iOS 26 Voice Memos - Terrible Audio Quality

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iOS 26 Voice Memos - Terrible Audio Quality

Hello, I have been using Voice Memos for over a decade. In the latest iOS 26 update, the quality of recordings is drastically different, it's grainy and distorted. I am using an iphone 12 mini that is very clean with a functioning microphone. It does not matter what settings I use for VMs (lossy/lossless, stereo/mono) ever since the software update the audio quality is terrible. I am seeing many other people online reporting similar problems. Is there a fix or did Apple kill the app?

iPhone 12 mini, iOS 26

Posted on Feb 13, 2026 4:01 PM

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akpasta Author

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Feb 13, 2026 4:15 PM in response to akpasta

I believe I have resolved the problem. I was recording in "voice isolation" mode, which effectively caused anything but a loud voice to sound like it's underwater. Follow-up question, the phone appears to default to the last used recording mode. Can anyone confirm this, or is there a way to set the default recording mode to "standard"? Thanks.

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iOS 26 Voice Memos - Terrible Audio Quality

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