Ask Bongani: I ear nothing

Q: My wireless earphones show as connected but no sound

A: You might be facing an issue with your Bluetooth earphones connected to your phone but not making a sound.

The sound problem can be caused by the phone or the Bluetooth earphones, so we have to apply some tricks to both devices. Sometimes the problem is temporary or due to user errors. For example, the phone is muted or the volume of the speaker or headset is low. However, the problem can be more complicated, such as a broken speaker on the device.

Take these steps to troubleshoot the problem:

Check the volume

• Increase media volume to 100%.
• Check the media volume in your phone’s sound settings, and check the volume level of your headphones or speakers. Find the correct method to make your headphones increase the volume, typically via the associated app.

Reconnect Bluetooth

• A quick tip is to disconnect both devices and reconnect them after a while.
• Turn off Bluetooth on your phone and turn off your speakers or headphones. 
• Restart your phone and turn on Bluetooth. 
• Now turn on your Bluetooth device and reconnect to your phone.  
• You may need to repeat this 2 or 3 times.

 Check your Phone settings

• Some settings may prevent your phone from playing sounds from Bluetooth speakers or headphones.
• Your immediate task is to disable Do Not Disturb mode on your phone Also, check and disable “Low Power Mode” and “Super Power Saver”.
• In these modes, your phone consumes minimal power, so it may not play sound on external devices.

Turn off other Bluetooth devices

It can happen that your phone connects to a nearby Bluetooth device automatically and refuses to add a device. So turn off all linked Bluetooth devices and make sure that the speaker is connected to the correct phone. You can check this by going to ’settings > Bluetooth on your Phone, where you can see the name of the connected device.

Reboot your device

• Turn off your phone by holding the Power button.
• Wait a few seconds and then turn it back on by pressing and holding the power button.
• Finally, try turning on airplane mode for a minute. Turn off airplane mode and re-pair with the Bluetooth device.

One of these solutions should fix the problem. If none works, the equipment may need repair. A professional technician can help you diagnose the faulty component. Often, a single component can be replaced inexpensively.

However, if the earphones are old, fixing them could cost you their original price. Therefore, you need to make an informed decision about repair or replacement.