iPhone 7 Microphone Cutting Out

We have a fleet of around 40 iPhone 6’s and 7’s. We’ve had frequent call audio issues with the iPhone 7, where the recipient of a call from the iPhone hears broken audio.

Through testing, we have managed to replicate the issue. If the caller is talking, and moves the handset away from their face (as shown in the images below), the call recipient hears broken audio, every time! This does not happen at all with our iPhone 6 handsets.

We’ve tired adjusting the noise cancellation settings to no avail.

We have found a temporary fix. By covering the rear mic (in between the camera and flash) with tape the problem disappears, every time!

We’ve been to the Apple store and gotten nowhere with the “genius”.

We also have just bought an iPhone 8, and it’s even worse than the 7!

Note: I've posted this elsewhere on this forum in response to similar questions:

Re: iPhone 7 Plus Phone Call Sound Quality

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Thanks for participating in the Apple Support Communities.

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Here you can share your iPhone 7 Microphone Cutting Out post, make comments, and ask questions.

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I am glad I found this thread as I thought I was cursed or something and it was just me this was happening to. People constantly tell me they can't hear me and I hit the speaker button over and over and they can hear me for 3 minutes then it goes out again and I have to do it again and then they just give up and hang up. What kind of phone is this where people can't hear you???

I was on the phone with both AT&T and Apple. They told me to take it to the Apple store to the Genius Bar. The guy ran all the tests and said everything was fine but he saw I had had a lot of software crashes so he recommended a software reset. He did that and that fixed it for like 8 days then the problem came back so I did what he recommended and did a hard reset and did a restore from iCloud. That didn't fix the problem.

Made another appointment, went back, they gave me a replacement iPhone 7 Plus. Same issue. Did all that for nothing.

This needs to be fixed.

I'm having the exact same issue with my iPhone 7. I've already swapped it out for a replacement phone and it did not fix the issue. I had my mother record from her phone our conversation so that I could understand what is happening. Basically the microphone goes in and out and I sound garbled so she can't hear me. It happens in different locations and with different people who all have the same complaints. It's awful! I've had nothing but trouble with my iPhone 7 (7s... two phones so far) and I've never had any issues with any of my previous iPhones. I have told numerous people not to upgrade to the iPhone 7 until they can sort through some of these issues. It's been an absolute nightmare and I have logged probably over 20 hours of problem-solving trying to get my phone to work correctly for other issues too...with no luck. I am so frustrated and I'm ready to switch to an android. Apple seems to be going downhill...

New iPhone 7 Plus on December 23rd. Called family on December 25th, and after a minute of talking, they could not hear me anymore. I worried I'd somehow hit the mute button with my cheek. I called back, talked for a minute again, and then again they could not hear me. Repeated five times that day, and each time but the last the audio drop occurred. Thought it might be their phone (a cordless landline). Went two weeks making few calls, but no problems. Today, made a call, and after a minute or so of talking, my audio cut out again, and they could not hear me. I could hear them fine. Hung up, called back, all was well but I kept the call very short.

So, as far as I know, there's no audio quality issue, just a complete cutoff of my audio going to the person I have called.

Very frustrating. Thanks for this thread. I'll know not to bother getting new hardware. Hope they fix it soon.

Danny.

(Update)

Okay so I discovered another issue that interrupts the mic and phone to ear speaker with incoming calls, I'm sure I'm not the only one that gets custom ringtones and since there are a few songs i like, I download them and use them.

A few days ago I decided to use one of these ringtones and set the volume high so that I can hear it ringing through my purse/messenger bag, I get an incoming call the ringtone is playing normally and I answer it and all I hear is silence. I checked the phone to see if the caller hanged up and no the call still appeared on the screen, I then tell the caller that I can't hear them and I'll call back. I did call them back and the phone call went well and the caller told me that during the first phone call I sounded muffled.

About 2 hrs later, another call and the same problem so I asked my mom to call me and I noticed that the phone to ear speaker plays the ringtone just like it does when using Music and other music apps. So I came to the conclusion that somehow the high volume was interfering with the phone calls and decided to check if I was right, I lowered the ringtone volume to half and had my mom call again and I answered, no issues at all I could hear my mom on the line and she could hear me clearly.

We really need an update to fix these issues Apple.

I had this same issue with my iPhone 6s nobody could hear me I had to use speaker phone and that didn't work all thr time either,so I gave up and had people text me when possible. I am now after a year so use to to not talking on phone that when people ask if they can call me I cringe..This does need to be fixed people think I am antisocial lol

I have the same problem with 7plus (tmobile). I replaced my phone in apple store, but no use. Everyone complaining about my phone they are not hearing properly and voice is getting fluctuated and breaking some times. I am really disappointed with this.

Hi,

Last week I made some progress with Apple on this annoying issue. Let me update you all on it.

The senior Apple customer service guy contacted me again. He informed me that the Apple engineers are studying the video of me as a user, demonstrating the problem, that I had made over FaceTime with the Apple customer service guy recording it et cetera (read about any details in previous posts here).

Recently I was contacted again and he asked me to install a by Apple engineering specially written piece of software that was sended over by him to me, to be able to monitor and log the iPhone's functions specific to this issue while making calls and recreating the problem. Because it already showed that it's easy to recreate the problem as often as I want (read about those details also in previous posts here).

