How to fix Galaxy Note10+ microphone not working issue | not picking voice or sound

From time to time, a phone may fail to pick up sounds or voice if the microphone port is blocked. If you think that the microphone is not working on your Galaxy Note10+, you must check a number of factors to fix it. Find out what to do exactly below.

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How to fix Galaxy Note10+ microphone not working issue | not picking voice or sound

If your Galaxy Note10+ microphone is not working and you don’t know how to troubleshoot it, follow our suggestions below.

Galaxy Note10+ microphone not working fix #1: Check for an error/s

If your Galaxy Note10+ microphone is not working all of a sudden, that can mean a number of things. One of the possible scenarios is a unique bug has developed in the system. This bug may trigger an error. Errors are usually key in troubleshooting so if there appears an error whenever you or an app tries to use the microphone, take note of it. Then, do a quick Google search about the error to see if there’s an online solution that you can try. If the error is common, chances are, there’s already a solution for it. 

Galaxy Note10+ microphone not working fix #2: Restart device 

Microphone and other forms of audio troubles may go away if a device is rebooted. If you haven’t tried it yet, be sure to do so now. Minor bugs usually go away on their own when a system is refreshed with a restart. Some bugs can develop if a computer or phone is left running for an extended period of time. A quick reboot may erase them.

Try restarting it normally first by pressing the Power button to access the boot menu. Then, select Restart option and see if that works.

Another way to restart the device is by pressing and holding the Volume Down button and the Bixby/Power key at the same time for 10 seconds or until the device’s screen turns on. This simulates the effect of having disconnected the battery from the device. If this works, this may unlock the device.

If doing the regular restart won’t help, then try this:

  1. Press and hold the Volume Down button first and don’t release it.
  2. While holding it down, press and hold the Power key.
  3. Keep both keys held down for 10 seconds or more. 

The second restart procedure tries to simulate the effects of removing the battery pack. On older devices, disconnecting the battery is often an effective way in fixing unresponsive devices. If nothing changed though, proceed to the next suggestions.

Rebooting your device regularly at least once every week can be beneficial. If you tend to forget things, we suggest that you configure your phone to reboot on its own. You can schedule it to do this task by doing these steps:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Device Care.
  3. Tap the 3-dot at the top.
  4. Select Auto restart.

Galaxy Note10+ microphone not working fix #3: Troubleshoot app

In some instances, a phone may encounter a problem with one app that tries to use microphone function. If this is what’s happening in your case, you should check if the problem is app-related. These are the things that you can do:

  • Force quit the app
  • Clear app cache
  • Reset app/clear data
  • Uninstall app

Force quit the app. The first troubleshooting step that you must do to troubleshoot a misbehaving app is to restart it. This can work if the issue is caused by minor bugs within the app itself. These are the two ways to restart an app.

Method 1: Close an app using Recent Apps key

  1. On your screen, tap the Recent Apps soft key (the one with three vertical lines on the left of the Home button).
  2. Once the Recent Apps screen is shown, swipe left or right to look for the app. It should be here if you managed to run it previously.
  3. Then, swipe up on the app to close it. This should force close it. If it’s not there, simply tap the Close All app to also restart all apps.

Method 2: Close an app using App Info menu

Another way to force close an app is by going within the app’s settings itself. It’s a longer way compared to the first method above but it’s equally effective. You want to use this method if you plan on doing other troubleshooting for the said app like clearing its cache or data. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap the More settings icon (three-dot icon, upper right).
  4. Tap Show system apps.
  5. Find and tap the app.
  6. Tap Force Stop.

Clear app cache. A good follow through troubleshooting step is clearing the said app’s cache. This is effective in fixing minor bugs due to outdated app cache. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Go to the Home screen.
  2. Tap Apps icon.
  3. Open Settings app.
  4. Tap Apps.
  5. If you’re looking for a system or default app, tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
  6. Select Show system apps.
  7. Find and tap the appropriate app.
  8. Tap Storage.
  9. Tap Clear Cache button.

Reset app/clear data. If the problem has not disappeared, you can also try to clear the app’s data. This is going to return the app to its factory state. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Go to the Home screen.
  2. Tap Apps icon.
  3. Open Settings app.
  4. Tap Apps.
  5. If you’re looking for a system or default app, tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
  6. Select Show system apps.
  7. Find and tap the appropriate app.
  8. Tap Storage.
  9. Tap Clear Data button.
  10. Restart the device and check for the problem.

Uninstall app. If the app you’re troubleshooting is a third party app, which means that it’s not part of the original apps that came with the software, you can uninstall it instead of clearing its data. This can sometimes do the job of fixing app bugs more effectively. 

