Common iPhone 5 Issues And How To Fix Them

In this article, we are going to talk about the most common iPhone 5 issues, and we are going to show you how you can fix them. Most of the problems that occur on every smartphone can usually be solved with a few simple steps, so if you have one of the problems listed below, try the solutions before you take your device to the Apple Store.

YouTube / Soldier Knows Best

YouTube / Soldier Knows Best

Common iPhone 5 problems and their solutions

iPhone 5 Wi-Fi Issues

Many users reported WiFi issues. In most cases, the problem is with the connection which is too slow, in others the connection keeps dropping, and some users can’t connect to the Wi-Fi at all. Let’s see the potential solutions.

Method 1:

The first thing you should try is to toggle Wi-Fi. Turn it off, and then turn it back on. You can do this two or three times as  this may solve the problem.

Method 2:

Another simple trick that worked for many is toggling Airplane mode. Go to Settings, turn on the Airplane mode and turn it off after a couple of seconds.

Method 3:

Go to Settings, find your network, tap on (i) and click forget. Set up the network again and try to connect.

Method 4: 

Restart your iPhone 5s by pressing and holding the sleep/wake button until the “slide to power off” shows up. Drag the slider and turn your phone off. When it’s off, press and hold the sleep/wake button and turn your device back on.

Method 5:

The thing you should try when experiencing Wi-Fi issues is to reset network settings. Here is how: go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset network settings.

Method 6:

Make sure the router firmware is up to date.

Method 7:

Update your device to the latest version of iOS.

Method 8:

Reset all settings can do the trick. Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset all settings. This won’t delete your data.

See also: 5 Ways To Fix Slow Wi-Fi On iPhone 5

iPhone 5 overheating problem

When you are using your device for some period of time, for instance, to play your favorite game, you may notice the device is getting hot.

Method 1:

When playing games, or recording videos for an hour or more, your device will get hot. You need to let your device cool off completely.

Method 2:

Don’t use your device while charging because it may get hot, and it will also charge slower.

Method 3:

“The apps you are using on your iPhone 5 can run in the background. It may cause the overheating problem, but it can also have the impact on your phone’s battery life. In order to change that, go to Settings, General, and tap on Background App Refresh. The easiest solution is to disable the option for all the apps, and in order to do so, just press the switch.”

Method 4:

Disable sync for Safari, and to do that, go to Settings > iCloud.

Method 5:

Restart your device to close the apps and process that run in the background and to free up the memory, as clogged memory and tons of apps in the background can cause overheating issues.

Method 6:

Reset all settings is the option that can work for you. Go to Settings, tap General, tap Reset and choose “Reset all settings”.

Method 7:

“Connect your device to your computer. The iTunes software will recognize your iPhone, and once it does, choose Restore in the iTunes summary panel.”

iPhone 5 no SIM problem

There are a couple of things you can do before you contact your carrier.

Method 1:

Turn the Airplane mode on, wait for a few seconds then turn it back off.

Method 2:

When solving a problem with any device, a restart is always a good idea.

Method 3:

The next thing you should do is reset network settings. Your current network settings will be deleted, but you can adjust them the way you want later. Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset all settings.

Method 4:

You should see if the carrier settings update is available. Open the Settings app, tap General > About.

Method 5: 

If there is a new iOS version, download and install it.

Method 6: 

If nothing else works, reset all settings and you can do that by going to Settings > General > Reset > Reset all settings.

iPhone 5 vibration not working

Quite a few iPhone 5 owners reported this problem, so let’s see how you can fix it.

Method 1:

“This may sound crazy to use, but sometimes, the vibration mechanism is stuck and in order to fix it, all you need to do is to tap the phone with your fingers several times, but make sure to do it gently.”

Method 2:

Press and hold the sleep/wake button, drag the slider when it shows up and turn your phone off. Wait a few seconds, press the sleep/wake button to turn your device back on.

Method 3:

“Changes in the settings can fix your problem. Navigate to Settings, tap on Sound, choose Ringtone, and then Vibration. Choose the vibration pattern you want, or create your own pattern.”

Method 4:

Some users reported the problem disappeared once they changed the current ringtone. If that doesn’t help, just play with sounds by changing them. The vibration may start working again.

