You receive a wakeup call and realize that iPhone mic not working can create communications problems. A microphone is something that you cannot mess around because it is an internal part of the device, and Apple has sealed it properly to keep it away from human interference. In this tutorial, I will show you how you can fix microphone problems, and you will also find out the conclusion on whether to seek professional help or move on.
Test your iPhone Microphone Properly
A testing microphone on iPhone’s consumed hardly two minutes and Apple adds multiple microphone pieces to the device to provide high-quality sound with noise cancellation. Now, find out where all pieces are located in the device.
- Open “Voice Memo.”
- Now, speak one word from the primary microphone.
- Speak from secondary microphone also known as the noise-canceling microphone.
Now, listen to the recording and check, which microphone sounded weaker and that’s the sign of failing hardware. Seek professional help, if you believe that you have hardware problem here and need replacement.
Turn off Noise Cancellation Feature
I mentioned the secondary microphone earlier because it is a noise cancellation technology implemented in the smartphones to reduce background noise. The noise cancellation piece always works when the main microphone is active. Apple added proper functions to disable it from the device and keep it idle.
iOS 14 or above
- Open the “Settings” and then tap on “General”.
- Tap on “Accessibility” to continue.
- Now, lookup for “Phone Noise Cancellation” and tap on the green button to disable it.
iOS 11 or below
- Go to the “Settings” and click on “General”.
- Now, tap on “Accessibility” to continue.
- Tap on “Audio/Visual” to access more options.
- Disable “iPhone Noise Cancellation” from the phone.
Disabling noise cancellation will bring plenty of problems because it won’t reduce background noise anymore, and you have to speak in a quiet environment. Of course, I would not recommend the device owners to answer the calls in traffic or crowded places. However, you can answer the calls in a quieter environment without a microphone picking up ambient noise.
Remove Protective Cases or Accessories
Apple does not manufacturer or ship iPhone cases on the official website because they don’t recommend it. Most of the cases in the market were designed by professional designers but not a qualified team that would test them for quality and technological compatibility.
Remove the casings, accessories and other materials from the phone because it could be blocking the microphone or the case is creating a new frequency that iPhone is not suitable for producing high-quality sound.
Enable Microphone for Specific Application
iOS mobile operating system blocks certain features of the phone when you are using the non-Apple application. For instance, Skype, PUBG and other games require microphone access and it could have blocked it during the installation or configuration.
- Go to “Settings” from the menu and swipe down to tap on “Privacy” to continue.
- Now, look up for “Microphone” and tap on it.
- Tap on the application that you want to enable the microphone, and in my case, it’s Discord.
- Now, you can access Discord microphone settings.
Reboot the phone to dump previous session data and start afresh session. Of course, restarting the device is not necessary, but I do recommend the device owners to do so. The microphone should begin working normally with third-party applications and nothing should come in-between your communication.
Update your iOS or Reset Network Settings
Every iOS update comes with bugs & glitches fixed and you don’t want to miss out on the newer fixes. The latest security updates for iOS 12 might not fix the problem but iOS 14 and iOS 15 did bring important improvements that could kick the software problems out of the device.
Thousand of devices are shipped by AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-mobile, Cricket Wireless and more. Every network has its own set of carrier settings and restrictions and that could rub off the internal services in the wrong way. Apple Engineers did recommend the consumers to reset Network Settings for a fresh beginning.
Bottom Line
Maybe, the time has come for you to book an appointment at Apple service center to fix the Microphone not working on iPhone. Do not try to clean the iPhone microphone because it could damage the internals because they are sensitive. I did mention software-based solutions that don’t invite any further problems and complicate the situation even more. Seek professional assistance, if needed, and don’t try it (hardware problems) yourself because iPhone is a delicate piece of technology.
