iPhone 16e microphone sounds hollow/echo (like in a barrel) – Hardware defect or widespread issue?

Hi everyone,

I’m having a couple of frustrating issues with my brand new iPhone 16e. The phone has never been damaged, and when I first bought it, everything was working fine.

1. Microphone echo issue:

When I record audio (especially in the stock Voice Memo app, but also in Telegram voice messages and Discord), my voice sounds very hollow, almost like I'm speaking inside a barrel, with a terrible echo.

I’ve toggled on and off every single sound-related setting, including Spatial Audio, voice isolation, and noise cancellation.
I even factory reset the phone completely (set it up as new).
Strangely enough, about 1(~3) out of 10 times, it randomly records sound normally and clearly.

Posted on Sep 19, 2026 1:35 PM

1 reply

Lawrence Finch

Level 10 (244,490 points)

Sep 19, 2026 1:40 PM in response to retrostranger

Certainly not widespread, because with 1.5 billion iPhones in use the forum would be flooded with reports.

Does it happen using speakerphone? If so the echo is from room acoustics. Have you tried with ear buds or earphones? Does it happen then?