How To Fix Galaxy S9 And Galaxy S9 Plus Microphone Problem

With the arrival of Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus also comes the advent of smartphone related problems both new and recurring. Of course, this is to be expected with new smartphone releases since they are mass produced after all, but yes, it can be frustrating to find that your newly bought flagship Samsung smartphone is having problems on day one.

Once such infuriating problem is with the microphone on the Samsung Galaxy S9 or Galaxy S9 Plus which can be detrimental to the functionality of the phones as a whole since it impairs the basic purpose of any phone which is receiving or making phone calls. This is when the person on the other phone can’t hear anything you are saying though you can hear them perfectly fine. Such a problem requires a quick fix and should not be ignored since you do not want your phone acting up in the event of an emergency or something urgent.

There are two separate issues in this problem, as with most Samsung devices, users can expect the cause to be either hardware or software related. Hardware meaning the smartphone’s components, and software meaning the programs and intangible instruction sets installed on the phone. Hardware problems are quite hard to remedy since it requires a technician or expert in order to fix and may even necessitate a full replacement of the phone model.

As for software problems, owners can take matters into their own hands with the right tips and instructions. More often than not, software problems on smartphones tend to be a light problem, some might even be fixed without any technician at all, and the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus are no exception to this.

Here are some of the steps you can do to fix a problematic microphone:

1. Ensure that it really it the microphone and not any other device

This is usually the first step of solving a technical problem with any device, the troubleshooting. This has to be done to determine the actual cause of the problem, as for the microphone, it could easily be a Bluetooth or wired headphone or earphone that may be interfering with the device’s functionality. To make sure no other objects are causing the issue, simply disconnect the Galaxy S9 or Galaxy S9 Plus from any other electronic device or accessory. If the issue with the microphone persists then proceed to the next step.

2. Reset or leave it alone for a while

Sometimes, a reset or reboot may just be the magic solution to any smartphone problem as it can either fix an issue depending on the severity. To start, simply turn the phone off and turn it back on, if that does not work, a more hands-on approach may be necessary. If so, after turning it off again, remove both the SIM card and the battery and let it be for at least 30 seconds. After a while, put everything back in and check if the problem is still there.

3. Ensure that other apps are not interfering with the microphone

A lot of users actually love to customize their smartphones to their heart’s content, to the point of the user-interface being completely unrecognizable from the original. Often this could be done very easily and could simply require a couple of apps or it could just be a spotty update released for the smartphone or a specific app. A lot of software applications could cause issues for the hardware of the smartphone without the awareness of the owners. One solution to this is enabling Safe Mode for the device where all the third-party apps are blocked and just the bare bones software functions are present.

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The thing is, if your microphone works in Safe Mode, then it would most definitely be the installed apps causing the problem. You can then try to uninstall all the installed apps one-by-one starting with the most recent ones. Make sure to test the microphone after every app removal to pinpoint which exact app is causing the problem.

How to boot into Safe Mode:

1. Turn the device off by pressing the power button on the right side until the Power Off prompt appears
2. Wait for 30 seconds
3. After waiting, press and hold the power button again
4. Keep pressing on it until the Samsung Galaxy logo appears on the screen then release it
5. Afterwards quickly press and hold the Volume Down button
6. Keep doing this until the device completely reboots, then let go of the Volume Down button
7. If you did everything correctly, a text saying “Safe Mode” should be visible at the bottom of the screen, if not, repeat the steps again until the device enters Safe Mode
8. Test to see if the microphone functions as intended while in Safe Mode

Safe mode is designed to eliminate any functions extraneous to the most basic operations of the phone. Using it allows you to find out if there are hardware problems with the microphones that prevent it from working properly. If the microphone works in safe mode but not otherwise, then the problem is software based and likely caused by an app conflict.

4. Determine if the firmware may be causing it or not

After trying all the above steps to no avail and the device’s microphone still does not work in Safe Mode, there is a chance that the problem might be caused by faulty or corrupted firmware, the software which provides low-level control of the devices hardware. Otherwise, it could also be some faulty general settings, either way, bit require performing a factory reset on the device, which is one of the more complicated steps of the fix.

Owners are warned though that this will do a factory reset on the phone. It will be back to its out-of-the-box software condition. There are no user customizations or third-party apps. Additionally, all user data will be wiped out. It deletes all photos, contacts, messages, videos, and other things saved on the phone’s storage. This, however, should reset everything to factory defaults, with the microphone getting the same treatment.

How to factory reset the device:

1. Turn the phone off by pressing the power button until the Power Off prompt appears
2. Once the phone is off, press and hold the Home and Volume Up buttons at the same time
3. Keep holding both buttons until the screen lights up again and the phone redirects you to the recovery menu
4. Release the both the Home and the Volume Up buttons after this
5. Use the Volume Down and Power button to navigate through the recovery menu and look for a specific command
6. You should be looking for the Wipe Data/Factory Reset option, once you’ve found those, select them
7. Confirm the decision by selecting Yes when prompted
8. The device will now perform a full factory reset. Wait for it to finish. It could take several minutes depending on the amount of data on your phone
9. A yellow message should show up at the bottom of the screen once it is done
10. Afterwards, it will prompt you to select the reboot system option, press that and wait for the phone to restart
11. Once the phone is done with the reboot and set up, test the microphone again

Usually when a phone gets factory reset, users will have to reconfigure it from scratch. Do this and remember to test the microphone first before installing anything essential.

Additional Options for Fixing Microphone Issues

Hopefully one of these many options provides you with a solution. If that isn’t the case, there are a few more difficult options remaining.

1. Do the obvious and double check if there is anything clogging the microphone holes. If there is any dirt or object around the area it might obstruct the component. If there is, then gently remove it. Check to see if the microphone is now working.
2. If all else fails, then it’s simply time to let the manufacturer take responsibility for the device. Hopefully it has a store warranty. If that’s the case, simply take it to the retailer. Then tell them the issue and the solutions you have tried.

Both the last resort solutions are for the hardware side of things. Attempt them only after ruling out the software causes of the device’s problems. You should not troubleshoot with the hardware yourself. If you’re not an expert on the matter you may end up making the problem worse. This means going to the nearest authorized service center to let them handle the hardware problem.

Service centers usually suggest a replacement for the model as long as it is under warranty. This should be free, provided that owners themselves did not cause the hardware problem. Steer clear of unauthorized repair technicians depending on the device’s warranty. Alternatively, you can also opt to use external microphones instead if the internal and built-in microphone of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus does not work. Some of these are usually bundles with earphones or headsets, there are also a lot of external microphones available from different brands, some even have variants like wireless external microphones.