Method 5:

The thing you should do next is to reset all settings and you can do that by going to Settings > General > Reset and tap on Reset all settings. This will not erase your data.

Method 6:

You can erase all content and settings, and if you choose to do this, keep in mind that you need to backup your files first as everything will be deleted. Go to Settings > General > Reset and tap on Erase all content and settings. When this is finished, set up your device as new.

iPhone 5 not ringing

You certainly don’t want to see that you’ve missed an important call, right? Well, if the phone doesn’t ring, you will hardly notice that someone is calling you. Let’s see how to solve this.

Method 1:

“One of the main reasons why iPhone 5 isn’t ringing is because Do Not Disturb option is turned on. Sometimes, you turn it on and simply forget about it, but maybe you accidentally turned it on. It happens.”

Open the command center and see if the moon icon is enabled. If it is, disable it.

Method 2: 

Reboot your iPhone 5.

Method 3:

“In case you set a custom ringtone on your device, maybe the file is corrupted, or you deleted it recently. What you should do is to set another ringtone.”

To do that, go to Settings > Sounds > Ringtones and choose a different ringtone.

Method 4:

Go to Settings > General > Accessibility and turn Assistive touch on.

Method 5: 

As you probably already know, when having issues with your device, one of the solutions is to reset all settings. Your files won’t be erased. To do this, go to Settings > General > Reset and select Reset all settings.

iPhone 5 microphone issues

The problem with the microphone sounds like a hardware issue, but still, there are a couple of things you may do to fix this.

Method 1:

“The first thing you should try is very simple. You should turn off noise cancelation. To do so, navigate to Settings, click on General, and choose Accessibility. You will find noise cancelation there, so make sure to turn it off.”

Method 2:

“If you are experiencing issues with the microphone only when you use a particular app, you need to check if the app has the required permission. Click on Settings, Privacy, and tap on Microphone.”

Method 3:

Turn your phone off and turn it back on.

Method 4:

The microphone might be dirty, so you should clean it gently to remove any dust or dirt. You can use a needle or a toothpick.

Method 5:

One of the methods above usually solved the problem, but if the microphone is still not working, reset all settings. The files you’ve stored on your iPhone 5 won’t be erased. Head to Settings > General > Reset and tap on Reset all settings.

iPhone 5 volume buttons not working

Method 1:

Restart your iPhone 5. With a bit of luck, this is all you will need to do.

Method 2:

“This can be very useful. Go to Settings > General > Accessibility, and turn Assistive touch on. A small icon will show up on your screen. Tap on it. Click on Device. Tap on volume up, and volume down several times. Close the dialog by pressing outside of it. Push the physical buttons.”

Method 3:

In many cases, a dirty connector is a problem. Use a toothpick to clean it but do it gently and carefully.

Method 4: 

You can use a hair dryer to clean the headphone jack and the connector, but when doing this you need to be extra careful. The distance between your iPhone 5 and the hair dryer should be more than 10 cm. Also, use the lowest speed on your hair dryer to blow out dust and dirt.

Method 5: 

Update your iPhone 5 to the latest version of iOS.

Method 6:

Erase all content and settings, but before doing this, backup your files. Go to Settings > General > Reset and tap on Erase all content and settings. This may take a few minutes and when it’s completed, set up your iPhone as new.

iPhone 5 network/cellular radio issues

Many iPhone 5 owners experienced the issues such as slow data transfer when using the cellular network, not being able to connect to the cellular network, not being able to send or receive the emails over cellular network,  and so on. Here are the potential solutions.

Method 1:

Go to Settings, turn on the Airplane mode, wait for 10-15 seconds and turn it back off.

Method 2:

Reinsert your SIM card.

Method 3:

Open the Settings app, go to General > Reset > Reset network settings.

Method 4:

Update iOS on your device.

Method 5:

See if the carrier settings update is available by going to Settings > General > About.

Method 6: 

Perhaps it’s time for your device to get a fresh start, which means that you should erase all content and settings, but as the name suggests everything will be deleted so make sure to backup everything that is important to you. Then, go to Settings > General > Reset and tap on Erase all content and settings. When this is finished, follow some simple on-screen steps to set up your iPhone 5 as new.

