what's the expected behavior with the mute switch for alarms?

[flyinion]

Ok this just got even weirder. Before bed last night, phone was already in DND mode, mute switch off, confirmed ringer was at 1/2 volume. Woke up for some reason a few hours before alarms go off and randomly decided to check the phone which had been sitting on my Anker wireless charging pad as usual. Ringer was way down!!! This doesn't make any sense. I don't know if this is some general random glitch in iOS (though as I said I noticed it on 12.x as well on my X) or if there is something jacked up in my install and when I got my Pro Max I restored a secure backup of my X to the phone and maybe it brought something with it. I really don't want to do a clean setup without knowing for sure it would stop this behavior vs if I just have a misbehaving app.

 

[Ledsteplin]

Ok this just got even weirder. Before bed last night, phone was already in DND mode, mute switch off, confirmed ringer was at 1/2 volume. Woke up for some reason a few hours before alarms go off and randomly decided to check the phone which had been sitting on my Anker wireless charging pad as usual. Ringer was way down!!! This doesn't make any sense. I don't know if this is some general random glitch in iOS (though as I said I noticed it on 12.x as well on my X) or if there is something jacked up in my install and when I got my Pro Max I restored a secure backup of my X to the phone and maybe it brought something with it. I really don't want to do a clean setup without knowing for sure it would stop this behavior vs if I just have a misbehaving app.

Do you have "change with buttons" turned off in settings>sounds? If so, toggle it on.
You might also try turning off "Attention Aware" under Face ID.

 

[flyinion]

Change with buttons is actually turned on, been that way since I swapped to Apple a few years ago. Hmm yeah I do have attention aware turned on right now. What kind of effect would you think that would have? I actually had it turned off on my X which also would randomly have this issue though.

 

[flyinion]

Ohhhh, it was "require attention for FaceID" that I had turned off. Hmm, so I see in the description for attention aware features something about lowering the volume. How does that interact with the volume? Just trying to understand how the feature works to understand how it might be causing this.

 

[doogald]

I'd also think about charging with a cable just to see if there is something about Qi charging that changes the volume unexpectedly.

The first thing I do after a new install is turn off change volume with buttons. I definitely don't want the ringer turning down unexpectedly with accident volume button presses while the phone is in my pocket. Why would turning that on help things? That said, is the alarm actually using the ringer & alert volume? I'd go into the clock app, edit an alarm, tap "sound", tap one of the sounds and set the volume as it plays the sample. That, I think, is the volume that is used for alarms (mine went up as I changed the volume up.)

 

[Ledsteplin]

I'd also think about charging with a cable just to see if there is something about Qi charging that changes the volume unexpectedly.

The first thing I do after a new install is turn off change volume with buttons. I definitely don't want the ringer turning down unexpectedly with accident volume button presses while the phone is in my pocket. Why would turning that on help things? That said, is the alarm actually using the ringer & alert volume? I'd go into the clock app, edit an alarm, tap "sound", tap one of the sounds and set the volume as it plays the sample. That, I think, is the volume that is used for alarms (mine went up as I changed the volume up.)

How would the volume buttons on the side of the phone get pushed accidentally while sleeping? Having the buttons enabled would prevent volume changes in other ways.

 

[doogald]

How would the volume buttons on the side of the phone get pushed accidentally while sleeping? Having the buttons enabled would prevent volume changes in other ways.

I was talking about myself, not OP, though I was also questioning why enabling button presses to change ringer and alert volume would help. Also please explain "having the buttons enabled would prevent volume changes in other ways." Which other ways, and how would they be prevented by enabling button presses to change volume?

One thing I know - turning off button press to change volume eliminates the major cause of unexpected ringer and alert volume changes.

 

[Ledsteplin]

Ohhhh, it was "require attention for FaceID" that I had turned off. Hmm, so I see in the description for attention aware features something about lowering the volume. How does that interact with the volume? Just trying to understand how the feature works to understand how it might be causing this.

I have no idea. I use a 6s Plus.

 

[bellifritz]

My ringer volume gets changed all the time and it’s directly related to my Bluetooth earpiece. I can turn the ringer all the way up and as soon as I turn the Bluetooth earpiece on and it connects the volume indicator pops up and it reduces the volume. When I turn off the Bluetooth earpiece the volume remains at that low level. Sometimes it will work normally after unpairing the Bluetooth, doing a hard reboot and then pairing the Bluetooth again, but it always messes up again after a couple days.

 

[Ledsteplin]

I was talking about myself, not OP, though I was also questioning why enabling button presses to change ringer and alert volume would help. Also please explain "having the buttons enabled would prevent volume changes in other ways." Which other ways, and how would they be prevented by enabling button presses to change volume?

One thing I know - turning off button press to change volume eliminates the major cause of unexpected ringer and alert volume changes.

I had that "Attention Aware" feature in my head. I don't know what that does exactly. I don't have that on my 6s Plus.
I don't recall ever changing my volume accidentally with the side volume buttons.