Getting phone calls or hearing your alarms is one of the most important things our iPhones do! And missing calls is not fun, especially when they come from your boss or a family member. So when you can’t hear your iPhone’s ringtone or your alarms because the volume is too low or it dips in volume after the first couple of rings, it’s a real problem.
Today, we share the one setting that fixes this problem for most folks. And we’ll add on some additional tips to get your iPhone ringing loudly AND consistently!
So let’s get to it!
Quick Tips 
Follow these quick tips to increase your iPhone’s ringer or alarm volume
- Temporarily turn off Face ID and re-enable it when you confirm your alarms & ringer volume is acceptable
- Turn off Face ID’sAttention Aware Features
- Slide yourvolume control all the way to its maximum volume
- Check your side switch to ensure mute is not enabled
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Check this one setting for ringtone and alarm volume problems
Folks with Face ID enabled iPhones, like the Phone 11 models (11, 11 Pro, & 11 Pro Max) & X Series (XR, XS, XS Max, & X) notice this problem more than others (and older) iPhone models.
In particular, they report that theiPhone XR model often rings or starts an alarm at full volume but then quickly the volume fades out to a level that’s difficult to hear. This issue seems especially true for folks that are hard of hearing.
So if your iPhone’s ringer issue is that the phone’s ringer or alarm volume goes from loud to low, this tip is for you!
We mentioned there was a single setting that usually fixed the problem, and that setting is part of your iPhone’s Face ID. It’s called Attention Aware Features.
- Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode
- Toggle off Attention Aware Features(Video) Are You Not Getting Text or Message Notifications, Alerts, or Sounds on iPhone? How to Fix
- When you deselect Attention Aware Features, your ringer and alert volume remains loud even when you pick up and look at the phone
- This feature is also inSettings > General >Accessibility > Face ID & Attention
When this feature is on, the TruthDepth camera, checks if you are paying attention and if it believes you are, it automaticallylowers the volume when you look at the screen when the phone is ringing or when an alarm triggers.
It’s strange but true that on iPhones with Face ID there are special settings to adjust how loudly your phone rings AND they’re located in your Face ID & Passcode settings!
Is your iPhone’s alarm volume too quiet?
We’ve heard from a lot of our readers with Face ID iPhones that they are missing their alarms! They set the alarm volume to the maximum level but then in the morning; they don’t hear it!
If you set an alarm and then missed it because its volume was too low, causing you to be late for work or an appointment, follow the steps above and disable Attention Aware Features.
As a reminder, go to your settings for Face ID & Passcode and turn off the attention awareness feature. It should fix the problem!
Remember, alarms on iPhones use the same volume as the ringer!
Check out this article for more on changing your alarm volume and other alarm settings and controls.
What are the iPhone’s Attention Aware Features?
With the introduction of Face ID, your iPhone is now able to detect whether or not you are looking at your device via facial recognition.
With Face ID, Apple added two different features that use Face ID technology to assist you.
- Require Attention for Face ID
- Attention Aware Features
Require attention for Face ID uses facial recognitionto verify your identity before iOS unlocks your iPhone and allows its use.
Attention aware features use this same technology to check if you are looking at your device. If your iPhone verifies you’re looking at its screen, when your phone starts to ring, the ringer or alarm volume starts at yourset volume level but then reduces the overall volume, since itbelieves you are aware it’s ringing or sounding the alarm.
Turn your iPhone’s ringer’s volume all the way up
For those with older model iPhones without Face ID or if your ringer problem isn’t related to attention aware features, try increasing the overall ringer volume.
- Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics
- Locate the section Ringer and Alerts
- Slide the volume control all the way to the right
If you want to control the ringer’s volume with the side (physical) volume controls, toggle the switch for Change with Buttons on. 
Tapping Change with Buttons allows you to manually adjust thevolume of your alarms or your ringer as needed, via the physical volume buttons on the side of the phone. 
When this option is off, tapping the physical volume buttons doesn’t change the volume of your ringer or your alarms.
Check your mute switch
Your iPhone comes with a switch to mute sounds quickly. People use this when entering meetings, a movie theatre, or another event where a phone ringing out loud would really disturb everyone else!
