You slide your earbuds into the Sony Xperia 1 VI, tap play, and the music either stays trapped in the phone speaker or fails to arrive at all. It is a frustrating place to be on a phone that Sony built around audio, complete with a real 3.5 mm jack on the top edge, USB Type-C output, and Bluetooth pairing that includes Bluetooth LE Audio.
Before working through the fixes, run a quick quick headphone test in your browser. It plays the left and right sides separately, so you can tell right away whether one channel is actually dead.
The good news is that silent headphones on this model almost always trace back to a setting, a connection, or a software hiccup rather than dead hardware. Work through the fixes below in order, starting with the quickest and safest checks and saving the reset and support routes for the end.
Rule out a silenced or muted output first
Before anything else, confirm the phone is actually sending sound to your headphones at an audible level. The media volume is separate from your ring and notification volumes, so it can sit at zero while the rest of the phone still chimes.
With audio playing through the headphones, press the volume up button. Sony's guidance states, "Press the volume up or down button to change the media volume. The media volume slider appears and the media volume is changed."
Next, press a volume button, then tap the More icon to reveal the separate sliders for media, in-call, ring, notification, and alarm.
After that, confirm the media slider is not at zero, and drag it up if needed.
Check the wired plug is compatible and fully seated
If you are using 3.5 mm headphones, a loose or incompatible plug is one of the most common reasons for total silence. The jack sits on the top edge of the phone, listed as part 1 on Sony's Part names page, and the connector needs to be pushed all the way in.
There is also a compatibility limit worth knowing. According to Sony, Xperia smartphones support headsets with a 3-pole or a 4-pole (3.5 mm diameter) plug, while headsets with a 5-pole plug do not work with Xperia smartphones, so an unusual plug can produce no sound even when the headphones themselves are perfectly healthy.
If you suspect the cable or plug, test the same headphones on another device to confirm where the fault lies.
Get your Bluetooth headphones talking again
For wireless headphones, the connection itself is usually the weak link. Put the headphones in pairing mode, keep them nearby, and re-establish the link from scratch.
Start by going to Settings > Device connection > Pair new device, then tap your headphones in the list.
If they still refuse to play, forget them. Open Settings > Device connection, tap the settings icon next to the device under Saved devices, then tap Forget > Forget device.
This only removes the saved pairing, so you will need to pair the headphones again afterward.
Then pair them again using the steps above so the phone builds a fresh connection.
Audit the audio effects that reshape your sound
The Xperia 1 VI runs your music through optional processing, and toggling these settings is a quick way to rule them out as the cause of your headphone trouble. Switch each one off and on while audio plays so you can hear whether any single setting changes the result.
Open Settings > Sound & vibration > Playback quality.
From there you can toggle Audio effect and configure Dolby Sound, 360 Upmix, DSEE Ultimate, and 360 Reality Audio.
Note which settings you change so you can put them back the way you like once the headphones are working again.
Restart the phone to clear a temporary glitch
A simple restart clears the kind of temporary software state that can quietly break audio routing. It keeps all of your data intact and takes under a minute.
First, press the volume up and power buttons at the same time.
When the menu appears, tap [Restart].
Let the phone power down and come back on by itself, then test your headphones again.
Install the latest software update
Outdated system software can introduce audio bugs that a later release fixes. This model launched on Android 14, and Sony has published official guides covering the Android 15 and Android 16 updates, so it is worth confirming you are current before you go any further.
Go to Settings > System > Software update and follow the on-screen instructions.
Sony recommends using Wi-Fi rather than a mobile network to avoid data costs.
To keep future fixes arriving automatically, open Settings > System > Software update > More icon > Settings > Auto update system and turn it on.
Force a restart when the screen stops responding
If the phone has frozen or stopped responding while you were troubleshooting, a forced restart gives it a hard reboot without erasing anything. No settings or personal data are deleted by this step.
Following Sony's wording for the XQ-EC54 and XQ-EC72, "Long press the power key and the volume up key at the same time until your device vibrates," then release the keys and the device restarts.
If you would rather force a full shut down instead, keep holding until the device vibrates three times, at which point it powers off.
Run the built-in device test and reach Sony
If the audio still will not play, the on-device Support app can help you check the hardware and get help directly. It is the fastest way to confirm whether something physical has failed.
Tap the Support icon to open the app, read the relevant support topics, and use the built-in device test.
Support contact information is available from the Contact us menu even without a network connection, so you can still reach Sony if the audio hardware appears faulty.
Repair the system software from your computer
When the software itself seems corrupted rather than simply out of date, Sony's desktop tool can reinstall it cleanly. This step needs a computer and a cable, and it can affect your data.
Download and install Xperia Companion, Sony's free desktop software, from the official Sony customer support site, open it on your computer, and follow the on-screen instructions to reinstall the device software.
Repairing reinstalls the phone's software and can erase personal data in the process, so back up anything important before you start.
Wipe and start fresh as a last resort
A factory reset is the final option and should only come after everything above has failed, because it erases everything on the phone's internal memory. Back up your photos, accounts, and files before you begin, and do not interrupt the process once it starts.
- 1.Go to Settings > System > Reset options > Erase all data (factory reset) > Erase all data.
- 2.Enter your pattern, PIN, or password if prompted.
- 3.Confirm Erase all data and let the reset finish without interrupting it.
Sony's guidance is clear that resetting erases all data on internal memory, so treat this as a genuine last resort rather than a routine fix.
Once the phone reboots, set it up again and test your headphones before restoring everything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Sony Xperia 1 VI have a real headphone jack?
Yes. Sony's Part names page lists a 3.5 mm audio jack as part 1 on the top edge. It supports headsets with a 3-pole or a 4-pole (3.5 mm) plug, but headsets with a 5-pole plug do not work with Xperia smartphones.
Will a force restart erase my data?
No. A force restart simply reboots the phone, and no settings or personal data are deleted by it. Hold the power key and volume up key together until the device vibrates, then release to restart.
How do I stop an audio effect from changing my headphone sound?
Go to Settings > Sound & vibration > Playback quality. There you can toggle Audio effect and configure Dolby Sound, 360 Upmix, DSEE Ultimate, and 360 Reality Audio to test whether one of them is affecting your output.
Does repairing with Xperia Companion delete my files?
It can. Reinstalling the device software through the repair feature can remove some personal data, so back up your phone before you use it.
How do I contact Sony if the headphones still will not work?
Open the Support app by tapping the Support icon, then use the device test and the Contact us menu. The contact information is available even without a network connection, so you can reach Sony if the audio hardware appears faulty.