iPhone Vibrating Randomly? Here's Why & How to Fix It

A vibrating iPhone can notify us of calls, messages, or other important events, even when notifications are silenced. But if your iPhone randomly vibrates, here is what could be causing the buzz and how to fix it when your iPhone vibrates for no reason.

Jump To:

• Why Does My iPhone Vibrate Randomly: Troubleshooting
• FAQ

Why Does My iPhone Vibrate Randomly? Fix It Fast!

There are lots of reasons your iPhone randomly vibrates. Most of these are software-related, but there is one easy hardware issue to rule out before starting. Your phone vibrates when first plugged into a charging cable, so if you're only noticing this problem while the phone is charging, it may be due to a problem with the cable, so try a different one. If that doesn't fix the issue, read on.

Check Your Notifications Settings

Is your iPhone vibrating randomly without notifications? This could mean that you have visual notifications turned off, but sounds turned on. When this happens, you won't get any visual indicator that you have a notification, only a vibration or buzz. To check this:

Discover your iPhone's hidden features

Get a daily tip (with screenshots and clear instructions) so you can master your iPhone in just one minute a day.

1. Open the Settings app.
   
   
2. Scroll down and tap Notifications.
   
   
3. Here you'll see a list of your apps that may be sending you notifications. If there is a particular app that you believe may be causing your iPhone to buzz, tap and check its settings.
   
   
4. Now you can check to see if Allow Notifications is on (green) or off (gray). If notifications are on, you can change or add Alerts.
   
   
5. Common culprits for your iPhone randomly vibrating are instant messaging apps and the Mail app, so be sure to check these.
   
   

If you choose not to disable notifications, be sure to note the type of alerts you have enabled when you check your app notification settings. If you've disabled some of these alert types, it's possible that your phone vibrates, but the screen is black because there's no banner.

Reboot Your iPhone

Though it may sound obvious or silly, simply turning your iPhone off and back on again can sometimes help resolve unusual issues, so this is a good thing to try early on when your iPhone randomly vibrates. Check out our guide on how to power your iPhone off and back on for additional help with this. Be sure to sign up for our free Tip of the Day newsletter for more guides on common iPhone problems.

Update Apps on Your iPhone

Random vibrations on your iPhone may be caused by a glitch with an app. Check to make sure all your apps are up to date. Take a look at our guide on updating all your apps at once for a step-by-step walkthrough, and if you believe this issue began after installing a new app, uninstall the app to see if that solves the problem. If your iPhone randomly vibrates after this, you can reinstall the app, and move on to the next steps. 

Install the New iOS Update on Your iPhone

If you're still scratching your head and asking, "Why is my iPhone randomly vibrating?" installing the new iOS update can possibly fix the glitch. Take a look at our guide on how to update your iPhone's system software for additional information.

Check iPhone Systems Settings for Vibrations

Why does my iPhone randomly vibrate? There are a lot of options for customizing when and how your iPhone uses vibrations that you might not know about. We have a short guide on vibration settings that you might want to check out if you're wondering how to change iPhone vibration settings. You can also shut off vibrations entirely if you'd prefer or as a temporary workaround.  This guide also explains how to switch Silent Mode off, which is another possible workaround, if your iPhone is set to only vibrate when in Silent Mode.

Force Restart Your iPhone

If your iPhone vibrates for no reason, doing a force restart on your iPhone can sometimes help get your phone out of glitch loops. Here's our guide on how to force restart an iPhone X (or later), or this guide on how to do so on earlier iPhones with Home buttons.

Reset All Settings on Your iPhone

If your phone randomly vibrates still, you might want to reset all settings on your iPhone to their factory default. This will not delete any data or apps, but you will need to configure any settings you've customized, and things like saved passwords will be lost.

Factory Reset Your iPhone

You can attempt a full factory reset of your iPhone to get rid of a very persistent vibration problem. This will wipe all apps and data from your device, so be sure you've made a backup before doing so! Consider whether you'll find setting up your iPhone from scratch more or less annoying than a persistent mystery vibration. Our article on the iPhone reset process will walk you through the process and has links to guides on backing up your device first.

Contact Apple Support

I hope one of our suggestions has helped you fix your iPhone randomly vibrating, but if not, it's probably time to contact Apple Support. Through the official support site, you can contact an Apple associate via phone, chat, or email, and they can help determine what next steps you can take.

If this article helped you with your random iPhone vibration issues, please check out our other iPhone troubleshooting guides; we've written an article for just about every problem out there! We even have an article about why your Apple Watch is vibrating randomly but not showing notifications.