CarterEQ guide: system-wide EQ, presets, preamp and the floating chip

CarterEQ is a 10-band equalizer for everything your iPhone plays: music, video, TikTok and games. You shape the sound in the CarterEQ app, from a small floating chip on the Home Screen, or in Settings → CarterEQ.

Before you start

• A jailbroken iPhone on Dopamine (rootless), iOS 15 to 17. Not jailbroken yet? Use the jailbreak finder.
• Sileo installs what CarterEQ needs (ElleKit or Substrate, and PreferenceLoader) for you.
• On iOS 15 and 16 the EQ starts by itself. On iOS 17 it usually starts by itself too, but sometimes needs one tap on Enable System EQ in the app (see Set it up).
• Holding the Action button to toggle the EQ needs an iPhone 15 Pro or later on iOS 17.
• Run only one system-wide equalizer at a time. CarterEQ replaces the old CarterEQ Legacy package automatically.
• Price: $0.99 one-time, or included with the CarterWare Tweak Pass. See buying.

Set it up

1. Add the CarterWare source and install CarterEQ in Sileo. Installing tweaks walks through it.
2. When Sileo offers to respring (restart the Home Screen), let it. The floating chip and the Action button only load after a respring.
3. Open the CarterEQ app on your Home Screen and start some music. No music handy? Tap the play button at the top right for a short test clip.
4. Drag the 31 and 62 faders all the way down. The bass should drop right away. That's how you know the EQ is working.
5. If the sound doesn't change on iOS 17, keep the music playing, scroll to Tools, tap Enable System EQ, then Enable, and let audio play for about 20 seconds. On iOS 15 and 16, tap Restart mediaserverd instead.
6. Tap EQ Status to confirm. It says Audio engine up to date when everything matches. No EQ activity yet means the EQ hasn't attached to the audio yet: play music and try step 5 again.
7. Put the faders back the way you like, or pick a preset (below).

Using the app

Main screen

• Equalizer card: ten faders from 31 Hz to 16 kHz, each from −12 to +12 dB. Drag a fader, or tap a spot on it to jump there. The curve above shows the overall shape, and the OUT meters show your output level. The PREAMP slider underneath runs from −60 to +18 dB and reads MUTE at the very bottom.
• Top bar: Presets on the left. On the right, the play button plays a test clip and the circular arrow resets every band and the preamp to 0 dB (it asks first with Reset to Flat?).
• Global: the same on/off switches as Settings: Master Enabled, EQ Enabled, Preamp Enabled, Limiter and Floating EQ Chip. On an iPhone 15 Pro or later running iOS 17 there's also Action Button Toggles EQ.
• Effects: Compressor and Crossfeed, each with a switch. Tap the row for its settings. Advanced DSP holds Band Q and the limiter.
• Tools: Play test clip, EQ Status (with a Copy button for bug reports), and the audio repair buttons. On iOS 17 those are Enable System EQ and Restart audiomxd. On iOS 15 and 16 it's Restart mediaserverd.

The app, the floating chip and Settings share the same settings, so a change in one shows up in the others.

Presets

• My Presets lists curves you saved. Built-in has 12: Flat, Bass Boost, Bass Reducer, Treble Boost, Treble Reducer, Vocal Boost, Spoken Word, Loudness, Hip-Hop, Electronic, Rock and Acoustic.
• Tap a preset to apply it. A checkmark shows which preset matches what you're hearing.
• Built-in presets only set the 10 bands. Your preamp and Band Q stay where they were.
• Your own presets save and restore the 10 bands, the preamp and Band Q.

Compressor, Crossfeed and Advanced DSP

Each screen has an on/off switch and the same sliders as Settings → CarterEQ (see Settings explained). The X button at the top right puts that screen's sliders back to their defaults without flipping the switch.

Finish Updating CarterEQ

If the audio system is still running the old version after an update (mostly on iOS 17), the app shows Finish Updating CarterEQ. Tap Restart Audio: sound pauses for a second and your EQ comes back on its own a few seconds later.

Common tasks

Open the EQ panel from the Home Screen

1. Go to Settings → CarterEQ and turn on Floating EQ Chip.
2. Go to the Home Screen. A small dark EQ chip appears near the left edge.
3. Tap the chip. The Equalizer panel slides up with an EQ switch, Preamp, Width (Band Q), Volume and the ten faders.
4. Tap Done, or tap outside the panel, to close it.

The dot on the chip is red while the EQ is on and gray while it's off. The Volume slider sets your iPhone's volume, and it follows the hardware volume buttons while the panel is open.

Move or hide the floating chip

1. To move it, drag the chip anywhere on screen. It remembers the spot, even after a respring.
2. To show it over apps too, turn on Settings → CarterEQ → Show Chip in Apps. By default it hides while an app is open so it doesn't cover the app's buttons.
3. To remove it completely, turn off Floating EQ Chip. It stays off after a respring.

Pick a built-in preset

1. Open the CarterEQ app and tap Presets.
2. Under Built-in, tap a preset, for example Bass Boost. It applies right away.
3. Tap CarterEQ at the top left to go back and fine-tune the faders.

Save your own preset

1. Set the faders, preamp and Band Q the way you like.
2. Tap Presets, then Save.
3. Type a name and tap Save. If the name is already taken, Replace Preset? asks before overwriting.
4. To delete one, swipe left on it under My Presets.

