Lost microphone ability after WatchOS update

If you press and hold the finger icon at the bottom right of the message screen you will see a finger icon and a microphone icon. If you press the microphone icon, then from that point on the default will be the microphone. This appears to be a change that was made in the Watch 11.2 update.

Did you make sure, that on you iPhone in the settings for Privacy&Security/Microphone/ the messaging app you are using is allowed to use the microphone?

Control access to hardware features on iPhone - Apple Support

Also check, that on your iPhone, in Settings/ General /Keyboard/ Enable Dictation is ON.

An in the WatchApp on the iPhone, enable Dictation in  Settings/General

Under Privacy & Security / Microphone, Messages is not an option.

Enable Dictation is set ON in both the Settings/ General /Keyboard and the Watch App.

On the watch, they have replaced the microphone with a keyboard in the Messages app. If I want to type a reply to a message, I will use my iPhone, where I can actually type. The entire Watch keyboard is the width of 4 keys on the iPhone. I can't type on that.

This is one of the stupidest updates I have seen in a long time.

I believe I did find where this is, but it is not intuitive.

Now, instead of clicking iMessage to reply (on the Watch), you click the "+", then Audio.

Is Apple taking after Microsoft now. "Let's just move things around to mess with our customers, and throw useless things on here."

This fixed it! Thank you! I would have never figured this out.