Bad hearing in a Xiaomi phone when talking: what to do in 2026

You call Xiaomi, but you can barely hear the other person, and your voice is interrupted or not at all? Problems with hearing during conversations is one of the most common complaints of smartphone users of the brand. 80% of the cases are not due to hardware failure, but to software failures, contamination of connectors or incorrect settings. But how to accurately identify the source of the problem and fix it without going to the service center?

In this article, we will look at all possible causes of poor hearing in Xiaomi, from the banal contamination of the speaker to damage to the microphone plume. You will receive step-by-step instructions for diagnosis and repair, including checking the microphone through the engineering menu, cleaning the connectors and resetting the communication settings. And for owners of Redmi Note models 12/13, POCO X5 Xiaomi 14 We have prepared separate recommendations taking into account their design features.

Before you bring your phone to the service, try going through our checklist, 6 out of 10 cases, hearing is restored in 10 to 15 minutes of self-manipulation, and only if none of these methods worked, you should consider professional diagnosis.

1. Diagnostics of the problem: microphone or speaker?

The first step is to determine what's not working, whether it's a microphone (you can't hear you) or a speaker (you can't hear the other person), which will narrow down the possible causes in half.

• 📞 Call another phone and see if the person you're talking to can hear you.
• 🔊 Turn on speaker while you're talking. If the sound is clearer, the top speaker is broken.
• 🎧 Connect your headphones (wired or Bluetooth) If your hearing is improved, it's the main speaker or connector.

Pay special attention to models with two microphones (for example, Xiaomi 13 Pro or Redmi Note 12 Pro).+). They often fail the bottom microphone, which is responsible for noise cancellation, to check it, close the upper microphone (near the front camera) and talk — if the sound is gone, then the bottom microphone is not working.

If tests show that the speaker is faulty, go to section 3. If the microphone is a problem, read section 4. And if the sound is interrupted or distorted, the network settings are most likely to be to blame (see section 5).

2. Top.-5 The reasons for poor hearing in Xiaomi

According to service centers, 90 percent of the time, poor hearing is due to one of five things, and we put them together in a table with a brief description and solutions.

Important: if the phone falls or gets wet, do not try to disassemble it yourself - oxidation of the contacts can lead to a short circuit. MIUI or cleaning cache - it can be solved software.

3. Cannot hear the interlocutor: repair speaker

If you can't hear someone or the sound is too quiet, the problem is the speaker, and 70 percent of the time, you can fix it without disassembling the phone.

Increase the volume of the conversation in the settings

Check the "Do Not Disturb" mode.

Clean the speaker of dust

Reboot the phone

Reset the sound settings-->

3.1. Policy solutions

Sometimes the speaker works properly, but the sound is muted by the system.

• 🔊 Go to Settings. → Sound and vibration → Volume and move the call slider to maximum.
• 🚫 Make sure not to activate Do Not Disturb or In your pocket (may automatically muffle the sound).
• 🔄 Restart your phone – sometimes the sound driver will “hang” after the update.

If that doesn’t help, reset the sound settings to factory:

Settings → System and device → Additional → Resetting settings → Resetting sound settings

This procedure will return all sound parameters to default, including equalizer and effects.

Cleaning dynamics

Over time, the speaker grilles accumulate dust, which mutes the sound.

• 🧴 Isopropyl alcohol (70% or higher)
• 🖌️ Soft brush (for example, for drawing)
• 💨 Compressed air container (optional)

Carefully walk with a brush dipped in alcohol on the speaker grille. Don't press hard, the speaker membrane is very fragile! After cleaning, let the phone dry for 10-15 minutes. If there is a lot of dust, you can use a can of compressed air (keep it at a distance of 10 cm).

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For Xiaomi models 12/13 Check both speakers with stereo speakers - sometimes only the lower one is polluted, which creates the effect of "one-sided" sound.

Dynamic plume check

If the speaker doesn't make any sounds at all (even system signals), it's possible that the plume or the speaker itself will break, and it's a hardware problem that you can't solve without disassembling the phone.

1. Connect the headphones – if there is sound in them, and in the dynamics is not, the problem is definitely in it.
2. Call your phone and turn on speakerphone, and if the sound is coming through the bottom speaker (multimedia) and the top speaker (talk speaker) is not, the top speaker plume is damaged.

In this case, you only have to carry the phone in the service. The average cost of replacing the speaker plume in Xiaomi is from 800 to 1500 rubles (depending on the model).

4.You can't be heard: microphone repair

If the person complains that they can't hear you, or your voice sounds muffled, the problem is the microphone. Xiaomi usually has two: the top (main, next to the front camera) and the bottom (for noise reduction), and you can check them through the engineering menu.

