The present invention comprises a microphone simulator or emulator, for use in conjunction with a “personal electronic device” or “PED.” The microphone simulator or emulator is used in conjunction with a PED that includes both a built-in microphone, along with an interface by which an external microphone can be utilized. Often, a PED is equipped with no specific user-level interface, by which the built-in microphone of the PED can be disabled. However, the microphone simulator or emulator, when connected to the external microphone interface of a PED, causes the PED to recognize the microphone simulator or emulator as an external microphone. Because of this, the PED disables its built-in microphone.