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

It is a known problem with all of the iPhone 12s. I spent 2 months and countless hours on calls, texts, emails, and on hold working on a possible resolution. I was instructed to try MULTIPLE detailed and cumbersome fixes, and sent 2 replacements (by my carrier) but all of the phones had the exact same issues. Unfortunately Apple 😡 is NOT acknowledging the issue and after all of the unsuccessful attempts to "fix" the problem told me to wait for an update and just avoid speakerphone...I was flabbergasted. With no energy left to continue the fight, I basically gave up (which is what Apple is hoping we will all do).We all spent over $1000 for a faulty device.

[Edited by Moderator]

I've had the same exact issue. My parents and I all upgraded to the iphone 12 and within days of using them we all had issues on facetime and speakerphone with our audio cutting out. It seems that any time we talk over someone, or visa versa, the audio cuts out and the person on the other end asks us to repeat ourselves. Also if there is any other sound in the room it can trigger the cut out. I tested this for over a week, exchanged it for an iphone 11, and have had the exact same issue. Apparently this a known issue, the noise cancellation feature is actually cancelling out our own voices when using the speaker. I'm now returning the 11 as well, as is the rest of my family. I can't actually believe how many people haven't realized that their phones all have this issue, how Apple has blatantly refused to acknowledge it, and how all of us are being told we might have a faulty device, or we need to factory reset when literally none of those things matter because they can't solve this issue. Apple really needs to get it together, they can't pretend this isn't a HUGE issue and hope we don't notice.

I’ve had the same issue with my phone since I got it when the new iPhone 12 first came out and I called support numerous times as well as brought it into the Apple store for repair with no change . Until this last time about 3weeks ago and they said they were going to change the speaker and mic on my phone . When I went to pick it up they said they had a problem and broke my phone and replaced with a new one and so far I’ve had no issues with the new phone so I believe the older 12’s had faulty parts in it

Out of all my apple devices, iPhone SE(2nd gen) is fine whereas iPhone12, iPhone 11 has this critical problem.

It is unusable in the speaker mode. I always need to wear headphones to get it not to cut out on Facetime, Whatsapp, etc.,

Most likely a software bug with noise cancellation. It tries to cancel the mic to cut out the echo but it instead cuts out the actual voice. The closer the mic is to the surface the problem amplifies! None of this seems to happen with iPhone SE (2nd Gen) or with iPhone 6s etc., irrespective of mic positioning. Please fix this!

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 have the iPhone 12 pro max. Got same problem! putting it on landscape mode is my solution for now. it's so annoying but im glad i found this comment.

FIX: (but really lame) FYI, same problem on wife’s 12. Turning off Wifi makes audio work for the other person. I don’t have this problem with my 11pro. Hopefully iOS 15 fixes this.

I know.. going to Apple support won't be much help...

They checked for any hardware/software issues by performing factory reset/few tests.

They informed me that they are not seeing any issues with the phone and were not able to replicate the issue.

Suggested me not to restore the phone from backup.. restore only pictures/contacts only. (don't restore app's) and see if it makes any differences...

It's a mess...

Ultimately the best solution to this is use a headset rather than the speaker. AirPods are the most easily compatible with an iPhone.

Personally I use some AfterShokz headphones which sit just in front of your ears so leave your ear canal open which means you can hear yourself speak clearly. They have a good microphone, long battery life and are particularly good for running and cycling as well.

https://aftershokz.co.uk/collections/all

i already exchanged mine because I thought it was an issue with the hardware, it definitely is not. Must be software because I got a brand new iPhone and I am still having the same issues. No problem on landscape but cant prop it up on portrait with out the sound cutting out. Really annoying...

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

Hi Moman19, The reason I elected to try a replacement is that not ALL iPhone 12s have this issue. I was hoping to win the iPhone lemon lottery, but lost. I do have friends who say theirs works just fine. So there are apparently bad batches....

I also switched from an iPhone X to the 12 pro and have the same issue. I have ran diagnostics, restarted the phone, turned FaceTime off and on, tested the microphone by recording a voice memo and a front facing video recording, reset my phone completely and backed it up again. Everything comes back normal. I haven't even had the phone for a month yet but at my Apple appointment they told me they don't swap out phones anymore which is infuriating considering it's been happening since day 1 and I paid money for a fully functioning phone. I have a second appointment today which I'm considering not even going to because the tech told me if resetting the phone and backing it up again didn't work, I would have to erase everything again and try using it as a completely new phone without my backup. They think something I'm bringing over from the backup is what's causing the issue. Then, he said if that didn't work, they would have to fix the mechanics on the inside that may be causing it. WHY WOULD WE NEED TO DO THIS ON A BRAND NEW PHONE?? Apple, please fix this!

Curious if anyone else is noticing that it seems better on iOS 14.5.1

I updated to the latest as soon as it came out, and facetimed yesterday with my mom. She said she had no issues hearing me, never cut out. I'm wondering if it's secretly fixed in the latest version, or at least they did some tuning to the audio to mitigate the issue. I'll try a few more times in different environments before I declare it fixed.

Same issue here.

I tried all troubleshooting issues, nothing worked.

Went into the Apple store twice, they said replacing the phone won't help as they figure all phones will be the same, he said even his phone and his two daughter's Iphone 12's are doing the same thing. So even the Apple store rep knows this.

After much insisting on my part they finally said they would be willing to switch the inside of the phone and keep the back and fronts? No idea what they really did as today, I am back at square one... facetime cuts out constantly. The only thing that helps is face time on landscape mode but forget it working in portrait. Haven't used it for phone calls yet today so I can't comment. I am sure if facetime is still acting up then the calls won't be any better. Using this phone for work has become impossible. This is my first apple phone and I am extremely disappointed.