microphone does not work on iphone 12 pro

Bought a new 12 pro max for my wife about a week ago. Didn't think about testing it out of the box first before transferring her data over from her old 7 plus. So don't know what IOS version the 12 came with and if the mic was working then or not. We had to update to latest version (14.4) in order to transfer wife's data over and so we did. Transfer went well and everything appeared to be working fine. A few days later wife tried to make a Facebook messenger call with me and I couldn't hear her at all. We then tested FaceTime and tried making phone calls...other couldn't hear a thing...nada. Tested the Voice Memo app and when playing back a recording all we could hear was loud static. To Google we went looking for a solution or to see if others were experiencing similar microphone issues. Low and behold, we found two threads, this one and another at: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252186963?page=1

Did all the troubleshooting and even did a factory reset as a new user and issue still there. Download ‎Phone Diagnostics on the App Store (apple.com) as suggested from someone on the other thread, ran it, and the bottom mic FAILED!!! Using a Bluetooth headset works but such an inconvenience. Took the 12 to Apple store and returned that sucker before the 14 days was up. So disappointed to have paid over $1000+ for a phone and the mic doesn't even work! I especially feel sad for my wife as she was really looking forward to the new 12 pro max, and we were going to use it to shoot photos at our upcoming baby shower :( Holding out on getting another 12 until there's an official fix or Apple acknowledges it. Might even have to wait for the 13 or switch over to Android.

I'm having a similar problem with my iPhone 12 Pro and reviewed this entire thread, plus "the rest of the internet" looking for a solution. I did not find anything to fix the issue. Here are my symptoms:

• The other party on a cellular call cannot hear me when I use the speakerphone (but holding the phone to my ear or using Bluetooth devices works fine)
• The other party on a third party voice/video call (e.g., Facebook Messenger) cannot hear me
• Voice Memos cannot hear me (the graph is a complete flatline, not merely muffled or choppy)
• Siri and keyboard dictation cannot hear me (dismisses as if I haven't said anything at all)
• Note: Audio recording in both front-facing and world/rear-facing videos is fine (unaffected by this issue)

Documenting things that I tried that did not work, for what it's worth:

1. Removing the case (even though it has appropriate cutouts)
2. Unpairing my Apple Watch (Series 4), which some people had suggested might help
3. Turning off Bluetooth entirely
4. Confirming that neither Privacy nor Screen Time settings have restricted access to the microphone (not that this would ever effect a call)
5. Turning off Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Phone Noise Cancellation
6. Rebooting the phone (many, many times)
7. Resetting all settings (General > Reset > Reset All Settings)
8. Wiping the phone, both with and without restoring from a backup (General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings)
9. Upgrading to the iOS 14.4 Beta 2 and praying for a fix in that version (nope)
10. Restoring from 14.4 Beta 2 using iTunes and Recovery Mode (going back down to 14.3 and starting fresh, not from a backup)

It's either a hardware issue with one (or two?) of the microphones, or something very weird with the firmware. Coordinating with Apple on a replacement.

“they” can’t fix anything if it’s a hardware problem until they have your phone. Here is a way to diagnose→If the microphones on your iPhone aren't working - Apple Support

You should also test the microphones with the voice memo app.

Now that makes more sense. I read that the bottom mike is the last, farthest right two holes but didn’t realize it worked in conjunction with the top one. The case I have is confining on the bottom two so I widened the hole slightly with a drill. It works better but works great without the case at all. Of course you can’t prop it up on a flat surface or the holes will be covered.

It’s likely that the problem is the case you have on the phone that is partially blocking either the microphone on the bottom of the phone or the noise cancellation mic on the back of the phone near the camera. Try removing the case.

My new case came in today and it works like a champ. It fits closer to the microphone holes on the bottom and my daughter-in-law said it now sounds perfect. The MagSafe charger doesn’t stick as well but it does stick and charges. Check out the Otter Box Commuter.

greg_howard wrote:

I'm having a similar problem with my iPhone 12 Pro and reviewed this entire thread, plus "the rest of the internet" looking for a solution. I did not find anything to fix the issue.• Here are my symptoms:

The other party on a cellular call cannot hear me when I use the speakerphone (but holding the phone to my ear or using Bluetooth devices works fine)

• The other party on a third party voice/video call (e.g., Facebook Messenger) cannot hear me

• Voice Memos cannot hear me (the graph is a complete flatline, not merely muffled or choppy)

• Siri and keyboard dictation cannot hear me (dismisses as if I haven't said anything at all)

• Note: Audio recording in both front-facing and world/rear-facing videos is fine (unaffected by this issue)

