Microphone not working on iPhone 7

I had the same issue with my 7 Plus. I took it to the Apple store and they replaced my phone with a new one. My phone was well out of warranty, too. Apple has identified this microphone issue and is taking responsibility for it. As long as there isn’t blatant/significant damage to your phone (like a broken/cracked screen/serious water damage) Apple will pay the freight on either fixing your phone, or replacing it.

Hello,

I had the same issue on my iPhone 7. I took my phone to the Apple store and said that I believed my iPhone microphone issue was part of a larger problem that Apple has now recognized. See link: https://www.macrumors.com/2018/05/04/apple-aware-of-iphone-7-mic-issue-ios-11-3/

The technician said they were aware of the issue and that my phone could be replaced out of warranty if a specific error code came up when running diagnostics. The error code has to either say "device could not detect dock" or "accessory not supported" in order for them to replace the phone. Fortunately, my phone had this error code and they replaced it with out question. My sister also had the same problem. She went to a different Apple store and the technician just confirmed that the speaker button was grayed out when making a phone call (described in article). Just this alone was enough for him to replace the phone out of warranty.

Every Apple store is different. I would suggest printing out the article and bring it just in case they attempt to blame you for the microphone no longer working. Just state that your phone has the same exact issues as described in the article and that you would like them to run a diagnostic. Good luck!

SAME except AT&T said that they are tracking all phones with similar issue. My daughters did the same. Mine started when I did the most recent update. I am out of warranty, but have insurance. AT&T escalated my service to Apple. Apple denied that anyone else is having this issue and told me that I likely got water in the speaker and told me it would be $385 to fix it. AND couldn't tell me when I would get my phone back. I took my issue to Nations Cellular (a reputable service in Hot Springs... Always is honest and tells you if it can or can't be fixed... with up front prices.) He said this is a regular occurring problem with 7 plus and he has little success with fixing it. He said that it keeps appearing to be a BAD CHIP. And that usually happens on the updates.. He said that it is NOT my speaker. He recommended using my insurance to replace it if I choose to stay with APPLE. I am so frustrated. I keep my phone safe and in a case.

Everything about my phone still works except the calls and voice memos. I can't use the headphones that came with the phone (the ones you plug in) BUT I can use my car speakers and I can use my bluetooth headset. So SCREW the repair and insurance. I am so DONE with the scamming tactics of Apple and each phone company. UGH!!

It costed me 27$ to get it repaired from a local repair shop in Mumbai, India. If the phone takes long time to boot in addition to mic & ear piece not working, then Audio IC will have to be replaced in order to fix it. If the booting process is normal and only mic and ear piece is not working, then the Audio IC just need to be reballed.

Hope this helps.

I have this same problem. It got worse after the Genius Bar reset it to back to factory specs. Even though it is a well documented issue across the internet as "loop disease". Apple will not do anything for you.

Makes you wonder why we buy a premium product and expect that it should last more then 22 months. Up until now Apple is not recognizing this as the design/manufacturing defect it really is. Only solution is to get a replacement for $350 or find a third party repair shop. If you are lucky enough to have one of these in your area I read they are charging about a $100.

Way to go Apple - stick your head in the sand and ignore your customers!

I chatted wit one of apples customer care he said:

I will be happy to help! Sorry it is giving you trouble there. When we see the speakerphone greyed out like that it is a good indication we need to get the iPhone serviced for you. This phone is still covered by AppleCare so we can get it taken care of. Do you know if you have an Apple Retail Store in your area?

We may have an Apple Authorized Service Provider. I can check for you if you would like

we need to get it serviced for you. When the option becomes greyed out like that it indicates the iPhone detected an issue with the related hardware during the update process and disabled it.

Once we receive it in our repair center it only takes about 3-5 days

Well! I did a heck of a lot of research on this tonight. Hours. I had an iphone 7 in my cart ready to buy. I have decided not to buy it. I headed over to ebay and am either buying a used iphone 6s (I had good luck with them but they are getting really old now) or a google pixel 1st gen to get me by. My very old iphone is now dying and I need a phone-even a temporary used one.

I ran into an article that interviewed 2 experts in the phone repair business. They did say this is ultimately a hardware issue, yes. Due to a design 'flaw' as they stated it is, the connections to the audio IC are prone to separating or breaking. This is either due to drops as someone earlier stated, tho they could have happened a long time back. It could also be due to phone bending, such as carrying it your pockets. Although a break may not occur right away due to a drop or bending, it of course weakens the connections breaks that little trail along the board underneath the chip (dont know what they are called sorry lol). Over time and continued use, they eventually break. One of the 'experts' also stated that while a software update could cause this issue, it was correctly called out again by another poster here, that the heat generated by updates (remember how hot the phone gets when updating) can also generate enough heat to deliver the final fatal blow to the connections by expanding them and of course, causing a break. This also lends credibility to those saying Apple started to do the right thing, but eventually withdrew once most care programs and warranties started expiring, knowing these issues were coming and were going to get much worse-and boy have they. With warranty or care plans expired, they could demand a fee to fix or tell you to buy a new phone-you're out of coverage.

