Microphone issues with Galaxy phone or tablet

There are a few things that can cause issues with the microphone on your phone or tablet. For example, an external device such as headphones may be preventing the microphone from working. Other times, you may hear a crackling noise, or sounds may be unclear in your recordings if the microphone is having problems.

Microphone issues with Galaxy phone or tablet

Checkpoint

Remove external devices and check the audio recording

Remove all accessories.

Remove anything plugged in to the headphone jack or USB-C port, including adapters, selfie sticks, and charms, etc. Additionally, remove any third-party cases, protective films, skins, adhesives, or any other accessory that usually comes in contact with your phone.

Disable Bluetooth.

Using two fingers, swipe down from the top of the screen to open the Quick settings panel, and then tap the Bluetooth icon to turn it off. The Bluetooth icon is gray when it's disabled.

Power off the device.

Power off icon highlighted on a Galaxy phone

Press and hold the Power button for a few seconds until the Power menu appears. Tap Power off, and then tap Power off again to confirm.

On phones without a dedicated Power button, swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen to open the Quick settings panel. Tap the Power icon at the top of the screen, and then tap Power off. Tap Power off again to confirm.

Power on the device.

Once the phone or tablet shuts down, wait 30 seconds, and then press the Power button to power on the device.

Note

If you’re using a biometric security feature, the phone or tablet will require your backup password after rebooting.

Record something.

Once the phone or tablet finishes booting up, use the Voice Recorder or Camera app to record a short clip with audio.

Play the recording.

Play back the clip to check if the issue has been resolved. If the recording quality is fine, your microphone is working normally and one of the connected accessories or recently downloaded apps may be causing the issue.

It’s important to keep your apps up to date to ensure they are working correctly. If you’re still encountering issues with certain apps (not including the Voice Recorder or Camera app), it may be necessary to uninstall and then reinstall the app that is causing issues.

Clean the device's microphones.

If you make a call immediately after your phone or tablet gets wet, the microphone may have water in it, which may lower the volume that the other person hears. Be sure to dry it thoroughly with a clean, soft cloth and allow the phone to air-dry before making a call.

Be sure to pat the earpiece (at the top of the device), the primary microphone (at the bottom of the device), and the external speaker (also at the bottom of the device) to remove as much water as possible.

Note

Avoid using cans of compressed air when drying or cleaning your device, as these may cause damage.

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How to update your Galaxy phone or tablet

Note

The phone or tablet will show the last date that it checked for updates. To download an update, you must be connected to the internet.

Download updates manually.

On your device, navigate to and open Settings.
Swipe to and tap Software update or System updates. It will vary between models.
Tap Download and install or Check for software updates. If an update is available it will begin downloading, though you may need to tap Download now on some devices.
When the download is complete, follow the on-screen instructions to install the update.

You can also check for updates using Smart Switch.

Make sure your device has enough space.

Make sure the phone or tablet is connected to the internet and charged to at least 50% before installing a software update.
Some carriers require a Wi-Fi network connection and will not allow you to update using mobile data.
If an error occurs during a software update and your phone or tablet keeps restarting, learn how to get out of a boot loop.
If your phone or tablet doesn't have enough storage space, you can clean up your storage with Device care. You can also back up extra files using Smart Switch or your Samsung or Google account.

Check your phone or tablet after the update.

If you were having issues before the software update, use the phone or tablet normally to check if the problem has been solved.

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Boot the device into Safe mode

Note

Certain downloaded apps can make your phone or tablet freeze, crash, or lag. Some apps can even affect camera functionality, cause audio issues, and affect network connectivity.

Using Safe mode disables all downloaded apps and loads only the original software that came with your phone or tablet, allowing you to determine if the issue is caused by an app or with the phone or tablet.

If the issues do not appear while in Safe mode, the problem is caused by a downloaded app, and it should be uninstalled.

Reboot the phone or tablet in Safe mode.

First, open the Power menu:

On devices with a regular Power button, press and hold the Power button until the Power menu is displayed.
On devices without a dedicated power button, swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen to open Quick settings. Tap the Power icon at the top of the screen.

Touch and hold Power off until the Safe mode icon is displayed. Tap Safe mode to start your device in Safe mode. If you've entered Safe mode successfully, you'll see Safe mode displayed at the bottom of the screen.

Safe mode option with a description

Check if the phone or tablet is still having the same problem.

Use the phone or tablet normally to see if the issue has been resolved. If the phone or tablet is operating normally, a recently installed app was most likely causing the issue.

If the issue is gone in Safe mode: One of your recently downloaded apps was likely the cause of the problem. Proceed to Step 4.
If the issue still exists: Downloaded apps may not be the cause of the problem. You may need to reset the phone or tablet to the factory setting.

Uninstall apps.

One by one, uninstall any apps you downloaded just before your phone or tablet began having the issue.

After uninstalling each app, restart the phone or tablet and check if it is functioning normally.

After you uninstall the app that caused the issue, you can reinstall the other safe apps you just deleted.

Reboot the phone or tablet normally.

First, open the Power menu:

On devices with a regular Power button, press and hold the Power button until the Power menu is displayed.
On devices without a dedicated Power button, swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen to open Quick settings. Tap the Power icon at the top of the screen.

Tap Power off to turn off the device. Wait until the phone or tablet completely turns off, and then press the Power button again to turn it on. See if the issue has been resolved.

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Perform a factory data reset on your phone or tablet

Warning

You may need your Samsung account password or Lock screen password when resetting your phone or tablet. All your data will be erased. However, before resetting your device, you can use Smart Switch or a cloud account to back up your data onto an SD card or USB drive. If you have encrypted your SD card, it must be decrypted before resetting your device.

Before you reset the phone or tablet.

Make sure to back up your phone or tablet. All data and settings will be erased.
Write down the username and password for the account that you used to back up your data.
We recommend having your phone or tablet plugged into the wall charger during the reset process because it may take up to an hour.
If you have encrypted the SD Card inserted in to your phone or tablet, make sure to decrypt it before the reset. Navigate to Settings, search for and select SD, and then tap Decrypt SD card.

Navigate to Settings. Search for and select Factory data reset. Tap Factory data reset again, and then tap Reset. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the reset. You may need to enter your Samsung account password or Lock screen password. The phone or tablet will reboot.

When the phone or tablet reboots, it will have its original factory settings. Now you will need to go through the initial setup to finish setting up the phone or tablet. The phone may require you to enter your Samsung or Google account information to complete the setup.

Before installing any apps, make sure that your phone or tablet is functioning normally.

If you are still encountering any issues, please visit a Samsung walk-in service center or you can schedule a repair service online.

Note

If you are still experiencing network service issues with calling, SMS or MMS messages, network signals, mobile data, or hotspots after resetting the device, you may need to contact your carrier.

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Contact Samsung Support

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