Apple today admitted that some iPhone 7 and 7 Plus models running iOS 11.3 or later may have a bug that disables the microphone during phone calls, MacRumors spotted through a leaked document. The few users with the affected devices may see their speaker button grayed-out when making calls or video chatting through FaceTime. The issue seems to only affect phones running that version of iOS or versions after 11.3.
Some users on Reddit and Twitter have reported experiencing such microphone issues in the past few months and the leaked document, sent out to its Apple Authorized Service Providers network, apparently confirms Apple is aware of the problem.
Apple is recommending these tech support workers tell customers to first unpair or turn off any Bluetooth devices and accessories that were connected to their iPhones, as a possible solution. If that doesn’t work, tech support is also advised to run audio diagnostics, which will show if the iPhone needs repair with alert messages like “accessory not supported” or “device could not detect dock.” Once a message like that appears, the tech support can start fixing the iPhone. It’s apparently not clear from the document what the actual software or hardware issue is, notes MacRumors.
Even if the user doesn’t have a warranty covered device, Apple is making an exception and its store employees at the Genius Bar will fix the issue without question. The document apparently doesn’t say if the repair is free. We’ve reached out to Apple for comment.
Comments
"Admits" seems like a loaded word to use in this situation. It isn’t like they were twisting their mustaches and rubbing their hands together for months as their secret dastardly deed to kill random microphones was executed.
By nutbunnies on 05.04.18 5:56pm
Agreed.
By TheEveryman on 05.04.18 5:57pm
But.. but .. but..
Every problem with an Apple device is a deliberate attempt to screw their customers who are so dumb they keep coming back for more.
By Dr Strange on 05.04.18 6:01pm
Never Attribute to Malice That Which Is Adequately Explained by Stupidity
By Purple_and_Gold on 05.05.18 12:37am
Apple has an history of denying issues as long as possible to preserve the reputation of "perfect" products, only admitting the problem when a solution is available or a PR plan ready.
By wagaf on 05.04.18 6:43pm
Yup.. they didn’t launch the 2011 macbook pro replacement program until 2015, even though the screen problems were mentioned in ars technica’s 2011 review. 4 years of apple denying that there was a problem.. a class action lawsuit was required to get them to actually care about their customers.
By mrkite on 05.04.18 8:13pm
lets see how long they wait before admitting their "fancy" new macbook and pro keyboards are utter garbage and failing all over the place.
By llort on 05.04.18 9:19pm
I’m glad to hear someone else mention the keyboards. I’ve seen a couple mentions online, but didn’t really pay much attention until I started typing on a demo unit in an Apple Store and realized it had a dead key. Now there’s nearly no way I’ll be getting a Mac with one of those keyboards. Seems like it must be somewhat widespread.
By IsaacP on 05.04.18 9:24pm
There was a recent report on Mac rurmors saying keyboard faults were on the rise. Apparently a lot of the returns/repairs were down to the new butterfly mechanism.
By Popcorn! Smiles! on 05.05.18 2:41am
Yep. I’m dealing with this now. My expensive MacBook Pro 2015 all of a sudden doesn’t have a working keyboard and trackpad.
The solution is a $300 "top-case" (or something like that) replacement.
By VarmaFCB on 05.05.18 10:27am
Errr… I hate to break it to you but that’s NOT the same one the person you’re replying to is talking about, and is in fact the model that most critics of the 2016/2017 say has the best keyboard. On top of that, people complain about the 2016/2017 MBP keyboards (1) having keys that get stuck (2) keys that repeat (3) keys that don’t respond, but there are no widespread complaints of keyboards and trackpads ceasing to function altogether.
Also how old is your computer? Have you had it since 2015? Because that would make it 3 years old, and maybe a repair on a three year old computer isn’t that unreasonable?
Furthermore, the most common cause of keyboards/trackpads not working is liquid damage, did you spill anything on the computer?
By 9935c101ab17a66 on 05.06.18 3:01am
On a +$1000 computer? Are you serious here? Of course it should work the full lifetime of the product. Why would you even consider it not to?
By Jes Conradsen on 05.06.18 6:03am
The full lifetime? What does that even mean? No. Any computer, no matter how expensive, may experience some kind of failure, and after three years of use, that’s not entirely unreasonable at all.
By 9935c101ab17a66 on 05.06.18 4:24pm
Well, what does ‘lifetime’ mean regarding a laptop to you?
My laptop should last longer than 3 years for sure. All my laptops have. I buy quality stuff….I think Apples should be counted in quality, no? The price certainly suggests that.
By Jes Conradsen on 05.08.18 1:01pm
No liquid, no nothing. I take great care of my devices. Look on online. The 2015 MacBook has a hardware problem where the keyboard+trackpad stop working at the same time. A lot of people are experiencing it. It’s all hardware.
