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iOS 17 (17.0.2, 17.0.3, 17.1) breaking microphone functionality on many new and old iPhones

A

allianz

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 6, 2008
16
7
Germany
Hi,
my iPhone 13 Pro started to show a not working microphone some weeks ago. But only for dictation, speaker phone, voice memo. Normal phone call is working.
Apple support is clueless and speculated about a HW failure. It is not a HW failure!

Please give the community and Apple a heads up on this topic!!

Here are some links to people on reddit with similar problems:

https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/16i8xny

https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/16uijp5

https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/16sal66

https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/1738co3

https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/16tp5f2

https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/16re63w


[edit 10.10.2023]​


two more reports:

iPhone 13 Pro Max weird microphone issues
https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/1740bvc

My microphone is not working in the telephone app
https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/1738co3
 
Last edited:
Different mics are used (there are 3 total mics) depending on function. Follow the steps here:
support.apple.com

If the microphones on your iPhone aren't working - Apple Support

If the sound is unclear during phone calls, during FaceTime calls, in video recordings, or in apps, learn what to do.
support.apple.com support.apple.com

What are the results?

Voice memo, speaking to the bottom of the phone: Clear audio, unclear audio, no audio?
Video recording with rear camera, speaking toward the top of the phone: Clear audio, unclear audio, no audio?
Video recording with front camera, speaking toward the top of the phone: Clear audio, unclear audio, no audio?
 
There seems to be multiple issues going on here. Last year I sent my phone in for a battery replacement at an Apple authorized service provider and when I got it back I eventually realized Hey Siri wasn't working. I contacted support and was told to bring it in to a different third party provider store so they could look at it. I took it in, they ran diagnostics and told me the earpiece microphone failed the diagnostic and I'd need to replace the whole screen. (The screen itself isn't even broken) They also told me it wasn't worth replacing since it would cost more than a new phone.

So I just left it since not having Hey Siri is bearable. Everything else worked for the most part though it would take a second for dictation or Siri to start listening. This was on iOS 16. Now on iOS 17 it's much worse, dictation and Siri don't work at all unless using a headset.

I don't have proof the battery replacement ruined it but it's a bit suspicious that it suddenly wasn't working afterward. (The battery wasn't great either, I replaced it just over a year ago and it's already down to 84% health.)

Anyway you may have the same hardware issue that I do, which when combined with iOS 17 becomes much worse. With iOS 16 things still worked almost like normal.
 
FreakinEurekan said:
Different mics are used (there are 3 total mics) depending on function. Follow the steps here:


What are the results?
Click to expand...
All 3 mics are working and HW-wise functional. I tried this in different apps by blowings/scratching the active mics. Every one is working but are selectively not used by e. g. speaker phone, dictation...

It is not a HW failure. Even users with brand new 15 (Pro) reporting this. Some were successfull with an SW update or reset. Not me
 
I'm going to add to this thread.

I have an issue with the microphone on an iPhone 13 Pro Max phone.

Quick video:
https://imgur.com/KW23Dhs

This weird noise is on every video, front and back camera, no difference. If I turn off stereo sound recording for the camera the noise is still there for like 1-2 seconds, than goes away, sometimes returning in the middle of the video randomly though.

Also on normal phone calls without loudspeaker my partner can't hear me, if I turn on loudspeaker it works fine. To my knowledge without loudspeaker enabled the iPhone uses the bottom microphone. The weird thing is, voicememos work fine, to my knowledge they also use the bottom microphone. So it seems that the bottom microphone is not broken on the hardware side?

Also Whatsapp voice messages work fine, Siri works fine, dictate function (speach to text on the keyboard) works fine, memos work fine, the things that do not work are these weird noises on videos and calling over cellular without turning on the loudspeaker.

Software is up-to-date and I did a hard-reset (and updated it from the recovery menu via iTunes) already which was suggested by the remote apple support. It didn't change.
 
Quick update on my end:

went to the Apple Store today, the health check went through without any issues. They factory resetted the phone again but without any luck. The issue remained. They were suggesting to replace the rear mic but that included all loudspeakers and other microphones which came out to about 600€ repair cost and couldn't verify that the issue would be fixed after the repair, so I declined.

I asked about known issues with microphones on iOS17 and they denied any problems existing.
 
therealmahiko said:
Quick update on my end:

went to the Apple Store today, the health check went through without any issues. They factory resetted the phone again but without any luck. The issue remained. They were suggesting to replace the rear mic but that included all loudspeakers and other microphones which came out to about 600€ repair cost and couldn't verify that the issue would be fixed after the repair, so I declined.

I asked about known issues with microphones on iOS17 and they denied any problems existing.
Click to expand...
Honest advice, just spike the phone into the ground and make sure it's nice and mangled. Pay the 600 euro for a new/refurb Apple phone. The Apple Store, for who knows what reason, will only repair until a phone is past being able to be repaired. I had a phantom camera bug where the pics were blurry, and they wouldn't fix it. So yeah. Blammo into the ground, $600 later, new phone.
 
Interesting.. no problem for me on any of those.. iPhone 11 Pro.

BL.
 
Update:
iOS 17.1 beta 3 fixed the problem for me today!! Speech to text, voice memo, everything is working again!
Beta 2 had the problem, at least for me.

iPhone 13 Pro

Do not try an expensive HW fix, appointment at an apple store or any other solution in a hurry.
It is a SW problem!!
 
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