If Your iPhone XR Stuck in Headphone Mode - 8 Tricks to Fix It

Though being baked into the premium gadgets and ecosystem, your iPhone XR device is still not immune to some underlying risks. Sometimes, it may fail to be responsive to the Speaker function and stuck in the "Headphones" indicator even though there are no headphones set on.

When your iPhone XR is on headphone mode without headphones plugged in, there could be a couple of reasons in contact with hardware, software, or a combination of both. Before heading to the Apple store for a repair, dig deeper into the iPhone stuck headphones mode fixes outlined below to correct this malfunction on your own, whether you have access to the device or not.

Pre-steps: Check hardware-related problems

1.Try plugging & unplugging the original headphones to confirm if the headphones themselves are to blame for that iPhone XR gets stuck in headphone mode.

2.Verify if there is enough lint or other junk building up on the headphone jack (lightning port) that resulting in the stuck headphone mode on iPhone XR. If any, removing the debris via shooting some compressed air into it or inserting a Q-tip.

If the headphone mode errors are still present with the standard headphones and clean charging port, go on reading to get iPhone XR off of headphone mode by sorting out the software glitches.

Fix 1: Classic Way - Restart iPhone XR

Your first port of call should perform a reboot on your iPhone XR. It will remove all active background services where problems could arise and then fix stuck headphone mode in iPhone XR without erasing any important data.

To do a soft reset, you can follow the guidelines below or click here for more details.

• Hold down Volume up button and Power button until the power off slide shows up.
• Move the "Slide to power off" from left to right.
• After 30 seconds or more, press and hold the Power button to turn on the phone until you see the Apple logo.

A normal restart may not be able to cure this headphones mode problem if your iPhone XR is black, frozen or unresponsive. That's where a force restart comes in. Fear not: this also will not affect any contents on iPhone XR.

• Press and quickly release the Volume Up button.
• Press and quickly release the Volume Down button.
• Then press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears.

Related: What to do if the screen is black or the buttons aren't responding

Fix 2: Advanced Tool - iOS System Recovery

Basically, a restart or force-restart can help for resolving software problems. If that fails to fix iPhone XR stuck in headphone mode, things may get tough. But thankfully, a third-party utility called iOS System Recovery has found success in dealing with it.

Combining the detecting, diagnostic and repairing tools in one, this software is an ultimate tool on system recovery for iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc. It can locate the source of fault in your device instantly and correctly, whether it's an obvious or unknown one. And within only a few clicks, it can rescue your device from the recognized malfunction while leaving all included files untouched.

Speaking of restoring iPhone XR out of headphone mode, it will give you two repair options for more close control: "Standard Mode" and "Advanced Mode". For most of part, "Standard Mode" is capable of overcoming the issue. But if your device is suffering more irritating problems, for example, the forgotten passcode, "Advanced Mode" has you covered.

Now, it's time to take advantage of all its features to the most to fix iPhone XR with stuck headphone mode.

Step 1: Get your phone connected to the computer

Run the software on your computer and hook up your iPhone XR to it.

When you see the device icon showing on the right panel, hover on the More tools from the bottom left corner and hit it.

Then it will give you an options panel displaying three function mode, as seen in the screenshot below. To take iPhone XR out of headphone mode, click iOS System Recovery.

Here you'll be able to acknowledge what this powerful tool can do. Then, press Start button.

Step 2: Check "Standard Mode"

Afterwards, choose Fix to enter to the next window. When you are in, select "Standard Mode" to fix iPhone XR in headphone mode without clearing out all your contents in the device. Then, hit Confirm button.

Step 3: Download firmware package

In the window that comes up, choose the firmware with the latest version of your iPhone XR model. Then specify an easy-to-find directory to place the downloaded firmware package in your computer.

With all these taken care of, click Next button to start downloading the selected package.

Step 4: Turn off headphone control on iPhone XR

With required firmware package in place, it's time to repair your iPhone XR with the stuck "Headphones" icon. Simply click Fix button to start.

During the repairing process, it will download the firmware package into your device and then fix the issue.

Done! When completed, turn the volume level up to verify if the headphones mode is cancelled and Volume mode begins to work.

Pro Tips: There are a handful of additional features on this program that you might find handy: "iPhone Data Recovery", "iPhone Backup & Restore", "Upgrade or Downgrade the iOS System", etc.

[Related Article: How to Fix an iPhone XR That Won't Charge]

Fix 3: Manually Disable Bluetooth Connection

In the case that your iPhone XR may keep the connection record in memory and have been paired with the Bluetooth device connected before automatically, you'll need to remove all the Bluetooth accessories to eliminate headphone mode errors on iPhone XR.

• Unlock your phone and open Control Center by swipe from the top-right corner.
• Tap .

If your iPhone XR still refuses requests from Speaker function and stuck in headphone mode, consider turning on the Airplane mode to rule out all the unknown wireless pairing.

• Enable Control Center, then choose and wait for 15 minutes.
• Then turn it off.

Fix 4: Reset All Settings

Enabling Airplane Mode, as above, has eliminated the chances of external connected accessories being the cause of headphone mode stuck in iPhone XR. But if there's still no sound getting back to the Speaker, you can return settings to their defaults.

• Open your iPhone XR, head to Settings > General > Reset.
• Select Reset All Settings. No current data will be deleted.

If you want to save the present settings before doing a reset, get your iPhone XR backed up first.

Fix 5: Update the Operating System

This is a lifesaver in most of the iOS system problems. Apple releases new updates periodically into the iPhone devices for remedying bugs on the former versions. You can give updating a shot to fix iPhone XR stuck in headphone mode.

On your phone, go to Settings > General > Software Update, then click Download and install.

If you fail to set about updating your iPhone XR wirelessly, use iTunes instead. You can check Apple's Guide for doing that.

Fix 6: Switch Audio Outputs

Your device can be equipped with several audio output options: Speaker, Headphones and other external devices. If the audio source has been tweaked into the "Headsets" mode, this could get iPhone XR into headphone mode and hinder the Speaker ability to emit sound.

With this in mind, you can try switching each of these options to unstick headphones mode:

• Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen to open Control Center.
• Touch and hold the Music controls in the top right corner then tap .
• In the resulting menu, choose iPhone.

Now, try listening to music or using Siri to examine if the sound is playing through the build-in speaker instead of the mistaken headphones in iPhone XR.

Fix 7: Carry out a Factory Reset

If you have tried all the previous instructions but find no luck, a factory reset may be in order to address iPhone XR going into headphone mode unintendedly and make it go back to normal. The main caveat to remember here is that all the account information, apps, settings and everything else will be removed completely. Thus, it's better off making a backup for your phone first.

Once you've performed any necessary backups, following the wizard below. Here, we'll take iTunes in Windows PC as an example to show how to restore your iPhone XR to its factory settings.

Tips: Apple's User Guide will also walk you through the factory resetting process.

• Connect your iPhone XR to the PC and run iTunes.
• From the top left of the iTunes window, click Summary. Then choose Restore iPhone.
• Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the process.

Once done, go through this roundup to restore all content to iPhone from a backup, whether it's an iCloud backup or a computer backup.

Don't plan to wipe out all the precious data and files? Check out the next fix.

Fix 8: Take a Professional Insight

If your iPhone XR still thinks headphones are attached after a few attempts, there may be a more serious glitch hitting the device like water/ liquid damage (How to check), PC board broke, etc. Either consulting from Apple online or making a appointment with a trusted service center works to remedy such troublesome issues and get iPhone XR out of headphone mode, .