It doesn’t matter if my problem isn’t related to the butterfly keyboards. The fact is, Apple has been making some bad hardware decisions regarding the keyboard and trackpad.
Also, when I spend $1500 for a laptop made by Apple, I expect it to last longer than 3 years without any repairs. Especially considering how carefully I maintain my devices.
By VarmaFCB on 05.06.18 2:09pm
The person you replied to:
Your reply:
I get that you’re having a keyboard and trackpad issue, but it IS NOT the same one that everyone else is referring to, and is not widely concerned to be the result of bad hardware decisions. You’re trying to push this narrative that apple have been willfully negligent in their keyboard design for years, but it simply doesn’t apply to your case.
You shouldn’t. Any computer can have a failure, no matter the price. You can buy a warranty (that’s why they sell them). If you choose not to buy a warranty, you must accept that if a failure occurs, you’ll have to pay for it. Apple do build great computers, and in my experience, they often last much, much longer than those offered by competitors, but this notion that they will NEVER fail is ridiculous.
By 9935c101ab17a66 on 05.06.18 4:28pm
You think it’s not widespread and that’s ridiculous.
There’s a lot of people on the forums complaining. The guy at Simply Mac guessed it was the 2015 MacBook because I even told him. And he said it is common. The guy at the Apple Store basically did the same thing.
These experts were aware of the problem and were able to diagnose it without running the testes because they saw the problem many times.
Sure, maybe I misunderstood the initial comment. Sorry for that. The problem is that the keyboard and trackpad have been poorly designed if this problem is so common.
I’m not trying to push an anti-Apple narrative. What incentive do I have? I own a MacBook, an iPhone, an iPad, and I bought my Dad an Apple Watch for his birthday. But, this doesn’t mean that I can’t be angry at Apple or even question whether or not I should buy another MacBook. I’m genuinely angry because I’ve never seen a keyboard and trackpad stop working at the same time. And I’ve owned some really shitty laptops. The only solution was a $300 repair. That’s not okay. If there was a problem with the hard drive or logic board I would understand. But a keyboard and trackpad?
Also, I was at the Apple Store the other day to get my laptop fixed. And I was playing around with the new laptops. Literally one of their new MBPs on display had a keyboard whose N key wasn’t working.
By VarmaFCB on 05.06.18 5:20pm
Yah, I apologize, I was being too argumentative. It is frustrating for sure. I will also say though that seeing issues on forums and websites can exaggerate the incidence of some issues. Yes, there are other people complaining about it, but there are also thousands and thousands of these computers sold.
There’s actually a very real possibility your issue isn’t caused by a topcase failure. Are you in Canada or the US? Is it a 13" or 15"?
By 9935c101ab17a66 on 05.06.18 7:41pm
I may be able to provide you with some information on a different cause of the problem. I don’t check the verge much so if you want to chat feel free to email me at [myusername] @gmail.com
By 9935c101ab17a66 on 05.06.18 7:44pm
My 2016 MBP 15" keyboard failed, the spacebar got stuck as well as a few other keys. I dont ever eat over my Mac or anything. Thank God it will still under warranty, out of warranty costs are over $700!, apparently because they need to replace the entire upper portion of the computer, which is ridiculous. If it fails again, I will strongly consider filing a small claims against Apple if they refuse to fix it for free, it is obviously a defective design.
Dont get me wrong, I like the feel and clickyness of it, but it shouldn’t fail so easily.
By HajjDavid on 05.05.18 1:42pm
Mate I had to take MBPs out of consideration for my new laptop purchase altogether ever since I sampled that butterfly abomination. The retina MBPs, in my mind, had the greatest keyboard ever to go on a laptop (and as a former Thinkpad user, I dare say they were only a hair better than IBM too). But the new ones are an abomination!
Their trackpads remain the best, hands down. But even the updated 2017 keyboards are unusable in my case.
By llort on 05.06.18 12:03am
Isn’t that’s what 99% of corporations would do, though? Makes perfect sense from a business perspective, and since making profit is their only goal…
By BigDaddy0790 on 05.06.18 10:24am
Any other manufacturer would have gotten a "finally" thrown in as well.
By Joelaf1 on 05.06.18 8:57am
Qualcomm is finally designing new chips for Wear OS smartwatches. This just posted on The Verge. Finally.
By Joelaf1 on 05.09.18 12:35am
Life happens. I understand. But for the price (let alone the hype) I shouldn’t be afraid to update my phone’s software. Especially as I’m more or less compelled to do so by the constant reminders.
By Cynicism Isn't Maturity on 05.04.18 6:22pm