We’ve heard from several users that the microphone no longer seems to be working in iOS 7. It turns out, one of the changes Apple made in iOS 7, was to allow users to explicitly control which apps can and cannot access the microphone. When you first launch an app on iOS 7 that requires access to the microphone, like Super Speller, you will be presented with an alert. This is where you can grant or deny access to the microphone. This alert only appears once. If you weren’t paying close attention, you may have disallowed access. Only later, when you record your weekly spelling words, will you notice anything is wrong. At that point, you might not even remember that little alert that popped up when you first ran the app.
So how do you allow an app to access the microphone, if you disallowed access earlier? You can simply turn your microphone on in your device’s “Settings”. Once in Settings, choose “Privacy” and then “Microphone”. A list of your apps that need access to the microphone will now appear. Just slide the button to turn the microphone on.
Remember this applies to any app attempting to use the microphone on iOS 7. So if you’re trying to record and it just doesn’t seem to be working, double check that you’ve allowed your apps access to the microphone from the privacy settings. You can reverse these steps, if you would like to disable the microphone while your child is using the device.
It’s a little bit more trouble, but overall it’s a good change that Apple has implemented. These changes should let you rest easier, knowing that an app can’t use the microphone without your knowledge.