See also: 5 Ways To Fix iPhone 5 Cellular Data Issues 

iPhone 5 unresponsive camera app

One of the things we love the most about out smartphones is to take photos, but what to do if the camera app is unresponsive? This is the problem quite a few iPhone 5 users reported, so let’s see how to fix this.

Method 1:

The best place to start is by forcing the app to close. Tap on the Home button two times, swipe left to find the camera app, and then swipe up to close it.

Method 2:

Close a few apps (following the steps from Method 1).

Method 3:

Delete recently installed third-party apps because they may be causing the problem.

Method 4:

Restart your device to free up some memory and close the apps that are running in the background.

Method 5:

It may be a good idea to erase all content and settings. Backup the things that are important, and then go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase all content and settings. Wait for this to be completed, and then follow the steps on the screen to set up your device as a new device.

iPhone 5 can’t download or update apps

There are so many awesome apps in the App Store and we all want to try something new. However, a problem may appear when you can’t download any new apps or update the ones you already have.

Method 1:

Make sure Date & Time are set to automatic, and to do that go to Settings > General > Date & Time.

Method 2:

Toggle Wi-Fi.

Method 3:

“Go to Settings, tap on Wi-Fi, and click on the icon right next to your Wi-Fi network. Click on Renew Lease.”

Method 4: 

Close the apps which are running in the background (tap on the Home button two times, go through the apps by swiping left, and when you find the one you don’t need swipe up to close it. Then, restart your device.

Method 5:

  • Go to Settings
  • tap on iTunes & App Store
  • Tap on your Apple ID, and select the Sign out option
  • Tap on the App Store icon from the Home screen
  • Select one of the apps on the Feature page and download it
  • You will see a message with new terms of service
  • Click on accept

Method 6. 

Update your iPhone 5 to the latest version of iOS.

Method 7. 

“If nothing else helps, you may set up your iPhone 5 as a new device. Back up your files first. Go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase all Content and Settings. How long the task will last is different for every iPhone. Once it is over, follow the steps to set up your device as new.”

iPhone 5 no sound during a call

Another pretty annoying problem. Let’s see how you can fix this.

Method 1:

“While you are talking on the phone, press the volume buttons which are located on the side of your phone.”

Method 2:

Remove the iPhone 5 case if you have it.

Method 3:

Turn off the Bluetooth.

Method 4:

Clean the receiver with a needle or a toothpick to remove dirt or dust that may be causing the problem.

Method 5:

Restart your iPhone 5.

Method 6:

Update your iPhone 5 to the latest version of iOS.

Method 7:

You can reset all settings, and don’t worry as your data won’t be erased. Go to Settings > General > Reset and tap on Reset all settings.

iPhone 5 call failed problem

If you notice this error when you are trying to call someone, here are a few things you should try.

Method 1:

This is among the most effective solutions: just dial *#31#.

Method 2:

Navigate to Settings, turn the Airplane mode on and then turn it off.

Method 3:

“Go to Settings, click on the Phone, and choose Show My Caller ID. Turn it off, and then turn it on again. It should be left on. Try to make a call again.”

Method 4:

Restart your iPhone – press and hold the sleep/wake button and drag the slider to turn the phone off, then when the phone is off, press and hold the sleep/wake button to turn the phone back on.

Method 5:

If the above-mentioned solutions don’t work, you can erase all content and settings. Backup the files first. Go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase all content and settings. Wait until this is completed, and then follow a few simple steps on the screen to set up your iPhone 5 as a new device.

iPhone 5 storage is full issue

With tons of apps you  have installed, photos, music and so on, the storage space on your iPhone 5 may be full. Let’s see how to free up the storage space.

Method 1:

Delete iMessages, especially the ones with photo or video attachments.

Method 2: 

Clear Safari cache, by going to Settings > Safari > Clear cookies and data.

Method 3: 

Delete the apps you don’t use.

Method 4:

Remove photos, videos, and music from your device. Simply move the files to your computer and delete them from your iPhone.

Image Source: YouTube / Jonathan Morriso

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