How to fix iPhone 16 Pro not vibrating issue

Learn what to do if your iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro doesn’t vibrate on incoming calls

By Kristina Terech - Staff Writer
4 Min Read

Some users have reported that the vibration feature is not working on their iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. This is a big issue for those users as this problem may cause them to miss important calls, texts, and other notifications they may receive. In this article, I’ll explain why your iPhone 16 Pro doesn’t vibrate and show you how to fix the problem.

Note: information in this article apply to iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

It appears that users are having one of these issues:

  • The iPhone 16 Pro does not vibrate at all for incoming calls or texts.
  • iPhone 16 Pro won’t vibrate on Silent Mode.
  • The iPhone 16 Pro doesn’t vibrate for app notifications.

Even if you don’t want your phone making noise, you may still need to answer calls and texts. This is where vibrations come in. Having your iPhone 16 Pro vibrate for incoming calls and texts is a subtle way to be notified. However, some users have reported that their iPhone 16 Pro is not vibrating  in silent mode. Other people have reported that their iPhones 16 Pro isn’t vibrating  when the ringer is turned on. Fortunately, both of these issues are usually easy to fix inside Settings.

How to fix iPhone 16 Pro not vibrating issue

Your iPhone 16 Pro may not be vibrating because of hardware or software problems. The troubleshooting steps below will address both of these problems.

1. Enable Vibrate on Silent / Ring

Vy default, the iPhone 16 Pro is configured to vibrate whenever you receive a call or notification in both Ring Mode and Silent Mode. If you don’t get the haptic feedback for calls and alerts when your iPhone 16 Pro is in silent mode, you can fix this by following the steps below:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Sounds & Haptics.
  3. Tap Haptics.
  4. The two settings we are interested in are Always Play and Play in Silent Mode.
    • Always Play: enables your iPhone to vibrate when it’s ringing or in normal mode.
    • Play in Silent Mode: enables your iPhone to vibrate when in silent mode.

To turn on Silent mode on iPhone 16 Pro, simply follow these steps:

  • Long-press the Action button to activate silent mode (you should feel the haptic feedback emit three pulses).
  • To confirm that your ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ is silenced, short press the Action Button. A “Silent” icon will appear in the ‌Dynamic Island‌ to signal the change.

You can also go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics and turn on the toggle next to Silent Mode.

2. Ensure that vibration is enabled in Accessibility settings

If your iPhone 16 Pro doesn’t vibrate when you receive a call, alert, or when making haptic gestures, there’s a chance that Vibration is turned off in Accessibility settings. Check to ensure vibration is turned on in accessibility settings. Here is how:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Tap Accessibility.
  3. Select Touch.
  4. Ensure that Vibration is turned on.

3. Set vibration options

Are you having vibration problems with one of your apps, such as Messages, Calendar, Mail, Reminders, etc? For example, when you get a text messages, your iPhone 16 Pro does not vibrate? Or Does your iPhone 16 Pro not vibrate when you get a call? If this is the case, you may want to check the app settings.

You can adjust your apps’ settings to ensure that Vibration is turned on. Here is how:

  1. Open Settings and go to Sounds & Haptics.
  2. Under the RINGTONE AND ALERTS section, you will find the various settings that control the sound (or vibration) that will happen when you get a phone call, text, voicemail or new email. You can also choose sounds (vibrations) for Calendar and Reminder alerts.
  3. For each of these that you want to vibrate, tap on it to check if Haptics is enabled. For example, tap on Tap Ringtone or Text Tone. 4. Tap Ringtone or Text Tone. At the top, you will see Haptics. If it says None next to Haptics, you need to tap on it and choose a vibration pattern, e.g. Synchronized.

4. Turn on System Haptics

Besides calls and alerts, your iPhone will also send haptics when you perform certain system functions like unlocking your device, swiping to see the Recent Apps screen, long-pressing on app icons, or your home screen and other areas. If your iPhone 16 Pro doesn’t vibrate for these system functions, you can turn the vibration for system controls. Here’s how:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Tap Sounds & Haptics.
  3. Ensure that the switch next to System Haptics is enabled.

5. Update your iPhone

If you are still having this problem, ensure that your phone is running the latest version of iOS. Here’s how:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Tap Software Update. And if there is an update, follow the onscreen instructions to update your iPhone.

6. Restart your iPhone

Turning off and on your iPhone may seem too simple but it may fix your problem. Please follow these steps:

  1. Head over to Settings.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Tap Shut Down.
  4. Slide the Power Off slider from left to right.
  5. To power on again, press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears.

After turning on your device, test to see if vibration is working.

7. Test the vibration motor

The next troubleshooting step is to check if the phone’s vibration motor is working or not. If it is not working, there is not much you can do. It is highly likely that your phone has hardware issues. Here is how:

  1. On your iPhone, go to Settings.
  2. Tap Sounds & Haptics.
  3. Tap Ringtone under the RINGTONE AND ALERTS section.
  4. Tap Haptics.
  5. Tap the Synchronized (Default) option or any other option.
  6. Does your phone vibrate? If it is vibrating, your problem is software. Try the next steps to resolve it. If your iPhone 16 Pro doesn’t vibrate, this is a hardware problem.

If your iPhone 16 Pro isn’t vibrating because of hardware issues, you have basically two options:

  • Since your phone is still under Apple warranty, contact Apple and you can also make a Genius Bar appointment to fix this problem.
  • You can take it to a local repair shop.

8. Reset All Settings

if you are still facing this problem, simply reset all your settings and preferences to their defaults. Doing so will not erase your data like Photos, messages, notes, email, music etc.

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Tap Transfer or Reset iPhone.
  4. Tap Reset.
  5. Tap Reset All Settings. And then follow the onscreen instructions.
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Kristina is a staff writer at GeeksChalk, and is interested in all things Apple. This includes its best products such as the iPad, iPhone, Mac, AirPods, and Apple Watch. When she's not tinkering with the latest Apple gear, you’ll find her watching movies, taking pictures and exploring the great outdoors.
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