

    08/03/2012 at 11:06 am

    Please update the instructions at the top to include info about changing the side lock switch in settings from “Lock Rotation” to “Mute”. Some of us don’t get the Mute icon, but get the Lock Rotation icon until this setting is changed!

    • dizzydragon987

      05/09/2013 at 5:36 pm

      There is a lock rotation button like a switch on ur iPad or iPod

  138. Laura Lane

    08/06/2012 at 5:48 am

    Thanks for the help. I was going crazy trying to fix the sounds on certain apps. It worked fine for music, but that was it. After reading and following your instructions listed here, every app sound is back to working the way it should be.

  139. Marlyne

    08/11/2012 at 12:23 pm

    Finally my iPad has sound! After I downloaded the new iOS software and lost all sound on apps. I have spent so much time on trying to figure why sound did not get downloaded. Apple/ iPad’ troubleshooting had no solutions until I found your website! Did not know I had this hidden feature. It would be great if apple would tell people about iPads hidden features
    Thanks a million!!!!

  140. Jen

    08/12/2012 at 9:10 am

    Can’t get back the ringer vol. Keep showing headphone vol. No sound :( Help…

  141. Deven D.

    08/13/2012 at 3:03 am

    I have been going crazy for months trying to figure out what was wrong. I came here and you helped me fix it in seconds. THANK YOU SO MUCH JOSH.

    DDC

  142. Lawrence

    08/18/2012 at 10:25 pm

    Appreciated. Much better than apple website. Thanks

  143. Joan

    08/19/2012 at 12:27 am

    Thank you – strange but true.
    If your Pad refuses to change orientation in certain apps this can be rectified by double-tapping the home button, closing all apps, and swiping left to right a couple of times. Also strange but true.

  144. Amber Logsdon

    08/22/2012 at 7:41 am

    Thanks so much!! I was getting super frustrated before reading this.

  145. John

    08/27/2012 at 4:53 pm

    Many thanks… my ears work much better now! ;-)

  146. Josh

    08/27/2012 at 8:00 pm

    Awesome iPad3 iOS 5.1.1 hint, also what a stupid and annoying little quirk. Boo on Apple for such a useless feature. Thanks a million mate!

  147. Nicci

    09/11/2012 at 11:29 am

    Thank you so much!!! I’ve been trying to figure this out for a couple of months!

  148. Ed

    09/15/2012 at 3:09 pm

    Thanks, Your advice worked and is greatly appreciated.

  149. IP

    09/19/2012 at 8:30 am

    Thank you! My 18 month old daughter just got hear app sounds back! lol

  150. Jamie

    09/21/2012 at 3:59 am

    All this did not work for me. Here is what I did. I powered off completely by holding the standby button for about 5 seconds. The power off option came on and I powered off. Wait arbour 30 seconds, then power on again by holding the standby button for about 5 seconds, a broken apple sign comes up, wait a few seconds for your pin no request to come up and follow the instructions to power up again. My sound came back. It is just like rebooting your computer. Awesome. I hope this helps someone.

  151. tara

    09/21/2012 at 10:44 pm

    thank you!!

  152. Rebecca E Aldrich Hansen

    09/22/2012 at 7:24 pm

    You rock! Thanks!

  153. Mike

    09/27/2012 at 5:19 pm

    Worked. Thanks! But now my orientation is locked. Is it possible to unlock it AND have the sound work?

  154. Max's Mom

    09/28/2012 at 10:05 pm

    Oh my goodness. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! This is the most ANNOYING problem I’ve had with my son’s iPad – he depends on his apps to communicate and learn at school – and now it’s FINALLY FIXED!! I’m bookmarking this solution for the future. Wonderful help!! THANKS AGAIN!!

  155. Ruchita

    10/03/2012 at 12:12 am

    Thank you so much.

  156. Ashley

    10/05/2012 at 10:51 pm

    Amazing. Thank you SO very much! This has been stumping me forever!

  157. RobW

    10/06/2012 at 10:11 pm

    I can hear sound with music, Skype, you tube, etc, but am unable to record any sound eg with movies on my camera, and no sound being sent from me when I Skype?

  158. MissMal

    10/09/2012 at 5:46 am

    Guys if you’ve tried all this and still didn’t work, just turn your iPad on and off and voila, worked like magic 

  159. Phil

    10/18/2012 at 3:20 pm

    Jamie, THANK YOU SO MUCH !! Nothing was working for me ! Apple-people told me to restore, what I found stupidly heavy for one six-months old ipad3 ! I tried your advice and IT WORKS ! Jamie, thank you so much !

  160. Lily

    10/22/2012 at 6:30 am

    I cannot Thank you enough . we tried everything. reboot,u name it.. almost gave up
    You made my 8 year old son happy.. Thank you so much…

  161. onah

    10/23/2012 at 1:37 am

    ur great! thanks a lot

  162. R Harmsen

    10/24/2012 at 8:34 am

    Need we say more? Joe Smith es lo mejor! Gracias amigo.

  163. Missy

    10/28/2012 at 9:17 am

    Thank you very much for your generosity in sharing your knowledge with us.

