Why is the volume low on my Apple Watch Series 10?

I have had 4 Apple Watch 10 series replaced since 11/24!! The volume works for about 6 weeks then suddenly becomes almost absent.

Unfortunately, I am 5 hours away from an Apple Store, so they keep overnighting me new watches. I am beyond frustrated and agree something needs to be done. I am paying for extra “line” on my cell phone bill for the watch when I couldn’t utilize the watch for that purpose due to the volume!

I have to call AGAIN regarding the last watch they sent me 6 weeks ago. One tech told me Apple may have to do a service recall on the Series 10 due to all the issues with the volume.

Heb hetzelfde probleem voorheen Watch 9 met perfect geluid, nu kan ik bijna niets horen als iemand mij belt zeer irritant, ben benieuwd of dit opgelost kan worden met een update of dat je je watch terug moet sturen voor reparatie en weer even zonder watch bent.

Finally! I have an update for everyone fighting this Watch Series 10 low volume+distortion issue. You are not alone and an escalation fix request is underway - via a firmware update! (per Apple Store)

Unfortunately, no timeline for the fix was available.

First, note that this is NOT a cleaning issue at least for my Series 10 watches (on #2 now) - my watch is always CLEAN with NO lotion or other gunk. Also do NOT get it wet, admittedly for mostly gray-hair paranoia reasons. Neither force-restart nor re-pairing the watch helped.

After a warranty replacement for my Series 10 and another repair disposition of "unable to reproduce" (but yet volume came back Ok again for a couple of weeks), this is starting to make sense. On the last "non-repair", I'm told the techs have a way to reload the firmware that fixes the volume... for the usual 2-4 weeks, before it backslides to useless. Now it's sounding like a firmware bug vs design problem.

Let's hope Apple prioritizes this firmware fix. In the meantime, sent my watch in for yet another replacement or firmware reload.

Taking calls is THE key feature for me, so this is a massive problem. Besides, running for my phone is sooooo 1997 ;)

Hope this helps folks suffering through the same pain. Hang in there!

Addendum: Apple phone bank support was completely useless for me, recommending only the same cleaning KB article I'd been through several times.

They had no knowledge of the Series 10 low volume+distortion problem or pending escalation fix.

I am lucky enough to have a local Apple store. Not sure I'd have any progress without their support.

One thing I found that worked is to immerse the watch and water for a while, and then use the function to expel the water at the same time kind of brushing the speaker on the outside. The sound is quite a bit better than it was. I don’t know if it’s supposed to be loud but it’s pretty good. All these people saying to go to haptics and turn up the volume duh. You watch a good soaking and then ejector propeller of the water. It seems to help with the speaker at least that’s what I found.

I had the same problem, but I suspected it was something to do with the speaker being clogged. I submerged my Watch in water let it soak, pulled it out and then hit the button to eject the water and that seem to free up the speaker in my case. I haven’t had a problem since. Good loud audio

I too was having issue with watch 10 being nearly inaudible, even at full volume. In this thread I noted that several had run it under water then used the water eject function, so I tried it. After running it under some water I utilized the eject function but one time did nothing. I then turned the watch 90 degrees so the speaker was facing down and it did a dozen or so more times until I saw no moisture dangling from the speaker. Further the eject sounds were prominent (they didn't even play at first). The sound is now back to normal.

Same issue with Series 10 watch. Zero help from the folks at the Apple Store. Super low sound. Tried the water lock trick multiple times with no luck. Then, with the watch in water lock mode, ran water over the speaker holes and gently used my Sonicare toothbrush for about 10 seconds on the speaker holes and the sound is fully restored. I’m thinking that even salt from sweating can block these tiny holes. I hope this is helpful to others.

I had this problem too. After several cycles of water and using the water function to eject water and then also some canned air to clean electronics, it’s back to normal. It seems like this is likely a design flaw. Must be something catches in the speaker with the small holes. Try the cleaning instructions and see if it fixes it!

i did this tip and the sound is there now but low barely audible even though the volume levels are turned all the way up.

Even on my music i can not hear it , it too is barely audible, that's without earbuds of course.

Thank you for your response and help

Push the side button then in the resulting screen tap the water droplet. This will turn on water protection. I ran mine under a gentle stream of water after doing this. Then to use the eject function, push and hold the Digital Crown. Since I'd run mine under water, I turned the watch 90 degrees so the speaker was down and crown was up. Then Held the digital crown. I repeated this process several times before the volume returned to normal.

After reviewing this thread, I broke the problem down to settings, device failure, or physical obstruction of the speaker apparatus. I’d already ensured that the settings were for high volume, so I thought the speaker could be blocked in some way.

After washing the watch and my Sonicare toothbrush with soap and water, and setting the watch to waterproof, I brushed soapy, warm water over the speaker several times, cycling the waterproof mode on and off repeatedly. Problem solved.

Not sure what was blocking the tiny little holes over the speaker, but it’s working fine now. (I washed the toothbrush again, afterwards).

How to adjust various sound volumes on Ap… - Apple Community

Which volume did you set to max?

How to adjust various sound volumes on Ap… - Apple Community

I had the same problem with the speaker and I was going to visit apple store . I wore my watch in the shower and then pressed the button 💧 . I did it twice and now the speaker sounds really good .