Database Users

Microphone problem?

Is anybody having problems with mic? People i am talking to can't hear me most of the time... I was just wondering if this is happening with everybody?
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

Same Issue
I am having the same problem. During the first call I made, the person on the other end complained that my voice was "garbled." That is, the said that they couldn't really understand me. I just got off the phone with my Grandmother (who is hard of hearing) and she nearly hung up on me because she couldn't understand me. I am curious if this is just the unit I have, or if it plagues all Atrixes.

Try turning off noise cancelation

I am also having the same problems. I've fiddled with all of the noise cancellation settings and it didn't help. I even returned the phone and made them give me a new one thinking it may have been just mine but still have the same problem.
If this doesn't get fixed ASAP I'll be returning it to AT&T within the 30 day window.

Mic and speakerphone issue
Same issue with mic on the Atrix. Two people told me my voice sounded muffled. When I called them from the Captivate they could hear me clearly.
Also, they hear fine when I put the Atrix on speakerphone but I hear static on my side but no such problem on Captivate.
Anyone having the speakerphone static issue?

Call quality on my Atrix has been the best of any smart phone I've ever owned. I have it set up just how it came out of the box, pretty much. Not sure if noise cancellation is on or not.

I am having to return my atrix because no one can understand me!!! If I use bluetooth the sound quality is great but as soon as switch to the handset, they say it sounds like I am talking through a cardboard tube. Man, what is up with this? I went back to my iPhone for now.

i think it's a production issue. on my first atrix, straight out of the box, i could not hear anyone when they called me and they couldn't hear me. all i got was static, not even a garbled voice. i exchanged it and voice has been flawless on the new one. i would suggest doing that, there may have been a bad batch.

At this early date, no complaints on a number of calls, and I did call myself on another line to check. Earmic sounded fine too. (A Klipsch.)
But today one person said she couldn't understand me. I think because there was a motormouth making too much noise in the room, or maybe because I was inside a building and the call strength wasn't very good. But then again...the other things that person DID say, made me think she shouldn't be allowed to answer phones in a business office anyway.
So far, so good.

Same problem
Rezznor said:
i think it's a production issue. on my first atrix, straight out of the box, i could not hear anyone when they called me and they couldn't hear me. all i got was static, not even a garbled voice. i exchanged it and voice has been flawless on the new one. i would suggest doing that, there may have been a bad batch.
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No one can hear me either. Need to exchange it tomorrow.

As far as I can tell, the mic on this phone is pretty sensitive but only for about an inch or two. This is what noise canceling is about: letting in sounds near the mic while keeping out ambient noise. I had the same problem on my N1 too, though not as severe.

You can set voice quality on call setting
there are 4 modes for your mic

Looks like some people fixed this problem with an exchange. When i posted on the moto owners forum. The board manager PM'd me asking if they could do the exchange and are investigating the issue.

Yea I think you should go and change the nnoise suppression options and test more calls before taking it back.
I had it on high and people said they couldn't hear mme either.

ANDY12001 said:
You can set voice quality on call setting
there are 4 modes for your mic
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see the supression settings what other settings are there?
FLAC Vest said:
Yea I think you should go and change the nnoise suppression options and test more calls before taking it back.
I had it on high and people said they couldn't hear mme either.
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I have tried it on normal high and off, a new sim card (att usggestion) turned on that MOS optoion and the only time people can hear me is if the mic is right in front of my mouth, i am on speaker phone or using a wired or BT headset.
i have tried quite a bit.

This is my biggest problem with my Atrix right now.
There's a long thread on the subject of Atrix voice quality on supportforums.motorola.com.
Their moderator named Mark has promised a diagnosis on this from Motorola within 48 hours from yesterday, so hoping to know something soon.

[Q] For those with their Nexus 4, is the earpiece making a screeching noise?