  164. Rob Tate

    11/01/2012 at 12:51 pm

    I don’t see a mute button where you say. I only see what looks like a rotation lock. I’m having the sound problem in my Facebook app, but I don’t have a soft mute button like you say I should.

    R

  165. Mario

    11/02/2012 at 6:34 pm

    Muchas gracias por el tip!

  166. Renz Perez

    11/03/2012 at 10:23 pm

    I don’t have a volume adjustment.. Heeeeellllpp

  167. Niall

    11/17/2012 at 11:21 am

    Thanks a million for the fix, you just made my four year old sons day,

  168. Ian

    11/22/2012 at 3:32 am

    I dont have the ‘speaker / mute button” just the lock screen orientation button ;-)

    • Marie

      12/08/2012 at 1:58 pm

      Me either, this is driving me crazy

  169. Desnee Pennells

    11/27/2012 at 10:37 am

    Thank you soooooo much, like the others I thought I was going mad, you deserve a Star. My twin grandaughters would have been very disappointed at not being able to hear their stories and songs.

  170. Reynaldo S. Aniciete

    11/27/2012 at 2:39 pm

    got it thanks a lot mabuhay

  171. Russell

    11/29/2012 at 4:06 am

    you’re a genius! thanks for sharing…

  172. Gh

    12/17/2012 at 8:06 pm

    Awesome thanks!

  173. Charles

    12/28/2012 at 2:07 pm

    Did all that, and restored it, still broken….off to applestore…

  174. Mort Castle

    12/28/2012 at 9:48 pm

    Thank you for knowledge & clarity of expression. & for sharing.

    Mort

  175. Carol

    12/29/2012 at 3:14 pm

    Seriously, I have been monkeying around with this for hours. Two seconds on your advice. Thank you so much!

  176. Jenna

    01/01/2013 at 9:21 am

    I have had this problem before and was able to fix it. Just how u say to with the mute button. It worked for a long time. Now only my music plays. I get no sound from apps or videos….. Ughhh now what

  177. Atif

    01/12/2013 at 4:34 am

    Thanks a lot, save me trouble. This had been bothering me from past week. My kids must have some how mute it. Good job keep it up

  178. Travis von Pimpin

    01/20/2013 at 10:49 am

    It is VERY IMPORTANT TO Note: you can change what the switch by your volume does with the settings described here. mine was muted and changed to the swtich. it is by defult for the mini, but thanks a ton! that’s why some apps had sound and some not

  179. Doris

    01/20/2013 at 3:05 pm

    Josh, you are a genius! Thanks a million!

  180. Cynthia Campbell

    01/25/2013 at 11:18 pm

    I have the mute icon after double-tapping home but it is already unmuted. On the slidebar to the right of that menu it shows it down all the way. On the example shown at the top of this thread there is a volume icon beneath that slidebar. I don’t have that icon showing up on my menu. Any thoughts on how to fix that? Still no sound. :(

  181. Dennis Oliver

    01/27/2013 at 12:48 pm

    Brilliant, sorted for me too. thanks very much.

  182. jen

    02/04/2013 at 4:29 am

    tnx…but still the same…no sounds…annoying becauseonly headphone can use not the apeaker…please help

  183. Nancy

    02/06/2013 at 2:03 pm

    Thank you SO much, I have reset my iPad SO many times, and dreaded taking it to the apple store, this worked and took only a min!!!!

  184. Maureen

    02/16/2013 at 1:49 pm

    Super easy directions worked right away!!! Thank you for sharing!

  185. Ganesh

    02/28/2013 at 4:40 am

    Thnx,i have solve my problem,its very Helpful…….

  186. Glabella

    03/02/2013 at 3:26 pm

    I have done everything and u have no sound nothing :-(

  187. Pokeguy56

    03/20/2013 at 3:51 pm

    It stil isn’t working I reset my iPad to its factory contusions and still no sound I checked the lock but still nothing. I can only hear the riggtone and the audio on FaceTime but everything e
    We has no sound plz help

  188. Ana

    04/08/2013 at 11:14 pm

    Thanks a million!! I was going crazy but your tip help me and it worked =)

  189. Bill Mount

    04/18/2013 at 8:19 am

    Well, this is interesting. When I follow the steps above, I don’t see a Speaker icon on the far left. I see a “lock orientation” button. My iPad looks exactly like the picture above except for that one difference. I can’t find a speaker icon anywhere. I wonder what that’s all about. Does anybody have any suggestions? Thanks.

  190. Silhouttez

    04/27/2013 at 9:40 pm

    Thanks a lot man,im been so confused and this method works very well,^^

  191. Terry Elliott

    04/29/2013 at 5:17 pm

    Do the above I get no mute button it is lock rotation, just update apple software late week now it quiet, I called apple an in about 5 seconds the tech said it is a software problem you can buy a 1 year $99, 2 year $169 or 3 year $249 fun in about 5 second he know ????

  192. Hatattat

    05/06/2013 at 2:47 am

    Sounds like you know your stuff but I have opposite problem: keyboard and internal sounds work but Hulu and Netflix apps don’t…ever run across this one?

