Database Users

Michrophone/USB

As we all know very well our A500 mic sucks in a big way. I was wondering if an USB headset/michrophone would work. Did anybody ever tried? How did it work?

I've never actually tried the Mic on mine.. is it really that bad?

don't think so...
I have tried a Logitech USB headset I normally use on PC with Skype, doesn't work ... I'm on 3.1...
Marcher

That's really a bad news. I was hoping on that usb mic.
And no, it's not that bad... it's worse! I am using computers since 1980 and I never ever experienced such a bad microphone. Not even the cheapest crappy ones are this bad. I really like my a500 and I am happy with it but this mic issue is a big problem for me. To the point that if I can't solve it I will be forced to sell it. I even wrote to Acer asking for explanation but nobody ever bothered to answer. When, months ago I called them (Acer Italian Assistace) asking: "Where is the mic"? Nobody was able to give me an answer... The guy didn't even know the a500 had a mic. I do believe this is unacceptable.

bluemax137 said:
That's really a bad news. I was hoping on that usb mic.
And no, it's not that bad... it's worse! I am using computers since 1980 and I never ever experienced such a bad microphone. Not even the cheapest crappy ones are this bad. I really like my a500 and I am happy with it but this mic issue is a big problem for me. To the point that if I can't solve it I will be forced to sell it. I even wrote to Acer asking for explanation but nobody ever bothered to answer. When, months ago I called them (Acer Italian Assistace) asking"Where is the mic"? Nobody was able to give me an answer... The guy didn't even know the a500 had a mic. I do believe this is unacceptable.
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I agree with you on this issue....I feel the mic is good...but its placement is made in such a way that the sound barely reaches there....
Sent from my XT720 using XDA App

I've tried the Microsoft Lifechat LX-3000, but neither the microphone nor headset worked.
Surprisingly, the in-line-volume controls worked...

My microphone bottom line
I bought an A500 about 6 weeks ago from Costco for $479, rounded up to about $520 by the time tax was added. I was quite happy with it, until I tried to use speech input, when I discovered the mic problem. I had come to rely on the generally excellent speech input on my OG Droid from 2 years ago. Then Staples came out with their $100 off coupon and the A500 priced at $399, meaning I "overpaid" about $220. I decided to return it, and WAIT. Prices will come down. In the meantime, I miss the tablet.
But here is what I think I learned in the interim.
First, I believe the mic problem to be a hardware issue, rather than software. I could be wrong. Some people claim their problem was fixed when they exchanged units. Some brave types are replacing the hardware.
Workarounds:
I tried a Motorola Bluetooth headset, with mic, but it didn't seem to be much better. That was apparently because the mic portion of the bluetooth spec hasn't been deployed yet. So if that gets fixed, there might be a workaround. I do prefer to be able to speak straight to the tablet however.
I also tried one of those little in-ear wired phones with the 4 contact jacks and an in-line mic. I had high hopes for that, but it didn't seem much better. The fact that that wasn't good either makes me think there is a software/firmware problem IN ADDITION to a hardware mic problem. But I am happy waiting, particularly because Costco's return policy was quite good.

see this photo of the guts
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=21019185&postcount=18
could it be the following? hmmmmm .... ACER?
The 2 mics could be for some type of noise cancellation. If by some chance one was wired backwards they would mostly cancel each other, leaving very little audio. Hmmmmm ... didnt research this but maybe that's what everyone is complaining about. Low low recording level would certainly fit the symptoms of a mis-wire. Manufacturing defect? I haven't done any reading or research on this idea just a thought.
I'm actually trying to find out; for a friend, if it's yet possible to get a Bluetooth mic recognized and working ... anyone?
flloydlloyd
Vancouver
Canada

Hello,
I got the mic -problem, too. I called Acer regarding the issue and they said I should send in the device for repair. 6 days later I got a brand-new device, where the microphone is working OK. It's not as crystal-clear as the iPad's mic, but I can do Skype pretty well with it now ;-)
Woody
Sent from my A500 using XDA

woodywoodstock said:
Hello,
I got the mic -problem, too. I called Acer regarding the issue and they said I should send in the device for repair. 6 days later I got a brand-new device, where the microphone is working OK. It's not as crystal-clear as the iPad's mic, but I can do Skype pretty well with it now ;-)
Woody
Sent from my A500 using XDA
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On the work invoice they sent with it, what did they claim was the fix?
I wonder about it being a hardware problem only because you can record your own voice and hear it playback fine. It's only in voip applications that it gets too low to hear. At least thats the case with mine.

