ajwells

Q: Recording volume too low on iPad.

I have been trying to record as I play on my electronic keyboard. The mic level on my iPad 4 seems to be too low. There is no way to adjust it either. Even after putting the keyboard volume to max and setting the iPad on the speaker with the mic facing down into the speaker, the recorded sound is extremely quiet. It isn't a hardware problem since I can use FaceTime, dictation, or record audio with other apps without issues.

 

I noticed many reviews in the app store complaining of the same issue. It seems to be mostly iPads. There are people that specifically mentioned having problems with iPad 4, iPad 2, iPad mini 2 and iPad Air. Some said they did not have the same issue when using their iPhone 6, or iPod Touch. Any thoughts or suggestions?

iPad (4th gen) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iOS 8.3

Posted on Jan 24, 2016 10:53 PM

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Q: Recording volume too low on iPad.

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  • by léonie,Helpful

    léonie léonie Feb 5, 2016 7:10 PM in response to ajwells
    Level 10 (105,183 points)
    iLife
    Feb 5, 2016 7:10 PM in response to ajwells

    I have seen several reports, that the problem was solved after updating to iOS 9.2.1.   Is that the version you are using on your iPad?

  • by ajwells,

    ajwells ajwells Jan 25, 2016 7:27 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Jan 25, 2016 7:27 AM in response to léonie

    Yes. I have already updated to iOS 9.2.1.

  • by ajwells,

    ajwells ajwells Jan 25, 2016 3:06 PM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Jan 25, 2016 3:06 PM in response to léonie

    If you have an iPad, have you been able to get the app to record on it?

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Jan 25, 2016 10:30 PM in response to ajwells
    Level 10 (105,183 points)
    iLife
    Jan 25, 2016 10:30 PM in response to ajwells

    Yes, i have done quite a few recording with my  iPad (3rd gen) Wi-Fi + Cellular.

     

    But I tried only the internal microphone. I'm getting the low volume warning for vocals and the acoustic guitar, but not for insruments that are playing in a high register - flute, accordion, harmonica.

  • by tompazourek,

    tompazourek tompazourek Jan 26, 2016 3:33 PM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 26, 2016 3:33 PM in response to léonie

    I have the exact same issue on iPad Mini 2. Even very loud sounds right next to the mic are recorded with extremely low volume (barely hearable when replayed), Music Memos is complaining about low volume.

     

    At first I was afraid that my mic is broken, but Siri works perfectly fine (even when speaking very softly) and when testing with other recording app (I used RØDE Rec LE) it was fine as well.

  • by ajwells,

    ajwells ajwells Jan 26, 2016 4:02 PM in response to tompazourek
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Jan 26, 2016 4:02 PM in response to tompazourek

    léonie had a good observation in his previous post:

     

    I have seen several reports, that the problem was solved after updating to iOS 9.2.1.   Is that the version you are using on your iPad?

    What about you? Have you already updated to iOS 9.2.1?

  • by tompazourek,

    tompazourek tompazourek Jan 26, 2016 4:04 PM in response to ajwells
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 26, 2016 4:04 PM in response to ajwells

    Yes, iOS 9.2.1

  • by ajwells,

    ajwells ajwells Jan 26, 2016 4:09 PM in response to ajwells
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Jan 26, 2016 4:09 PM in response to ajwells

    So all 3 of us posting so have had some issues with recording on iPad. Like I said before, numerous app star reviews I saw indicate this issue present on iPads. But I don't see anyone complaining about this issue on iPhones or iPod Touch.

     

    A couple of questions that may help narrow this down (if anyone out in the community has answers): Are there people having this issue with iPhone or iPod Touch? Are there some iPads that were already at iOS 9.2.1 before installing Music Memo and yet are immune to the problem. Which models do or don't seem to have the problem?

  • by Fugazer,

    Fugazer Fugazer Feb 5, 2016 6:16 PM in response to ajwells
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 5, 2016 6:16 PM in response to ajwells

    Same problem. Mic level to low (unusable) on iPad Air 3.

  • by ajwells,

    ajwells ajwells Feb 5, 2016 7:11 PM in response to Fugazer
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Feb 5, 2016 7:11 PM in response to Fugazer

    Which version of iOS are you using?

  • by Poniesinjudah,

    Poniesinjudah Poniesinjudah Feb 5, 2016 8:15 PM in response to ajwells
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Feb 5, 2016 8:15 PM in response to ajwells

    Same problem. I have an iPad 4 that had iOS 9 .2 .1 BEFORE I downloaded the Music Memos app. And with the "instruments" I'm using it says that it's too quiet. Though my instruments are me singing and I'm not some robust opera singer, and playing a piano app on my BlackBerry Playbook. So I thought maybe they were just too quiet and you needed a 12 string acoustic guitar playing bulky cords right up against it. But it doesn't sound like that's the case. Somebody left a review on the Canadian App Store saying it worked fine for his woodwinds. I believe he was using an iPhone. So it sounds like it doesn't work on iPad. And we should tell Apple. I'm virtually certain the iOS 9.2.1 idea is a red herring. Although it would be interesting to know if any iPad users who find the input volume OK are playing like a trumpet really close to it.

     

    Also!! We should all stop playing loud sounds right up against the iPad microphone!   Since clearly the microphone is not at fault. And we don't want to damage it       . I know my microphone's fine because immediately after the fail with Music Memos I was playing with Keezy and it recorded everything fine. Including humming quietly in order to make a quieter track on the Keezy thing.

     

    It's bizarre that there's no way to increase the input gain. Also it says in the description on the app store that you can use it for voice. But if you go to the Apple website and read the special blurb about it it only mentions keyboards and guitars. It also says it will filter out and ignore sounds that don't sound like keyboards and guitars. So I suspect the   computer brain   within it is simply rejecting the sounds that we are making. The question remains though why is that happening on iPad and not on iPhone? Unless it's happening on iPhone and will hear from the disgruntled iPhone Music Memos users shortly. Or all the happy iPhone Music Memos users have real physical acoustic pianos.

     

    Oh! It did  record me fake singing of the sort that's almost yelling. And with the headphones on I can actually barely hear it. So my theory about it filtering stuff out may be wrong. And there's just an iPad bug. Hope so cause it seems really cool. And I didn't get GarageBand when it was free. ☹️

  • by monospace,

    monospace monospace Feb 8, 2016 12:24 PM in response to Poniesinjudah
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 8, 2016 12:24 PM in response to Poniesinjudah

    I have an iPad Air running IOS 9.2.1 I downloaded Music Memos yesterday and I'm seeing the same issue: no matter what I do, all my recordings are really low volume, and indeed the app warns me my "idea" is "too quiet". The "Automatic" mode doesn't work either, obviously because the input level is too low. Pretty sure it's a software issue, as I can use the built-in tuner in Music memos just fine, and record audio at normal volumes in Garageband.

     

     

    On my iPhone 6, Music Memos works perfectly. Just not on iPad.

  • by ajwells,

    ajwells ajwells Feb 8, 2016 1:51 PM in response to monospace
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Feb 8, 2016 1:51 PM in response to monospace

    This seems to confirm my suspicions that this is an issue only on iPad.

  • by hiddenmeadow,

    hiddenmeadow hiddenmeadow Feb 8, 2016 3:47 PM in response to ajwells
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Feb 8, 2016 3:47 PM in response to ajwells

    I have the same issue on my iPad air (running IOS 9.2.1). When I look at SETTINGS/PRIVACY/MICROPHONE, there's a list of apps that requested access to the mic, and Music Memos ain't there. But I don't see any way to select in. Somebody's got to know something here...

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