Some Apple Watch Series 10 Users Experiencing Speaker Volume Issue

If the audio playing through your Apple Watch Series 10's speaker becomes harder to hear after repeated use, you are not alone.

Series 10 Volume Issues Feature
There are a growing number of complaints about a potential Apple Watch Series 10 speaker issue across the Apple Support Community and Reddit. Affected users say the speaker audio becomes quiet or muffled over time, even after using the Water Lock feature to eject water from the speaker following swimming or another water activity.

The low volume affects both phone calls and music, according to the complaints.

It is unclear how widespread this issue is, or if there is an underlying hardware or software problem. If a hardware issue affects enough customers, Apple sometimes opts to launch a service program offering free repairs. If a software issue is discovered, then Apple should be able to address it with a future watchOS update.

Apple Watch Series 10 models launched in September 2024. I was unable to replicate the issue on my Apple Watch Series 10, but I have only owned it for about six weeks and have not used the speaker much, as I tend to use AirPods Pro.

We have reached out to Apple for comment about this matter, and we will update this post in the unlikely event that the company responds.

Update: Apple has published a support document outlining steps to try if your Apple Watch's speaker or microphone are not working as expected.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)

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Top Rated Comments

zilchfox Avatar
21 weeks ago
I guess I'm the only one who keeps my watch continuously muted forever, and never use it for music or phone calls since I use my iPhone and AirPods for that. Perhaps I should test this to see if I'm affected, too.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Razorpit Avatar
21 weeks ago
You're listening to it wrong. ?

I had what sounds like (see what I did there?) a similar issue. This was going back to the days of the 0. Turns out I had dirt behind the speaker grill that I could not see. Brought it in to the store and the Genius Bar was able to clean it out for me.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
goonie4life9 Avatar
21 weeks ago
Not to worry, everyone, because the official Apple Support protocol is in effect:
[LIST=1]
* This is not an issue because if it was, Apple Support would know about it before it ever affected a customer, because Apple Support talks to millions of customers a minute.
* For this known issue, the first step is to restart the device. If that doesn't resolve the issue, the next step is to force reboot the device.
* If the force reboot doesn't work, unpairing and re-pairing the device should resolve the issue. When you re-pair the device, be sure to set it up as new.
* If re-pairing the device doesn't work, Apple Support will need to make an RTA to Engineering. To do that, you'll need to submit logs. Apple Support will collect logs from the Settings app, with Mail logging enabled, just to be safe.
* Once the logs are collected, the RTA to Engineering will be started. Engineering will reply within 48 hr.
* Engineering's reply will be that they are aware of the issue, keep your device up to date, and no further troubleshooting will be provided.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Hayden_ Avatar
21 weeks ago
Weirdly enough, I literally had this issue yesterday. I woke up, and the speaker sounded muffled/distorted. I ran it under watch and using a little brush on the speakers, which seems to have resolved the issue. Maybe it's to do with the speak grille being big this time round and as such, easier for it to get obstructed with lint, etc?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Godspeed8230 Avatar
21 weeks ago

We have reached out to Apple for comment about this matter, and we will update this post in the unlikely event that the company responds.
:D So Apple is known for not responding to this type of inquiry?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jz0309 Avatar
21 weeks ago
I had this issue on my SBSS S4, got it replaced under AC+
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)