Has your iPhone 7 mic stopped working after updating to iOS 11.3 or later?

Apple has ostensibly acknowledged a microphone issue with certain iPhone 7 models.

The company says that some iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus units out there may experience issues with the built-in microphone. The problem appears to manifest itself on a limited number of devices after updating to iOS 11.3 or later.

Apple distributed an internal document to its authorized service providers this week, a copy of which was obtained by MacRumors. The document states that these affected phones may exhibit a grayed-out speaker button during phone calls, preventing the user from being heard during phone calls or FaceTime video chats.

Other symptoms may include lack of audio during playback of videos or voice memos recorded on an affected device. Apple’s support document which provides information about the microphones in iPhones, iPads and iPods makes no mention of this issue.

From the MacRumors report:

Apple Authorized Service Providers have been instructed to first ask customers to disconnect or power off any Bluetooth headsets or other audio accessories connected to their iPhone to see if that alleviates the problem.

If the speaker button remains grayed out during a call, the service providers have been instructed to run audio diagnostics. Affected devices will display a ‘device could not detect dock’ or ‘accessory not supported’ alert in the diagnostic pane, in which case the service provider can initiate a repair for the iPhone.

It’s not exactly clear if the iOS 11.3 could somehow be causing a hardware defect on these phones or if maybe this is a software-based issue that could be fixed with a future update.

Be that as it may, out-out-warranty devices may be able to receive a repair or replacement for free, but that’s something a technician will determine on a case by case basis. This affects a limited number of iPhone 7/Plus models with iOS 11.3 or later.

Has iOS 11.3 unintentionally disabled your microphone as well?

Let us know in the comments.