Apple Watch Series 10 owners report speaker problems

An unknown number of Apple Watch Series 10 users are finding that the speaker volume is far too low, sometimes after months of it sounding fine.

Speaker quality is one of the many reasons AppleInsider concluded that the Apple Watch Series 10 was worth buying. For the first time, this and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 allowed for music and podcasts to be played back through the device's own speakers without requiring AirPods or similar.

Now around four months after launch, there are a series of complaints across Apple's support forums. Each of them says that the volume from the Apple Watch Series 10 speaker is too low.

"The speaker is low when on calls. It sound[s] blown when people talk," writes one user. "Apple['s] suggestion is to send it off [but it's] a brand new watch."

Another says that they had the same recommendation from Apple, and was then sent a replacement. "The volume was fine for the 1st month then went low with full volume in everything again," says this user.

That issue over the speaker seeming fine at first but degrading later is a recurring one across most of the online complaints. "I got a new Apple Watch Series 10 in November 2024 and by December the sound was so low you couldn't hear it when it was on full volume," says a third user.

The problem appears to be related specifically playing back of media. Several users are now comparing the Apple Watch Series 10 speaker unfavorably to those on previous models, which did not play back media.

Earlier Apple Watch models could be used to take phone calls, though, and some users are saying that this is now also more difficult on the Apple Watch Series 10. The reports were first spotted by MacRumors.

Apple has not commented, and there is no indication of how widespread the problem is. Spot checks with our sources do not indicate a higher-than-average service rate for the device for any reason.

At present, no AppleInsider staff have had the issue. Admittedly, our sample size is small.

AppleInsider, as always, suggests getting an issue documented by Apple Support. Apple does not take action based on reports from media venues like ourselves, nor do they care about social media when it comes to a hardware issue.

Prior to adding media playback, Apple most noticeably improved its speakers back with the Apple Watch Series 4 in 2018. At that point, Apple was said to have boosted the Apple Watch speakers' volume by 50%.