iPhone XR - microphone issue ?

My XR microphone worked for phonecalls and voice memos. But not for taking videos as there would be a lot of hiss and patchy underwater-like sound recording with silences and gaps.

After doing all the recommended suggestions including toggling of various sound options and even doing a reset that caused the loss of all my preset wifi passwords and customised settings, I finally solved the problem.

There is actually a 3rd microphone near the rear-facing camera that was covered by the rear phone protector. Cutting off a corner of it to unblock the microphone hole did the trick. All that unnecessary sweat wasted. Hopefully this helps for some of you.

There ARE two microphones. If you bothered to RTFM (Read The Fine Manual) you would know that; even the first few pages of it. There is one at the bottom of the phone, and a 2nd one on the back near the camera that is used for noise cancellation. The back mic is only used when holding the phone on a call; it is not used in speakerphone mode or for other recording purposes. But the noise cancellation can be fooled if the back mic is partially covered by your hand, a case that doesn't fit, or a flip open folio case if you fold it most of the way back. If you are in the habit of using it with the back mic partially covered it will result in garbling, because it hears the same thing (your voice) in both mics and tries to cancel it. If you don't want the noise cancellation feature either cover the back mic with a piece of tape or turn off noise cancellation in Settings.

Most likely you are covering the noise cancellation mic on the back of the phone either with your hand or a case. The flip-open folio cases are the worst offenders, as they cover the mic if you flip them to the back when on a call.

In my conversation with Apple Support they reported there was an issue Apple engineers were currently working on. It has to do with some carriers and LTE. I had the same problems reported here, without any case on my phone, on speaker phone or off. It was resolved once I changed the phone settings, as advised by Apple Support, to LTE data only.

I have the same issue and I agree with everyone how frustrating this issue is. I turned off the noise cancellation feature in settings and this solved the problem completely. People now tell me I sound crystal clear. Hope that helps.

If the microphones on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch aren't working - Apple Support

Finally, found the solution. Weak LTE signal (possibly... though my phone shows full LTE signal)...the fix is to put your LTE to data only. Apple engineers are working on the issue apparently...it's not just me. Hope this helps others.

I bought the new XR a short time ago and have the same problem. My friends and fAmily kept telling me they could not hear me and I sound like crap. I insisted it wasn’t my phone as it was an expensive brand new iPhone but then my son called me from his friends XR and I finally heard exactly what every one had been saying about my phone all along. I contacted apple tech support and nothing helped. Except holding the phone just so the mic is right under my mouth. Heaven forbid it’s even slightly turned away from my mouth. Any way I asked the apple tech I’f this is a common complaint and she said no but clearly this isn’t true. A simple google search proves that is actually a problem across all color versions of the XR and there is a design flaw that some how apple is not acknowledging. They are saying there is nothing wrong and while there may not be any damage or malfunction per say there is most definitely a design flaw. For the cost of these phones I shouldn’t have to consciously be sure the phone is held perfectly straight on to be heard. My old 6splus didn’t have this issue and the cheap 40$ Android I got my daughter doesn’t have this issue so I expect the 800 dollar phone to pick up my voice no matter how the phone is held against my ear. This is ridiculous

I have found that if I hold my phone with my left hand the mic doesn’t work but with my right hand it does. I am sure It has to do with how the bottom mic is positioned to my mouth as it’s very easy to move off target. I have now resorted to always use earbuds as there seems to be no fix anytime soon.

I have a similar problem on my new iPhone XR. While talking on the phone with the phone to my ear and the mic in front of my mouth, people can hear me. If I so much as pivot the lower end of the phone down from my mouth, people can no longer hear me. It works fine when on speaker or using ear buds. Something definitely wrong with the mic fading off if not directly in front of your mouth.

yes I thought that might be the cause as well so when chatting with the apple tech I told her I was going to try one more thing and that was removing my case although there is no way in heck I would carry around this phone with a glass back with out a case. I actually have literally 5 different styles of cases for this phone and had the same issue with all of them but to did make a phone call with no case installed at all and again holding only the side edges of the phone I was told I was heard fine when holding it perfectly straight on but literally moving it even 6 degrees away from directly in front of my mouth that it sounded like crap and was all gargled and choppy and she couldn’t hear or understand me. I mean I suppose eventually I will learn to be aware to hold the. Bottom of the phone directly under my mouth but I find myself being less aware when I’m super busy and answer a call while getting my kids a drink or really anytime I first answer the phone. Same with making calls. I keep forgetting the mic stinks on the phone and I make a call to the doctors office for example and soon as they answer I’m like hello I’m calling Jonny Appleseed and his birthday is J

1/1/10 and I’m calling because he has a bad cough and bla bla boa and I get the response of I am sorry I didn’t hear a thing you said your voice is gargled and choppy and I’m thinking come on this phone is driving me insane and I then adjust is the 5 or so degrees so the bottom is right below my mouth and apologize then start over. Yes it has the ability to pick up my voice clearly but I just upgraded from the old iPhone 6s Plus and never ever had an issue with being heard no matter the angle the phone is being held. So for that reason I certainly expect to have the same quality in phone calls as I did with my older iPhone. It can’t be that hard to fix the placement of the mic or what ever they did right on the older iPhones on the new XR so that people so t have to constantly be checking they are holding the phone just right so they can be heard. I mean I’d the issue only happens I’d i was holding the hone way way off or upside down then I would just make sure I’m hiding the phone normal but I am holding it normal it’s just super finicky with being needed to be held just so. It should still be clear even if the user is holding the phone bottom an inch or two on either side of the mouth let alone just slightly off to one side or the other.

Try talking on the phone with the cover closed. As it uses the rear microphone when talking on the phone.

Ok just updated to IOS 12.4 and just made a couple test calls and all good so far!

Shut off LTE on phone and set to data only. The problem is still happening. Have spoken to people that are on their second phone (replaced by Apple) and it is still happening for them as well. Bringing the phone to an apple store is our next step. This appears to be a much bigger problem than Apple is willing to acknowledge. In speaking to other XS and XR iPhones they all are having clarity problems (yes all). Also needed to add they are not all on one carrier either. Some are ATT and some are Verizon so perhaps the LTE issue is just a false flag. All I can say is fixing this is really a hassle if you depend on your phone for business (and the Apple store is 30 miles away) as we do.

Consider yourself lucky. Multiple owners report that even after replacement, their iPhone XR (and apparently older models) are having this issue. I finally bought Air Pods, which work great but isn't it sad that the thing doesn't function well as a phone. It is not the case or wireless carrier. And if the "solution" is you have to hold the XR perfectly still while on a call, then something is very wrong with the design of an $800 device.