Can’t Hear Sound On TikTok? Here’s How To Turn It On

When you flick the switch on the wall, you expect the lights to go on. When you turn the faucet on the sink, water should come out.

And when you settle in to watch TikTok videos, you should be able to hear them. Right?

Of course. However, a faulty switch or a power shortage might prevent the lights from turning on, and forgetting to pay the water bill could result in dry faucets. Similarly, there could be a mysterious reason why you’re not hearing sound.

Assuming that people aren’t uploading videos with no audio track, you shouldn’t have to do anything special to hear sound on the TikTok content you watch. But glitches or forgetfulness can interfere with your enjoyment of the social media platform.

Here’s a quick troubleshooting guide.

Why Can’t I Hear Sound on TikTok?

There’s a reason why tech support people always start by asking if your computer or appliance is plugged in, so let’s start with the obvious.

1. Is the volume turned all the way down on your phone or device?

Even though this is obvious, you’d be surprised how many people forget that they’d turned their phone’s volume down in a meeting or at work and never remembered to turn it back up.

Check the volume buttons on the side of your device (and the “mute” button if you have an iPhone) to make sure you haven’t inadvertently caused the “no sound” issue. (If you’re using earbuds or headphones, make sure that they work OK otherwise, too.)

2. Are your phone’s permissions set properly?

For TikTok to play (and record) sound, it needs access to your speakers and microphone. Those permissions may have turned off if you upgraded your phone’s operating system or your TikTok app.

Whether you have an Android or iPhone/iOS device, you’ll be able to set those permissions to “on” in the Settings screen available from your home screen. (If your problem is that the videos you’re creating in TikTok don’t have sound, turning on access to your microphone should solve that issue as well.)

3. Is it something else?

Issues at TikTok may briefly prevent the platform from working properly; wait a few minutes and try again, or ask another TikTok user if they’re having the same problem with the app on their phone.

If it’s not a system issue, it’s probably a problem with your phone or app. Try these steps:

• Log out and back in again, restart the app, or reboot your phone. That may clear any tech glitches that are occurring.
• Clear the TikTok cache. If your storage is full (or almost full), that can prevent proper app function. Open your TikTok profile menu and go to Settings and privacy > Free up space, and then tap the “Clear” button next to “Cache.”
• Upgrade to the latest TikTok version (or uninstall and reinstall your current one). TikTok regularly pushes updates to your app without notice, and that can eventually get in the way of everything working properly. A clean install should take care of the issue.

Still no luck? If your sound is working fine on your phone for everything else, reach out to TikTok support (the link is also on the “Settings and privacy” menu). They may have other troubleshooting suggestions.