Nothing is more frustrating than an iPhone which you can’t use as an actual phone. If you’re having problems with your mic, you’ll want to get that fixed as soon as possible. Before taking it to the repair shop, however, you’ll want follow these money-saving tips which just might fix your microphone. It might just save you a couple hundred dollars.

First things first, it might seem obvious but you’ll want to start by testing the microphone on your phone. By doing this, you’ll be ruling out any potential problems with the hardware on your device. It’s also important to note that every iPhone, comes with two microphones by design: one on the rear side of your phone and one of the front side of the device itself. If you’re looking at your phone at this very moment, you can see both of the microphones close to your device’s camera.

To test the functionality of your microphone, you’ll need to open the Voice Memos. Once you’re in, tap on the record icon. Talk into the microphone and tap the play icon to replay the recording back to you. If your microphone is working properly, you should be able to hear your own voice in the recording.

If your voice appears to sound muffled or faint, you need to make sure that your microphone isn’t being covered by something. Try removing your screen protector or case from your phone and try doing another recording. The muffled sound could be from debris getting stuck between the case and microphone.

After ensuring that nothing could be covering or otherwise obstructing your smartphone, restart your iPhone and make sure that you have the latest updates of iOS.