iPhone 4 mic only not working in phone app!

I too have an iphone 4 and the mics have stopped working - but not just on calls on everything. I have had the phone problem free for 4 years and so it is well out of warranty! I do love it and am loth to spend loads out on a new phone. Any sensible cheap ideas would be gratefully received.

I have tried the back-up restore factory settings thing - no joy with that.

It's a common problem with these things, you can try putting in a headset, plug and unplug about 5 or 6 times but if that doesn't work your outa luck

Thanks for that, the mic on the headphones works, but still no joy when I unplug it! Any other thoughts?

HI All,

It is far easier than all suggestions below. I have had this issue over the past 2 years now and studied all solutions possbille.

However the ultimate solution is as simple as Steve coould have thought off.

Just stick a simple ear clearner cotton whiper into the aer phone connection hole to mke sure there is no moist left and the problem is over.

JUst as simple as that. I ha ve had teh issue many times now and my phone has been replaced a number of times ( which should not have happened when the staff were really trained) but this 'trick' does work.

Hello All,

I guess, i found the reason for this problem. Hope Apple can find a permanent solution for this. Well, I am using my iPhone 4 since 2 years now. Past couple of weeks, I had a problem phone mic not functioning only on phone calls. Voicememo and video works fine. It became irritating, saying hello my side, the other side getting fed up.

Being a iPhone application developer, I jerked a bit about the device issue and Apple not addressing such serious issue without in a technical manner! Became handicapped with nokia 1110.

Possible issue wit mic:-

I tried using bluetooth, londspeaker mode and headphone. The problem of mic, non-funtional remained. After I read a post here and cleaned the hearphone jack with bud. The problem became permanent. But there was a lot dust i found when I cleaned.

Finally, I tried putting the dummy 3.5mm pin(without mic, PC 3.5 mm headphone jack or original headphone set) and shaked the jack. The MIC WORKS. As we all know, there is a spring/mechanical system, which detects the headphone if inserted. Possibly that mechanism is giving a problem. When I forcely, pressured the pin sidewise, the bottom mic starts working. When I leave the side pressure on the jack, the mic again stops working. I guess, for my iPhone the workaround is here. though the problem remain, when jack is removed. I too guess, many other here will have this kind of problem. Kindly check and submit a feedback.
Thanks

I just want it on record that I'm having the same microphone issues with the iphone 4. I had my first 4 for 18 month before the mic started going in and out, which of course they couldn't replicate at the Apple Store. Of course. So, being out of warranty, I just shelled out $150 for a replacement 4 because I NEED A PHONE THAT FUNCTIONS AS A PHONE, not an overpriced ipod touch. They wouldn't let me updgrade to a 4S or a 5 because of my contract with AT&T. I've had my NEW 4 for about a month now and lo and behold, the mic is giving out already much to my extreme irritation. Nothing like being on an important phone call and the mic gives out. Now I have to waste my valuable time and drive to the Apple Store, wait in their long line, and listen to them tell me they can't replicate the problem.

Apple??? Do you care? You're about to lose a loyal customer unless you move me to a better phone without this problem. I'm sitting here posting on my Apple computer. I'll buy a PC next time if you won't stand by your products. I ditched GM cars a long time ago and never looked back!

Same Issue here,

Voice memo's work fine, speakerphone works fine, but when people call me and I put the phone to my ear the microphone doesnt work. Paid a guy $50 for a new docking station / microphone and it hasnt fixed the problem. That was after I restored the phone as a new phone which also didnt fix the problem. My iPhone 4s is 56 weeks old, 4 weeks out of warranty.. Very frustrated with Apple right now

I am also facing same issue, discovered it in morning and thought i am alone, Thanks to internet to know that i am member of a big family who are cheated by apple with the product which is crap after 1 or 2 year. They dont solve the issue and says cant reproduce it.

i tried to solve my problem by giving a big tap on my I-phone 4 , it starts working but again goes back at same state after a some time where no one can hear me on Call , its like mute phone i am carring.

It is sure here that there MIC have some connectivity problem, but dont want to solve it,

APPLE Please help us , or we may move to some other company for next phone,

My software hasnt been updated past 5.1.1 Phone works perfectly. Then today Mic only works on speaker phone and headset! A few restarts did not work.

My phone is pristine so..

headset in and out, & banging it sounded bad.."also did not work for me"

SOOO I tried air. ! something I could hear!

iphone 4s has a headset and TWO MICS one next to the headset for speaker phone and feedback from my car stereo hookup AND on in the bottom left speaker!

It took some cleaning as the speaker hole seemed to have dust in it.

Some air and sucking a little scrapping with a Thumbtack "which I do not recommend" cleaned it out enough I can be heard! at least until I get to a computer shop vac and a alcohol swab to clean and suck out any remaining particles.

Pocket dust. And apple updates so far have been my only problems

Apply really has seriously issues with the microphone. My iphone 4 has the same problem. People couldn't hear me unless I put on headphone or speaker . I had restored the iphone but it doesn't work. Spent too much money on Apply products for worst product support & service.

I've only just started having the same problem. Everything works fine, (voice memos, viber, even skype) except for the phone app itself (in my case headsets don't work either). Which is a bit odd. Is it really wise to be sticking needles, cotton buds and other sorts of pointy objects in the mic hole when the problem is with one single app?

More of a software problem if you ask me, though I can't say for sure.

There could be more than one scenario. One scenario, I am sure is the headphone jack tension/mechanical system. When I replaced the new headset jack, the mic perfectly worked fine. After replacing I was connecting car audio 3rd party 3.5 mm pin to the iPhone jack. When inserted first couple days, it was tight, after a week it became loose, I found that there is a v shaped plates at the bottom of the jack, which makes a contact when an headset pin is inserted. Over the days, those plate contact becomes permanent irrespective of headset pin presence.

My phone started repeating the same problem.

Then again, I opened device, removed the jack, then at the bottom inserted a sharp pin and pushed away the plates, which were making contact with inner circle wall.

Then remounted the same jack.

Iphone mic started working fine.

Now I stopped inserting car audio pin to the device, instead using cradle to play music.

Apple support bluffed about OS soft reset as a solution, those all useless. Majority of the devices would be having jack issue, which I guess is design fault of pin insert and plate spring system which changes the state of the jack connected.

Hope it helps.

I have an iphone4 with the exact same problem. Took it to Verizon they said it has water damage. It's never been in contact with water at all!! After seeing all these other people with the same problem I am livid!

<Edited by Host>

They see it in the headphone jack or the docking. If you look closely you'll see a small white square. It will turn pink/red if it comes in contact with water.

These are not 100% reliable though. People have experienced these turning red without ever touching water or being exposed to a humid environment, other people have dropped their phones in water several times and dried them with the battery unplugged, and the phone would work, and the indicator never turning red.

This means that they did most likely just take a look at these indicators on your phone, and decided to not do a service on it.

This is not a valid reason in most countries in scandinavia, and you can complain. I'm not sure how you should resolve this further, but if you know it hasn't been exposed to water, you could force them to open it and check it more closely.

If you guys are still having this problem and only with the phone app try changing out the dock connector. On the dock connector is the microphone that is used for your phone app. This should fix the problem.