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User profile for user: TopGunMav
TopGunMav Author
User level: Level 1
11 points

Use Live Listen with an external microphone: ISSUES

I've tried three different external lav mics with my iPhone 12 Pro Max paired with Airpods Pro, and each time my phone displays a message stating to use a compatible audio device. With two of my mics I tried the genuine Apple headphone jack adaptor, and the third was an actual lighting wired mic.


Apple officially claims that "To use Live Listen with an external wired microphone, connect the microphone to the Lightning port or headphone jack on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch."


Has anybody had any successes with using an external mic? Tips and tricks? Thanks!

iPhone 12 Pro Max

Posted on Sep 27, 2022 9:33 AM

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User profile for user: TopGunMav
TopGunMav Author
User level: Level 1
11 points

Posted on Oct 14, 2022 2:35 PM

SOLVED! I finally discovered that, in order to utilize an external microphone with airpods or beats via Live Listen, the microphone must be plugged into the iPhone BEFORE connecting the airpods. In other words, leave the airpods/beats in their case until after you've plugged in the external microphone via the phone's lightning or headphone jack. Once your external microphone is connected, you can then connect the airpods, and Live Listen will function with the mics.

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User profile for user: TopGunMav
TopGunMav Author
User level: Level 1
11 points

Oct 14, 2022 2:35 PM in response to TopGunMav

SOLVED! I finally discovered that, in order to utilize an external microphone with airpods or beats via Live Listen, the microphone must be plugged into the iPhone BEFORE connecting the airpods. In other words, leave the airpods/beats in their case until after you've plugged in the external microphone via the phone's lightning or headphone jack. Once your external microphone is connected, you can then connect the airpods, and Live Listen will function with the mics.

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User profile for user: Todd0213
Todd0213
User level: Community Specialist

Sep 29, 2022 10:44 AM in response to TopGunMav

Hello TopGunMav,


Being able to use an external microphone with your iPhone is a great feature. To confirm, have you restarted your device since having this issue? If not, restart your device using the steps below. While a simple step, restarting is extremely beneficial in resolving issues.


  1. "Press and hold either volume button and the side button until the power-off slider appears.
  2. Drag the slider, then wait 30 seconds for your device to turn off. If your device is frozen or unresponsive, force restart your device.
  3. To turn your device back on, press and hold the side button (on the right side of your iPhone) until you see the Apple logo."


Restart your iPhone


If you continue having issues after restarting, you'll want to confirm you're running the latest iOS. iOS updates can provide fixes and security improvements to your device. The steps for updating can be found in the following article.


Update your iPhone or iPad


Also, do you notice if this issue occurs when the AirPods aren't connected to the iPhone? If you haven't tested, put your AirPods in the case and test to see if the issue persists. This can help guide us through our next steps in troubleshooting.


Let us know how that goes!

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Use Live Listen with an external microphone: ISSUES

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