If the vibration feature on your iPhone is not working, then it can be a real annoyance. You might miss an important work call that you were expecting.
There are a few different options that you can try to alleviate the problem of your iPhone vibrate not working. We’ll start with the easiest fixes.
Test the Vibration Motor on the iPhone
The first thing to do is test the vibration motor to see if it’s still functional.
- Flip your iPhone’s Ring/Silent switch back and forth. You will find it located right above the volume buttons on the left-hand side of your phone. The location is the same on the various iPhone models.
- If “Vibrate on Ring” or “Vibrate on Silent” is turned on in Settings, then you should feel a buzz.
- If your iPhone doesn’t vibrate, it probably doesn’t mean that the vibration motor is broken. That doesn’t happen very often. Instead, you’ll probably need to make an adjustment in the Settings app.
How the Vibration Motor Works with the Silent/Ring Switch
If “Vibrate on Ring” is turned on in the Settings app on your phone, then it should vibrate when you pull the Silent/Ring switch toward the front of the iPhone. If it is turned to “Vibrate on Silent,” then it will vibrate when you push the switch back.
If both of these functions are turned off in the app, then your iPhone will not vibrate, regardless of which position you have set the switch.
What to do When Your iPhone Will Not Vibrate in Silent or Ring Mode
If your iPhone does not vibrate in Silent or Ring Mode, that’s usually an easy fix.
- Open the Settings app. Then, scroll down and tap Sounds and Haptics.
- There should be two possible options, Vibrate on Ring and Vibrate on Silent. If you are trying to get the iPhone to vibrate when it’s in Silent Mode, tap on the right-hand side of that setting. If you want it to Vibrate on Ring, then tap the right-hand side of that setting.
Turn on Vibration in the Accessibility Settings
If you’ve tried to adjust your phone’s vibration capability through the Settings app and it still doesn’t seem to be cooperating, then the next logical step is to turn on Vibrate in the Accessibility Settings. Note that if Vibrate is not turned on in the Accessibility Settings, then even if the vibration motor is functional, it won’t respond.
- Go to Settings.
- Go to General.
- Next, head to Accessibility, where you should see an option that says Vibration. Turn the switch on by tapping on the right-hand side. If the switch turns to green, then you will know for sure that it’s on, and the phone should vibrate accordingly.
Select a Vibration Pattern
If you have done that and it still doesn’t vibrate, then you should check to see if you’ve selected a vibration pattern. If you haven’t done so yet, then the vibration pattern might have been accidentally set to None.
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap General.
- Go to Sounds and Haptics.
- Next, go to Ringtone and tap Vibration at the top of the screen.
- There are several options, and you can select any of them that sound good to you. You want to make sure there’s a checkmark next to anything other than None.
What if Your iPhone Still Doesn’t Vibrate?
If you have gone through all of these steps and your iPhone still doesn’t vibrate, then you might be able to solve the problem by doing a total reset of the phone’s settings. It could be a software problem that’s causing the issue. Occasionally, your phone might be impacted by a faulty iOS update.
Doing a reset will not erase any data or anything of value from the phone, but you should still back it up with iCloud or iTunes.
To back up the phone with iCloud, connect it to a stable Wi-Fi network. Head to Settings, Your Name, and then hit iCloud. Hit iCloud Backup. Hit Back Up Now and wait a few seconds for the process to conclude.
To back up the phone with iTunes, connect the device to a computer running the latest version of iTunes with a USB cable. In the iTunes app, hit the Device button located at the screen’s top left-hand corner. Hit Summary, and then Back Up Now. Wait a few seconds for the backup to occur.
Once you’ve done either of those things, you’re ready to Reset the device.
- Open the Settings app on the phone.
- Tap General.
- Scroll to the bottom of the menu. Tap Reset.
- Select the Reset All Settings option and confirm that you would like to proceed.
- A prompt should come up to enter your passcode. Enter it. Wait a few minutes for the phone to restart. Now, check to see if it will vibrate.
A Dead Vibration Motor
If you have gone through all of these steps and your iPhone still won’t vibrate, then you probably have a dead vibration motor. That’s a hardware issue, and it’s probably not one that you can fix on your own. It’s relatively rare for this to happen, but it might happen if you jostle your iPhone quite a bit.
If a dead vibration motor is the most likely culprit, then there are a couple of different options for you. Probably the easiest one is to head to an Apple store where there is a Genius Bar.
The good folks at Apple should be able to replace the vibration motor. If your phone is still covered under the original warranty or an extended one, then it should cost you nothing. The standard Apple warranty is one year, but you have the option of buying a longer one when you purchase the phone.
Again, be sure to back up the phone if you decide to do this. It could be that you’ll need to replace the device entirely. In that case, you’ll have to access the backup of your data to install in the new iPhone.
Other Repair Options Do Exist
If your iPhone is no longer under warranty, then you could be looking at a more expensive fix if you take it to an Apple store. You also have the option of taking it to a third-party repair store. There, you can swap out your iPhone’s vibration motor for less than what Apple might charge.
If you go that route, then at the very least, you should do some online research before trying any of these third-party options. Pay careful attention to their reviews on reputable websites like Yelp. Don’t ever leave your phone with anyone who doesn’t seem trustworthy or who has negative online feedback.