How To Fix The iPhone Echo Problem.

Can you hear me now now now now now?

For the last couple of months, whenever I would call somebody, they would echo on their end. (I couldn’t hear the echo on my end.) I usually just ignored it, but today I tried to call the post office and got stuck on their voice command menu for hours — “Please say a… I’m sorry. I could not understand. Please say a… I’m sorry. I could not understand. Please say a… I’m sorry…” Over and over… and over and over…

Anyways… I decided to take apart my iPhone and see if I could figure out what was going on… I knew it had something to do with the hardware itself because I could decrease the echo by lowering the volume on the speaker, plugging in my headphones, or partially covering the mic with my finger.

Turns out I was right.

If you are getting the same problem (echo only on the other end, silent on your end), you can fix it by taking out the black part of your 2G iPhone. (Video below.) Next, remove the screen filter/tape located on the corner of the black piece. You should probably take this opportunity to use a pin to clean out all the holes on both sides. Call somebody (with the plastic piece still removed) and test it to see if the echo stops. If it does, put the (now clean) black piece with the screen/tape completely removed back on.(1)

Done. I was about half a minute away from pulling the trigger on a new 3G iPhone. Thankfully, I won’t have to now.

Footnotes:
  1. This is the obligatory disclaimer: I am not responsible for any damage you do to your iPhone. This WILL void your AppleCare or iPhone warranty. It worked for me, but that does not mean it will for you. Do this at your own risk. [↩]