I am a long time Apple customer. Let me say, I recently had a very disheartening unrelated complaint last year over, of all things, an iTunes pre-order. Something went crazy and when the time came for the release, iTunes kept telling me it wasn't time yet. Due to the way this particular release was done, in increments with billing, I had paid for the entire album with the charges for the early release tracks... They put me through heck for 2 weeks over that issue-having me delete, reinstall iTunes, reboot my computer, send screen shots. Eventually they gave me a refund of $2... the cost of the release was already covered, but there were 9 more tracks, which I was forced to buy ala carte (no finish my album there!). So I had to pay double - sound familiar? Only had 2 issues in the past-way back in the day. Then we had a 1st gen ipad that went berzerk. Took it to Apple Store, and they replaced on the spot. Before that, had purchased an ipod shuffle that also went berzerk. They actually sent us a replacement "overnight" along with a return FedEx envelope to send them back the old one! THAT was customer service. And that is why we have been with them for so long.

I am so saddened to see whats happened since Mr. Jobs passing. Battery issues (several!), touch disease issues, and this with the iPhone 7 and many others - and Apple dragging their feet, denying responsibility.... This scared me right out of a purchase of a new iPhone 7. Thinking back to my experience last year, and reading what you all have been through for what is definitely a design flaw, I just couldn't justify taking the risk, and I am not able to afford an 8 or X right now.

I guess we all have decisions to make. I am going to wish everyone luck and go back to deciding which used phone to buy. I just thought I'd be long winded and relay my findings. So if you don't want to buy a new phone or pay for repairs, it is said you are most likely on borrowed time with your iphone 7.

Might be an audio ic issue, Apple recognizes this issue but doesn't fix it. certain repair shops will do it, but they will usually not be apple certified

Fascinating. Very same issue. Iphone 7. Did a full clean install--without restoring from icloud. So as a new phone. Latest IOS. Still not able to record a voice memo, make a FaceTime call nor can anyone hear me if they call me. After being on a support chat with Apple, they transferred me to a Manager who looked into it. Finally he arrived at this comment, "So, right now, we are working on a fix for this and hopefully it’s available as an update soon."

He suggested I use a Bluetooth device to get by until a fix or to simply buy a new phone.

Nice. Paye $650+ for the iPhone 7 2 years ago and now am expected to either get a new one or deal without being able to place calls--until a software fix is in.

My confidence in Apple just took a bit hit. Sure, they may think I'm locked into their eco system, but if you can't support paying customers with a "reasonably" quality and useful product (i.e. a cell phone that you can use to talk to other people with) then why would anyone be loyal? I've since purchased a Galaxy phone (used) since it is working and affordable until this POSSIBLY gets fix.

Not happy....

I was at Apple over the weekend, both my husband and I encountered the same problem a few weeks apart so we took our phones in to be looked at. What they’ll do is run a diagnostics test on your phone, which will fail. They will then exam the outside of your phone, if the phone is in perfect physical condition; aka no cracks in the screen, missing buttons etc they will offer you a new phone in exchange of your old one and wave the warranty. If there is any physical damage they will require you to pay to repair the damage first, then they will give you a whole new phone. They replaced my husbands no problem but because mine had a tiny crack in the screen they refused to do it without a screen replacement which costs $200. To buy out my contract was actually cheaper so this is what I did and actually switched to a Samsung on a new contract. Bye bye Apple!

Visited the Apple store about the same issue since the 11.3 update - Apple told me that they have caused the issue with the most recent updates but are not providing a remedy for any phone which is out of warranty. This really is scandalous seeing as the primary function of a phone - to make calls - has been disabled to their own admittance. Spoke to senior advisor on the phone who was very rude and essentially said that they are doing nothing to keep their loyal customers so take your business elsewhere. I've seen some articles online stating that Apple will fix the phones for free (those out of warranty) but this is completely false.

https://www.macrumors.com/2018/05/04/apple-aware-of-iphone-7-mic-issue-ios-11-3/

For what it’s worth

https://www.cultofmac.com/570285/loop-disease-apple-iphone-7-speaker-problems/

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/8xem8x/iphone-7-grayed-out-speaker-lo op-disease-boot-loop-hangs-on-apple-logo

Well, i don't know if my comment will help anyone here. I've visited 3 service centres and i got my answer. This problem affects a lot of IPhone 7 users. And the problem is not with the new update. It is caused by dropping the phone (even if you dropped it months ago), thats why it affects different phones at different time. The reason why we experience the above mentioned problems may be because the update heats the phone and because this audio chip is vulnurable after previous drops, it becomes broken and unusable. Each service center proposed me only one thing-> change of motherboard which is quite expensive, unfortunately. So i guess its caused by combination of the new update,phone dropping and vulnerable audio chips in IPhone 7s

It's a common issue with the iPhone 7. The Audio IC needs replacing. Kinda like the touch disease of the iPhone 6 Plus.

I was at apple yesterday 11-07-2018 with the same issue, they confirmed that my mic was dead and also that my speakers were messed up. Said microphone can’t be fixed so phone needs to be replaced. They said because I did not buy my phone directly from apple (bought it from a 3 store, service provider) I would need to pay 319 pounds for a replacement device but had I bought it from them they would have replaced it. I was vexed and infuriated. Didn’t pay the 319 pounds. My phone is 1 year and 3 months old. Apple is taking the ****. Absolute joke.
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