If I place my Nexus 4 against my ear, I can hear high pitched screeching and some popping coming from the earpiece, even when a call is not taking place. At first I thought it was a heat issue, maybe some capacitors or something getting a bit hot and whistling, so I turned the phone off and the noises stopped instantly.
This is pretty annoying and surely shouldn't be happening

Yes, mine too
losimagic said:
If I place my Nexus 4 against my ear, I can hear high pitched screeching and some popping coming from the earpiece, even when a call is not taking place. At first I thought it was a heat issue, maybe some capacitors or something getting a bit hot and whistling, so I turned the phone off and the noises stopped instantly.
This is pretty annoying and surely shouldn't be happening
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Click to collapse
I'm glad you posted that, mine does it too - and I thought I had a faulty phone.
According to support I'm the first to report such a problem, have you called support about it? - 0800 328 6081.
The more of us that call, the better the chance it's sorted (if it's possible).
I can't live with that noise, it's too loud for me as I have sensitive hearing on interference like that.
So it looks like I'm sending mine back for a refund and go buy a S3
It does sound like poor build quality in suppressing electrical interference to the ear speaker, as you say capacitors or even a processor is leaking noise to that speaker in the same way cell/mobile radio causes to external speakers when brought close to them.

WOW so many problems already with this thing!!! I don't know about this phone right now

rshea said:
I'm glad you posted that, mine does it too - and I thought I had a faulty phone.
According to support I'm the first to report such a problem, have you called support about it? - 0800 328 6081.
The more of us that call, the better the chance it's sorted (if it's possible).
I can't live with that noise, it's too loud for me as I have sensitive hearing on interference like that.
So it looks like I'm sending mine back for a refund and go buy a S3
It does sound like poor build quality in suppressing electrical interference to the ear speaker, as you say capacitors or even a processor is leaking noise to that speaker in the same way cell/mobile radio causes to external speakers when brought close to them.
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I returned it to the store for a refund - they refused to swap it for another as they couldn't hear it . I've ordered another which I should get tomorrow, and if that has the same issue I'm not sure what to do - it doesn't really sound like something that can be fixed through software, does it?
I asked on another forum and one person replied saying that there's was ok, but maybe they're ears just aren't as sensitive as ours.
I remember as a kid, I could hear CRT TVs from a long way off (no sound was coming through the speakers) and nobody else could.

losimagic said:
I returned it to the store for a refund - they refused to swap it for another as they couldn't hear it . I've ordered another which I should get tomorrow, and if that has the same issue I'm not sure what to do - it doesn't really sound like something that can be fixed through software, does it?
I asked on another forum and one person replied saying that there's was ok, but maybe they're ears just aren't as sensitive as ours.
I remember as a kid, I could hear CRT TVs from a long way off (no sound was coming through the speakers) and nobody else could.
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I think you're right, I too always heard a CRT working (I still can when I see one working!)
Maybe we're hearing interference the average user is not going to hear.
If anyone else is reading this and owns a Nexus 4, try calling your voicemail (which I assume would be free for you) - during the call wait for a few seconds and listen carefully, it's more obvious when you're not talking and in a call.
The noise is almost like having a small fly trapped between the phone and your ear at times, it also reminds me of the noise a hard drive makes at times and most of us know what that sounds like.

rshea said:
I think you're right, I too always heard a CRT working (I still can when I see one working!)
Maybe we're hearing interference the average user is not going to hear.
If anyone else is reading this and owns a Nexus 4, try calling your voicemail (which I assume would be free for you) - during the call wait for a few seconds and listen carefully, it's more obvious when you're not talking and in a call.
The noise is almost like having a small fly trapped between the phone and your ear at times, it also reminds me of the noise a hard drive makes at times and most of us know what that sounds like.
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I got it even when I wasn't on a call - a few seconds after powering up the phone and it was there

You guys are nerds
No, I can feel your pain! Hopefully you guys can sort this out and this is in general not a common problem with the N4.

i don't have this issue

It seems to be an issue with the electromagnetic shielding. I get this problem when I am next to my sound system and amplifier. Those things arent shielded. Now in school where theres basically nothing else here my earpiece is completely clean. Not even a hiss.

does it also emit a sound when it is swithced on, but the screen is off? i remember i had sth. like this (high-pitched sound) on my first google nexus s, but it was clearly coming from the screen rather than the earpiece.

Received a replacement today - it's A LOT better. There's still a very feint buzz, but it's barely noticeable.

Hallucinogen775 said:
does it also emit a sound when it is swithced on, but the screen is off? i remember i had sth. like this (high-pitched sound) on my first google nexus s, but it was clearly coming from the screen rather than the earpiece.
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Yes, even did it without a simcard inside. Definitely coming from the earpiece, if I moved my ear down the phone it was quieter/silent.