  193. dizzydragon987

    05/09/2013 at 3:04 pm

    Thank you it finally worked everything other people were saying wasn’t helping me

  194. Keepitlit

    05/13/2013 at 2:44 pm

    Worked Instantly – What a Guy!!

  195. Josh

    05/31/2013 at 3:34 pm

    Thank u !

  196. Lorraine Paradowski

    06/02/2013 at 6:50 pm

    Thank you!!! I thought I was going to have to take my iPad into the store for repairs & worried about the cost. The fix was so easy!

  197. Loy

    06/22/2013 at 5:40 am

    Tried everything, still no sound….plssssss help :(

  198. Jon Salem

    07/27/2013 at 8:45 am

    I have tried everything from cleaning port w/toothbrush to restarting My ipad as a new one. Nothing works. When I restart it by pressing the home button and side button. The apple logo appears and the sound bar restores for about 15 seconds then it disappears. The sound works with earphones and wireless speaker, but that’s it.

  199. Liliana Garcia

    08/07/2013 at 8:29 am

    Thanks! It is a simple problem which make me do a reset etc and you offer us a easy solution which most of us did’t know at all.

  200. John Stanley

    08/13/2013 at 11:24 am

    I had the problem described above”; no sound or slider button when no plug is in the sound-out socket but everything OK when headphones are connected. As a desperate last resort I used an aerosol air ‘brush’ in both the charger socket and the sound socket and, hey presto, it’s working again. Clearly, it must be possible to have a short across some contacts in the charger socket or maybe something preventing a restoration of speaker contacts after the headphone plus is withdrawn. The bottom line is to keep all sockets clean from fluff or possibly grit or dust.
    Stan

  201. Nyl Cruz

    08/19/2013 at 3:55 am

    Thanks You!

  202. Jason S

    08/21/2013 at 5:54 pm

    I had very low volume when using Music and Netflix. The solution was to go to Settimgs -> Music -> Volume limit and move the slider for Max volume.

  203. rahuldjpapa

    08/24/2013 at 10:48 pm

    thanks man it really helped just found that sound option in settings general then mute then do the above process.it fixed the problem

  204. Chao

    08/26/2013 at 9:01 am

    Thank you so much!!!

  205. Agssr

    09/04/2013 at 3:03 pm

    My ipad 2 just lost its sound I have no idea what to do help me?

  206. Pd

    09/12/2013 at 10:13 pm

    It took me longer to scroll down to post this comment than to fix the sound issue. Great tip

  207. Kori

    11/08/2013 at 7:55 am

    Worked. Thanks! But now my orientation is locked. Is it possible to unlock it AND have the sound work at the same time?

  208. June

    12/17/2013 at 10:42 am

    This fix doesn’t work for iOS 7. I have my iPad mini set to lock screen with side button. When I look at the control centre sound not locked. I have had sound with Skype & safari, not Facebook!! What gives?

  209. Brenda

    01/18/2014 at 6:20 am

    OMG … I had been trying for quite some time to figure this out. My special needs son was getting worked up now knowing what was taking me so long to fix it. You saved the say! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

  210. Bill

    03/01/2014 at 11:37 am

    Thank you I thought I pad was broken but all up and running now

  211. Lulu

    05/22/2014 at 8:14 pm

    My iPad has no sound unless I pug the head phones in .
    Not sure what to do. Please help!!

  212. Janeyce Tyler

    07/22/2014 at 9:36 pm

    It’s still not working what do I do?

  213. Sharon

    12/02/2014 at 9:17 am

    Thank you for this, worked great :)

  214. Dadra Smith

    12/26/2014 at 10:47 am

    Help – we have selective mute on a iPod Touch 5th generation – sound works except on vine and snap chat – but can hear those with headphones. This is my daughter’s Christmas present :(

  215. Kk

    01/30/2015 at 7:06 am

    Brilliant thanks this was really annoying me after my children got hold of the ipad and silenced it during their games, took me ages to find your advice, thanks so much

  216. Tammy

    07/09/2015 at 8:32 am

    Thank you so much!!!!!

  217. Serif

    08/27/2015 at 7:57 am

    This quick solution didn’t work for my Apple mini. For 10 mins been trying this and nothing works.

  218. Marianne Amelia Davies

    01/03/2016 at 12:43 pm

    Thank you Whackyfiasco…got the sound back…now need to work out how to get S4C clic app to work again!

  219. Willard Grant

    02/24/2016 at 4:38 pm

    Thanks you really helped me out

  220. Fardowsa

    05/06/2016 at 2:19 pm

    Can somebody just tell me how to do this bitch ass sound for the stupid Apple IPad

  221. bluesageacademy

    06/29/2016 at 8:09 pm

    Sooo helpful! This was driving me crazy!

  222. Mike Yancey

    10/25/2016 at 10:03 am

    Didn’t work

  223. albem

    02/10/2017 at 5:36 am

    thank you very much….

  224. Maureen

    03/21/2017 at 5:33 am

    My menu looked different … had to pull up from bottom of page and not left to right swipe. Menu looked a little different but found it … thanks!!

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