External mic not working with Apple Facebook app

Same here, updated the Facebook app, restarted the iPhone, opened the app, started a Facebook live video, waited a few seconds then connected the interface. Audio remained from the iPhone internal mic. The repeated but connected the interface before starting live, same result, internal mic only.

Oh well :(

It had not begun, I had put in a description and had clicked on “ready”.

so all I had to do was click on the camera icon.

in that stadium I opened the iRig Recorder app.

So the order in which you apply the steps seem not to be relevant.

But what might be an important piece of the puzzle is using the iRig pro duo...

I haven’t checked the configuration without this interface...

Heads up, workarounds (iRig Recorder or plugging after starting Livestream) don’t work anymore for me after latest updates

iPhone 12, IOS 14.4, Facebook 304.1

I continue to report issue to Facebook after every update but to no avail...

Thanks for the warning! I've disabled automatic download and update of iOS and applications as follows:

Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates > Download iOS Updates disabled.

Settings > App Store > Apps (in Automatic Downloads) disabled.

Settings > App Store > App Updates (in Automatic Downloads) disabled.

Settings > App Store > Automatic Downloads (in Cellular Data) disabled.

I'll never update the thing again until an essential app breaks and I have no choice...or a brave soul accepts an update and discovers that the Facebook app now enthusiastically supports an external microphone like before November 2020.

I also noticed and disabled Settings > App Store > In-App Ratings & Reviews - just because I'm tired of getting frequently asked to praise apps that I use.

Interesting to see all these updates. I have an old iPad mini that works, but the image is awful so I’ve given up completely with the app tbh. Now using software on my Mac instead. Problem free (so far). Still keen to know if/when all this gets resolved as the app was very handy. Can’t believe Facebook haven’t fixed this - particularly now when people are replying on the service so much more :-(.

Hi. I appreciate your reply and the suggestion. Based on earlier replies, I did, in fact, follow the same sequence and it worked in my tests but not when I went live Publicly. I even wrote the steps down! I think going forward, that I need to connect a set of studio headphones to my iPad headphone jack with a 20' extension cable and do a live sound check once I start the stream to ensure the signal is being received from my audio interface. It's unfortunate, as I typically have some lead in music playing while I'm off camera and people are joining the live stream. So, now I'm gonna have to sound check with viewers while live. :(

I've seen a lot of people mention that this is a Facebook issue and not an Apple issue, but a. I'm not 100% sure of that, and b. with so many people using iPads and iPhones for streaming, recording, etc., I would think the folks at Apple would give a Settings option to use the internal mic or accept an external mic/source.

What is your forum / approach to contacting Facebook on this (I have not engaged their support much).

Thx.

Hi Tommy, Thanks for the reply. I did not take a phone call as I was using an iPad for streaming, not an iPhone. Also, since it's an iPad, I'm unclear on your suggestion about Airplane mode, as I don't understand how that would matter?

Unfortunately, the Rode adapter you suggested won't work for my application, as I'm not using a 1/8" input from an external microphone, but rather a direct feed from my audio interface (which as mentioned has a USB to lightning cable output) as I'm sending a full signal of instruments and microphones via my mixing board > AI > iPad.

Thx again for the reply.

Hi, not sure if you've proposed this solution before, but my audio interface has a USB to Lightning cable connection to my iOS device, so a 1/8" mini stereo jack won't work. But thank you for the suggestion.

My iPhone SE (2020) stopped being able to accept the external mic about one or two months ago. I have tried plugging in the external microphone after starting FB Live and it does not work. Occasionally, the external mic works with another app, but with FB Live never anymore. It is very distressing as part of my job requires livestreaming daily. I have to get other employees who use Android phones to do things for me. If they are not available, I must use the built in mic, which under our particular circumstances, performs substandardly in the environment in which we work.

Furthermore, my MacBook Pro will not longer accept an external microphone and and external camera at the same time. If two things are plugged in, one or the other freezes up.

Hi Has anyone used the iRig app to recognize signals from audio interfaces connected via the lightning port on an iOS device?

Also, has anyone been able to verify PapayaCanada's post from 2/19/21 stating that the issue is fixed (ie confirm that Apple and/or Facebook have actually identified and fixed the issue)?

Hi all, Ran a few quick tests last night with plugging my audio interface into my iPad (via USB to Lightning cable) prior to starting the live stream, and it seemed to work fine. I plan to continue testing this every few days leading up to my next live stream.

Still wish there was a way to monitor the audio of the live stream in real time via the iPad's headphone jack so as to be 100% certain that the external device is being picked up and not the iPad's internal mic. The only thing I can think of is to do a quick sound check once the live stream starts and then listen to it on an iPhone as a viewer of the live stream (given the ~20 second delay that occurs from the live stream to the viewers). Not optimal.

New question: is anyone else monitoring their live stream in real time on an extension screen? I set my iPad on a tripod about 15 feet away for the live stream, so I'm unable to see that screen. I happen to have a 50" TV in the area of the iPad, so I've previously used a lightning cable splitter from the iPad which sends the video signal (via a lightning to HDMI adapter) to the TV so I can see song requests & reactions from the viewers in real time, and the audio interface feeds audio "in" to the iPad. I've had mixed results with this in the past from an audio perspective, and when I tested this last night, the iPad was not picking up the signal from the audio interface. I looked into leveraging the iPad's Screen Mirroring feature, but it's an iPad Air 2, and I don't think that's an available feature, despite having the iPad running on iOs 14.4 Any thoughts on how to mirror the live stream to my TV in real time during my live stream?

Hi, so a 3-5 second delay I could live with, but in my testing (previously and yesterday), the delay appears to be closer to 20 seconds. As this is a live music stream, the idea is to view likes that people send during songs, but also song requests and comments, so the lag I'm experiencing is fairly significant both visually and if I wanted to try to monitor the audio to ensure the live stream was capturing the direct audio interface signal vs. the internal iPad mic. Thanks.

Now with others saying that the FB Live is not accepting the external mic I'm afraid to do any more FB updates. I have a dedicated iPhone that I just use for videoing things at church and school and so far it works without having to plug in after starting the video. I guess I just won't update the Facebook app as long as it is still working. Wish they would fix it and then leave it alone.

Thanks! I’ll give this a try!

This worked!