iPhone 4 microphone not working

jms2, This is not a fault in the new iPhone 4. It's a problem with yours perhaps, but many are working just fine. Mine and all my friends here in LA that were lucky enough to purchase the new iPhone on launch day have perfectly working iPhones. I don't doubt that perhaps some have issues, various issues... but it's not a problem with all of them.

Take it to an Apple Store or Tech support should arrange a replacement for you.

i have this exact same problem. my first ip4 was perfect except the yellow blotches never went away. the genius saw it too so they replaced it when i brought it in. however, this new one, which is about a week and a half old, has this mic problem and it's very annoying.

i only found out about the problem earlier when my sister called me and i answered and she said that i sounded like i was talking at a distance. i didn't pay much attention so i put it on speaker and she said i sounded fine.

so i was curious so i call my other sister and she said she could barely hear me. i switch on speaker and she said i sounded clear then i told her i'm switching the speaker off and when i tried to talk to her, she couldn't hear me at all. she actually asked if i was still on the line so i had to turn on the speaker phone again so she knows i was still on.

i'm having apple call me in the morning and i hope it gets sorted out.

I have the same issue - got my new iPhone 4 on July 2nd, worked fine for a few days, now every call I make or receive, I can hear the person on the other end fine but they can't hear me at all. I'm at apple store now waiting on my 'genius' to diagnose. I'll let you know the verdict but I'm afraid this is a factory defect. Everything else on the phone works fine. I haven't dropped it, gotten it wet, or done anything else that would potentially break it...

i just got my new iphone 4 and so far so good! the culprit in my broken ip4 was the noise canceling mic. when i troubleshot my phone before, i called a bunch of people and they all said they could barely hear me but when i covered the noise canceling phone, they all said i sounded fine.

also everything worked when i'm on speaker phone. the other way to test if you have a broken/over sensitive noise canceling mic, turn on voice recorder. if your mic is working properly, you'll see the decibel needle move when you speak at normal volume. if it's not moving, it means you have a hardware problem (i noticed this btw).

I am having this same issue. When talking normally into my iphone4, the person on the other end of the line thinks I am far away or very distant sounding. However, when switched to speaker, they can hear me just fine. Also, with my Iphone headphones plugged in, they can hear my just fine too. Any suggestions? Thanks for your help.

Respectfully,

i'm on my 2nd iphone 4. the 1st one i couldn't hear callers and the 2nd people can barely hear me but works fine on speaker phone !

very frustrating apple !

Update: After posting previously while waiting for the genius to evaluate my phone, it turns out they had no idea what was causing the mic not to work so within 20 minutes I walked out with a new iphone 4, no questions asked (albeit it was in that generic black box reserved for replacements, not a 'freshly sealed' box.

Update #2: a day after getting the replacement phone, which has a mic that works great so far, I've come to realize that the vibrate doesn't work! *** Apple?!? Get it right! Now I'll be going back tomorrow for probably a 2nd replacement - I doubt something like the vibrate function (settings>sounds>vibrate) can be fixed with a software update, and I've tried a hard reboot.....

And now a negative review from Consumer Reports....a sure sign that a recall is inevitable.

I started out the morning with the same problem. People on the other end of a call couldn't hear me when I just talked with the phone to my ear (alot of static). They could hear me fine on speaker and through ear buds with built in mic. I suspected the noice-canceling mic on the top of the phone was the culprit. Tried restart...didn't work. I was at work so the restore was not possible until later.

As an act of "desperation" (we iPhone users tend to panic) I blasted the earphone input and mic on the top of the phone with compressed canned air. It worked! Call quality was clear again. I guess the mic succumbs easily to pocket lint or something.

Anyway, this solution worked for me. Hopefully others with this issue will have the same luck.

BTW...I called Apple and they seemed more than willing to replace the phone with a brand new one if a full restore didn't resolve it. Good luck!

Message was edited by: BigD1980

My iPhone 4 also arrived with a microphone circuit that does not work.
-Tried removing all protectors/bumpers.
-Tried updating to iOS4.0.1
-Tried powering off and on
-Tried Voice Memos app under Utilities
-Tried using supplied headphones
-Tried movie recording

Apple Support said that I would have to send it in for "Repair".
Why not outright replacement? I may be giving this iPhone back to Steve Jobs.

I also have the same problem. Mic works with calls but as soon as u use FaceTime, hands free speaker no one can hear u or video recording u can't hear what's been recorded.

I restarted the handset and restored countless times. I made an appointment at the genius bar which was 2 hours away (Meadowhall). I told them about the mic problem and she claimed to know nothing about it. She launched the voice memo app that came with the phone, tapped the mic and said there was nothing wrong with it. I was told I couldn't have a replacement and that it would sort it's self out eventually. She simply refused to accept the fault.. So no replacement and no acknowledgement of this fault from the 'genius' bar. I'm gobsmacked.

What should I do now?

I just got back from the genius bar with the same problem. The mic on my phone was broken - I could hear people, but they couldn't hear me - however bluetooth in my car worked fine. After a hard restart, then a refresh, they concluded it was a hardware problem and I'll be getting a replacement phone in a few days.

Totally frustrating and disappointing. But since I received my iPhone 4 in the first wave of orders, I'm hoping that a newer phone won't be such a lemon.

I have the exact same issue. Mic does not work in a call. People saying I sound very faint. If you enable the Speaker it works perfectly. Turn Speaker off and the problem comes back. Tried a restore and I am on 4.0.2 but no joy. Off to see Apple to see if there is a hardware issue.

There are 2 mic related problems, I know because I have faced them both.
a. Non-speaker mode others cannot hear
b. Speaker mode other cannot hear 🙂 simple.

Bought the first iPhone 4 on Saturday, never realized that the speaker mode workes since all weekend I was out. Took it in on Monday and the "genius" replaced my phone and was out within 20 mins.
No reasons given, it was from a Black "replacement" box.

Wednesday, the reverse issue, when non-speaker mode works on phone calls, people I call cannot hear what I say on the speaker mode.
Again, took it in, no reasons given, got a replacement.

The "genius" underplayed that fact that I asked whether there were others that were facing this issue, he said "No sir, yours is the only unfortunate case we have witnessed."
I also asked if I am doing anything different than others, he mentioned nothing.

I have a feeling this is some hardware issue that they are aware of and are trying to cover.

Here are the facts for both the times.
1. updated to 4.0.2.
2. downloaded a bunch of free apps.

We just got my wife's iphone yesterday. Today the phone was ported over and we made some calls. Turns out the speakerphone works, but if not on speakerphone, the caller cannot hear you at all. The mic is just not working. This is not an issue of first batch phones. This is a quality issue for sure.