turn off internal microphone iphone

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Level 1

17 points

turn off internal microphone iphone

Hi. I would like to completely turn off all internal and external microphones of my iPhone 6S. I am running iOS 9.0.1.

Is there ANY possible way to do this. I have a broken microphone on my Bose headphones cord which I tried inserting into the phone. You would think this would work. The phone would default to the broken external mic as it usually does when plugging in headphones, and no sound would result. However it does not work, and the iPhone does not default.

I'm looking for any solution here...preferably one that doesn't involve physically breaking the phone though...

I'm an artist and this is very important for a project I'm creating. Thank you!

iPhone 6s, iOS 9.0.1

Posted on Dec 10, 2015 10:05 PM

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Answer 1

speedskis777 Author

Level 1

17 points

Dec 11, 2015 10:33 AM in response to bryan.vance

I want to disable ALL mics. The phone should not be able to hear anything... any ideas?

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Answer 2

Apr 19, 2017 6:25 AM in response to speedskis777

I also have this need and after reading this thread my reason/requirement is different. Here is the reason I need to disable all internal microphones on my iPhone 6; I am using an extra microphone to record extremely sensitive (nearly silent) audio and need to eliminate all background and external sound and ambient noise. I have plugged in an external microphone into the phone then taped over with cotton packing the back, bottom mesh and microphone next to the headphone jack. I continue to get high fidelity external audio in the recording even though the external microphone is completely isolated with a physical shell to block all external sound. My recordings are picking up the sounds I require from the microphone but it is polluted with a mountain of external audio which is clearly coming from the phone.

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Answer 3

Dec 10, 2015 11:22 PM in response to speedskis777

The problem is that there are 3 mics.

Bottom mic that is used for voice memos and phone calls.

Front mic (in the receiver mesh) that is used for Siri, Speakerphone and frontfacing videos.

There's also a rear mic for rear-facing videos.

What exactly are you trying to disable?

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Answer 4

Dec 11, 2015 12:22 PM in response to speedskis777

speedskis777 wrote:

No suggestions? Seems like a relatively simple idea... turn off all mics? 😕😕😕

It's not generally something that one can easily do on phones. Perhaps if you explained what you're trying to do by turning off the mics, someone might have some alternate suggestions.

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Answer 5

speedskis777 Author

Level 1

17 points

Dec 11, 2015 3:16 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

Thank you for the help!

Under voice feedback it says "Siri will only beep and provide voice feedback when you are using 'Hey Siri' or when connected to a Bluetooth device, headphones, or Carplay."

However, I need to hear Siri beep without providing voice feedback AND with headphones in.

I think the only way for her to do this is by not hearing any noise, hence disabling any and all mics!

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Answer 6

speedskis777 Author

Level 1

17 points

Dec 11, 2015 3:36 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

Right, you're correct and I do have this setting applied.

How about eliminating voice feedback with headphones in though? That does have to do with the mic, which is why I'd like to turn them off (unless there is another way around)

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Answer 7

speedskis777 Author

Level 1

17 points

Dec 11, 2015 5:08 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

Yes but voice feedback is only enabled if audio is heard from the mic. It's one half dozen six or the other though.

More importantly, if I turn the speaker volume all the way down, Siris beep will be turned down as well, which defeats the purpose...

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Answer 8

Dec 11, 2015 5:32 PM in response to speedskis777

Hold on, I think I've got it. Settings>Siri>Voice Feedback>Control with Ring Switch. Then, put the phone on mute using the Mute switch. It seems to work the way you want.

Edit: never mind, you're using a headset. Won't work.

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Answer 9

speedskis777 Author

Level 1

17 points

Dec 12, 2015 3:26 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

Shucks. Well how about disabling the microphones then?

Or maybe another way to trick Siri into using thinking that an external mic is attached (it can't actually be attached though, otherwise it'll pick up audio)? This would do the trick too although I don't know how it could be done.

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Answer 10

Nov 11, 2017 12:43 PM in response to Xchange04

Hi Xchange04, did you ever figure out how to disable the internal mic? I have a similar problem. I am trying to broadcast using BeOnAir with an external unidirectional mic, but the internal mic picks up all the ambient noise and defeats the purpose of the external mic.

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Answer 11

speedskis777 Author

Level 1

17 points

Dec 11, 2015 12:21 PM in response to speedskis777

No suggestions? Seems like a relatively simple idea... turn off all mics? 😕😕😕

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Answer 12

Dec 11, 2015 3:27 PM in response to speedskis777

There's a much easier way to make Siri beep. Settings>General>Accessibility>Vibration>Off. Siri will still provide voice feedback but that has nothing to do with the mic.

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Answer 13

Dec 11, 2015 3:47 PM in response to speedskis777

No, voice feedback comes from speakers, not the mics. You turn off the speakers by turing the volume all the way down.

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Answer 14

Nov 12, 2017 5:48 PM in response to speedskis777

I did not. It is apparently not possible.

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