After installing this software and having it activated I was with him on the phone, and created the problem 5 times during the call while he confirmed every time that the sound indeed dropped on his end and came back again when I was 'undoing' it. Then we ended the call and I needed to wait 15 minutes. Then I had to press a combination of buttons (sound buttons both at once and the off button accordingly) and the iPhone would vibrate and I had to wait another 15 minutes as the iPhone was then compiling the log-file (based on this installed piece of Apple software).

Then he called me again and I did this whole process again of calling & talking while creating the problem, pressing buttons for compiling the log file after 15 minutes. And also all that for a third time.

After that we had 3 log files. Via iTunes I synced theses files with my Macbook Pro - must be said with his good guidance via phone - including quite some supporting files so it seemed. I zipped this total package (ca. 800 MB).

Then I received a link from him over email. I opened that and I had to log in with my Apple ID and dropped the zipped file in a box and then it was all transferred to Apple engineering.

The senior Apple customer service guy confirmed me later over e-mail that all was received by Apple engineering correctly.

I will be informed wednesday 11th of January by him if Apple engineering has found the problem and/or what any possible next steps will be. It can be that they have full understanding now and can tell me what's wrong and correct it instantly, or that it's going to be fixed through an update or that further research will be required. I volentarely offered to come to California any time when required. 😀

I think overall by service, Apple is still amazing. Because it's taken care off very seriously by this senior customer service guy. He's most professional in handling this. And on this service level they absolutely do their best to understand it, as it is a bit of a 'crazy problem'. The Genius bar in the Apple store was not that perfect I must say, I think that bar is not as 'genius' as claimed. They mean well but that's it. But these senior Apple customer service guys totally are top notch!

When they fix this seriously frustrating issue of the iPhone7, it will absolutely be my most favorite smartphone again. 🙂

As said before, hang in a little bit longer. Help may be on the way. Thank you.

Hi mr.aam,

I went through the same process with an Apple support Thursday. I know people wants a quick fix, but if you don't know what is causing it, especially when it is happening to random people, it is going to take awhile. Hopefully they will get enough information from the people that has contacted and run the test to come up with a solution.

Hi BlueEyedBull,

Yes, step by step :)

In december we planned this session. Last wednesday the 4th of January we executed all.

Good to hear via your post that they are gathering as much user info as possible about this issue. That's what they should do. Very good.

I still have 100% trust that it will be solved by Apple.

Fingers crossed!

Hi Mr. Aam,

When you next talk to the senior advisor (who talks to the engineers), can you explain that - at least in my case, and I'd guess in many cases - the problem isn't only during a hand-held phone conversation.

In my case, the problem also occurs sometimes when using the hands-free Bluetooth setup in the car (when the phone's microphones are not involved).

In addition, the problem occurs when using the phone's keypad, during communication with a company's synthesized voice, when pressing particular numbers to choose options. The computer on the other end of the line sometimes doesn't receive the pressed number's signal.

My latest guess is that perhaps the problem involves a fault with the phone's transmitting, or with the phone's antenna.

Anyway, regardless of my guess, can you share with your senior advisor the two additional situations - in addition to the well-known problem of sometimes not being heard during regular hand-held voice conversations - when signals don't always reach the recipient on the other end:

1) Hands-free Bluetooth calls from an automobile, and

2) Keypad button presses.

Thanks Mr. Aam. The Senior Advisor at Apple, to whom I was referred, has not answered any of my emails.

Hi Ebulient,

Thank you for your message.

My senior Apple customer service guy is informed by me already that it also happens with my bluetooth car connection.

But you have to understand that they can only work on a solution when we can recreate the problem at the moment of testing. This bluetooth car connection issue I can't just as easily recreate so far. But yes it's there too. I experienced it too at times.

The Apple guy already promissed that when I would continue to have the problems - after fixing this current and very clear and well documented issue - with the bluetooth car connection, he will totally help me fix that as he's absolutely happy how I am doing for them all the stuff they ask from me and help bringing them closer to a better understanding, hence a possible solution.

Step by step :)

The keypad issue is a thing that - now you mentioned it - I may have experienced too before. I remember (vaguely) me tapping the keypad with an automated menu on the other end, that was then 'non-responsive'. I would then tend to blame the automated service computer but maybe it's my phone not sending the beeps to the automated service correctly.

Excellent addition!

I will mention it next time.

And maybe it's all the same technical issue as it's all related to the poor signal on the receiver's end, send by the iPhone.

Maybe the solution to the issue that the Apple engineers are researching now will be the silver bullet to all the other issues as well as they have some similar origin of the type of problem.

Keeping those fingers crossed! ;)

Thanks Mr. Aam. With me, the pressed keypad numbers not being received by an automated phone system DEFINITELY happened, and it was an important call. I had to move to all sorts of different positions in our home, and turn the speakerphone on and off repeatedly, while constantly altering the position of the phone, to finally get each of the necessary keypad numbers received. If it weren't such a serious problem, it would be comical.

Just an update… I am now on my third iPhone 7 and so far so good (knock on wood) with this one. I had to get new hardware which is the new phone and set the phone up without a recent back up so basically set it up as a new phone. This meant new hardware and new software to my understanding. There was question that if there was a corrupt file in my back up or the software was corrupt that it could have impacted the hardware of the device. even though I had set up my second iPhone 7 as a new phone… I had previously used the back up file which could have somehow messed up the phone. I also did not do the 10.2 software update for this phone and so far things seem to be working well. I did log back into my iCloud account and have slowly been downloading my apps and setting up the phone. I didn't want to do too much at once in case somehow one of the apps is messing up the phone.