Some Apple Watch Ultra and Apple Watch Series 8 are already having microphone problems

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Oh no, here we go again.

Apple Watch Ultra on hand
(Image credit: Apple)

Some people are struggling with a number of iPhone 14 problems since its release earlier this month, but now we're also hearing of a number of problems with Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra devices, too.

According to reports, people are experiencing problems with the microphone on affected devices, with the result being that they can no longer use features like Siri or other apps that use it.

Measurement Suspended

Apple Watch Series 8 - three of them

(Image credit: Apple)

According to multiple reports picked up by MacRumors, some new owners of Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra wearables are experiencing the microphone stopping working after a certain amount of time. A message appears on-screen that says that the app can't use the microphone. One example is the Noise app, with the error saying that "the Noise app cannot check sound levels when Apple Watch is in Water Lock or while the microphone or speaker is in use."

It's said that the latest watchOS 9.1 beta doesn't get things back up and running properly, and that people have been getting their watches replaced under AppleCare at Apple Stores when showing the issue. Whether that is the only fix long term remains to be seen, but we have to imagine that Apple is hard at work on a software fix, too.

The Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra went on sale on September 23, meaning it hasn't taken long for some people to experience this issue. That might suggest that we will see more and more people experience the same issue as they pick up and use their new watches.

There don't appear to be reports of the issue afflicting buyers of the new Apple Watch SE so far, however.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.