If the iPhone microphone not working, a lot of important phone activities will be disturbed. For instance, people cannot hear you during a phone call, FaceTime chat, etc. Also, when you are recording videos, there will be no sound. How to get rid of this annoying issue? There are a couple of things to try, all are pretty simple, including restarting your iPhone, cleaning the mic and the headphone jack, and updating the software. Without further ado, let’s move to the solutions.
See also: iPhone And Apple Errors And Fixes
Solutions To Fix iPhone Microphone Not Working Issue
Test the microphone
Before we go any further trying to do some troubleshooting technique, let test your iPhone microphone first. There are different ways to do that.
Using Voice Memos
- Open Voice Memos app that you can find on Home screen.
- Make sure your fingers aren’t covering the microphone.
- Tap the record icon (the red circle) and start speaking. Once you finish recording your voice tap the red button.
- Now, playback the recording voice by tapping the play icon next to the red button. Make sure you can hear your own recording voice clearly.
Siri
Try to access Siri and ask something. Press the Home button a bit longer until Siri shows up. Try to speak to Siri and ask her anything. If Siri doesn’t answer your request or question correctly, try again with a louder voice.
Use Camera app or FaceTime
You can also use the video feature on Camera app or FaceTime to record the audio. Launch the Camera app and set it to Video. Then, record your voice and playback to check if you can hear your voice clearly or not.
Remove iPhone case
Try to remove your iPhone case, screen protector, and else that might cover iPhone speakers and iSight mic. Test your iPhone microphone following the above-mentioned steps.
Turn off Noise Cancelation
Phone Noise Cancelation is a useful feature you can find on iPhone. It can help reducing the surrounding noise when you are making a phone call. To turn off it, navigate to Settings and tap General. Then, select Accessibility, scroll down and you will find Phone Noise Cancelation. If you see the green button next to it, just tap it to turn it off.
Restart iPhone
The restarting process can kill the app that has a bug or keeps freezing. In many cases, iPhone issues can be solved by simply restarting the device. To do so, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until you see the red slider and slide to the right to turn it off. Wait for a few seconds, then turn it back on by pressing the same button until you see the Apple logo.
Clean the microphone
If there is dust or dirt covering your iPhone microphone, it can affect the quality of sound received by the microphone. It can block the sound to reach the microphone. You can clean it by using a dust blower to get rid the dust from there. Moreover, you can also use a toothpick or needle to get off the dirt but do it gently and carefully.
Check headphone jack
Remove the headphone accessory from you iPhone and make sure there is nothing inside the headphone jack. You can clean it to make sure there is no dirt and dust blocking it. Use the same tools and technique we mentioned before in the solution “Clean the microphone”.
Check iPhone Microphone Settings
If the issue happens only when you use certain apps, check your iPhone microphone settings. Make sure the apps has the permission to access the microphone. Open Settings >> Privacy >> tap Microphone.
Update iOS
Check if there is a new update for iOS on your iPhone. Head to Settings >> General >> Software Update. If there is a new iOS update, it’s recommended to download it. This act may help you to resolve iPhone mic not working issues. To get the update, simply tap “Install” on the Software Update window.
Reset All Settings
If you have done all the solutions above and microphone won’t work on iPhone, try tor reset all settings. This method will reset all the settings of your iPhone, including iPhone microphone settings. The steps are so easy. Hit Settings >> General >> scroll down and select Reset. Then, choose Reset All Settings. You may need to enter your passcode before continuing the process. Then tap Reset All Settings on a popup window.
Erase iPhone
If Reset All Settings didn’t fix your iPhone microphone not working issue, try to erase your iPhone. This technique will not only reset all of iPhone settings, but also the apps and contents inside. That’s why it’s advisable to back up your data first before starting the process. To erase iPhone, navigate to Settings >> General >> Reset >> Reset All Contents and Settings >> enter a passcode >> on a popup window, tap Erase iPhone.
Restore iPhone
You can restore your iPhone to factory settings using iTunes. You will need a computer to do this method and also a good Internet connection. Here are the steps:
- Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes.
- Connect iPhone to Mac/PC.
- Launch iTunes.
- Hit Restore iPhone in the Summary panel.
- Click Restore to confirm your action.
- Let the process to complete.
These problems/solutions are found and effective on iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
If the iPhone microphone not working even though you have tried all of the solutions we listed above, contact Apple or visit one of their stores.
See also: How To Fix iPhone Not Ringing Problem
Mil gracias
Turning off Noise Cancellation worked. Why? Is there any data as to whether this fix is just a band-aid? Or, will it last?
I was plagued with this problem for the past week on my iPhone 7 Plus. I brought it to Apple who said it was a hardware issue and there was no solution. Apple tried to convince me I would need a new phone. I was out of warranty and would need to pay full price. Go figure.
I decided I would need to use a Bluetooth wireless earbud for the remainder of this phone but decided to give a few more shots at resolving the issue. My solution turned out to be erasing the phone and starting as a new iPhone…. not downloading any old back ups. (I did try from old back ups and it did not resolve the issue). Sure enough as a new account the microphone was working again. I then erased again and downloaded the old back up and walla everything back to normal and working fine.
Nothing has worked for me. I can’t make calls and my microphone doesn’t work please help
hi i was wondering, the only problem i have with my microphone is that when i try to send a voice message using the following apps; messenger, whats app and even voice memos, my voice is very low and sometimes there’s record sound coming out unless i use my earphones. the thing is, in the messenger app if i turn on he the camera then that’s the time they can hear me. Although the mic is perfect when i use siri or call from a phone number, but how can i fix my voice records? i’m really desperate out here and i really want to fix my iPhone, thank you.
Turning off Noise Cancelation and restarting my phone
fixed the microphone. Thanks so much!
My iPad microphone isn’t woring
This happened to me on the Iphone X. Tried everything, but re-setting the settings worked for me to. Thanks.
Turning off noise cancellation did it for me…
Awesome! 🙂
Mic boton to talk to text messages on messages screen not on bottom
Reset all settings worked for me
Great! 🙂