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Microphone does not work on the iPad 2 32gb with 3g. About a week has worked well! Then after the upgrade to new firmware for the video recording is heard only the noise! If much shouting into a microphone a voice slightly audible on the recording. Resett

Microphone does not work on the iPad 2 32gb with 3g. About a week has worked well!

Then after the upgrade to new firmware for the video recording is heard only the noise! If much shouting into a microphone a voice slightly audible on the recording.

Resetting and restoring did not help. Is there a solution to this problem?

iPad 2, iOS 4.3.2

Posted on May 3, 2011 12:37 PM

Reply
55 replies

Apr 7, 2012 3:05 PM in response to MasterPo

Had all the similar problems with microphone not working on my Ipad 2 - 64gb with wi-fi. This occurred after I installed latest IOS 5.1, however I can honestly say I hadn’t used the microphone for some time. When I read the thread about using a vacuum cleaner nozzle, I thought yeah this will work for sure – not. Well knock me over with a dyson, I used a crevice attachment, ensured a really good seal and ran the vacumn for approx one and half mins. Restarted Ipad and amazing, the sound recording was as clear as a bell. Would suggest trying this method before uninstalling apps, resets, messing about with old ISO versions or returning to Apple. It worked for me, so good luck and give it a try.

Apr 9, 2012 12:42 PM in response to MasterPo

I have had the same problem with my mike on the ipad 2. I reset with no effect. Eventually, realising that the mike was working, albeit very faintly, I attacked it with 1) blowing, 2) a wooden toothpick, 3) a fine piece of wire. I was worried that I might do some damage, but the wire didn't penetrate far. To my great surprise, the treatment worked and now the mike is working perfectly.

There was no obvious blockage, nothing visible came out, but clearly the aperture which was being blocked is very fine.


I guess the clue I missed was the presence of two small boys who constantly played games on the ipad without a great deal of concern for the cleanliness of their hands.

Apr 10, 2012 4:48 AM in response to MasterPo

Just tried using my microphone on Skype and all I heard was noise. Went back to the good old days when things were not so complicated and used common sense. Before I removed any new apps or reset my iPad2 16Gb 3G, I blew into the microphone slot and retested. ALL WORKING. I guess we sometimes tend to think the worst as technology gets more complicated, but really the old checks are always the best to try before we put blame to equipment..

Apr 18, 2012 12:50 AM in response to MasterPo

I had my iPad 2 32 gb white wifi only for a year and a month couple months ago my friends tell me they can't hear me when I talk via Skype and FaceTime so I thought it was the app I was waiting for an update on the apps but the problem still occurs they can't hear me but the bad thing is, is that my warranty just ran out do you guys think there's any other solution or can I buy warranty on this device still and get the problem fix need to now ASAP


Thanks guys

May 9, 2012 7:50 PM in response to MasterPo

Okay !! I wouldve bet one of my limbs that theres no way a vacuum is gonna fix this. And i would be one less limbed right now. I was scheduling my appointment with apple while i was reading this forum, and the last one i read said something to the effect of "oh yeah right this is gonna work....NOT. Well blow me with a dyson..IT WORKED,"

So i said y the heck not try.... Went over to vacuum cleaner, used that skinny attachment made sure good suction, left like that for about 30 sec. Restarted ipad...and you guessed it! I couldnt be more suprised if i woke up with my head sewn to the carpet. Drnicklin , goget the vacuum n try it... Make sure u restart after. I know your thinkin theres no way....and ur gonna laugh after just like i did. It works

Jun 8, 2012 9:18 PM in response to danelee

I tried the vacuum trick a few weeks ago with my Ipad2 3g 64gb and nothing happened. I checked the microphone recess with a magnifying glass and a flashlight and it was spotless anyways.


I got fed up with it tonight and just decided out of desperation to try the vacuum again. I attached duct tape from the crevice attachment to the ipad so that there would be maxium suction and after 30 seconds, BOOM!


It worked. And now, the microphone works.


Dumbfounded.

Jul 17, 2012 3:14 PM in response to Lu72

Hi, black 64gb ipad 2 here. I Facetime my girlfriend every night, and over the last week she'd been saying it was hard to hear me, then the audio completely died. I tried the hoover trick, and later realised I was trying to hoover the more obvious speaker on the bottom. I later identified the ultra small hole at the center top on the back and hoovered it. The first time, there was zero improvement, after about 30 seconds with the flatter hoover attachment against it. I then tried again for longer, each time trying to record a video of myself talking; this time though, I now got proper static. I then tried twice more, and finally, it's apparantly back to normal.

Interestingly, when I FaceTime my gf, I still cannot hear her, but she can now hear me?? We've both rebooted, I can record/hear myself and can do likewise, yet if I FT her, or she FT's me, I can't hear her. Oddly, this is since my mic stopped working, a big coincidence. I'm not ruling out a software glitch, maybe in a cached connection setting between us.

Dec 1, 2012 3:21 PM in response to MasterPo

It's definitely a dirt issue - as with a lot of replies in this post, using a vacum on the mic for about 30 seconds completely solved the problem. Don't waste time at a Genius Bar, just get a good seal using a hose attachment and leave it on there for a good 30 - 45 seconds. Try it out. If it's still scratchy - try the vacum for another 30 seconds. If you can get a good seal over the mic - it will work! It did for me and many others on this forum.

Mar 15, 2013 1:41 PM in response to MasterPo

I just had the same problem. Never really used the microphone for anything, but after trying to make a Facetime call, I realized that there was not much else than noise coming through. I tried the vacuum trick, and it did do something, so I think there must have been some dust in there as well, but it didn't fix the problem altogether, it was still very noisy.


What made the mic work flawlessly again was when I made some very loud noises into the mic, some handclaps very close to the mic input, to try overloading the input. After that, the noise floor dropped completely to a normal level, i.e. very low.


Being an audio engineer, it occurred to me that the software calibration of the input must have been screwed up as well, with an extra 100 dB of gain or something - and that is the sort of thing that can happen after a software update, so to me that's a pretty obvious explanation.


In other words, if the Dyson is no dice in itself, try overloading the input with some loud noises, while having the mic on of course, to force the automatic gain calibration down to a normal level. Come to think of it, this might be what the vacuuming actually accomplishes, if you keep the app running while working the [vacuum] pipe...:-D

Microphone does not work on the iPad 2 32gb with 3g. About a week has worked well! Then after the upgrade to new firmware for the video recording is heard only the noise! If much shouting into a microphone a voice slightly audible on the recording. Resett

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