What about in airplane mode?

jacklebott said:
What about in airplane mode?
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Didn't test the previous one in airplane mode, but just tried this one and it's the same.

Definitely getting the same issue with my N4; screen on or off. Can't imagine this being fixed by firmware, sounds like a bad hardware design.
I'm also once of these people who gets irritated by the sound of DVD Players/VCR/TV etc. But two other people I have shown seem to think its an issue too.

It's good to read a replacement was better, that's made my day.
The problem is certainly a electromagnetic shielding issue with the earpiece, I can stand in a middle of a field and it has that sound you often get from PC or Hi-Fi speakers when you stand close to them.
But with the earpiece you can't move it of course - so clearly a design flaw, and hopefully only on a batch?
That said, it does seem to be an intermittent fault, I've also noticed it doesn't happen within the first 10-30 seconds of a call. I wonder if the phone stops all background processes during the start of a call, but then later kicks in which causes those noises.

losimagic said:
I remember as a kid, I could hear CRT TVs from a long way off (no sound was coming through the speakers) and nobody else could.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can hear the high pitched noise from a CRT from, like, 100'. Can a lot of other people really not hear them? Also, deer/dog/insect deterrents that people use in their homes and yard give me an instant headache from the sound. Great. This does not bode well. Oh well, I'll cross that bridge if/when I get to it.

Same here

estallings15 said:
I can hear the high pitched noise from a CRT from, like, 100'. Can a lot of other people really not hear them? Also, deer/dog/insect deterrents that people use in their homes and yard give me an instant headache from the sound. Great. This does not bode well. Oh well, I'll cross that bridge if/when I get to it.
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Exactly that, those who can't hear those audible repellents for pets, or not hear the Apps available which also emit very annoying high pitch sounds - then would not be bothered by the noise we mention here.
I'm certain if I took my N4 into a shop, the typical response from staff would be "we can't hear it"

I have this issue with my phone as well. Screen on or off. Charging or not. Noise is still present.

Outgoing call quality

My girlfriend just upgraded from an S3 to an S5. Since then, the call quality on my end has been extremely bad. She is almost not understandable at times. This is worse when she calls my cell phone, but also happens on land lines. Not having had a chance to look in to this issue, I was curious if there were any settings that could possibly remedy this. I'll be seeing her in a couple days, and want to swap phones with her and let her hear what I'm hearing. However, if there is an easy fix I would like to be able to implement it then.
I'm not sure if root has been gained on this phone, but I'm pretty sure that she wouldn't be terribly interested in rooting or doing any other serious modifications. If this is an issue nobody else has, I'll probably suggest she take the phone back and get a new one.
Any help would be appreciated.

Idk where you are located, but my s5 was getting nothing but pretty wonky 3g and horrible calls for like 2-3 days straight, woke up this morning and everything was peachy .... wichita ks area. .. .... yes, we DO have 4g in ks... we are also nearing the end of bell bottom jeans and pretty close to getting cd players in all new cars brought into the state. ..
beav3r

FranzDages said:
My girlfriend just upgraded from an S3 to an S5. Since then, the call quality on my end has been extremely bad. She is almost not understandable at times. This is worse when she calls my cell phone, but also happens on land lines. Not having had a chance to look in to this issue, I was curious if there were any settings that could possibly remedy this. I'll be seeing her in a couple days, and want to swap phones with her and let her hear what I'm hearing. However, if there is an easy fix I would like to be able to implement it then.
I'm not sure if root has been gained on this phone, but I'm pretty sure that she wouldn't be terribly interested in rooting or doing any other serious modifications. If this is an issue nobody else has, I'll probably suggest she take the phone back and get a new one.
Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My dad has this problem. He has an S3 mini and I had an S3, so I was pretty familiar with the setup. I did the research and found at least two things we could try. I can't remember one of them as I don't think it helped (might have been turning off Noise Reduction in Call Settings). Funny thing was that when I looked it up, only left handed people had the problem. Apparently, they were covering the mics with their pinkies. I think the mic has shifted sides now. Check and see how she's holding it. If she's right handed, her pinky could sit right over the mic to steady the phone. My dad still has this problem...when he forgets he's covering the mic with his finger.