Testing of microphone through engineering menu

To get to the engineering menu, enter the phone application combination:

##4636##

Then go to the Hardware Testing tab. → Audio → Microphone Test. Here you'll see two microphones: the Mic 1 (top) and the Mic 2 (bottom) and speak to each one in turn, if the sound level strip doesn't move, the microphone doesn't work.

For models POCO The new Redmi may require a different combination:

##36446337##

If the engineering menu is blocked, use third-party apps like the Microphone Test from Google Play.

Cleaning of microphones

Xiaomi microphones are often clogged with dust, especially if you carry your phone in your pocket.

• 🧴 Soak the cotton swab in isopropyl alcohol.
• 🎤 Gently wipe the microphone holes (they look like small holes near the camera and at the bottom of the phone).
• 💨 Use a spray of compressed air to blow dust out of the lattice.

Warning: Don't use needles or toothpicks - they can damage the microphone membrane! If the microphone doesn't work after cleaning, the problem may be in the plume or the module itself.

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Xiaomi 13 Ultra and Redmi Note 12 Pro+ bottom microphone often fails due to moisture entering the connector USB-C. If your phone is wet, dry it in rice 24 hours before cleaning.

Replacement of microphone

If the microphone doesn't work even after cleaning, you'll have to change it, and the service will charge you between 1,000 and 2,000 rubles to replace one microphone, depending on the model, but if you've got experience disassembling phones, you can try it yourself:

1. Buy an original microphone for your model (e.g., on AliExpress).
2. Disassemble the phone by following the guide for your model (see YouTube for "disassemble [your model]").
3. Disconnect the old microphone and connect a new one.

Be careful: Xiaomi has very fragile microphone plumes, and if you've never taken your phones apart, you'd better leave it to the professionals.

5.Poor communication: network and operator settings

If the sound is interrupted, distorted or lost during a conversation, the problem may not be in the phone, but in the settings of the network. 5G — Unstable coverage of a new network often leads to communication breakdowns.

Change of network mode

Xiaomi is trying to connect to the fastest network (5G/4G), But if the coverage is weak, it is better to forcefully switch to 3G or 2G. You can do it this way:

1. Go to Settings. → SIM-maps and mobile networks.
2. Choose yours. SIM-map.
3. Click Network Type and install Only 3G or 2G.

Check the quality of the connection after the change. If it got better, the problem was unstable. 4G/5G. You can also enable the Network Autosearch option so that your phone chooses the most stable standard.

5.2. Resetting network settings

Sometimes network settings get lost after an update or a change of operator, to return them to the factory:

1. Go to Settings. → System and device → Additionally. → Resetting settings.
2. Select Network Resetting.
3. Confirm the action and restart the phone.

After resetting, you will have to re-enter Wi-Fi passwords and configure Bluetooth devices, but the connection should stabilize.

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If you have Xiaomi with two SIM-Try temporarily disable the second card – sometimes a conflict between operators leads to communication interruptions.

Problems with VoLTE

VoLTE technology (voice communication through the 4G) It should improve the quality of calls, but in practice it often becomes a source of problems:

• 📵 Turn off VoLTE in the settings SIM-maps (Settings) → SIM-map → [yours SIM] → VoLTE).
• 🔄 Reboot the phone.
• 📶 If so, the problem is your carrier's unstable VoLTE.

Some carriers (like Tele2) have VoLTE running a curve on Xiaomi phones, in which case it’s best to keep the function off.

6. Hardware breakdowns: when without service can not do

If none of the software methods worked, it's probably a hardware problem, and here are some signs you should go to the service:

• 🔇 The microphone or speaker doesn’t work at all (even after cleaning).
• 💧 The phone fell into the water or got wet (even if it dried later).
• 🔌 After connecting the headphones, the sound is not restored.
• 📱 Artifacts appear on the screen or the phone spontaneously reboots (may indicate damage to the motherboard).

Average repair prices in Xiaomi service centers (for 2026):

⚠️ Attention: if the phone is wet, do not turn it on and try to dry with a hair dryer! Contact oxidation occurs within 24-48 hours. It is better to immediately take it to the service - there it will be dismantled, cleaned with alcohol and dried in an ultrasonic bath.

7 Prevention: How to avoid hearing problems

To avoid hearing loss in the future, follow these guidelines:

• 🧴 Every 3-4 months clean the speaker and microphones from dust (see section 3.2).
• 🚫 Avoid moisture – even a little humidity can cause contact oxidation.
• 🔄 Update regularly MIUI, But before that, read the reviews on the forums (sometimes updates break the sound).
• 📱 Don't drop your phone - bumps often damage microphone plumes and speaker.
• 🔋 Watch your battery power. If it's below 10%, the phone can automatically turn down the volume of the call.

If you talk frequently in noisy places, consider buying an external microphone (like the Xiaomi Bluetooth Microphone) that connects over Bluetooth and provides clean sound even in the face of street noise.

FAQ: Frequent questions about poor hearing in Xiaomi