Phone Mic Not Working on Calls? How to Test and Fix It

Short answer

Most “they can’t hear me” problems come from four things: your hand, a case or lint covering the mic hole at the bottom of the phone; call audio going to Bluetooth earbuds or a car you forgot about; an app such as WhatsApp or Zoom that isn’t allowed to use the microphone; or a poor signal at one end of the call. A real hardware fault is less common, and it usually shows up in every app, not only in calls.

The fastest way to tell them apart is a recording. Open our microphone test, allow the mic, speak, and press Record 3s Audio. Moving bars and a clear playback mean the mic itself works.

First, which problem do you have?

• The other person can’t hear you, but you hear them. This guide. It points to the microphone, a setting or the network.
• You can’t hear them. That is the earpiece or speaker. Try the earpiece test and our guide to a muffled or crackling speaker.
• Only on speakerphone or video calls. Phones switch to a different mic for those, usually at the top or back. See the per-mic test below.
• Only in one app. If normal calls work but WhatsApp, FaceTime, Teams or Zoom don’t, it’s almost always that app’s permission or settings.
• Only sometimes, or only in one place. Samsung’s own support page points to network coverage and surroundings as the usual cause of on-and-off problems. Call someone else from a different spot before you change anything.

Step 1: Test each microphone

Most phones have two or three microphones. On an iPhone there is one at the bottom next to the charging port, one at the top near the earpiece and one on the back by the rear camera. Android phones have a similar layout, with at least a bottom mic for calls and a top mic for noise reduction. Our iPhone microphone diagram shows where each one sits.

1. Bottom mic (normal calls): record a voice memo (Voice Memos on iPhone, Voice Recorder or Recorder on Android) while speaking toward the bottom of the phone, then play it back.
2. Top and rear mics (speakerphone, video): record a short video with the rear camera, then with the front camera, speaking toward the top of the phone. Play both back.
3. In the browser: run the mic test and watch the level bars while you talk at normal volume. On a phone it uses the default mic, which is usually the bottom one.

If all of the recordings sound clear, the microphones work. Skip to the settings and app checks. If one recording is silent, quiet or muffled while the others are fine, that mic is blocked or failing.

Step 2: Clear anything covering the mic

• Your grip. Holding the phone low with a finger or palm over the bottom edge is enough to make you sound distant. Samsung lists this as the first thing to check.
• The case and screen protector. Take the case off and test again. Cheap or badly fitting cases, and cases that have shifted after a drop, often sit over the mic hole. A thick screen protector can cover the top mic on some models.
• Lint and dust. The bottom mic hole is tiny and sits right next to the charging port, where pocket lint collects. Brush across it gently with a soft, dry toothbrush. Don’t push pins, needles or toothpicks in, and don’t blow compressed air straight into the hole: both can damage the mesh behind it.
• Water. After rain or a spill the mic can sound muffled until it dries. Let the phone dry at room temperature and don’t charge it while the port is wet.

Step 3: Check where the call audio is going

If earbuds, a smartwatch, a car or a Bluetooth speaker is still connected, the phone may be using its microphone, which could be in a pocket, a charging case or a parked car. During a call, tap the audio button (iPhone) or the Bluetooth icon (Android) and choose the phone. If that fixes it, turn Bluetooth off and test again to be sure.

On iPhone, also check Mic Mode: start a call, open Control Center and tap Mic Mode. Standard or Voice Isolation suit normal calls. Wide Spectrum deliberately picks up background sound, which can bury your voice in a noisy room.

Step 4: Check app permissions and apps using the mic

Normal phone calls don’t need a permission, but internet calling apps do.

• iPhone: Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone, and turn the app on. You can also find the same switch under the app’s own entry in Settings.
• Android: Settings → Apps → [the app] → Permissions → Microphone, and choose Allow only while using the app. On Android 12 and later, also check that the Microphone access tile in Quick Settings is on; if it’s off, every app gets silence.
• Another app holding the mic. Both systems show a dot at the top of the screen when the mic is in use (orange on iPhone, green on Android). If you see it before the call starts, close voice recorders, screen recorders and other calling apps.
• A new calling or messaging app. Samsung advises uninstalling a recently added calling or messaging app if the problem started after you installed it, because some interfere with calls.

Step 5: Restart, update, then reset settings

1. Restart the phone. It clears a stuck audio process, which is common after an update.
2. Install updates for the system and for the calling app.
3. Try another network path. If calls are bad only at home, turn Wi-Fi Calling off (or on) and call again. If calls are bad everywhere on one carrier, ask the other person whether they hear others clearly.
4. Reset settings as a last software step. On iPhone, Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone → Reset → Reset All Settings. On Android, look under Settings → System (or General management) → Reset options. This keeps your photos and apps but clears Wi-Fi passwords, Bluetooth pairings and permissions, so you’ll need to set those up again.

What your results mean

• Recordings are clear, calls are bad: network, Bluetooth routing or the calling app. The mic is fine.
• Only the bottom mic recording is bad: normal calls will suffer, speakerphone may still work. Clean the hole; if that doesn’t help, the bottom mic or the charging-port assembly it sits on needs repair.
• Every recording is silent: check the Quick Settings microphone toggle and app permissions first. If they’re on, it’s likely a hardware fault.
• Wired or Bluetooth headset mic works, phone mic doesn’t: the phone’s own mic is the problem, not the software.

When to repair or replace

If the tests still fail after cleaning, restarting and resetting settings, the microphone needs a repair. On many phones the bottom mic is part of the charging-port flex cable, so a repair shop replaces both together; on others it is a separate part. If the phone was dropped or got wet, say so when you ask for a quote, because corrosion can affect nearby parts too.

Get a quote before you decide. For a newer phone, a mic or charging-port repair is usually far cheaper than replacing the handset, and Apple and Samsung can run their own audio diagnostics at a service visit. For an older phone with a worn battery or other faults, compare the repair price with the phone’s value; our phone value estimator gives a rough figure. If the phone is still under warranty or a carrier protection plan, check that first.

In the UK, Canada and Australia the same steps apply; only the warranty and consumer-rights rules for a faulty new phone differ, so contact the retailer before a third-party repair shop.

Buying a used phone?

A dead bottom mic is easy to miss in a quick look. Make a real test call, record a voice memo, and run the microphone step in the free phone test. If you are buying remotely, Live Remote Inspection lets you watch the mic level live on the seller’s phone. The used iPhone checklist covers the rest.