Documenting things that I tried that did not work1. , for what it's worth:

Removing the case (even though it has appropriate cutouts)

2. Unpairing my Apple Watch (Series 4), which some people had suggested might help

3. Turning off Bluetooth entirely

4. Confirming that neither Privacy nor Screen Time settings have restricted access to the microphone (not that this would ever effect a call)

5. Turning off Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Phone Noise Cancellation

6. Rebooting the phone (many, many times)

7. Resetting all settings (General > Reset > Reset All Settings)

8. Wiping the phone, both with and without restoring from a backup (General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings)

9. Upgrading to the iOS 14.4 Beta 2 and praying for a fix in that version (nope)

10. Restoring from 14.4 Beta 2 using iTunes and Recovery Mode (going back down to 14.3 and starting fresh, not from a backup)

It's either a hardware issue with one (or two?) of the microphones, or something very weird with the firmware. Coordinating with Apple on a replacement.

The replacement hardware does not exhibit any issues, and I'm praying the issue does not return. I did not restore from a backup, but I did do an iPhone-to-iPhone port of settings and data.

Update: After 45 mins on phone with apple support and a couple hours resetting and restoring the phone, I still had the problem. Hardware as I suspected. Went into the store and exchanged for a replacement. So far no issues with the new Model.

I had the same issue, bought new iPhone 12 in December 2020, Tried talking with apple, they walk me through all trouble shoot and I performed all of the, Muting your mic while on facetime on speaker does the trick but its not practically possible all the time, eventually I had to replace both mine and my wife's 12 with apple. They replaced it and its working fine as of now. Its been 2 days and did a lot of facetime all over globe, no issue so far. Fingers crossed.

Last resort is to get replacement, explain them in details about your issue and also show them or paste them the link of online apple discussion. Not a lot chat support person are aware of this issue so. Hope this helps.

Question:

Q:

Speaker Microphone choppy

Anyone having problems with speaker/Microphone issues. When on speaker phone other parties kelp complaining about my voice coming across choppy. I may have a fix after three new replacement phones.

This is my 3rd. Phone. After many hours with apple phone support my problem was elevated to a senior advise who suggested to restore my phone to factor reset. So far so good after restored by apple and not from my iCloud restore.

Obviously the first phone’s software was defective. Therefore every restore from cloud or phone to phone was restoring the same defective software.

so far since the factory restore Speaker Phone choppiness gone. Made several calls using sparkler with no problem. Good luck.

Have had the mic problems on all three of our iPhone 12’s since buying in November .

Took them to apple and they tested and even though they all passed, the apple employee acknowledged that they are awaiting an update to fix the know problem with all iPhone 12’s and suggested returning for a refund to place of purchase as they do not know when an update fix we happen. It is covered under apple care but they said there is no point swapping it out as the problem will occur with a new phone as it is a software issue.

apple provided a letter confirming the issue and we have returned to place of purchase and exchanged for an iPhone 11pro which is perfect .

Try going to Settings/Accessibility/Audio/Visual and turn off Phone Noise Cancellation. Also, make sure your finger is not covering up the microphone, which is on the bottom edge of the phone on the left (looking at the phone).

I was having the same problem (when using FaceTime my audio was coming through as choppy for the other end) with my iPhone 12 Pro. In trying to figure this out I had watched a video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WuYUBxm3zs) and got some ideas to try. I got online with a friend of mine who has a good knowledge of audio/video operation to try these suggestions. His observation was that it seemed like the mic was not keeping up and could only output part of the audio.

One of the video's suggestions was to turn off the microphone for all the other apps using it and then turn back on. But what I actually did was to turn them off and leave them off. Then my audio was coming through fine! So certainly NOT a long-term solution but more of a clue about what is happening. I'm curious for folks to try it and see what results they get. To turn off the mic for all the apps that are using it go to Settings => Privacy => Microphone and turn all of these off. And then try FaceTime and see if your audio is now coming through fully.

Update: I went back to the store, explained the issue (microphone/audio doesn’t work). After one week I received a replacement phone (model number starts with N). On the service receipt the following comment was made: “During our diagnosis we found an error: Audio & vibration function, outgoing audio, not working.”

So far, no issues with the replacement phone. Fingers crossed...

As previously posted awhile back, I reset my iPhone 12 to original settings after deleting all data. Then, DO NOT restore from backup. Sign in with your Apple ID and photos etc will reload if you saved previously in ICloud. You will have to manually enter all needed info. Previously downloaded apps from Apple store can be located and again downloaded. NO MORE SPEAKER PROBLEMS. Apparently there is a bug which keeps getting reinstalled from your backups.