Tech-savvy friends with iPhones, I could use your help, because my phone (iPhone 7, if that narrows the issue down at all) isn’t making (or receiving) calls properly. It CALLS fine, but I can’t hear anything from the other end—and apparently the person on the other end can’t hear me, either. It also doesn’t provide the usual options to put it on speaker or what have you. What’s going on, and how can I fix it? I've tried every troubleshooting tip Apple's site had to offer and none of them have worked. Here’s a screenshot of what it looks like when I make a call. Note the speaker icon. (And yes, it's a problem when my headphones are disconnected too--they just happened to be connected in this screenshot.) TL;DR: My iPhone is not working as a phone and I need help.
Okay, it’s working again now...mostly. There’s apparently a HUGE amount of static on my end now, and if anyone knows how to fix that I’d be very grateful, but it’s not totally fucked!
That's actually good - I've had a lot of experience with blown speakers (including internal ones) and one way I tell if it's totally done for is if I shake it and I hear a clicking noise. I know this is really basic, but are your call volume settings about where they normally are?
1. Yes, but I updated it after the problem began, specifically hoping it would fix it. 2. Depends on what you mean by heavy? It’s a rubber-type case with a plastic outer shell. But I’ve had it for months, so I dunno if it could play into the problem.
The reason I asked about the case was that I was wondering if something small could've accidentally fallen inside the phone and is rattling around, and a case might accidentally have a pushed it in. But if it's been on for months, you're right, probably not the problem. Do you know if it's sill under warranty so the apple people could look at it?
Unfortunately the nearest Apple store is nearly an hour away—that’s my absolute last resort. Not sure about the warranty status, though?
Ugh that's such a pain. I'm not super familiar with Apple, but I'd bet they have some way to check the warranty status, so if you did have to go to the store you'd know if you were covered. Wait okay I'm dumb, does your phone have something in the settings that's basically just an 'about this device' file? My iPad has that, and I can't remember, but I think it had warranty info in there.
So the bad news is that, as it turns out, the problem was that the phone had developed a massive hardware problem that could not be fixed. Specifically, the motherboard had gotten bent somehow. (The phone later stopped working entirely--the touch screen and home button stopped responding, so it was effectively bricked.) The good news is that it was under insurance, so we didn't have to shell out TOO too much for a new one! I got my new phone today, although I haven't set it up just yet--I'm waiting until my folks come home so they can help me activate it. XD