Your iPhone includes a physical ring/silent (mute) switch on the left side of your iPhone, just above the volume buttons. Flip it to control which sounds play through your iPhone speaker.
Can I have a separate volume level for my iPhone ringtone and my iPhone alarms and notifications?
Unfortunately, at this time, there is no way to separate the volume of your iPhone’s ringer for phone calls from the alert volume for things like alarms, texts, emails, messages, and other alerts–their sound is set at the same volume.
And we really don’t know why Apple ties both the ringer and alerts volume to the same volume slider. It’s doesn’t make sense for how we use our devices today!
So you cannot lower the volume for any alarm you use to wake up in the morning (or for whatever) without lowering the volume for incoming calls.
The current recommendation is to turn down the ringer volume slider each night, then turn it back up in the morning so you don’t miss any phone calls. Yeah…not ideal!
We’d love to see Apple separate phone ringer volume from alarm volume. And we’d also like to see a separate volume slider for notification volume for things like incoming messages and other app notifications.
Elizabeth Jones
For most of her professional life, Amanda Elizabeth (Liz for short) trained all sorts of folks on how to use media as a tool to tell their own unique stories. She knows a thing or two about teaching others and creating how-to guides!
Her clients includeEdutopia, Scribe Video Center, Third Path Institute, Bracket, The Philadelphia Museum of Art,and theBig Picture Alliance.
Elizabeth received her Master of Fine Arts degree in media making from Temple University, where she also taught undergrads as an adjunct faculty member in their department of Film and Media Arts.
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FAQs
Why is my ring volume so low on my iPhone 11? ›
Go to "Settings" on the device > Tap "Sounds" > Adjust the volume of ringtones and notifications with the volume slider. Go to "Settings" on the device > Tap "Sounds" > Turn on "Lock Sound."
How do I fix the ringer volume on my iPhone XR? ›Apple iPhone XR
Choose Settings. Scroll down. Choose Sounds & Haptics. To set the volume, drag the slider under RINGER AND ALERTS.
This is because the phone is having a feature that if screen of phone is facing your face than ring volume will automatically get lower and if your phone is cace down on table or not sensing your face than it will ring at the volume set in your settings.
How do you fix low alarm volume on iPhone? ›How to change the alarm's volume. Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics. Under Ringtone and Alert Volume, drag the slider left or right to set the volume. As you drag, an alert will play, so you can hear how the volume changes.
How do I get my iPhone 11 to ring louder? ›Apple iPhone 11 Pro
Choose Settings. Scroll down. Choose Sounds & Haptics. To set the volume, drag the slider under RINGER AND ALERTS.
Press the Volume buttons on the left side of the device to adjust media or call volume. You can also adjust the volume from the Sounds & Haptics screen. Select and drag the Volume slider as desired. To enable or disable changing the volume with buttons, select the Change with Buttons switch.
Why does my iPhone XS ringer gets quiet? ›This is part of the Attention Aware Feature of the iPhones with FaceID. When the iPhone has your attention while you are looking at the screen (typing, reading websites or working with an app), then it automatically reduces the sound because it knows you are looking right at it so no need to issue loud notifications.
Why do my alarms sound low? ›Check the volume of the ringtone in Settings → Alarms → Ringtone or in the settings of each individual alarm in per-alarm settings.
Why can't I hear my alarm anymore? ›Why does it happen? If you don't actually hear your alarm, you could just naturally be a heavy sleeper. According to Dr. Guy Meadows, co-founder and clinical lead at Sleep School, research suggests that deep sleepers have more sleep spindles, a form of brain activity during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep.
Why can't I hear my phone ring even though the volume is up? ›There are various reasons why your Android phone won't ring when someone calls, including: Your ringer volume is turned down. Your phone is on Do Not Disturb or Airplane mode. You turned on call forwarding.
How do I increase the ringer volume on my iPhone XS? ›
When you're on the phone or listening to songs, movies, or other media on iPhone, you can use the buttons on the side of your device to adjust the audio volume. Otherwise, the buttons control the volume for the ringer, alerts, and other sound effects. You can also use Siri to turn the volume up or down.
