iPhone 4 internal mic active during phone call with headphones

Just registering the same complaint.

Previously this worked find on my iPhone 4, it seems that has only cropped up in the last week or so after the last few updates.

I hope Apple gets it resolved ASAP. I love using the headphones to talk on the phone so this is incredibly annoying.

Update: I am now resigned to this situation and think I am just going to have to get used to the less enjoyable headphone/mic telephone call with the iPhone 4. Went to Apple Genius Bar here in Tokyo, no one seemed to think anything was wrong with my iPhone.

To their credit, they did get me a new phone. I went in, did all the transfer stuff, checked the new one, and same issue. Had a couple of the sales people and managers try it out, and they just said it sounds like it's supposed to sound.

Doesn't seem like it bothers anyone else besides people posting here. Maybe they didn't use the 3G ro 3GS (or use headphones with it) - but there is a huge difference in the experience. But I have come to the point where I think it is a design issue, and I am gonna 1) have to get used to it; 2) not use my headphones to make phone calls; or 3) switch away from the iPhone.

I love most things about the new iPhone, so looks like I am just going to try to learn to live with it and maybe it will be fixed sometime down the road.

Is anyone at Apple listening?!

No, nobody at Apple is listening. It's incredibly frustrating as this seems to have been a problem beginning with the iPhone 4. They won't admit there's a problem at the store, if they even hear the echo, they'll just say that the headphones "aren't supported."

I even talked to Shure about it (high end headphone manufacturers) and they complain that Apple is an absolute pain to work with.

This terrible customer service is going to slowly erode confidence in their products; you can be sure I am going to seriously look at some Android options when my contract is up for renewal.

After many different new headsets, updating, restoring, and pointless apple care sessions, the problem persisted.

At the point of pretty much giving up I tried one more thing. I found my very old mic/headset from my first iPhone, 3 or 4 yrs old and plugged it in. Much to my amazement it worked! The sound is tinny and bad, but they actually successfully bypass the phones internal mic and make hands free possible, without the sounds from your pocket or the surrounding environment coming through.

Upon further studies I can see a slight difference in the plastic at the base of the 3 ring male headset end.

The sheathing at the base of the old headphones goes a tiny bit further up the metal shaft then the new ones that came with my iPhone 4. This causes the plug to go into the phone hole a tiny bit less.

I have now found a Coby(brand) headset/mic that seems to be made to the older specs, and it works too.

All the other new sets I bought seem to be in accordance with the specs of the new apple headset , and they don't work with my iphone 4, or my friends.

So, my hypothesis is that this is an issue with the headsets relationship with the jack on the phone. An unfixable hardware issue to be sure, because it does'nt work with the up to date apple headset that is provided.

And unless you have an old headset/mic that still works or happen to find a brand that works, your out of luck.

Yes, the extra sheathing at the base seems to be the difference.

My Kliptsch 4S headphones are unusable on an iPhone 4 because the other party hears the aplified russle of anything the phone touches.

However I tried my Bose QC15's with the optional Mic (the older version, I just ordered the optional mic + three-button controller) and there was no problem. At the base of that connector is a tiny elevated metal flange. I also tried with a pair of Sony EX12iP's. They have a small plastic flange at the base and they did not exhibit the loud pickup of all contact with the iPhone.

For me, it seems the flush pin/base connection is the problem in the Kliptch earphones.

Same here with Iphone 4 and then again with replacement iphone 4s with Logitech Ue200vi's (ios 5.01) - although it seems it is the headset mic that is picking up all the background noise to be fed back to the earphones...

I just some other UE200vi's in my 4s - No background noise!!! (they are identical except an "E42" designator where mine has an "E45")...Next I will try my wife's Apple headset seh bought recently from the Apple Store...

I also have this issue with my new 4S, using my V-Moda Vibe Duo that didn't have any problems on my 3GS. Furthermore, I think the mic stays active even when not on a call, i.e., it's picking up sounds when I'm just listening to music. For example, if I'm playing music at the gym and someone drops a weight nearby, it briefly mutes the current song.

I hope this gets fixed soon. I love my iPhone and V-Moda earbuds.

Tell you what. This is super annoying and renders the stupid device (iPhone4s) useless in car.

I had ANDROID device as you can tell from my username and boy I miss it.

Anyway same setup, same car, same AUX-in Car Stereo cable, same volume same everything.....

My Android worked fine when I got call while listening to the music, everything worked flawlessly.

I got this so called device that "works", iPhone4s and same setup results in Hi pitch screech (feedback)

and just can not talk using the AUX-in Car Stereo.

Oh man... I don't want to go into the other list of problems.....Voice memo fails to sync, photo sync (albums disappearing, loosing order.).... music playlist messing up.... no Graphic EQ.... wireless sync crashes..... Google contacts can not group.... moving mail to folders sometimes (yeah sometimes, it has its own mind) gets deleted completely rather than moved to the folder... on and on and on....

No way to control the device that I PAID for... The device controls you...

Guess what! I filed a complaint and Apple does not even have decency of acknoledging the receipt of complaint.

Ok, same problem with my iphone 4 on os 5.0.1. Was about to spend 50euro on a phone jack replacement untill I found this post.

What a disappointment!

Mine seems to work OK sometimes. It seems like sometimes the headphones are detected (audio is OK in the ear buds), but the mic is not (the phone's internal mic stays active during the call).

It doesn't seem to be the connector, since pushing it in or wiggling it doesn't help. I remember an issue with an earlier iPhone model where the headphones were not always reliably detected if you plugged them in when the phone was locked. Unlocking the phone and plugging them back in with the LCD on seemed to help. I wonder if that would work here.

I have a 3GS and I also have the same problem with my Apple In-Ear headphones (same with my wife's 3GS phone); the mic is open all the time and you can't even shew or breath without hearing all these sounds amplified. Isn't there a fix for this Apple?

This does not happens with the old heaphones that came with these 3GS IPhones...

Well... its almost 2 years since my last post and I still have this issue. I feel like if tried a dozen different earbuds and I still hear NYC noise through my headphones while on the phone. I hope this gets resolved in the next iPhone.. "The new iPhone"

Is anyone from Apple listening???!!! Hello!??

I am suffering with this problem after purchasing aftermarket earbuds that say they are for the iPhone 4. While the mic is on the cord, the internal mic never turns off, so whatever noise is picked up by that (e.g., sloshing around in your pocket, or even external noise), and the distance if the phone is not held up to your mouth (which defeats the whole purpose of "hands free") causes so much noise that the other party complains and asks me if I am on speakerphone. So, totally useless like this. I suspect that Apple wants to prevent sales of third party headsets to protect their domain. I would love a way to manually turn off the internal mic (and hopefully the mic on the headset cord would work).