How to Use your iPhone 4/4S Microphones Properly | iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource (http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/how-to/how-to-use-your-iphone-44s-microphones-properly/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+iphoneincanada+%28iPhone+in+C anada+Blog+-+Canada%27s+%231+iPhone+Resource%29)

The iPhone 4 debuted with dual microphones, as announced on stage by Steve Jobs in 2010 at WWDC. The second mic on the top is for noise cancellation, and that is handled by Audience, as noted by iFixit. With two mics on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, which one should you speak into?

TidBITS describes their experience of how to use both microphones properly. The top microphone is for noise cancellation, but the moment you turn on speakerphone mode, it becomes the primary mic:

And now for the surprise. When you take the iPhone away from your face during a call and put it into speakerphone mode (tap the Speaker button), the top microphone is the one that is now active. Did you know this? I sure didn’t.

I didn’t know this either. So many times I have used speakerphone mode while talking into the bottom of the phone, only to have my recipient say “I can’t hear you!”; now I know why. Matt Neuburg from TidBITS only learned about this via a technical developer video from WWDC 2011:

In fact, I stumbled upon this little nugget of knowledge by sheer accident, while I was watching, of all things, a technical developer video of a talk from WWDC 2011. If I weren’t a developer, and if I hadn’t happened to watch this particular video, I might never have found out this fact at all…

So there you have it. When using speakerphone on your iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S, talk into the top of the phone, instead of the bottom.

How to Use your iPhone 4/4S Microphones Properly | iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource (http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/how-to/how-to-use-your-iphone-44s-microphones-properly/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+iphoneincanada+%28iPhone+in+C anada+Blog+-+Canada%27s+%231+iPhone+Resource%29)

Thank you. I use the speaker on my phone all the time and I have always been directing my voice to the bottom.

Thank you. I use the speaker on my phone all the time and I have always been directing my voice to the bottom.

All this time I thought my girlfriend was going deaf. I keep this information from her don't want her to know that I was in the wrong this whole time. ;):lmao:

Maybe I'm missing something but I always thought the whole point of speakerphone is so you can talk without having to speak directly into the phone? So no need to direct speech to eiter mic, at least that's how Ive always done it and has worked for me.

I always speak into the bottom when on speakerphone. Thanks for this tip.

So, which mic is Siri / voice control listening to ?

Z.

So, which mic is Siri / voice control listening to ?

Z.

Has to be the top I would guess

Actually, I strongly suspect that the bottom mic is used for Siri, since noise cancellation is an important part of helping Siri understand what you're saying. Try using Siri with an external wired or Bluetooth headset and you'll notice a big difference in accuracy. Good noise cancelling BT headsets do a bit better, but are still nearly nowhere as accurate as using the built-in mic under the same background noise conditions.

I suspect the main reason the top mic is used for actual speakerphone purposes is to maintain reasonable separation between the mic and speaker, since you're actually dealing with a two-way, full-duplex communication in that case, and the loss of noise cancellation is likely offset by not having to deal with managing feedback by having the speaker and mic in close proximity. Siri would not be affected by this issue, however, as unlike a phone call, the process of speaking to Siri and listening to Siri are separate and distinct from each other.

Actually, I strongly suspect that the bottom mic is used for Siri, since noise cancellation is an important part of helping Siri understand what you're saying. Try using Siri with an external wired or Bluetooth headset and you'll notice a big difference in accuracy. Good noise cancelling BT headsets do a bit better, but are still nearly nowhere as accurate as using the built-in mic under the same background noise conditions.

I suspect the main reason the top mic is used for actual speakerphone purposes is to maintain reasonable separation between the mic and speaker, since you're actually dealing with a two-way, full-duplex communication in that case, and the loss of noise cancellation is likely offset by not having to deal with managing feedback by having the speaker and mic in close proximity. Siri would not be affected by this issue, however, as unlike a phone call, the process of speaking to Siri and listening to Siri are separate and distinct from each other.

Actually as the article suggests the top mic is used for noise cancellation.

Right, that was actually my point :) The article indicates that the top mic becomes the primary mic when the speakerphone mode is engaged, but is otherwise used for noise cancellation.

Regarding Siri, I suspect that the bottom mic is still used as the primary, with the top being used for noise cancellation in the same way as it is when you're on a call (and not using speakerphone).

Great tip! Thx