Your iPhone 13 can occasionally get stuck in headphone mode, making your device believe headphones are plugged in even when they’re not, and muting the speakers.
There are several methods you can try to get your iPhone 13 out of headphone mode, including restarting your phone, and cleaning your lightening port.
If you own an iPhone 13, you’ve probably used it to listen to music through headphones on your commute home from work, or while using the treadmill at the gym. And generally, as soon as you unplug the headphones, your iPhone will start routing music back through the speakers.
But sometimes, your iPhone can get confused and continue to operate as if headphones are plugged in even when they’re not.
This error is particularly frustrating since, while your iPhone 13 is stuck in headphone mode, you’ll be unable to play sounds through the phone’s loudspeaker.
Why is the iPhone 13 stuck in headphones mode?
Your iPhone 13 might be stuck in headphone mode due to hardware or software issues. It’s not uncommon for the iPhone to freeze. It might be due to heavy caching, RAM burnout, or other bugs.
Further, iOS updates may cause your iPhone 13 to become stuck in headphone mode occasionally. This problem can also occur if liquid or debris is in the lightening port, causing the iPhone to keep detecting an active headphone even after removing it.
Whatever it is, below are a few methods you should try to get your iPhone 13 out of headphone mode.
How to fix iPhone 13 stuck in headphone mode
Note: information in this article applied to iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max.
1. Insert and remove the headset
This seems fairly obvious, but doing so could prompt your iPhone to recognize that the headphones have been unplugged this time, thereby taking it out of headphone mode. This is one of the most common fixes for iPhone 13 stuck on headphone mode issue and tends to do the trick many times, so it’s worth a try.
2. Restart your iPhone
As with most technology, a restart of your iPhone can help fix many issues your device might have. . Restarting the iPhone usually removes the earphone icon, invariably removing your iPhone 13 from earphone mode. Therefore, it’s always worth taking a few moments to restart your iPhone by powering it off and then on again to see if that happens to fix the issue.
To turn off your iPhone, press and hold the Side button and either volume button until “slide to power off” appears on the screen. Swipe the power icon left to right to shut down your iPhone.
It can take 20 seconds or so for your iPhone to turn off, and that’s completely normal. To turn your iPhone back on, hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears on the screen. You can let go of the Side button when the Apple logo appears.
If your iPhone 13 is still stuck on headphones mode after your iPhone turns back on, there’s a hardware problem with your iPhone. At this point, this problem is being caused by one of two possibilities:
- Debris stuck inside the Lightning port is fooling your iPhone into thinking that headphones are plugged in.
- The Lightning port is damaged, either physically or by liquid.
3. Clean your lightening port
One of the reasons your iPhone 13 might get stuck in headphone mode is that there’s debris of some kind in the lightening port. Even a small amount of dust can cause an issue, so it’s a good idea to inspect your lightening port. Take a look inside your charging port (use a flashlight to do this) for any dirt and residue. If you can see that there is debris stuck inside, find a small brush either a toothbrush or paintbrush and use this to extract the dirt inside. Be sure to be gentle whilst carrying this out and do not use any tweezers. Use of tweezers can damage the delicate pins and components inside. If you can’t get the debris out, you can also try using a can of compressed air. This can remove any remaining dirt that is lurking inside.
4. Toggle Airplane mode
It’s possible your iPhone 13 still thinks it’s connected to an external audio source like Bluetooth headphones. It’s easy to fix by taking the phone into and out of Airplane Mode.
Turning on Airplane Mode temporarily disconnects all networking on the phone, including disconnecting the phone from Wi-Fi networks and, most importantly, from Bluetooth devices. If Bluetooth is the culprit, cutting off the connection should solve your problem.
Here’s what to do:
- Open Control Center.
- Tap the Airplane Mode icon, represented as an airplane.
- Wait a few seconds, then tap the Airplane Mode icon again to turn Airplane Mode off.
5. Check for water damage
Accidentally dropping your iPhone in liquid or getting too much water or other liquid on your device can cause your iPhone 13 to have speaker problems and get stuck in headphones mode.
First, locate your iPhone’s moisture sensor and look for a red circle or red line.
You can tell if your iPhone has water or liquid damage by checking its liquid contact indicator (LCI) on the side of your iPhone. It’s usually just inside the SIM slot.
If your iPhone has been in contact with a liquid, the LCI turns red. If it’s white or silver, good news! Your phone does not have water damage!
If there is some water damage, the most important thing is to completely dry your iPhone as soon as possible–immediately!
It’s important to clean and dry that headphone jack as well as the rest of the phone. Take a Q-Tip or absorbent cloth and gently insert it into the headphone jack or lightning port to soak up any trapped water.
If you don’t want to insert anything into the jack or port, try instead using a hairdryer on the cool setting or a fan to evaporate any water.
6. Turn on/off speaker mode during a call
Not only does your iPhone stop playing music when stuck in headphone mode, but the speaker also doesn’t work. So you won’t hear someone speak while calling in speaker mode.
So another trick that works in resolving the problem of iPhone 13 stuck in headphone mode is toggling on and off the speaker mode when receiving calls to see if the iPhone speaks out. You can have someone call or use a second phone to call your iPhone to try this trick.
7. Contact Apple for further support
If you’ve tried seemingly every possible fix to get your iPhone 13 out of headphone mode but are having no luck, it may be time to reach out to Apple for further investigation. They’ll be able to tell if you’re having a hardware issue, and fix or replace any relevant parts that are broken or malfunctioning. You can contact Apple by phone, online, or better yet if you’re looking for a quick diagnosis go to an Apple Store.
Fixed iPhone 13 stuck in headphone mode
It’s frustrating when an iPhone 13 gets stuck in headphones mode. Thankfully,the above tips will resolve the problem of iPhone 13 stuck in headphone mode. Feel free to leave a comment below. I’d like to hear about any creative ways you’ve found to remove debris from the Lightning port of your iPhone 13.
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