AirPods Microphone Not Working, How to Fix?

After Apple removed the headphone jack from iPhones, wireless earphones became the industry standard, especially for flagship smartphones. Naturally, AirPods are one of the most prominent products in the wireless earphone market, and it deserves to be.

AirPods are simple to use, unlike many other Bluetooth earphones. It blends in so well into the Apple ecosystem that it becomes almost indispensable for an Apple user, with the seamless connection and switching between other apple devices. It works with non-apple devices as well.

All of that laudation fades when you are on a phone call, and the person on the other end keeps complaining that they cannot hear anything. It is pretty annoying and becomes unbearable if it happens every time you answer a call or attend an online meeting with your AirPods. Let us find out why this happens and what you can do to fix it.

Why Does The AirPod Microphone Doesn’t Work?

There can be multiple causes leading to the issue. The microphone may fail to work due to maligned settings, insufficiently charged battery, outdated firmware, accumulation of dirt and grime in the microphone holes, a simple bug, or maybe due to broken hardware. However, first, make sure to clean your AirPods’ microphone holes that are located in the bottom area. If that doesn’t fix your issue, now let’s see some of the possible fixes to these issues. 

How to Fix AirPods Microphone Not Working?

Fix 1: Remove and Reconnect Your AirPods

Firstly, try reconnecting your AirPods. If the problem is just a bug, performing a simple restart can solve the issue. 

To remove and reconnect the AirPods: 

1. Place both earbuds in their charging case.
2. Close the lid of the case.
3. Take them out to connect again.

After you have reconnected the AirPods, check if the microphone works fine.

Fix 2: Confirm If The Issue is With Your AirPods

Before trying any other fixes, try to use another microphone source to confirm if the issue is with your AirPods.

You can switch to your phone speaker or you can use a plug-in earphone if that is available. See if that solves the issue. Then it is narrowed down to the AirPods.

Also, if you are facing the issue on any Video Conferencing app like Zoom or Google Meet, make sure your audio input settings are configured correctly to your AirPods. 

Fix 3: Charge the AirPods

The mic might not be working because the earbuds have insufficient charge. 

To check the battery percentage:

1. Put your earbuds in the case. With the AirPods inside, hold the charging case close to your iPhone or iPad, keeping the lid open. Wait for a few seconds for the charge status to pop up. 
2. Alternatively, you can use the Batteries widget on your iPhone to view the battery status of the earbuds.
3. MacBook users can view the battery status by clicking on the BlueTooth icon on the menu bar and then hovering the mouse pointer over the AirPods in the menu.

You can charge your AirPods by simply placing them in the charging case. You should keep the AirPods in their case when not being used to keep them charged.

Fix 4: Restart Your Source Device

Sometimes a restart works like a charm. As with any other issue, restarting the source device you are trying to connect to can simply solve the problem. Simply restart your iPhone or Mac and check if the issue still persists or not.

Fix 5: Check Your AirPods Microphone Settings

You may find the fix in the Aipod settings, especially if the problem is in only one of the earbuds. We need to check the microphone settings of the AirPods.

To check the settings, follow these steps:

1. Take out both of your buds from the case and make sure they have connected to your device.
2. On your iPhone, open the settings menu.
3. You can see the “AirPods” option on the top of the screen; tap on it.
4. In the  AirPods settings page, find the “Microphone” option. Tap on it to go to the microphone settings.
5. Make sure that the “Automatically Switch AirPods” option is enabled.

This setting will enable the AirPods to decide which microphone is appropriate for use and remove any trouble caused by manually determining the wrong microphone. 

Fix 6: Reset Your AirPods

If the previously mentioned steps did not help, you can try resetting the AirPods to solve the issue. Resetting can also help solve a lot of audio issues with the AirPods. One thing to keep in mind before resetting your AirPods is that resetting the AirPods, resets all the settings for your AirPods, so you have to configure them again on your devices.

To reset your AirPods:

1. Place both of your AirPods in their charging case, close the lid and wait for about 30 seconds.
2. Open the lid of your AirPod charging case.
3. Now, on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to “Settings”.
4. Open “Bluetooth” from the list.
5. You can see your AirPods listed, tap the “More Info” button which is next to your AirPods. 
6. Tap on “Forget This Device”.
7. Tap on “Forget Device” again, to confirm.
8. Now, keeping the AirPod case lip open, press and hold the setup button found on the back of the case for about 15 seconds.
9. You will see the status light flash amber, then white.
10. Now, reconnect to reconnect your AirPods, keep the buds in the case, and with the open lid hold your AirPods close to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Then follow the instructions that pop up on the screen to connect to your AirPods.

Fix 7: Update Your AirPods Firmware 

Running on software that is outdated can lead to all sorts of issues. In order to make sure, your devices are compatible with each other, you need to make sure that you are using the latest pieces of software for your AirPods. 

You can check your AirPod firmware version from the settings. 

1. Open the “Settings” app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Find and tap on the “General” option.
3. Tap on “About”. 
4. In the about screen, find your AirPods listed and tap on it.
5. You will find the “Firmware Version” listed on the screen.

Updating the firmware for your AirPods is a fairly easy process if you have an iPhone. Here’s how you to do it:

1. Keep your AirPods in the charging case and close the lid.
2. Plug the charging case into a power source, or if you own a wireless charging case you can place it on a compatible wireless charging mat.
3. Make sure that the iPhone or iPad is paired with the AirPods and place the device near the charging case.
4. Also, make sure that the iPhone or iPad has an internet connection. So, turn the wifi on.
5. Leave them for a while, if any firmware update is available, it will get downloaded and installed automatically.

Now that you have updated the firmware, check to see if it solved the microphone issue.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully one of the mentioned fixes helped to resolve your AirPods microphone issue and you will no longer receive complaints regarding your audio. You may need to have your AirPods repaired if none of the fixes works for you, or the entire device may need to be replaced if none of the fixes works. If they have been dropped, they may have sustained physical damage which may be a cause too.