microphone does not work on iphone 12 pro

I am returning my iPhone 12 Pro. I tried noise cancellation, update, factory reset, recording on voice memo, camera. Seems like a bad software problem with a whole batch of phones. How could apple do this? They unleashed a product that wasn't tested/ ready and treated its customers like test subjects. Solution is to return this device and wait for the next iPhone model where they have possibly fixed this bug. Perhaps when the pandemic is over, they will test the device properly before launching it. Or a simple solution is to shun apple completely as it appears to me that being hideous is their new mantra.

I can't believe I got this phone - in times when majority of the work is done virtually. And I work in a hospital. What apple did with this phone is nothing short of criminal.

My mic seems to be working fine whenever I speak on call or record videos using camera. But whenever I put the call on speaker or try to use mic in any of the other apps like Voice Memos, Whatsapp the mic doesn't seem to be working. Nothing gets recorded at all. Has anybody got any solution?

Unpairing and pairing my iWatch series 5 seemed to resolve this issue. After I got my iPhone 12 pro, the iWatch had delays getting my text messages. If I opened a text message on my iPhone, I would still get the text message on my iWatch after a couple of minutes. The issues with the microphone and iWatch seemed to be resolved.

Thanks you for your list of tried remedies. I just got my iPhone 12 Pro 4 days ago. I’m having the same microphone issue. Hey Siri doesn’t work...I tried to re-record my commands and the phone won’t register that I’m talking at all. Calls made with Bluetooth devices are fine. Any attempt at voice text when not connected thru a Bluetooth device doesn’t work. It’s a flat line as if I’m not talking at all. Yesterday everything worked fine. There was a new iOS update 2-3 days ago but my microphone worked since then. Just now I answered a call. Tried to put it on speaker but they couldn’t hear me. Took off speaker and it was fine until it wasn’t. Person on the call told me there was static on there end during the time they couldn’t hear me. This is very frustrating after spending so much on brand new equipment.

Greg. My phone was experiencing the exact same issues as you described. I brought my phone to apple yesterday and they diagnosed it as a hardware failure. They are repairing or replacing it and will be mailing it back to me in a few days. Unfortunately I don't believe there are any other solutions than bringing it to Apple.

I just got the iPhone 12 Pro yesterday 1/14/21 and every FT or video call the person on the other end has issues hearing me or they hear every other words. Is this something I should return the phone before I’m STUCK with it!?

We have one each 12pro and 12pro Max with the exact same random audio issue.

I have tried all of the detailed troubleshooting steps you have listed with the same results, except one.

I have found that using as set of wired iPhone 10 headphones works without issue for me. That is the only workaround I have found. Not to say it will be the same for everyone. But it does bypass the built in microphone.

Apple you have a major issue here!

Alright. After reading all the feedback, now I can say Im not alone. And yes, been getting the same problem. Thought it’s the case, but after replacing it, the person I’m talking to from the other end told me that it randomly become static. Quite disappointed. This needs to be fixed.

Hey Apple - any updates on this? This is becoming laughable. Aren’t you going to address this? Talked to support who had no idea what I was talking about and suggested that I perhaps was accidentally covering the microphone when speaking... really...

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.

Got a new iPhone 12 Pro around Christmas and it worked fine for 3 weeks until I tried to use speakerphone on a normal call and the other end couldn’t hear me. Voice memos and Hey Siri dictation also failed to work.

I have an appointment tomorrow with an Apple Service provider (since Apple stores are closed in California) that I had to schedule a week in advance. Out of curiosity, I tried my speakerphone, voice memos, and Hey Siri and THEY’RE ALL WORKING AGAIN OUT OF THE BLUE.

and unfortunately I don’t know how or why. Kinda feel silly about going to a service provider now if I don’t have any problems to show.

I have got the same problem too! I initially thought it was my phone case or screen guard. Gosh looks like whole iPhone 12 pro users are facing the same issue! I did recently updated my IOS still no change.. anguished!

If the issue has seemed to have resolved itself, for now, should I still bring it in?

Frustrating to have the issue for a few weeks (no speakerphone, voice memos, Siri dictation) and then randomly test it yesterday and suddenly everything works again (I don’t recall making any updates recently either).

Really strange.

If it is still within the Apple warranty period I would RETURN IT ASAP. Let's all make Apple painfully aware of this issue until it is both acknowledged and resolved. They just had recorded profits so I think they can afford some R&D to fix their flagship product!!

I have returned 3 iPhone 12s without any change in this issue.

I hope the recent 14.4 updates will have a positive effect but the patch notes did not say anything about a microphone fix for our collective issue. After 15+ years with Apple, this is my first major complaint.