iPhone Haptics not working? 11 ways to fix the problem!

By Moses Johnson - Managing Editor
3 Min Read

Are your iPhone’s Haptics not working? Here are 11 solutions to fix this problem.

On supported models, you feel a tap—called haptic feedback—after you perform some actions, such as when you touch and hold the Camera icon on the Home Screen. If your iPhone Haptics are not working, this guide will help you fix the problem for good!

Why are my iPhones Haptics not working?

Quite often, users complain of haptics not working on their iPhone. There can be multiple reasons of haptic alert glitch; maybe they inadvertently turned off system haptics on their iPhones. We are listing here some possible solutions to fix the issue of iPhone haptics not working.

Fix Haptics Not Working on iPhone

1. Make sure your iPhone supports haptics

Not all iPhone models supports Haptic feedback. Before trying other troubleshooting steps in this guide, make sure your iPhone supports Haptic feedback. The following are iPhone models with haptic feedback:

  • iPhone SE (2nd generation and later)
  • iPhone 8
  • iPhone 8 Plus
  • iPhone X
  • iPhone XR
  • iPhone XS
  • iPhone XS max
  • iPhone 11
  • iPhone 11 Pro
  • iPhone 11 Pro Max
  • iPhone 12 mini
  • iPhone 12
  • iPhone 12 Pro
  • iPhone 12 Pro Max
  • iPhone 13 mini
  • iPhone 13
  • iPhone 13 Pro
  • iPhone 13 Pro Max
  • iPhone 14
  • iPhone 14 Plus
  • iPhone 14 Pro
  • iPhone 14 Pro Max

2. Restart your iPhone

Whenever you’re having iPhone problems, this is the first thing to try before troubleshooting further. Restarting the iPhone is fast, easy, and might solve the issues you’re experiencing of the haptics not working.

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Select General.
  3. Tap Shut down.
  4. Wait for a minute or two and then press the power button to turn your iPhone back on.

3. Ensure that Haptic Feedback is enabled

When System Haptics is off, you won’t hear or feel vibrations for incoming calls and alerts. Make sure haptic feedback is enabled by following the steps below:

  1. Go to Settings. .
  2. Tap Sounds & Haptics.
  3. Turn System Haptics on.

4. Turn on iPhone keyboard haptics

If your iPhone keyboard doesn’t provide haptic feedback as you type, you should enable the feature in settings. To turn on iPhone keyboard haptics, follow the steps below:

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Go to Sounds & Haptics.
  3. Tap Keyboard Feedback.
  4. Turn Haptic on.

5. Check if vibration is enabled for touch response

If you turn on keyboard haptics but you don’t feel haptics when you type, make sure that Vibration is turned on in Settings. Follow the steps below:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Accessibility.
  3. Select Touch.
  4. Turn Vibration on.

6. Choose a different vibration pattern

  1. Go to Settings .
  2. Tap Sounds & Haptics.
  3. To set the vibration patterns for sounds, tap a sound type, such as ringtone or text tone.
  4. Tap Vibration.
  5. Choose a different vibration pattern, or tap Create New Vibration to create your own.

7. Switch to default Apple Keyboard

Haptic feedback works best with the native keyboard. While we’ve seen third-party keyboards like Google’s Gboard offering haptic feedback for a while, it’s always good to stick with the native iOS keyboard. One of the big reasons is privacy as third-party keyboards often ask for access to track all of your keyboard input.

Here’s how to turn on the iPhone native keyboard.

  1. Go to Settings .
  2. Select General.
  3. Tap Keyboard.
  4. Tap Keyboards.

8. Update iOS

Sometimes the most irritating of problems can be fixed easily by a software update. So, before moving to the remaining solutions, make sure your device is up to date. If your iPhone haptics were not working due to temporary bugs, updating iOS should help.

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go into General.
  3. Select Software update.
  4. If an update is available, hit Download & Install.

9. Remove magnetic case or cover

In rare instances, some unusual cases with magnets in them may interfere with the Taptic Engine, due to which it may not work as intended and provide no haptic feedback.

If you’re using such a cover, please remove it, restart your iPhone, and see if that solves the problem.

10. Reset all iPhone settings

Still trying hard to fix iPhone haptics? It’s time to erase your iPhone and set it up again. When you reset the iPhone settings, it doesn’t delete your apps, app data, music, photos, videos, etc. However, all your customized settings are brought back to their default configuration. In many cases, doing this fixes the ongoing problems. So, if your iPhone haptics are not working, go ahead and reset all its settings.

  1. Start the Settings app.
  2. Go into General.
  3. Select Transfer or Reset iPhone.
  4. Tap reset.
  5. Tap Reset all settings.

11. Repair option for your iPhone

At last, if nothing mentioned above worked, your iPhone may be having a hardware problem. Did you drop your phone on a hard surface? Perhaps that caused the haptics motor to fail.

In this case, take your iPhone to an Apple Store or an authorized repair center. They will inspect it and fix the issue. If you like, here’s how to make a Genius bar appointment.

Share This Article
By Moses Johnson Managing Editor
Follow:
Moses Johnson is the Editorial Director of GeeksModo.com, who has a keen eye for news, rumors, and all the unusual stuff around Apple products. Moses is commonly referred to online as The Professor, with decades of experience in tech under his belt.
Leave a comment