iPhone XS Volume issue

By Jim D, 25 November, 2018

Forum
Apple Hardware and Compatible Accessories

All:

So, I recently took the plunge and upgraded my iPhone 7 to a shiny new iPhone XS. I'm slowly getting used to not having a home button and having the time and battery info in a little tiny space in the top left corner of the screen. My only real annoyance at this point is a very odd volume issue. As I suspect many of us do, I sleep with my iPhone on a table next to my bed. When I wake up in the middle of the night and want to know how much longer I can enjoy peaceful slumber, I press the side button to hear the current time. When I was using the 7 for this, I could set the volume at a reasonable low level and not wake up my wife. For some odd reason, now that I am using the XS, the volume starts quite loud and then lowers to the previously selected level. For example, pushing the side button causes the phone to say "Three Twenty" at a loud volume, then "eight" at an acceptable level. Has any one else experienced this dual volume level issue? For the sake of keeping a happy marriage, I'm hoping someone has a solution.
Thanks in advance for any assistance!
Jim

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Comments

By Adrian Wyka on Friday, November 23, 2018 - 03:33

For me it is the opposite.
When I read some text on the website and get the notification, "the volume is clearly reduced and I have to manually amplify.
However, if I set the VO on the rotor to 5-10% and decrease the volume of the phone it is not volume up.

By Bruce Harrell on Friday, November 23, 2018 - 03:33

Hi. I've had that problem. First, housekeeping.

There is no such thing as an iPhone 10 Xs. There is a 10s, and there is an Xs, but there is no 10 Xs.

Second, if this doesn't work, I'm hoping somebody will have the magic answer, but this is what I've done, and it seems to work for me.

1. Go to setting, sound and haptics, swipe down by headings to a heading called ringer and alerts, and there, set your desired volume.

2. Right below that is a button labelled "change with button". Turn this button to off.

3. If the above doesn't fix the problem, then:
a. At bedtime, plug in a pair of ear buds; or,
b. Use a talking clock with volume control or a Braille watch.

Hope this helps,

bruce

By Cliff on Friday, November 23, 2018 - 03:33

Hi guys! This bug has been up in a previous tread. As I mentioned there, I believe I have confirmed that this is linked to Siri volume.
What happens is that just right after you wake the screen from sleep,VO speeks in a rather loud volume for perhaps something like a half second. Then VO returns to speaking in the VO volume previously chosen before locking the phone. Very annoying indeed. Especially annoying since me and my wife also have our 9 months old baby sleeping in the same bedroom as us, and I can promise you that waking him up due to VO shouting in the middle of the night, and probably not getting him back to sleep again for the next couple of hours, well, it hurts in a very bad way!
Ok, the temporary fix, until Apple gets their finger out and eliminates this bug once and for all, is actually pretty simple. Activate Siri, press the volume down button numerous times to adjust Siri volume to where it’s really low, exit Siri, doublecheck that also the main phone volume and thus VO volume also is set low, lock your phone and retry unlocking the screen. What you will find now, is that VO screaming for the first 0.5 seconds after waking the screen is now gone. You can even experience the oposite if you, while adjusting Siri volume, set it very low. Then VO can actually speak in an even lower volume than the preferred VO volume the first half second after waking the screen.
Very wierd indeed, and I must admit that I haven’t bothered yet or taken the time to let accessibility@apple.com know about this Siri link causing this bug, because quite frankly, I’m pretty fead up of getting the prefilled standard reply in return each time I send them a mail. They would probably answer me that «we appreciate the feedback, and wanted to let you know that Apple is currently investigating this issue. However, we cannot comment on when this issue may be resolved». Sounds familiar? ;)
But feel free to sending them an email about this, anyone.
And in the meantime, I’m afraid your only choice is to start a habbit of going through the steps of redusing Siri volume every night before bedtime. :)
Hope this helps!
Take care, and good luck with your shiney new iPhone XS :) It’s a pretty slick device, except for a few minor quirks ;)

By Roxann Pollard on Friday, November 23, 2018 - 03:33

Hello Cliff. Thanks for posting the info about the volume being connected to SIRI. I haven't had the specific problems listed here but I have had my eardrum blasted a couple of times when first answering a call. When I first set up my XS, I began to notice that there were some weird volume issues. The only one that has bothered me, however, is the phone call answering. Hopefully Apple will address this in the next update. I do not think it is a Voiceover thing but a SIRI thing as you suggested so I'm sure that everyone is aware, which will probably push on Apple harder to address the issue. Here's to hoping so anyway.

By Jim D on Friday, November 23, 2018 - 03:33

Cliff and others:
Thanks for the assistance on this. Prior to reading the response about the Siri volume, I found another solution which resolves this problem. I purchased one of the Apple leather cases for the phone. The case has magnets, so when I open the cover, the phone wakes up. Then, I can perform a quick touch or swipe and hear the time on the lock screen. Per Cliff's suggestion, I did lower the Siri volume and this seems to have resolved the issue as well.
Thanks again for the assistance. I will be reporting this one to Apple Accessibility, even if I do get a canned response.
Jim

By DJX on Friday, November 23, 2018 - 03:33

What if you use the roter to turn down voice over volume to a nice low level, such that when it speaks it doesn't startle the household? also, try lowering the volume in the control center, that usually lowers the overall phone volume except the ringers (or at least on the 7 it does lol)