microphone does not work on iphone 12 pro

One possibility is feedback through the noise cancellation feature. There are 2 mics on the phone, one at the bottom, the other on the back. If both mics hear the same sounds at the same volume it it assumes that it is noise and suppresses it. This feature works if you are holding the phone to your ear. To test this either cover the back mic or turn off noise cancellation in Settings/Accessibility/Audio-Visual. This can also be caused if you have a portfolio-type case that you fold back when on a call.

Another possibility is the people on the other end are using a speakerphone with the volume high and the sound from the speaker on their phone is going back into their microphone and and “switching” the line from listen to talk. Many cell phone calls are half-duplex, where only one end of the call can talk at a time. Have them turn off the speakerphone and hold the phone to their ear to see if that solves the problem, or lower the speaker volume. It can also be a matter of positioning the phone, if it is placed so the sound from the speaker reflects or echoes into the mic, so have them move their phone around.

I have the same problem on my iPhone 12 Pro. On the other side they do not hear me on phone calls. If I restart the iPhone they hear me again for some time (hours, some calls, ...), until it happens again and I have to reset again. Until now when I use my AirPods Pro I have no noticed any problem.

I had the same problem with iPhone 12 mini and I returned it. The microphone for calls and video worked but for voice memo and calls on other apps did not work. Such a pity for an expensive smartphone.

I tried reset to factory, checking privacy for access to microphone, updating the ios, turning off the Bluetooth, and none of them worked. Maybe I will buy it again when apple fixed the problem.

Hi,

I have iphone 12 pro max. And I’m facing the same issue. When I use FaceTime , WhatsApp call or Skype calls ....the audio becomes very low for the people other side hearing my voice.

not sure if it’s hardware or software issue

I updated to " 14.2.1 " but still have the same problem occur on my iPhone 12, I went to the extent of shutting off my phone and turning it back on and I still end up going in & out with my audio.

I have to apologize....I previously reported the 14.2.1 update fixed my Iphone 12 mic problem. The bluetooth/accessibility/ hearing aids were cutting out on my wife's Iphone 12 and it was the 14.2.1 update that fixed that problem. My phone still has the mic problem and T-Mobile is replacing it.

I have done some extensive testing on my iPhone 12 Pro and this seems to be a software / hardware issue of the new device. I hope it can be fixed with a software update. As far as I can tell, the noise canceling microphone is right next to the speaker holes at the bottom of the device and when on a speaker call the noise canceling microphone seems to get overwhelmed "IF" both persons are talking at the same time. So if you are on a speaker call using an iPhone 12 device and you try to talk at the same time as the other person on the call the voice of the iPhone 12 user will be cut out entirely. If the iPhone 12 user is in a noisy environment it will have the same effect. So to have a clear hands free speaker call using an iPhone 12 you need to be in a quiet environment and do not try to talk at the same time as the other person you are having a call with. I have tried a particular brand of phone case that solves this issue, but I think it might be against the terms and conditions of this community to try to promote products.

For me the problem solver was removing the case:

Same problem with FaceTime audio (while using video) on my brand new iPhone 12 Pro: audio on the other side cut in and out (using the speakerphone on both sides of the call). My very old iPhone 6Plus was working just fine for this type of call. Apple Support was very helpful, discussed SIM card (not the issue), upgrade to 14.2.1 (didn't fix the prob), turn off the noise cancellation (didn't fix). Finally thought it was the mic: After I switched from speakerphone to wired (lightening connector) earpods I have for my for my work iPhone 7, the Apple Support person thought the sound was much better on his end. So, did various tests.

Long story short: for me the problem is the case. Speck Presidio2 Grip. When I removed it, no issues at all with the audio on the other side of the video call/using the speakerphone. Put the case back on, problem started again. I had the same style case for my old phone/no probs, but seems like iPhone 12 Pro mics don't work well with this particular case -- at least so far for me that seems to be the problem.

iOS 14.2.1 did not fix it for me. Just had a similar issue today. The other person on the other end could only hear a static white noise during facetime, skype, or when I used speaker phone during regular calls, and could not hear what I was saying at all.

Voice memo also only recorded a static noise.

The only thing that worked was a normal audio call (without speaker phone).

Issue somehow went away suddenly after a few hours, and I have not yet been able to recreate it.

LeahJawa wrote:

I have the same issue on iphone 11 after ios 14.2 update :(

Have you updated to 14.2.1. It’s also been reported that some cases can cause this issue, especially if they were not made specifically for your phone model.

It is a noise cancellation issue on the other end. Meaning if you’re talking with someone on FaceTime or on speaker phone when you’re done speaking press mute. You will be able to hear them clear as day. Unmute start talking. Then mute again. It’s almost like a zoom meeting wherever the phone detects noise either end of the call, is given priority. How to fix this...I have no idea. That’s as far as I’ve gotten.

Happening to me too. Apple said to contact carrier if it persists. I’ll probably just ask for a replacement since im still in 14 day period. But so annoying. They make older phones obsolete by mot letting them update and then produce newer phones that dont work. Hmkay

I experienced the same problem but I found the solution for my case. I turns out, when you cover the bottom of the phone (where the speaker & charge port is), you're actually covering the microphone swell. It's good if you want immediate discretion where necessary, but bad if you have hands that naturally hold the phone up from the bottom (thereby covering the microphone). I had no problem with my SE (1st Gen); that is still the best designed phone in my own opinion. I hope Apple designers can make a similarly compact phone in the future. The 12 Mini is not small enough.

Okay so I contacted apple AND T-Mobile (my carrier) and neither one could fix the issue. I have the 12 pro by the way and the mic wasn’t an issue until after I had updated it. I had to contact apple support thru message since I really couldn’t call them. And I went to the T-Mobile store yesterday and all they could do was run a diagnostics test on my phone. I waited there for an hour and it never stopped running and even left the store and it never finished so I just ended it the next day today. I seriously don’t know what to do because I had just gotten this phone this past Friday. They said that even if they did replace it, it would probably happen to my new phone since it’s just a software issue. I really don’t know what to do now can someone help?

In my case Apple has replaced my phone for a new one and now I have no issue at all so far, running on 14.3 beta 2. Before I had problems with 14.2, 14.2.1 and 14.3 beta 2. So it seems in my case it was a hardware issue.