ajwells
Level 1 (15 points)

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

by hiddenmeadow,Solvedanswer
hiddenmeadow hiddenmeadow
Level 1 (10 points)
A:

Music Memos never worked for me, always the same "too quiet" issue with my guitar. I've checked the App Store every day for updates that would correct it, but never saw any. Today I just tried it - whistled some notes and it seemed to work. Then I Played some guitar chords and it's working!

 

So if you've had this problem, just try it again. All I can say is it's now working for me and I'm writing my first song.

 

Good luck!

Posted on Feb 23, 2016 3:07 PM

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Q: Recording volume too low on iPad.

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  • by Poniesinjudah,

    Poniesinjudah Poniesinjudah Feb 8, 2016 4:56 PM in response to hiddenmeadow
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Feb 8, 2016 4:56 PM in response to hiddenmeadow

    to hiddenmeadow, you clever bugger! I just checked that setting too and Yep, no Music Memos. All my other little music apps and an animation app are right there. So they forgot to put in the line of code that would make Music Memos get sucked into the iPad's privacy settings. Good troubleshooting. Now if we can actually get this information to the right people that would be really great.

     

    Side issue: what does this say about Apple's field testing of their apps? They couldn't be bothered to put this app into an iPad and try and actually use it?  

  • by hiddenmeadow,

    hiddenmeadow hiddenmeadow Feb 8, 2016 5:17 PM in response to Poniesinjudah
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Feb 8, 2016 5:17 PM in response to Poniesinjudah

    Hey Ponies, I hope you mean clever de-bugger...It's amazing how little the app provides for settings and contacting the dev, like oversimplification to the extreme, so I don't know where to go for support. Gotta be a simple programming fix.

     

    Agreed: It's shocking that such a highly touted app can have such a fundamental flaw. I'll just have to be patient and write down my chord ideas by hand.

  • by ajwells,

    ajwells ajwells Feb 8, 2016 5:18 PM in response to hiddenmeadow
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Feb 8, 2016 5:18 PM in response to hiddenmeadow

    hiddenmeadow wrote:

     

    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.

    I see the same thing in settings on my iPad. However I don't think that's the problem. I'm sure music memos does have access to the mic. It can record, the volume is just too low. It records very faintly.  If it didn't have access to the microphone it wouldn't be able to record at all.

     

    I believe that the music memos app doesn't need special permission to use the microphone, just like other Apple apps don't need permission. For example, FaceTime doesn't need permission.

     

    The best way to test that theory would be a look on an iPhone that the app is working on. If we look on the iPhone, does it show that music memos has received special permission to use the microphone? My guess is that we will  won't see any permission given to the app for using the microphone on the iPhone either, but the app will record correctly on the iPhone.

     

    If anyone is able test to confirm or deny this theory please post.

  • by ajwells,

    ajwells ajwells Feb 8, 2016 5:27 PM in response to ajwells
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Feb 8, 2016 5:27 PM in response to ajwells

    I imagine we're going to have to wait for Apple to fix this bug.  It's too bad there's no way to leave feedback for the Music Memos app.

    I've been to their site http://www.apple.com/feedback/ .

    However here's no way to send feedback for this app yet. It's not on the list of iOS apps found on the page.

  • by Poniesinjudah,

    Poniesinjudah Poniesinjudah Feb 8, 2016 5:29 PM in response to ajwells
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Feb 8, 2016 5:29 PM in response to ajwells

    Dang. Good point. Yeah mine did record very faintly. Hmmm. I don't have an iPhone, so hoping someone responds to your question.

  • by monospace,

    monospace monospace Feb 8, 2016 5:35 PM in response to ajwells
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 8, 2016 5:35 PM in response to ajwells

    As I mentioned before, I have Music Memos running on my iPhone 6, and it works flawlessly. Never got asked for mic permissions either, it just works. (And it's pretty great.)

     

    And on my iPad, it definitely records audio, just at too low a volume. Too low for the "Automatic" mode to work, but the tuner works fine. So definitely a bug, and an embarrassing one, if you ask me. If anyone had tested this on iPad, they would have noticed this right away.

  • by ajwells,

    ajwells ajwells Feb 8, 2016 5:41 PM in response to monospace
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Feb 8, 2016 5:41 PM in response to monospace

    monospace wrote:

     

    So definitely a bug, and an embarrassing one, if you ask me. If anyone had tested this on iPad, they would have noticed this right away.