FranzDages said:
the call quality on my end has been extremely bad. She is almost not understandable at times. .
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Click to collapse
I seem to be having the same issue. I've had folks tell me that they are only getting every 2nd or 3rd word when using the regular mic or speaker. However, when I use bluetooth, there are no issues. Seems like a microphone issue but cannot seem to find anyone else with this but you.

One Speaker on my 6P was louder than the other.

I received my 6P yesterday, and by this morning I dropped it into a UPS box to send it back.
So, I got the 64GB aluminum version, it arrived a day after I placed my order. I set it up and let it install its OS update, which took forever, then I started to use it. Right away I noticed that the top speaker seemed louder than the bottom speaker when the phone was playing notification sounds. In two phone calls, people complained that it sounded like I was underwater or had them on speakerphone.
I was a little concerned by the speaker issue, so I took the time to play back audio from NPR and then tried a few videos. While playing back video, I flipped the phone this way and that, and moved the phone back and forth from ear to ear just to make sure I wasn't deaf in one ear. The top speaker was definitely much louder than the other. With the mic being housed with the bottom speaker, I'm lead to believe both issues are related.
I contacted customer support and the lady who took my call said that another user had called with the same issue, but she couldn't recall which model they had. She had spoken with the design team about this and they said it was a defect, that both speakers should be firing at the same volume level.
We did the mandatory factory reset and I fired up YouTube - then I moved my old phone back and forth over the speakers of the 6P and she could hear the difference too, so I ended up mailing it back for a refund - I plan to buy another, but an exchange would entail a $549 hold on my bank account, so a refund it is.
So, that said, I'm curious - has anyone else had this issue? I searched the web but didn't find anything, but I've tweeted to some people who were opening new devices and one of them said he felt the top speaker was louder on his unit too (I didn't say which speaker, I just asked if one was louder than the other), while another person said she'd follow up.

It seems like it's a relatively common issue.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6p/help/check-speakers-t3237050
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6p/help/uneven-speaker-volume-t3238144
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3r6faw/nexus_6p_speaker_issue_strawpoll_please_answer_if/

Roxy said:
It seems like it's a relatively common issue.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6p/help/check-speakers-t3237050
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6p/help/uneven-speaker-volume-t3238144
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3r6faw/nexus_6p_speaker_issue_strawpoll_please_answer_if/
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:crying::crying::crying:
Oh dear... I wouldn't have minded it if it was just a tad louder, but it was bad - plus I was having some speaker overdrive issues as well. I guess I'll wait for Google to process my refund and keep an eye on these threads before deciding if I want to take the risk again... Which sucks, because I was loving the phone. Hell, I picked this over a Lumia 950 XL because I wanted to use some half decent apps and have access to Tap to Pay. Sure, Android still waits forever for iOS apps, but Windows waits for never. -_-

I kept my phone regardless of the volume issue... lol.
Here's more reddit post(s) regarding the problem:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3rjbbd/did_anyone_figure_out_if_the_top_speaker_being/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3r45jr/speakers_not_balanced/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3qrjp2/top_speaker_louder_than_bottom_one/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3qso4k/is_anybody_not_having_speaker_balance_issues/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3rak95/did_rma_fixed_uneven_speaker_issue/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3rajy4/can_someone_post_a_video_of_the_speakers_balanced/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3quee4/front_facing_speakers/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3rdslq/google_store_support_says_that_the_volume/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3rekuc/speaker_difference_an_intended_feature/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3rcumg/speaker_imbalance_based_on_volume_level/

Roxy said:
I kept my phone regardless of the volume issue... lol.
Here's more reddit post(s) regarding the problem:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3rjbbd/did_anyone_figure_out_if_the_top_speaker_being/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3r45jr/speakers_not_balanced/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3qrjp2/top_speaker_louder_than_bottom_one/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3qso4k/is_anybody_not_having_speaker_balance_issues/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3rak95/did_rma_fixed_uneven_speaker_issue/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3rajy4/can_someone_post_a_video_of_the_speakers_balanced/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3quee4/front_facing_speakers/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3rdslq/google_store_support_says_that_the_volume/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3rekuc/speaker_difference_an_intended_feature/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus6P/comments/3rcumg/speaker_imbalance_based_on_volume_level/
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I've blogged about this and have included all these links - thanks for the info! I really hope when I buy another one that it don't have the speaker issue. Google needs to step out and address Speakergate so users are aware of this issue.
https://tekmuze.wordpress.com/2015/11/04/forget-bending-the-nexus-6p-may-have-speaker-defect/

