Why is my mic not working after lightning connector replacement?

There is a critical yet undocumented and not pictured step in the final phases of the replacement tutorial. There exists a small rubber enclosure that houses the microphone been cable end that must be removed, have the microphone inserted into it, and replaced into its bracket. The part that ships as a replacement has a plastic cellophane cover over the microphone ribbon. Where that ribbon goes and the steps needed to get it into the right spot, are not documented at all.

In my case, the little rubber thingie pulled away when I removed the old part. I had no clue that it was it an item needing to be transferred to the new part.

I suspect that even if you figured out the step on your own, inserted the microphone ribbon into this little rubber casing and then reinstalled it, without removing the cellophane, you would have all sorts of microphone problems

Also had similar problems, tried a few things at once and I got the mic working:

The grounding cable. From the bottom left corner under the headphone jack to above the loudspeaker, on the opposite corner of the headphone jack. Make sure it's seated correctly. This could prevent the mic from working.

The washers. I think I might have had the loudspeaker bottom-right corner washer placed incorrectly. It fell off when removing the loudspeaker.

There also was some sort of rubber/glue type of stuff on the mic - compared to the old mic, it was almost twice as thick, so I removed the sticky stuff (probably just double-sided tape) just to be sure (I now see a clear hole in the middle of the new part). The rubber housing for the mic should also be installed correctly for clear sound.

Having fixed these things, I got mine working. Maybe test the old mic again, if that one works take a close look at the new part's mic. If all else fails, probably a faulty part. Good luck guys. Oh and also, don't bother removing the board for this repair - takes you at least twice as long and more risky.

There's a small flex cable/ground on the headphone jack that doesn't come with the replacement charger port. That's what solved the problem for me.

Karen at Radio Shack

I have and iPhone 5and the microphone stopped working suddenly but I sent it to a repairer and the fault was diagnosed to be 4 tiny little components on the bottom side of the logic board had failed but when they fail it causes the microphone to blow so you will need to replace the 4 components and the microphone assembly if that is the fault with yours

I am facing same problem here:

After changed lightining connector part and mic stopped working for normal calls (works fine for Siri or speakerphone).

No plastic cellophane found on the new speaker and everything else is in it's right place.

As I see no answers (and couldn't find more info elsewhere) I will request my provider to replace the part.

Only thing to try is a mic from a known working iPhone and if that fails then there is a fault with the motherboard

The lightning connector has some problems and fails to charge the battery sometimes. I am lucky it works (most of the times) so my friend can still use the phone while waiting for the new part. :)

In the meantime you can answer calls by using the phone through the external speaker, at the lowest volume and upside down or just use earphones with integrated mic

Also having this issue, anyone resolve it yet? I've gone throughout the phone at least 5 times. No cellophane anywhere, wires are all in place and not damaged. This is the second time I've replaced the charging port and still nothing with the mic.

Try to plug the old lighting connector (no need to redisassemble everything) and see if the microphone works. If yes, the microphone of the new dock is faulty. Use another new lightning connector and it will be fine

I also have this problem. Replaced lightning connector assembly, everything works but the microphone seems to pick up only very loud sounds but not normal talking. The sticky cellophane was removed during installation. I also seem to have 3 tiny metal washers left over and no idea where they go. Any ideas? And could this be contributing to the problem?

I have replaced 3 new lighting connectors and still the microphone doesnt work for normal calls, when turning the phone calls on speaker the microphone works fine- When I install the original lighting connector the microphone works fine, where could the problem be. My original lightning connector doesnt charge the phone.

Same problem as everyone else I have even moved motherboard into a working iphone. Same issue but is resolved when I use the original mic but then no lighting port.

The reason for this is because the Lightning connect could be pulled through the fracture resulting between the internal PCB and iphone duck connector. It must be replacement .

in my case it is a motherboard issue i have tried another working housing original but still the mic did not work during calls or voice recording .. it is a motherboard fault .. any suggestions please ??

Siri hears on the upper microphone near the earspeaker. The bottom microphone is for calls an notes.

I found this in another ifixit thread and it only seems to have been mentioned here briefly and I think most people would have missed it.

There is a small antenna glued around the side of the headphone port, you should have transferred this to your new part as it doesn't usually come with it.

When you put the screw back in the bottom left corner, you need to make sure the metal bracket is underneath the plastic you are putting the screw through, not on top of it.

I had to do some serious digging to find that answer when I needed it. Unfortunately now my problem cant be fixed by that. Maybe its a logic board problem for me this time.

one Time I had to replace the whole charging dock connector three times to get a complete working part, so it’s not uncommon for the mic or headphone jack or one thing included not to be working since the charge port is a flex cable including other phone functions. I would suggest buy 2-3 at the same time just in case then request refund for any non working parts later. ;-)

I had to replace the lightning connector as the charging port wasn’t working. But now the speaker and microphone aren’t. I have disassembled and checked for any loose connections twice. Doesn’t seem there are any issues. What may be causing this?