Airpods (2nd gen) microphone not working even after troubleshooting

Same problem, fixed it by mistake.

Short Story:

• I removed (while trying to clean with a needle) the membrane protection the lower microphone. It fixed the problem. Repeated it with second pair and it was fixed too. Do not know if the membrane protects the electronics, so far no impact on both pairs.

Long:

We have in total 3 pairs.

Pair 1 was the first and after long usage the microphone started to went down from time to time. Though it was bad luck and bought a new pair for me and a new pair for my girlfriend. Pair 1 I further used as music only device for doing sports. Pair 2 lost the mic ability very fast completely and I put on the music only graveyard and decided to buy JBL in future. Now Pair 3 (the ones from my girlfriend) also started to loose mic ability from time to time. Asked ChatGPT about and the AI suggested simple cleaning. So I took Pair 1 as test and started cleaning with Q-Tip and a needle to really get rid of all dirt. Instead of just dirt I damaged the cover fiber mesh. Since they was already not longer in use (as explained) I decided to remove everything also the membrane below the mesh. It worked. Repeated with Pair 2 and it also worked there. Now testing them daily to see if the missing membrane has any downsides but so far nothing.

I had same issue and nothing fixed it. Was messing with the settings and turned on live listen. It’s under the background sounds. I could hear myself and then once I turned it off my mic worked. Hope it works for you

It’s definitely a firmware issue because i have the very same issue and it’s so frustrating to pay so much money for a “superior” product but then have simple mic issues messing up the experience. I swear AirPods without the mic function are basically useless. Every no and then when I don’t use them for some time the mic starts working again and that’s when i found out for a fact that its not a hardware issue but a firmware matter. APPLE REALLY NEEDS TO FIX THIS VERY ANNOYING issue.

That only worked for a few minutes for me. This is the Apple lockdown BS. There’s not way to control the gain through the UI because Apple are supremely overconfident and want to handle that entirely automatically- which is great whilst it works, but turns expensive headphones into junk.

Haven’t been able to use my airpods (normal and pro) in a phone call for over 2 years now, and as I have them in a lot it’s made my iPhone useless as an actual phone. I sound like an idiot as I frantically mash buttons to change from airpods to iphone at the start of the call, and watch them randomly switch back if I accidentally nudge the case or hold them wrong.

I’ve tried all the troubleshooting steps; and multiple devices. I’m more than tech savvy (**** I developed one of the first Bluetooth stack in 98). Dealing with faceless arrogant monopolies like Apple is impossible when their sh*t doesn’t work. And their support is non existent for anything but user error. (Look how long this thread has sat here being ignored)

jesscollinns Said:

"Airpods (2nd gen) microphone not working even after troubleshooting"

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Troubleshooting iPhone Microphone:

A Few Links that May Help:

• If you Hear No Sound or Distorted Sound from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch Speaker - Apple Support

• If the Microphones on your iPhone aren't Working - Apple Support



• Control Audio Playback on AirPods with iPhone - Apple Support

• Adjust Audio and Visual Settings on iPhone - Apple Support

• Adjust the Volume on iPhone - Apple Support

• Volume Output: If you Can't Hear a Person on a Call or Voicemail or if the Sound isn't Clear on your iPhone - Apple Support

• Volume Input: if your Microphone isn’t Working or People Can’t Hear you While you’re on a Call -Apple Support

3 years this has been going on through 3 AirPod Pros and 3 phones! I knew it was a software issue as they worked fine on non iOS devices.

I could not find “Live Listen” under settings (using seadch) - however, here is an article for where to find -

Use Live Listen with AirPods or Beats – Apple Support (UK)

I suspect that, at some point in the past, something had set the mic volume to 0 and turning on “Live Listen” automatically sets it to an appropriate level. Once you turn off “Live Listen” (after you can hear yourself) it remembers the new volume!

Honestly this ruined my phone for the last 3 years! I had to constantly remember to manually switch the audio from AirPods to Speaker/iPhone and it caused loads of embarrassment and stress at the start of every call - and Apple support has been disgustingly useless.

Same but I have 2nd gen

Is so annoying is happening the same with me, I just purchased this AirPods Gen2 and I’m so disappointed with apple right now!!

Did anybody find any fix? Airpods 2 6A300, only left microphone working, but they both work in windows environment. Airpods are not covered by any active warranty.

For those with issues.

“The thread has also reached an impressive 82,932 views.” Apple HAS to know at this point, no questions asked. Ridiculous!

As for me, my wife got tired of me being upset about my AirPods. She purchased me brand new AirPods Pro. Apple wins again, almost returned them for the sheer annoyance of all these issues and silence by Apple.

So I get the new ones and STILL microphone not working people say they can hardly hear me. However, firmware 6F8 seems to have finally addressed the issue. So it’s 100% firmware, unquestionable at this time.

For those using Gen1 AirPod Pro’s, 6A321 the mic issues were still a problem. Of course Apple releases new firmware for these being 6A326 and I bet you money microphones start working on Gen1’s. Might return my latest pair just based on the principle of this!

Apple, my patience is wearing thin. If anymore almost year long flubs, I’m officially out of your ecosystem. You all used to be at the top of your game but not anymore. How the mighty have fallen.

I have this problem with my Airpods 2nd Gen when used with iPhone XS Max and even with iPhone 15 Pro. Worst part is that it's intermittent (70% not working, 30% working). None of the troubleshooting tips listed on other questions on support.apple.com or outside seems to help.

I've had this issue for over 18 months, have gone through 4 sets of Airpods (3 different models). It's definitely some iOS setting breaking it, but I've not been able to use my airpod pros for calls the whole time. Absolute junk and Apple have done nothing.

What's really weird for me

Is I can use an app store recording app and record my microphone perfectly, but using the built-in Voice memos the microphone is super quiet and distorted - which is probably why it also fails on calls. That proves this is an iOS bug.

Hi, I tried all the methods suggested here, but my problem was not solved. There is the latest version (6A321) both headphones work for the first few seconds, then it continues to become completely muffled, the other party cannot hear me.

Bizarrely, turning of auto ear detection didn’t work until about 10s after calling my wife to check, then the mic kicked in for about 30s before turning off again. I pushed my wife’s patience to the absolute limit (she’s sick to death of me testing the AirPods mic issue - particularly as half the time she can’t hear anything) and the conclusion is that it works intermittently.

Honestly; I’m just Royally F*d off with Apple’s bullsh*t, their products have gone to sh*t in the last few years as they focus on cramming ever more pointless features and ignore actually fixing stuff.

I’ve been posting on this **** thread for years, trying every suggestion. I’ve had multiple Airpods and multiple phones and frankly, I’m done with Apple.