I see on Reddit that some people are hearing the exact opposite of what I was told by Google support - Google support is telling them that this actually "feature" and not a flaw, which brings to mind old comics about Windows 95 and 98 bugs being labeled as features... -_-

If it's a "fault" on all phones then surely it's an easy software fix. I'm surprised none of the reviews mentioned it?

Batfink33 said:
If it's a "fault" on all phones then surely it's an easy software fix. I'm surprised none of the reviews mentioned it?
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I too am amazed... But keep in mind that review units are hand picked and sent out by Google, so it's likely that phones without this flaw were sent to the press.

Noise cancellation call quality persists with 7.0

This is a major problem for me. I use my phone to run a business. I've been waiting for a fix for the call muffled issue. Every one of my clients I talk to says "huh....what...I can barely hear you. ". It's unbelievable to me that it has not been addressed through NUMEROUS updates.
We should not have to be disablling hardware to have a PHONE do what it is designed to do....TALK.
yes I know there is a "workaround".
I am beginning to think it's a device limitation by the placement of the notice cancellation mic. My other phones they are located at the bottom of the device on the back...not the top.

Can you share this workaround please? It's indeed very annoying.. I'm experiencing not only low volume, but also people often complain they hear them self twice..

Jhonys said:
Can you share this workaround please? It's indeed very annoying.. I'm experiencing not only low volume, but also people often complain they hear them self twice..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to your build.prop and edit the line:
persist.audio.fluence.voicecall=true
change true to false

shiftr182 said:
Go to your build.prop and edit the line:
persist.audio.fluence.voicecall=true
change true to false
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Any negative consequences?

Jhonys said:
Any negative consequences?
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You lose the benefit of noise cancellation. Phone calls in your car or other potentially noisy environments will suffer from the increased backround noise.

Not really.... I havent had any complaints. I used to get a lot of complaints about being to quiet, or echoing. Since I've done the above about two months ago, no problems.

On Verizon. I used to get complaints that people couldn't hear me. I disabled advanced LTE and the problem has gone away. I think this was due to the other person not having LTE calling or my phone switching back and forth. I haven't tried reactivating it since 7.0 update but I'm sure the problem is still there. Only downside to this is I don't get internet when I'm in the phone.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

After the "workaround" forget about using speakerphone. After applying the "fix" now when o try to use speakerphone, people can't hear me at all. I'm talking and they just say hello... hello...you there...hello...
It's extremely aggravating to be honest. A flagship PHONE that doesn't have the most basic / common phone features working. This is not new technology folks....noise cancellation has been out since oh....idk... Motorola droid ONE.
This is why I'm telling you it's not a software issue. It's a hardware/ design flaw. The noise cancellation mic is in the wrong place. It needs to be down by the bottom where it can pick up speech and reasonably determine that it's not far away...hence blocking it as background noise.

Maybe we should open a problem log with Google...

It was opened long ago and they don't address it in the last several updates. Hence why i believe it is a design flaw. Surely it can't be that difficult to solve with the resources Google has.

So I just bought a 6P this September, and it suffers this problem. I bought it off someone who had replaced it under warranty, and the manufacterure waranty expired in november I think. He had luckily purchased the extended warranty. Should send it in, and if I do, will I get a used phone in return? My biggest fear is getting a phone with a used battery that people abused and overcharged, and it won't hold a decent charge. Seems how the battery isn't easily serviceable as it should be, this is a problem for me.

HikingMoose said:
So I just bought a 6P this September, and it suffers this problem. I bought it off someone who had replaced it under warranty, and the manufacterure waranty expired in november I think. He had luckily purchased the extended warranty. Should send it in, and if I do, will I get a used phone in return? My biggest fear is getting a phone with a used battery that people abused and overcharged, and it won't hold a decent charge. Seems how the battery isn't easily serviceable as it should be, this is a problem for me.
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The phone they give I think has a new battery my dad did a RMA and battery was holding full charge