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.