It is a hardware problem, no question. A couple of months ago I took my a500 back to the assistance center and they have substituted it with a brand new one.
As somebody else said, things have improved a lot but my mic is still far to be good. Said that, I believe not all the a500 have the same hardware. Probably different tablets get different components. Some mics are better some mics are awful. I solved the problem buying a headset with mic. Now I can talk perfectly using skype, google talk etc etc. That evidently means the problem is not a sw one.
There is thread on this forum about the "right headset to buy". To make it short, we need the "Apple style" ones (sigh) having a plug with 3 little rings.

Hello,
There was no information given on the work-invoice. They just mentioned the issue "audio not recording" and "audio abnormal sound". They then sent me an exchange device.
Best
Woody
Sent from my A500 using XDA

No usb yet
Tried Logitech G35 headset volume an track skip controls work but no mike or sound
I have looked through source of HC I am not a developer but can read. There is Linux salsa sound support. Even USB sound card support but not turned on or supported. There are people urging Google to turn it on in ics . It hasn't happened yet. My experience was my tablet was almost deaf, I even opened it up switched mikes, disconnected rear mike, drilled small hole as mine was completely covered over. I could see a small rectangle opening in the front mike compartment covered over by the glass. I made a small hole just above it. All these tests and mods made very little difference. Only solution so far--use a Sony PSP headset with mike in cable, was only mike combo that worked. It has 4 segments on the plug---same configuration that some camcorders have. Not a common plug.

USB sound works but very poorly
Well I tried USB Audio Tester root -- free on playstore and with a little fiddling with the controls I got sound and mike on my Logitech G35 headset working. Alas the sound was very poor and the mike was always in. ALSO the regular mike and speakers were on as well. Maybe some other USB sound card would work better with this program. At least it proves the Tablet is capable of USB sound FYI. Running Civato’s Flexreaper extreme oc 1200 on v6 bootloader.
I will keep digging for program or controls to make this work.

About microhone

As I had problems with microphone (sound very metallic and very low) I did a test, that is, I removed the back cover and I have unplugged one microphone because there are two, one for the front camera and one camera back (the one on the cover).
Before disconnecting a microphone two, I had a rotten side of his hood and side camera screen and acceptable side mainitenant that I have unplugged the microphone, I have a good quality sound in all cases of figures. Now I ask myself the question, is there no conflict of microphones? (interférences. ...) when the two are connected. If anyone wants to try to confirm my intuition I'm sure of myself and be able to offer the problem to Acer.
traduction French to English by Google
Thanks

I would LOVE to get this microphone problem fixed. Voice input, which I have come to rely on with my Droid 1, 2 years old, is unusable on my A500. Aside from that, I love it. But this problem makes me want to return it.

My mic has never worked. Can't record sound at all. And try as I might with a jewelers eyeloop, I cannot see the mic hole where it's supposed to be (in the groove, just above the glass near the center.) I'm tempted to try to take it apart and swap the mics to see if there's any difference.

The mica are where everyone says they are.the rear mic is not for sound pickup but to cancel out background noise.I can see how unhooking it could improve the Mic loudness.but at the same time I think it would cause.static in its quality or feedback.
I am considering going to radio shack and replacing the mics.

from what I have heard the hardware is not the issue. I hear it worked fine before a certain 3.1 OTA.

Why the hell the mice is on the back where the unit has a front facing camera obviously for talking that's just wrong.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

dito33 said:
Why the hell the mice is on the back where the unit has a front facing camera obviously for talking that's just wrong.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
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As someone already said it's for noise cancellation. The front mic picks up voice + noise, the back one picks the same noise. So you can cancel the noise using proper dsp techniques.
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App

I just bought GrooVe IP and made a test call last night. The other person could hear me just fine. I'll make some more tests, but maybe I'm not having the mic problems that others are having. I've never had any problems with the wifi not connecting or being slow after waking.

msimindlessmsi2 said:
from what I have heard the hardware is not the issue. I hear it worked fine before a certain 3.1 OTA.
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That is what I have read too, but cannot confirm as I updated to 3.1 right after I received my Iconia.
I've tried the whole plug in a wired Cell Phone Headset/Mic, but that does not resolve the low mic volume for me (the other side still can barely hear me, even with their speakers on max)
I am hoping one of the custom ROMs or Kernels that are being developed fix this issue. So far, I have not seen it addressed, and does not seem many people are concerned :-( (with exception of a few people here)

GShyneDM said:
That is what I have read too, but cannot confirm as I updated to 3.1 right after I received my Iconia.
I've tried the whole plug in a wired Cell Phone Headset/Mic, but that does not resolve the low mic volume for me (the other side still can barely hear me, even with their speakers on max)
I am hoping one of the custom ROMs or Kernels that are being developed fix this issue. So far, I have not seen it addressed, and does not seem many people are concerned :-( (with exception of a few people here)
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The last A500 I owned had a good working microphone. I tested it multiple times and playback volume was good even if the sound was slightly muffled. As soon as I updated it to 3.1 OTA, the microphone recording level became very low and barely audible unless I spoke loudly and directly into the microphone. I flashed a backup of 3.01 and the microphone recording level was still poor. I returned the A500 and decided to buy a different brand of tablet.
Rob

[Q] Really quiet microphone. Normal?

