Chosen Solution
I dropped my Iphone SE, and took it to Staples for a new screen. They replaced it (although it took 2 times to get it “right”) . I noticed after leaving the store that the dictation function that I use for text messages seemed to work intermittently – some times missing the first couple of words, mostly only capturing 3 or 4 at a time.. It sometimes works to stop and turn the recording back on but for the most part it’s so hit or miss to be usable. I was out of town on a gig but when I came back I got an appointment with the Genius bar at the local Apple store– they put it on a tester and said one of the mics was bad (the one in the earpiece on the front of the phone. ) I took it back over to Staples and with no objection they kindly put another screen in (and their screen protector goop) He said it’s a relatively simple repair–“all you have to do is to plug and unplug the screen.”. It still doesn’t work– the Staples tech thinks it’s a “software” issue. I thought I should check in here to see if this is a common problem and if it’s a “generic vs Apple certified part issue before I got back to “Genius” -land and shell out $130 for a screen replacement that I’ve already paid. I saw a similar replacement problems on an Iphone 6 but not sure it’s the same issue. Thanks for your help and consideration. David
Hi, It could be misalignment of the front microphone (attached to front camera flex) or they may have damaged it, or got dirt in to the microphone. They may have not placed the front mic in the hole correctly. Adhesive could also be in the way of the front mesh, which would also explain why the mic isn’t picking it up properly. :-)
Many sellers doesnot distinguish between iPhone 5s replacement screen and iPhone SE replacement screen. Because of this many send iPhone 5S replacement screens (having iPhone 5s front camera, mic, speaker flex cable) for iPhone SE orders. Everything will work fine except front microphone. because iphone 5s and iPhone SE display assembly has only one hardware difference and that is front microphone. So for SE one need a front microphone flex cable which is of SE and not of 5s. Because of this some features in some apps won’t work. Eg: Microphone audio in WhatsApp video call or audio call in loudspeaker mode won’t work because in this scenario the app uses the front microphone