How do you fix a silent alarm? ›- Restart your phone. ...
- Check the alarm volume and tone. ...
- Clear the clock app cache. ...
- Uninstall updates on your Clock app. ...
- Check your “Do Not Disturb” settings. ...
- Reset preferences for the clock app Personal data will not be deleted.
Check your alarm volume before you go to sleep. The alarm will start playing at the current ringer volume , which is how loud your alarm will be, assuming you don't change the level later. To make it louder or quieter, just use the buttons to adjust the volume while the test alarm is playing.
Is there a way to increase alarm volume? ›- Open the Clock app.
- Go to the “Alarm” tab.
- Tap on a custom Alarm to open its preferences.
- Find the slider under “Alarm sound” and set the volume.
According to the folks over at Startle, some iPhone alarms are better than others at reducing the incidences of sleep inertia. Sencha - the happy jingling tone is the best choice because it's in the key of C and has a mid-range speed of 110 beats per minute.
Why does my iPhone alarm get quiet after a few seconds? ›This is normal behavior and means once the phone rings, you are looking at the phone. The phone is capable of knowing you are aware it is ringing and is called "Attention Aware" which is a setting you can turn off if you'd rather your phone continue to ring at the loudest volume.
Why is my iPhone alarm loud then quiet? ›This is normal behavior and means once the phone rings, you are looking at the phone. The phone is capable of knowing you are aware it is ringing and is called "Attention Aware" which is a setting you can turn off if you'd rather your phone continue to ring at the loudest volume. To me, it's a FANTASTIC feature.
How do I fix the alarm volume on my phone? ›- Open the Clock app.
- Go to the “Alarm” tab.
- Tap on a custom Alarm to open its preferences.
- Find the slider under “Alarm sound” and set the volume.
Make sure the "Change with buttons" is turned on in Settings, Sounds & Haptics, it makes it easier to fiddle with the volumes. You have an adjustment for Ringer which you can adjust while the home screen is visible. That will also adjust the Apple Alarm app and alert Notifications.
Does volume button affect alarm iPhone? ›Under Ringtone and Alert Volume, drag the slider to the left or right to set the volume. While you're dragging the slider, an alert will sound, so you can hear how the volume changes. Turn on Change with Buttons to use the volume buttons on your device to change the alarm volume.
What are sound Haptics on iPhone? ›
In Settings , change the sounds iPhone plays when you get a call, text, voicemail, email, reminder, or other type of notification. On supported models, you feel a tap—called haptic feedback—after you perform some actions, such as when you touch and hold the Camera icon on the Home Screen.
How do I reset my alarm volume? ›- Open your phone's Clock app .
- Tap More. Settings.
- Under "Alarms": Choose how long your alarm rings: Tap Silence after. Choose how long "snoozing" delays an alarm: Tap Snooze length. Change your alarm's volume: Use the "Alarm volume" slider.
...
Do nothing
- Press a volume button.
- At the right, tap the Down arrow .
- Choose the volume type: Media (music, videos, games, other media) Ring (calls, notifications) Alarm.
Step 1: Tap the "Settings" (gear icon) at the top of your Android phone. Then tap "My Device." In the My Device screen (below), tap "Sound." Step 2: After you tap Sound on your Android phone, you will see the screen below for controlling the sounds your phone makes.
Is ringer volume the same as alarm volume? ›There are actually three volume sliders on your Android device; the alarm volume is at the bottom. In fact, Android has three separate volume levels: one for ringers, another for media (like music and videos), and a third for alarms. Generally speaking, the volume rocker on your handset only controls the ringer volume.
Are ringer and volume the same thing? ›Your ringer volume adjusts the volume of the sound coming out of the phone when it's ringing. If the phone is not playing media (i.e. no sound is coming out of it) then the volume buttons on the side adjust the ringer volume.
How do I separate ringer and volume on iPhone? ›You can separate your system sound from your notification/ringer sound under Settings -> Sounds & Haptics. Under Ringers and Alerts, toggle off "Change with Buttons." Now you will be able to turn up/down volume on your music, movies and other media without affecting the ringer/notification volume.