Set the preamp so boosts don't distort

Boosts make the sound louder. The limiter stops clipping, but pushed hard, loud passages sound squashed.

1. Find your biggest boost, for example +6 dB on the bass.
2. Lower PREAMP by about the same amount, for example to −6 dB.
3. Open the floating panel while music plays. If the label above the meters changes from OUT to PUSH, the output is hitting the ceiling. Lower the preamp a little more.

Don't use the preamp as a mute. At −58 dB or lower it reads MUTE and CarterEQ silences the sound completely.

Turn the EQ off and on quickly

• Floating panel: flip the EQ switch.
• Settings or the app: turn off Master Enabled.
• Action button or Activator: see the next two tasks.

All of these do the same thing. The EQ stays off after a respring until you turn it back on, and your curve is kept.

Toggle the EQ with the Action button

1. On an iPhone 15 Pro or later, go to Settings → CarterEQ and turn on Hold to Toggle EQ.
2. Press and hold the Action button for about half a second. A black pill under the Dynamic Island shows EQ On or EQ Off, and you feel a tap.
3. While this is on, the Action button no longer runs the action you picked in Settings → Action Button. Turn Hold to Toggle EQ off to get it back.

Toggle the EQ with Activator

If you have Activator, CarterEQ adds two actions under CarterEQ: Toggle CarterEQ turns the EQ on or off, and Show CarterEQ Panel opens the floating panel (Floating EQ Chip must be on). Assign either one to any gesture in Activator.

Settings explained

Everything in Settings → CarterEQ, in order. Sliders take effect immediately.

Action Button section

The Action Button section, with Hold to Toggle EQ, only appears on iPhone 15 Pro and later. On iPhones without an Action button, Settings hides it.

Troubleshooting

Music sounds the same after installing

1. Respring if you haven't since installing.
2. Open the CarterEQ app, start music and drag a low fader all the way down.
3. iOS 17: tap Tools → Enable System EQ, then Enable, and keep music playing for about 20 seconds.
4. iOS 15 and 16: tap Tools → Restart mediaserverd, then Restart.
5. Check that Master Enabled and EQ Enabled are on.
6. Tap EQ Status. If it still says No EQ activity yet while music plays, tap Copy and send it with a bug report.

EQ Status says the audio engine is still running an older version

The update installed, but the audio system hasn't restarted to load it. Tap Restart audiomxd (iOS 17) or Restart mediaserverd (iOS 15 and 16) in Tools. Sound pauses for a second and the EQ comes back on its own a few seconds later.

The floating chip doesn't show up

• Check that Floating EQ Chip is on, then respring once.
• It hides while an app is open. Go to the Home Screen, or turn on Show Chip in Apps.
• On iOS 17 the chip doesn't currently appear on the Lock Screen. It shows on the Home Screen.

Sound is distorted or squashed after boosting

Lower PREAMP by about the size of your biggest boost (see Set the preamp so boosts don't distort). If the Compressor is on, try turning it off. Check Limiter Threshold (dB), Limiter Ratio (:1) and Limiter Knee (dB) too: the defaults are 0, 20 and 0.

There's no sound at all

If the PREAMP readout says MUTE (−58 dB or lower), CarterEQ is silencing the output. Drag it back up, or tap the circular arrow in the app to reset every band and the preamp to 0 dB.

Sound is stuck, buzzing or keeps cutting out

Open the CarterEQ app and tap Restart audiomxd (iOS 17) or Restart mediaserverd (iOS 15 and 16). Sound pauses briefly, then recovers. If it happens again, send EQ Status (tap Copy) with a bug report.

My screen recordings don't have the EQ

That's expected. iOS records an app's sound before it reaches CarterEQ, so recordings sound unprocessed even though you hear the EQ live.

"Couldn't Save Preset" or "Couldn't Delete Preset"

The presets folder lost its permissions. Reinstall CarterEQ from Sileo. Your saved presets are kept.

Questions

Does CarterEQ work in every app?

Yes. CarterEQ processes everything your iPhone plays: music, video, TikTok and games. It never touches the microphone.

Can I turn the EQ off for just one app?

No. CarterEQ applies to the whole system, with no per-app settings. To hear an app without EQ, turn the EQ off with the floating chip, the Action button or Master Enabled, then back on afterward.

Does the EQ stay off after a respring?

Yes. Whether the EQ is on or off is saved, so it stays the way you left it after a respring or a reboot. The same goes for the floating chip.

Does CarterEQ make videos lag?

It shouldn't. The audio path only does sound processing, and a flat curve passes audio through untouched, so video stays in sync. If you see stutter only with the EQ on, report it.

What happens to my presets if I uninstall CarterEQ?

Your saved presets and settings are kept, so they're there if you install it again. Removing CarterEQ restarts the audio system once to unload it.

Is there a command-line tool?

Yes. In a terminal on the iPhone, run /var/jb/usr/local/bin/cartereq with no arguments to see every command. Handy ones are cartereq toggle, cartereq flat, cartereq presets and cartereq load <name>.

How much does CarterEQ cost?

$0.99 one-time, or included with the CarterWare Tweak Pass while your Pass is active. See buying.