iPhone X with Apple Leather Folio Mic Issues

Since getting my iPhone X I've been mainly using it via car Bluetooth. Yesterday I made a call using the conventional method. I have a Nomad leather folio case and when I use it with the cover folded back and the phone to my ear- same issue as everyone. The other person said I was muffled and garbled like I was trying to speak under water.

I tried turning off off noise cancelling but it made no difference.

No problems if using speakerphone mode.

When I let the cover hang with the phone to my ear, it seems to be ok. Looks stupid but at lease the person on the other end can hear me clearly.

I've always used a folio case for my iphones: 4S, 5S, 6S. Never encountered this issue before.

At least now I know it's not a faulty phone per se, just a design quirk!? Hopefully it can be fixed via software update.

Your case has a magnet in it to wake up and sleep the iPhone. The magnet interferes with the microphone when folded to the back. It is a physical issue, not something software will fix unfortunately. I stopped using my Folio case and returned it to Apple. The very kindly gave me a gift voucher to the value of the case.

Thanks Appl

Hi TCIS, thanks for your thoughts. Mine is a Nomad leather folio case, not an Apple branded one. There is no magnet on my case at all but I do believe it is related to the way the back mic works.

I rang my landline and recorded a voice message from me calling using my iPhone X

- With cover folded back loosely- muffled garble.

- With cover hanging- it not folded back against the phone, super clear

- In speakerphone mode - super clear- even clearer

- With cover folded back, but pressed firmly to completely seal and cover the back lenses and microphone, a little clearer but not great.

Anyway, it'll just mean I have to learn to adapt and interact with the phone a little differently- after all, had to learn new gestures with the iPhone X, so I'll consider this another "gesture" to have to add to the repertoire!

Hey,

just wondering: You have no issues with the Strada case although it also has a lid/cover?

I have this case and experienced the same muffled voice issues when I make phone calls (and the lid covers the back of the phone).

I also turned off noise reduction in the settings which didn‘t help either. Only if I don‘t fold the lid on the back of my phone while making calls (meaning not covering the microphone) voice quality seems to be ok. But it‘s annoying to hold the case like that.

Thx!

My wife just found out she has the same problem due to your thred. Thanks so much for bringing this to everyones attention. Apple needs to address as their is no solution other than replacing the cover with another model. Sad when you pay $100 just for the cover and $1,000 for a phone.

I have the same problem with the Apple folio case. However since I like the case a lot, otherwise, I put up with the problem. In order to deal with the muffling problem, I insert my index finger between the flap and the back of the phone when I wrap the flap around back during a call. This creates enough space between the back of the phone and the flap to eliminate the muffling problem. Btw, I had a a

Strada before this one and returned it. I like this one a lot more even though it’s twice the money.

I have the same problem, people say they can barely hear me when I have the cover folded back, Apple should offer a replacement for these covers, Especially when the X is their flag ship product and very expensive.

Everyone, it's not that big of a deal, really... All you have to do is hold the phone with the flap open and you're good to go. The folio case make that easy as it's soft leather. I love the folio case from Apple and the convenience it lends. Furthermore, I'm sure Apple know about it and will update at some point, tweaking things, to solve the matter of the flap+noise cancellation mic throwing the the user's voice out of whack.

I have disabled the noise reduction and still experience this while using a flip over case. Really annoying as I spent a lot of money on the case and don’t really want to get rid of it as it offers good protection. As this model of iPhone is the most breakabl, I don’t want to have only back protection. One way round it is to put the call onto speaker but that’s not always practical. Love the phone but such a shame about the problem.

tbone_GER

I already have the Otterbox Strada, and have complained as callers are claiming that my speech is muffled

when folding back the cover. So I am interested to know why you are satisfied with yours as I am very dissatisfied with mine.

But the reviews for the Otterbox Strada at Amazon claim they have the same problem. It is a design problem of the iphone x, they did not consider that people might fold the front cover back and hold the phone to their ear when making or answering a call. Maybe the “right” way nowadays is to use air pods.

iheechee wrote:

But the reviews for the Otterbox Strada at Amazon claim they have the same problem. It is a design problem of the iphone x

No, it is a problem with the iPhone 7 and 8 series also; all of the phone models that have a 2nd noise cancellation mic on the back. Reports go back 18 months of this issue with folio type cases if you fold the flap all the way back.

Actually, it was me who said that it is a design problem of the iPhone X. Billbir answered to my claim that the problem is not just with the Apple Case, but also with other cases (Somebody on page 1 of this thread said that the Otterbox Strada does not cause this problem, which is not true).

And of course, you are right, it must have been a design problem of the previous versions of iPhone, too. I just never noticed it because I rarely use my iPhone SE for making or receiving calls. But yesterday my brother mentioned that all people tell him they can hardly understand him on his iPhone X, so I googled and found this thread.

Thanks a lot to everybody here who gave their 5 cents, it helped a lot.

Also have the same issue with my new X.

Took it back to apple and they even replaced the phone but said nothing about the Folio case being the issue.

So many phone calls where the other end complained about my audio. Will start to experiment with new cases that don't cover the back side when opened.

After reading about these problems and experienceing the same issue with my new X phone, I took my folio cover back to my Apple store. Was told that at least 3 other people had been back and complained of the same problem. They were very nice and replaced my Folio cover with another cover of my choice. This time I chose a standard non folding style cover. Sound problem solved. No more issues with people having trouble hearing my phone or understanding my calls.......