Hi guys, I didn't see anything posted here about this so maybe it's just my phone, but does anyone else seem to have a quiet microphone? People are telling me they can barely hear me. I notice this issue on all ROMs including stock, and even though I have the phone NV unlocked for AT&T, even the sound recorder app is playing back my audio at a low volume.
Has anyone else experienced this? Is there any fix (software or hardware)?

If you have taken the phone to the gym and sweat or simply haven't cleaned out the mic area that will probably fixture issue. I took the phone to the gym a couple times and my fiance couldn't hear me afterwards whatsoever. Cleaned the mic and all of as back to normal.
Sent from my XT907 using xda app-developers app

Jersey846 said:
If you have taken the phone to the gym and sweat or simply haven't cleaned out the mic area that will probably fixture issue. I took the phone to the gym a couple times and my fiance couldn't hear me afterwards whatsoever. Cleaned the mic and all of as back to normal.
Sent from my XT907 using xda app-developers app
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Hmm, well the mic area looked clean to me, but this was a pre-owned phone I bought from Swappa so I'm not sure if the previous owner did anything. In any case, I called some friends and they said they could hear me fine. I don't know if cleaning the mic did the trick, because using a voice recorder app it still sounds low, but as long as other people can hear what I say, I'm fine with it. Thanks a lot for your help!

phantomsniper773 said:
Hmm, well the mic area looked clean to me, but this was a pre-owned phone I bought from Swappa so I'm not sure if the previous owner did anything. In any case, I called some friends and they said they could hear me fine. I don't know if cleaning the mic did the trick, because using a voice recorder app it still sounds low, but as long as other people can hear what I say, I'm fine with it. Thanks a lot for your help!
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Glad it's working better.. let me know if it persists and I'll do some more research.

I recently snagged an M from Craigslist. The phone is in pretty much brand new condition, not a scratch on this thing, the guy even threw in a brand new Otter Box case for it. It works great, except for the terrible mic quality. No matter who I call, they all complain about the quality, whether I have 5 bars of 4G or not. I've downloaded a few voice recorder apps, and they seem to record in fairly reasonable quality, so I'm not quite sure what the deal is. I've been looking for any reference to poor mic quality for the xt907 for a few days now and this is one of maybe 3 threads on the topic. So obviously it's not a very widespread issue. But I'd still like to be able to use my new phone without resorting to Bluetooth or a wired headset.
Does anyone have any experience with this issue? Or replacing the actual physical mic inside the phone? I've found replacement parts here and there, but they all just say 'XT907 Replacement Mic" etc. If someone has an actual model/part number for the microphone, or know where to find it, I'd greatly appreciate the info.
For the OP, when you cleaned your mic, how exactly did you go about it? I've hit it with compressed air but I haven't taken the phone apart yet.
Thanks again for any help.

WusteHase said:
I recently snagged an M from Craigslist. The phone is in pretty much brand new condition, not a scratch on this thing, the guy even threw in a brand new Otter Box case for it. It works great, except for the terrible mic quality. No matter who I call, they all complain about the quality, whether I have 5 bars of 4G or not. I've downloaded a few voice recorder apps, and they seem to record in fairly reasonable quality, so I'm not quite sure what the deal is. I've been looking for any reference to poor mic quality for the xt907 for a few days now and this is one of maybe 3 threads on the topic. So obviously it's not a very widespread issue. But I'd still like to be able to use my new phone without resorting to Bluetooth or a wired headset.
Does anyone have any experience with this issue? Or replacing the actual physical mic inside the phone? I've found replacement parts here and there, but they all just say 'XT907 Replacement Mic" etc. If someone has an actual model/part number for the microphone, or know where to find it, I'd greatly appreciate the info.
For the OP, when you cleaned your mic, how exactly did you go about it? I've hit it with compressed air but I haven't taken the phone apart yet.
Thanks again for any help.
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Compressed air would probably work, I just blew into it to clear any dust, and I tried to take a small microfiber cloth and insert the corner into the mic piece just in case there was any extra dust, though the mic hole was pretty clean to begin with.
I mostly had the problem when I called my dad though, and I found out the problem was a problem with the earpiece in the Droid 2 Global that my dad was using. When I switched him to an older Sony Ericsson w518a, the voice still seemed a *tiny* bit quieter than I think it should, but by no means was it as bad as with the Droid 2 Global.
tl;dr: I pretty much came to the conclusion that the earpiece of the other person was faulty, not the mic of the Razr M.

