Follow these troubleshooting steps to fix the microphone if it stopped working on your iPhone.

Is your iPhone microphone not working? If so, you might want to get that fixed as soon as possible. iPhones are almost useless without the microphones. It means you can’t talk on the phone, use FaceTime, or summon Siri.

So if your iPhone microphone isn’t working, you’ve probably already noticed it and want to get it repaired fast. If your microphone isn’t working, give these steps a try to get it fixed and start making calls again in no time.

Before you begin fixing your iPhone’s microphone, you’ll need to know which microphone isn’t working.

If you have an iPhone 5 or later, you’ll have three microphones: one on the bottom of your phone for phone calls, one on the front of your phone for speakerphone, and one on the back for the camera.

Related: iPhone Screen Not Working? Here’s What to Do

Test each microphone by recording into your voice memos (bottom microphone), calling a number and speaking on speakerphone (front microphone), recording a video (back microphone). If all the microphones aren’t working, it’s most likely a hardware issue and you should skip step two.

If only one microphone isn’t working or sounds muffled, start with step one.

One of the simplest ways to fix your microphone is by cleaning it. If any of your microphones sound muffled when you speak, they might need a good cleaning. iPhone microphones are sensitive, and a small piece of dust or dander can affect how they sound.

To clean your microphone, avoid blowing into it at first, as you could push more dirt in there.

Instead, take a cue tip and dip it in some isopropyl alcohol. Don’t put too much on there, as you don’t need a lot. Then wipe it along the muffled microphone, either on the front, bottom, or back of your iPhone. Try to get inside the microphone hole if you can.

Related: How to Clean Your Dirty iPhone: A Step-by-Step Guide

Isopropyl alcohol breaks up grime and dries fast, so it won’t damage your phone. Try using the highest percentage of isopropyl alcohol you can find.

Being connected to a Bluetooth device could mean that your iPhone is activating an external microphone and you can’t use the one built into the iPhone itself.

This is a common issue with those who use Bluetooth headphones or smart home systems. You can check if you’re connected to a Bluetooth device by opening the Control Center, then toggle Bluetooth off. Alternatively, tap and hold it to view all your connected devices.

If your microphone isn’t working in a specific app, you might not have granted that app permission to use your microphone.

To grant an app permission, head to Settings and go to your selected app. Open that app’s settings and make sure the Microphone option is enabled

In some cases, your iPhone might not be working properly due to a bug in the software. Some users have reported that updating iOS can fix a variety of problems, including a microphone that doesn’t work.

Related: How to Update Your iPhone: iOS, Apps, and Data Backups

If updating iOS on your iPhone doesn’t resolve the issue, you might want to restore your iPhone to the default settings. Sometimes, apps can customize settings which can cause your microphone not to work. Restoring your iPhone will fix this.

To do this, head to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset All Settings.

This will restore all the settings on your iPhone without erasing your data.

If neither of these options worked, one other step you can take is to erase all the content on your iPhone and set it up from scratch. While this is very time-consuming, it might be worth a try if all your iPhone microphones stopped working.

Make sure you back up your iPhone first. Then, to erase everything, head to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings.

If you’ve tried all the above fixes but nothing is working, you can still use an external microphone with your iPhone. You can use this while you wait for a repair, or even use an external microphone indefinitely if you can’t afford a repair.

Apple’s earphones have a built-in microphone, and many other headphones have a microphone as well. While not ideal, headphones will connect through your Lightning port or over Bluetooth and don’t rely on your built-in microphones for many tasks.

Apple has a dedicated support page for those who are having issues with their iPhones and need to schedule a repair. If all else fails, Apple will be able to fix or replace your iPhone.

You can choose to send it in or bring it in for repair. The cost of a microphone repair depends on what’s wrong with it.

If you choose to go to Apple, the repairs can be expensive. To save money, you could try a third-party repair service instead, but the repairs might not meet Apple’s standards.

Luckily, if your phone is under warranty, you won’t pay anything for a repair from Apple. You can check if you’re eligible on the Check Your Service and Support page.

An iPhone microphone not working can be annoying, but there are solutions that can get you heard again in no time.

While these DIY repairs might not work for everyone, hopefully you have resolved your issues with the tutorials above. For those who haven’t, you have repair options and have the ability to use an external microphone in the meantime.

Either way, we hope you resolve your issues as fast as possible.

Joe is a former web designer and current entrepreneur and freelance writer. In his 8 years as a web designer, he helped create several apps and helped startups simplify their user experience. This began his passion for making technology easy to understand and accessible for everyone. He's been a freelance writer for over 6 years and loves writing about technology. Joe holds a Bachelor's degree and a postgraduate certificate in editing.

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