There’s a huge number of smartphones out there from major brands, and keeping up with the latest features and tech can be quite the undertaking. While we’re busy trying to decipher what’s cutting-edge about this app or that built-in setting, there may be parts of our phone’s physical design we simply gloss over. For instance, did you notice the pin-sized hole next to your phone’s charging port?
Whether you’re rocking an iPhone or Android device, the small hole found near the USB-C (or Lightning) connection is typically a microphone. When you’re making phone calls, summoning a voice assistant, or recording a voice memo, your phone relies on its built-in microphone to tackle all these tasks and more. In most cases, this isn’t the only mic your phone will have either, with usually another one or two receivers placed elsewhere for a more complete audio experience.
For example, let’s take a closer look at the Google Pixel 9 Pro. The 2024 Android device has three mics: one at the top, one between the two rear-facing cameras, and one right next to the charging port.
Why do smartphones use more than one microphone?
Most smartphones rock a full microphone array (two or more mics), and whether they’re working independently of each other or in unison, these mics seldom rest. Oftentimes, phones are equipped with noise-cancelling technology, a feature that leans on our phone mics to pick up and cancel out the ambient noise we don’t want polluting our phone calls.
When you’re recording video or a voice memo, there’s a good chance your phone is designed to employ more than one mic at a time, as a means of picking up as much environmental audio as possible. That way, your final recordings are as spatially accurate and immersive as possible.
Additional mics can make it easier for us to interact with voice assistants like Siri too, by providing improved hearing capabilities for these digital pals. They can also help to provide enhanced and more robust sound when using video conferencing tools like Zoom or Teams, and even your device’s speakerphone function.
Is it safe to clean your phone’s microphones?
If you’ve owned your phone for several months or years, chances are some of its tiny mics are caked in a mixture of dirt and gunk. It happens to the best of us, and our phones usually don’t have an issue performing when these physical parts are not 100% clean.
That said, if you’ve noticed your phone hasn’t been delivering the clearest audio during calls or when you use functions like speech-to-text or voice recording, it wouldn’t hurt to give the mics a quick cleaning.
For gunked-up mics, speakers, and charge ports, a microfiber cloth, a few cotton swabs, and a little isopropyl alcohol are some of the best tools for the job. You could also invest in a can of compressed air, though make sure you’re deploying it at a far-enough distance from the part of the phone you’re servicing; deploying too closely can push the dirt deeper into the cavity you’re attempting to clean. Once your device is cleaned up, go ahead and make a quick recording or dial up a friend on speakerphone to test the post-cleaning mic quality.