To delete an app:

  1. From a Home screen, swipe up or down from the center of the display to access the apps screen.
  2. Open Settings app.
  3. Tap Apps.
  4. Ensure All is selected (upper-left).  If necessary, tap the Dropdown icon (upper-left) then select All.
  5. Locate then select the appropriate app. If system apps aren’t visible, tap the More options icon (upper-right) then select Show system apps.
  6. Tap Uninstall to delete an app.
  7. Tap OK to confirm.

Another way to easily uninstall an app is by going to the Home or Apps screen and holding the app icon. Here’s how:

  1. Go to the Home or Apps screen.
  2. Find the app you want to delete.
  3. Tap and hold the icon of the app.
  4. Select Uninstall.

Once you’ve deleted the app, restart the device before reinstalling it. Then, check for the problem and see what happens.

Galaxy Note10+ microphone not working fix #4: Turn off Bixby Voice

In older Samsung Galaxy devices like the S9, some users were able to find a workaround for a microphone bug by turning off Bixby Voice. We found no proof that this can be applied to all microphone not working issues for all Samsung Galaxy series or with the Galaxy S10 in particular but you might want to do it for a try. It can be done easily under a few seconds so it’s worth testing. Here’s what you can do:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Select Bixby Voice.
  4. Tap Force Stop.

Galaxy Note10+ microphone not working fix #5: Reset app preferences

Like any other apps and services, your Galaxy Note10+ microphone function relies on some default apps and services in order to work. At times, a new app or even a user may disable a critical app causing a chain of problems. To ensure that you have all default apps and services up-and-running, try to reset app preferences on your device. Here’s how:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
  4. Select Reset app preferences.
  5. Restart your Note10+ and check for the problem.

Galaxy Note10+ microphone not working fix #6: Check for bad apps

Sometimes, an Android issue may be caused by a bad app. If your Galaxy Note10+ microphone has stopped working after you’ve installed an app, you may have a third party app problem. This can happen due to inefficient coding, malware, or a bug that app developers have not anticipated. What you can do as a user is to check by running the device to safe mode. On this mode, all third party apps will be suspended so if the problem won’t occur, a bad app must be to blame. To restart your device to safe mode:

  1. Press and hold the Power button until the Power off window appears then release.
  2. Touch and hold Power off until the Safe mode prompt appears then release.
  3. To confirm, tap Safe mode.
  4. The process may take up to 30 seconds to complete.
  5. Upon reboot, “Safe mode” appears in the lower-left of the home screen.

Remember that third-party applications are disabled in this mode so what you can use are pre-installed apps. If the microphone issue won’t appear on safe mode, that means that the problem is due to a bad app. Uninstall the app you recently installed and see if that will fix it. If the problem remains, use the process of elimination to identify the rogue app. Here’s how:

  1. Boot to safe mode.
  2. Check for the problem.
  3. Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
  4. After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
  5. If your Note10+ is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Galaxy Note10+ microphone not working fix #7: Factory reset

Erasing the software on your device may sound drastic but it’s really one of the effective means to resolve software issues in Android. If none of the suggestions above has worked so far, you should consider doing a factory reset at this point. This will help you tell if the problem is caused by a software bug or not. Learn how to factory reset your Note10+ below.

There are two ways to factory reset your device.

Method 1: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy Note10+ via Settings Menu

This is the easiest way to wipe your Galaxy Note10+. all you have to do is to go under Settings menu and follow the steps below. We recommend this method if you have no trouble going under Settings.

  1. Create a backup of your personal data and remove your Google account.
  2. Open Settings app.
  3. Scroll to and tap General management.
  4. Tap Reset.
  5. Select Factory data reset from the given options.
  6. Read the information then tap Reset to continue.
  7. Tap Delete All to confirm action.

Method 2: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy Note10+ using hardware buttons

If your case is that the phone is not booting up, or it boots but Settings menu is inaccessible, this method can be helpful. First, you need to boot the device to Recovery Mode. Once you successfully access Recovery, that’s the time that you begin proper master reset procedure. It may take some tries for you before you can access Recovery so be patient and simply try again.

  1. If possible, create a backup of your personal data ahead of time. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
  2. Also, you want to make sure that you remove your Google account. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
  3. Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.
  4. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby / Power key.
  5. When the green Android logo displays, release both keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  6. The Recovery screen menu will now appear. When you see this, release the buttons.
  7. Use the Volume Down button until you are highlighting ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
  8. Press the Power button to select ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
  9. Use Volume Down to highlight Yes.
  10. Press the Power button to confirm the action to clear your phone data.

Galaxy Note10+ microphone not working fix #8: Repair

Not all microphone troubles are due to software or app. If your Galaxy Note10+ microphone is still not working after performing a factory reset, you can assume for a deeper reason. It may be a firmware issue or bad hardware so at this stage, you must get help from Samsung. Visit you local Samsung store or Service Center for help.

 


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