Motorola Droid Doesn't Ring

The Droid series of Motorola phones enables you to choose how loud or quiet your text notifications and ringtones sound. In some cases, however, a glitch in the system may prevent the Droid from sounding off at the correct volume. If your phone's audio still functions but ringtones and text notifications aren't working correctly, run through some troubleshooting steps to resolve the issue.

If your phone isn't ringing, it's possible that you have accidentally set it to silent mode. Unlock your Droid phone. From the home screen, use the volume buttons on the right-hand side of the device to change the ringer and notification volume. Volume buttons have different functions depending on the current open app; volume adjustments are best performed with no open applications. Volume settings are also available in the “Sound and Display” section of the “Settings” menu.

If ringers and notifications aren't sounding at the correct level based on the volume option you've selected, your Droid could be suffering from a minor glitch or bug. The simplest way to clear out small problems is a quick restart of the device. Press and hold the power button until the “Power Off” dialog box appears. Select “Power Off” to shut down the phone. Turn the phone back on again once it's fully shut down and check your sound settings once the phone is finished rebooting.

Problems with the phone's operating system could cause confusion in your sound settings. Updating to the most recent version of Android is often enough to clear up problems occurring on the device. Touch the Menu button and select “Settings.” Choose “About Phone,” and then touch “System Updates.” If updates are discovered, follow the onscreen instructions to install. The phone will restart when installation is complete – check the sound settings after the update.

If you're unable to fix the sound problems your phone is experiencing with basic troubleshooting steps, you may need to try a full factory reset. While this will completely erase the phone's internal storage -- including images, contacts, messages, and anything you've downloaded -- it will also restore the phone to the state it was in when it came from the factory. This step is sometimes necessary to resolve deep-rooted software issues. Open the applications tray, select “Settings,” and then choose “Privacy.” Touch “Factory Data Reset” and choose “Reset Phone.” Touch “Erase Everything” to completely wipe the phone.