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How can I turn on the mic on my Apple Watch?

When I receive a call I can't answer on my watch. I can hear them but they can't hear me. The Mic on the watch has a line though it indicating it's off. Pressing it one the watch screen does not turn it on


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Posted on Jul 20, 2023 1:01 PM

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Posted on Feb 19, 2024 7:52 AM

After last WatchOS update, Siri will activate with the microphone but then nothing happens after I speak. Its as if the microphone is off but the indicator is orange and seems to be working fine. Have tried restarting it, turning Siri on and off, dictation on and off, nothing seems to be working. Microphone is not contaminated or blocked with dirt or debris. Advise?

31 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 19, 2024 7:52 AM in response to freddiebear1914

After last WatchOS update, Siri will activate with the microphone but then nothing happens after I speak. Its as if the microphone is off but the indicator is orange and seems to be working fine. Have tried restarting it, turning Siri on and off, dictation on and off, nothing seems to be working. Microphone is not contaminated or blocked with dirt or debris. Advise?

Feb 19, 2024 9:07 PM in response to undrmoons

Having exactly the same issue. Have tried the reboot, dirt, turning on/off siri, etc. Nothing seems to work. The microphone icon stays orange. Sometimes after I restart it the mic will pick up my spoken words and retype them on screen, then nothing happens. Almost new series 9. Had been working till last update but not totally sure when it stopped. iWatch is up to date on all sofware updates. Glad to know I am not the only one.


May 30, 2024 11:51 AM in response to freddiebear1914

Here's an article I found that may contain a solution for you:


Microphone On Apple Watch Not Working

If your microphone isn’t working on your Apple Watch, there are a few things you can try to fix the problem. First, make sure that your watch is not in silent mode. You can check this by looking at the top of your watch face – if there is a red dot next to the silent mode icon, your watch is in silent mode and you will need to disable it in order to use the microphone. 

If your watch is not in silent mode, the next thing to check is the microphone itself. You can do this by opening the Control Center on your watch (swipe up from the bottom of the watch face) and tapping on the microphone icon. If you see a red slash through the icon, this means that the microphone is muted and you will need to unmute it in order to use it. 

If neither of these solutions solves the problem, you may need to restart your watch. To do this, press and hold the side button until you see the power off slider. Drag the slider to the right to power off your watch, then press and hold the side button again to turn it back on.


[Edited by Moderator]

Jun 27, 2024 8:16 AM in response to undrmoons

This is an iOS bug associated with Accessibility->VoiceOver functionality on the iWatch firmware. After the update my microphone stopped working for calls, Siri, and dictation. If you enable Accessibility->VoiceOver the microphone will function perfectly but every touch or gesture will product an audible description. Bottom line this is not a fix but a way to ensure that your microphone is OK. Don't need to trade or buy a new iWatch as everyone I have talked to suggests. Apple needs to fix this!!

Aug 17, 2024 9:04 AM in response to freddiebear1914

So, my Siri stopped working on my watch (series 7). I checked my phone (IPhone 12) and it seemed to not be working after an update. I followed Apples Supports guideline for resetting Siri and got it working on my phone. Tried the watch, and nothing.


Got on with support this morning and they had me unpair and repair the phone and watch 3 times. We did a factory reset twice. Nothing. They actually called me and had me do a factory reset again and set up as a new watch, and NOT from my backup. Nothing again.


I was going through the settings in the watch and turned dictation off and then on again.. It started working again. Have no idea how or why, but wanted to share my experience..

How can I turn on the mic on my Apple Watch?

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