Microphone Cleaner
The microphone cleaner plays a tone tuned for the tiny microphone opening on your phone. When people say you sound distant or muffled on calls, but you hear them perfectly, the mic is usually blocked. Press play above to shake the obstruction loose.
When to use this mode
Phones have several microphones: one at the bottom for calls, sometimes one at the top for noise cancellation, and more for video recording. The bottom mic sits next to the speaker and the charging port, right where water and lint collect.
Use this mode after water exposure near the bottom of the phone, or when voice memos and videos record quiet, muffled audio. If callers hear you fine but you cannot hear them, the problem is the earpiece, so use the earpiece cleaner instead.
How to get the best result
- Find the mic hole. It is the tiny pinhole next to the charging port on most phones. Do not confuse it with the speaker grille.
- Never poke it. The microphone membrane sits directly behind that hole and punctures easily.
- Play the tone at maximum volume with the bottom of the phone facing down.
- Test by recording. Make a 10 second voice memo before and after, and compare them back to back.
If it is still muffled
Check whether the problem happens in all apps or just one. If only one app is affected, check that app’s microphone permission in your settings. If every app is affected and cleaning did not help, the mic may have corrosion damage from salt water, which sound cannot fix. A repair shop can replace a microphone relatively cheaply.