    It would seem like they should've seen the bug right away.  Of course, I'm not sure how widespread the bug is. It seems it isn't a problem on iPhones, but as yet I haven't seen anyone who has it running on an iPad say it works correctly. Is it recording poorly on 100% of the iPads out there?  I would be curious to know if anyone has it working on their iPad.

  • by ajwells,

    ajwells ajwells Feb 8, 2016 5:45 PM in response to ajwells
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Feb 8, 2016 5:45 PM in response to ajwells

    That was kind of stupid. My question was already answered. léonie  earlier in this thread said that he was able to record on his iPad. So the problem isn't on 100% of the iPads out there.  I was wrong with my previous observation.

  • by monospace,

    monospace monospace Feb 8, 2016 6:32 PM in response to ajwells
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 8, 2016 6:32 PM in response to ajwells

    Um, I can record on my iPad too... Just not at a useable volume. Which is the problem.

     

    And for what it's worth, I just checked the ratings for Music Memos on the App Store, and there are numerous reports on this exact issue, iPad only.

    It's a real thing.

  • by jg95437,

    jg95437 jg95437 Feb 18, 2016 11:20 PM in response to hiddenmeadow
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Feb 18, 2016 11:20 PM in response to hiddenmeadow

    Same issue still with 9.2.1 on iPad Air. Music Memo worked once on my acoustic piano at home and never before or since. It happened to do it after I'd upgraded to 9.2.1, so I mistakenly thought that had fixed it. Always "too quiet" for acoustic pianos no matter where. Music Memos doesn't appear in my SETTINGS/PRIVACY/MICROPHONE list either, which says it lists apps that have requested access to the microphone.

     

    It's irksome that no one at Apple seems to read this list. When I have some time for it, I'll call them since my AppleCare hasn't expired.

  • by Apc3,

    Apc3 Apc3 Feb 20, 2016 5:15 PM in response to ajwells
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Feb 20, 2016 5:15 PM in response to ajwells

    Same here, iPad Air 2. All was fine until the 9.2.1 update. As far as the privacy settings and Music Memos not having access, neither does GarageBand, so I'm pretty sure that proprietary software doesn't need extra access like 3rd party apps do. My internal microphone work normally in all other apps. This was my very favorite app for sketching ideas, but is useless now. I have completely reset my iPad to no avail either and that was no small task as I have over 100gb of music and apps I had to reinstall/download. I hope they fix this soon, it really was a great app.

  • by hiddenmeadow,Solvedanswer

    hiddenmeadow hiddenmeadow Feb 23, 2016 3:07 PM in response to jg95437
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Feb 23, 2016 3:07 PM in response to jg95437

    Music Memos never worked for me, always the same "too quiet" issue with my guitar. I've checked the App Store every day for updates that would correct it, but never saw any. Today I just tried it - whistled some notes and it seemed to work. Then I Played some guitar chords and it's working!

     

    So if you've had this problem, just try it again. All I can say is it's now working for me and I'm writing my first song.

     

    Good luck!

  • by ajwells,

    ajwells ajwells Feb 23, 2016 6:01 PM in response to hiddenmeadow
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Feb 23, 2016 6:01 PM in response to hiddenmeadow

    hiddenmeadow wrote:

     

    Music Memos never worked for me, always the same "too quiet" issue with my guitar. I've checked the App Store every day for updates that would correct it, but never saw any. Today I just tried it - whistled some notes and it seemed to work. Then I Played some guitar chords and it's working!

     

    So if you've had this problem, just try it again. All I can say is it's now working for me and I'm writing my first song.

     

    Good luck!

    First off, I must admit this seems like the most unlikely solution: the problem just fix itself without an update. But, I haven't tried the app for a while, so I decided to try it. And, believe it or not, it works for me too now!  It's recording loud and clear!  And I haven't made any updates either.

     

    Can anyone else who is had this problem test and see if the problem has been resolved on their iPad as well? If it seems like the issue is generally resolved, I can mark this thread as solved.

  • by jg95437,

    jg95437 jg95437 Feb 24, 2016 2:33 PM in response to ajwells
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Feb 24, 2016 2:33 PM in response to ajwells

    Not quite solved yet. Still doesn't work on my iPad Air with 9.2.1 — checked a couple of times since Hidden Meadows glad tidings, including just now. Congratulations to you two. Guess the elves skipped my house

  • by Poniesinjudah,

    Poniesinjudah Poniesinjudah Feb 24, 2016 3:58 PM in response to jg95437
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Feb 24, 2016 3:58 PM in response to jg95437

    No change for me. Still too quiet on iPad 4.    Curiouser and curiouser   , with these spontaneous 'healings' of the app on some people's tablets.

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