Iphone 7 Microphone not working, iOS 14.6

I have the same problem since IOS 14.6 upgrade and just got back from Genius Bar who told me exactly the same sentences than what you wrote. Looks like they are trained to tell the same non sense talk to everyone. The worst thing is that they are pretty aware of this problem but persist to say it is not coming from iOS 14.6 whereas most of the customers tell them that the problem actually happened after the upgrade.

Reply to deggie.

So then why does it NOT all of a sudden start working on its own if there’s an intermittent connection. You are wrong. My iPhone 7 Plus does exactly as previously described by many here after 14.6 upgrade. Restart, ONLY, corrects. And only for a while. EVERY TIME. And it never comes back until such.

BTW, not having a mike on your phone pretty much makes it a brick. And suggesting one buy a new phone because of this is ludicrous. If I have to it won’t be an Apple product.

iPhone User since 2008. and a computer engineer since the 1970s.

Because as a computer engineer you know that loose connections are unpredictable and can be affected just by shifting the gri on the phone and pushing buttons. If you use it long enough it won’t be intermittent.

I also have this issue, I finally updated my iphone 7 and just like you say after the update the mic didn't work at all, I checked everything so I contacted apple support and did all the steps but nothing worked... the funny thing is that aparently my mic doesn't work but I get adversiting based on the things I talk to other people and no, I haven't search for it nor have another device with my accounts linked near me. Did you find any solution?

Nope. The mic is dysfunctional. Can video - no sound. Can make calls - people can’t hear you. MANY Iphone7 plus users are experiencing this since doing the latest update. Apple needs to fix this issue/update - and quickly.

Assuming the mic chip has a microprocessor in it then the software update could potentially increase the computational load and the chip could overheat. Apple needs to address this issue. Many of is are seeing the same issues. A software update should not drive you to have to buy a new phone.

There is no "mic chip" there is a Audio Integrated Circuit (IC) and no it does not have a microprocessor in it. In fact it isn't even programmable at all in your phone so an upgrade could not overheat it. There is no such issue to address. The fact that your Audio IC failed after an update is a symptom not a cause. Use your favorite search engine and look for "loose connection on Audio IC iPhone 7".

You seem pretty adamant that it’s specific to iPhone 7but explain the 14.6 / iPhone 11 issue that we’re experiencing. Correlation != causation but if enough people are experiencing an issue with the upgrade and microphone it seems like it is in fact an issue. Take out the iPhone 7 variable and you’re left with the upgrade.

The biggest issues I have seen with the iPhone 11 and 14.6 is battery recalibration. Is there some long thread regarding audio failures (it isn’t just the microphone) that you can post? And how many users would that be?

It was not caused by the iOS update. The IC Audio chip failure for iPhone 7 has been around since mid iOS 12 and is from the chip being damaged/loosened over time from impacts, drops, etc. Because these are accidental damage Apple won’t make a repair program for it, sadly.

Other “fix” is to have someone solder it, but the issue will likely come back eventually and no guarantees this will work either.

My iphone 7 microphone stopped working yesterday. The ios version was 14.6. I also saw there was an update pending for ios 14.7 so updated the phone but still the microphone is not working. When I make a call, it gets connected but cannot hear anything, speaker is greyed out and the other side cannot hear me. On some other forum, I saw some temporary solutions of restarting (with volume down and lock) for 5 times worked for some time.

I'm currently using a bluetooth headset to make/receive calls. My iphone otherwise is in a good condition for the last 4.5 years. I hope Apple fixes this issue. I don't want to replace my phone but if I have to, it will not be an apple phone, may be some android phone that are a lot cheaper

All of this. exactly. started yesterday for me too before the last update, so i updated hoping it would fix it. nope. can make calls but i can’t hear them and they can’t hear me, speakerphone button greyed out. apps that use the mic like wifi calling through fb or whatsapp won’t connect, and i can take video but playback doesn’t have sound or an option to unmute/mute. sound function just didn’t work. Also, voice notes won’t record.

following for additional solutions.

No, they didn't kill the use of your iPhone and you can have it fixed. You have 3 options: pay Apple to do an out-of-warranty replacement of your iPhone, trade in your iPhone towards a newer one or find a competent 3rd party repair shop that can do board level soldering and have them re-ball the broken solder connections. Make sure they do all 4 of the ones that are prone to disconnect. If you go the latter route Apple may refuse any service to your phone in the future. If it were mine I would go with option 2 or 3.

Which update was it? You can find posts with this happening going back to iOS 13. But you can also find posts were it happened without any update. Mine failed in between updates. My neighbors failed during an update although she admitted she had been having microphone issues prior to the update. I traded mine in. I took hers to be re-balled. She is still using hers. An update cannot cause a hardware failure. To use a tired analogy back in the incandescent light days most light bulbs burned out when you turned on the switch. So to use the same reasoning turning on light bulbs causes them to burn out. No, the weakness was already there, the application of power just finished it off.

But back to the iPhone 7. If your microphones are not working nor your speakers and if you make a phone call you the selection for the iPhone speaker is grayed out then you have an issue where the Audio IC is coming loose. Go back to the 3 options I provided. You can wait for an update to fix this but you will be waiting forever. One other thing you can try is holding the iPhone firmly in your right hand, opening the palm of you left hand and slap the phone crisply into the palm of your hand. If the connections are not completely severed you might get a few days of usage. If they are severed this won't work and if you are left handed reverse my directions.