iPhone 12 Pro: Facetime / speakerphone microphone audio cuts in and out

Yes! We are having the same issue. And also did not have this issue with iPhone X or iPhone 7. We now both have iPhone 12 and while speaking to my wife she places the phone on counter on speaker while she washes dishes, cooks etc. Sound begins to cut in and out eliminating her voice at times, along with everything else at times. This must be some software glitch.

I have the same issue when holding the phone in my hand and when using the AirPod..it’s annoying and a bit embarrassing because I use my phone for work... I was thinking of returning the phone but if others are having this issue then the new phone might do the same thing.... This is frustrating ....

Our family now has the same problem described in this thread. Both my son and daughter had iPhone X devices and my husband and I had iPhone 8s. We wanted to upgrade so we upgraded them to iPhone 12 Pros and we took over their X devices. We FT every day with. them. The audio will cut in and out consistently unless we do the following: my son or my daughter put in an AirPod to use for their microphone speaker OR we have to constantly put our X phone on Mute while they are talking, come off of mute to talk and then go back and forth with our X phone mute button to have an unbroken conversation. So dang annoying. I don’t know what to ask for from Apple to fix the problem but I don’t want to continue paying for this device through Verizon. Any fixes in mind on how to handle????

I found this and it is really weeks when I noticed the issue too.

Nothing solved it atm so no idea what apple is doing https://piunikaweb.com/2020/11/30/iphone-12-series-microphone-on-facetime-facebook-messenger-other-video-calling-apps-seems-broken-as-per-user-reports/

I have also found 2 more discussions that do not have useful answers:

iPhone 12 Microphone Issue - Apple Community

iPhone 12 Pro - Microphone issue - Apple Community

Hello,

Hmm, is it possible that the desk is blocking the bottom microphone?

Also see:

Get help with the microphones on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Good luck.

I completely agree Apple needs to fix this. In the meantime I found making the change I detailed in my post on Feb 5 has been a successful workaround for me. Below is the detailed change from that post. Make the change and then try FaceTime and see if it clears it up.

Turn the microphone OFF for all the apps currently requesting access to it:

• Go to Settings => Privacy => Microphone
• Turn all of these OFF and leave them OFF

I am having the exact same problem. Moved from an iPhone X to 12 and never had an issue before. I use my hands on speakerphone quite frequently and now whoever I"m speaking with only hears every other word. It isn't my case or placement of phone - I have checked on that.

I recently upgraded from the iPhone 8+ to the 12 as well and having the same problems. Verizon had restated my Network Settings and the noise stop on the receiver side for a little and then it came back. We fixed the SIM card did a hard reset...nothing. Apple then did a software diagnostic and said it was good so now I have to take it to Apple to do a hardware test on it. I’m close to just having them giving me a new iPhone 12 and turning the one I have in.

I just tested this issue. When the iPhone 12 is in portrait mode sitting on a hard surface the Audio / speakers voice when heard on the other end is choppy, goes in and out. When the iPhone is picked up, or rotated to landscape the Audio / speakers voice when heard on the end is clear and crisp. There is a hardware design issue with the Microphone on the iPhone 12. More than likely this issue will need to be resolved on the next iPhone, this is not a software issue.

I have the same issue and have found it's definitely related to my case. If I use a more rugged case with thick protection, my theory is that the speakerphone and mics are deep in holes of the case and it creates some sort of a tunnel or echo effect which causes the mics to cut out when on speakerphone so that the other party hears your voice cutting in and out. When I take my phone out of the case, no issue. I've experimented with different cases and this always seems to be "the case". Thinner cases like a simple silicone shell don't seem to have the issue but a full body rugged protection like an Otterbox always has issues on speakerphone. I've had iPhones for years and never had this issue until now, so I suspect they didn't consider this fully whenever they designed the latest iPhone 12. It's incredibly annoying and I hope that Apple might have some software fix to help improve the speakerphone audio.

Here's a link to the same issue with the iPhone 11 which is very similar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL5LENZlrvY

I'm having the same issue with 12 pro max.. recipients complain about voice breaking :(

Called apple support.. will need to see if removing case.. makes difference.

This is mainly happening with FACETIME.. not for regular calls.

we use FaceTime in place of calling 95% of the time. We all got 12 pros and they all cut in and out on FaceTime. I should’ve never switched from my 8 plus. Never had that problem. Hopefully apple can come up with a better solution than..... turn it on landscape mode.

My sister had a similar problem with her iPhone 11 whereby she was always muted whenever anyone else was speaking on a group call such as Facetime, Zoom or Whatsapp, or when she was using the speakerphone on a normal voice call. The effect was rather like a "half duplex" system whereby only one person can talk at a time.

The problem did not happen when she was using her airpods or another bluetooth headset, only when she was using the speaker.

It turned out that the problem was her phone case was covering a small microphone (tiny pinhole) on the top of the phone next to the power button. Once she took the case off the phone, the problem was solved. I gather this little microphone is used as part of the "echo suppression" system the iPhone uses.

The person that appears muted when others are speaking is the person with the case covering the microphone, so it may not be you that has the problem. If in doubt, ask all those on the group call to remove their cases!

I removed case... Still happens when kept on desk or stand... Receipients complain about breaking of voice... Its only happening for video calls

Got apt with apple support for next week... Will see....