How to Connect an External Microphone to Your Smartphone?

May 18, 2022 2 min read

If you're looking to improve the sound quality of your videos or recordings, you may be wondering how to connect an external microphone to your smartphone. While the microphone on your phone is good for general use, an external microphone can provide a significant boost in sound quality. In this article, we'll show you how to connect an external microphone to your smartphone, as well as some tips on how to get the best sound quality possible.

How to Connect an External Microphone to Your iPhone

Whether you want to improve the sound quality of your videos, or record high-quality audio for a podcast, adding an external microphone to your iPhone can be a great way to do it. Here's how to connect a mic to your iPhone.

  • Lightning Adapter Method - 

The first step is finding a fitting adapter for your microphone. If you're using a standard 3.5mm mic, you'll need 3.5mm TRRS Microphone Adapter that will allow you to connect a mic to the lightning port on your iPhone. Once you have the right adapter, simply plug the microphone into the adapter and then plug the adapter into your iPhone.

  • 3.5mm headphone jack method (Older iPhone Models) - 

If you have an iPhone with a traditional headphone socket, you can plug in a TRRS microphone directly without an adapter. Simply plug the microphone jack into the iPhone’s headphone socket.

How to Connect an External Microphone to Your  Android

If you own an Android phone, an external microphone will be a good accessory for when you want to improve the quality of your audio recordings in any setting. Read below to learn how you can connect and use an external  mic on an Android phone.

For an 3.5mm external mic, you will need an adapter that can connect a TRRS microphone cable to a USB-C equipped Android. Check out our UCMA-1 3.5mm to USB-C Adapter for a sturdy option that will let you connect a mic to your Android.

If your Android has a headphone jack and doesn’t need an adapter, then you can plug in a microphone with a 3.5mm TRRS connector jack, like this one! If you are using an app that requires permission to use external devices, ensure that you grant the app permission to do so.

How to Get the Best Sound Quality with an External Mic

Once you've connected your microphone, you may need to adjust your microphone settings in order to get the best sound quality for your projects. On Androids and iPhones, there is no setting where you can adjust the microphone sensitivity, however there are apps you can try to use with your external microphone to access some more audio controls on your device. Some microphones will offer the capability of modifying the audio output level from the receiver.

Finally, try to avoid using your microphone in noisy environments. If you can't avoid it, try to use a windscreen or pop filter to reduce the amount of background noise that's being recorded.

With these few simple steps, you can greatly improve the audio quality of your recordings by using an external microphone with your smartphone, no matter if you have an iPhone or an Android. So if you're looking to take your audio game to the next level, give it a try!

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