I also have the same issue with the outgoing voice quality of the Razr M. After a lot of researching I have come to the conclusion that it is actually the Noise-Cancelling feature of the phone that is not tuned correctly or outright defective on some devices. The secondary mic is located on top of the back camera. If you try to cover it completely with tape or something rigid, the voice quality improves somewhat.
Since the default phone application is the only one that seems to utilize the noise cancelling feature, it also seems to be the only one that suffers from horrendous outgoing voice quality. All my other apps that use a mic, like Viber, Voice recorder and VoIP apps, do not have this problem.
There is no way to disable this feature, on some phones it's a simple toggle but not on the Razr M with JB. I know of other mods where it can be disabled in the Phone.apk by disassembling it and removing the lines of code that way, but I have no knowledge of doing that. If someone is able to shed some light on this process, please help us out.

Problem with noise suppression, nothing else. Try to remove second mic from the board.

Using shoulder to hold phone on call

Anyone else use their shoulder to hold their phone while on a call? People say they can't hear me and I'm cutting out. This really sucks because I'm usually using both hands when talking on the phone.

That's crazy that you mention that. I've been having the exact same thing happen on my Nexus 6.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I'd assume if you're not holding the phone a certain way, noise cancellation thinks your voice is a background voice and blocks you out. If you're at home or in quieter environments, turning off noise cancellation to fix this shouldn't be much of a problem.

mosincredible said:
I'd assume if you're not holding the phone a certain way, noise cancellation thinks your voice is a background voice and blocks you out. If you're at home or in quieter environments, turning off noise cancellation to fix this shouldn't be much of a problem.
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There's a setting for this?

640k said:
There's a setting for this?
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Hell if I know. I've been pending for like 18 days. I just know on my current phone, noise cancellation is very aggressive and gets in the way sometimes. Does the 6P have a setting for noise cancellation?

motox502 said:
Anyone else use their shoulder to hold their phone while on a call? People say they can't hear me and I'm cutting out. This really sucks because I'm usually using both hands when talking on the phone.
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Headphones? Or perhaps Bluetooth ear piece?
Sent from a phone that is not a 128GB Frost Nexus 6P

Or speakerphone?
Sent from my LG-v410 using Tapatalk

I vaguely remember having this issue with my N6. It might be related to how stock Android does noise cancellation. I made the switch to a wired headset. So much easier/consistent.

Antenna is up in that glass near the camera. If you grab that part with your hand signal will drop. I imagine if it's pressed your shoulder same thing will happen. Not sure if that is the cause of the issue just something I noticed

motox502 said:
Anyone else use their shoulder to hold their phone while on a call? People say they can't hear me and I'm cutting out. This really sucks because I'm usually using both hands when talking on the phone.
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Othoric said:
That's crazy that you mention that. I've been having the exact same thing happen on my Nexus 6.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
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daewond3r said:
I vaguely remember having this issue with my N6. It might be related to how stock Android does noise cancellation. I made the switch to a wired headset. So much easier/consistent.
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My nexus 6 has the same problem. Haven't been able to find a fix. Was hoping it wouldn't be an issue on 6p

Othoric said:
That's crazy that you mention that. I've been having the exact same thing happen on my Nexus 6.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
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I had the problem with the Nexus 6 but haven't experienced the issue with my 6P.

daewond3r said:
I vaguely remember having this issue with my N6. It might be related to how stock Android does noise cancellation. I made the switch to a wired headset. So much easier/consistent.
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Click to collapse
Noise cancellation is not a feature of Android, it's part of the electronics of the phone itself.
The 6P probalby uses Qualcomm's Fluence noise cancellation, which is built into Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipsets. Other phones have a separate chip for noise cancellation, like in the Nexus One, which used the Audience chip (now called Earsmart)--Audience is much superior to Fluence, but people are using it less and less (probably to avoid licensing feeds). The Nexus 6 uses Motorola's Crystal Talk (also better than Fluence). In any case, active noise cancellation is a hardware feature and has nothing to do with Android per se. Even Apple once used the Audience chip (in the iPhone 4)--now Apple uses it's own in-house and very much inferior solution (being cheap is universal).
In any case, the 6P has three microphones, two of which are used for noise cancellation. One of them is clearly right below the camera hump, on the back. You can easily see the hole. If you block that hole, you probably can cause problems with how the microphones are supposed to work in conjunction with each other. Given that holding the phone between your shoulder and your ear is going to press your shoulder against and cover up the top of the back of the phone, it seems probable that the microphone below the camera hump is being blocked.
The main mic that you speak into on the 6P is probably in the bottom speaker grill. I can't really figure out where the third mic is. In theory, three microphones, instead of two, should improve noise cancellation, but I haven't see anyone do a good review of this yet on the 6P (reviews pretty much ignore this feature these days, even AnandTech that used to do a nice test on it with new phones and post recordings for people to hear the differences).
The Nexus 6 has four microphones, so it would be even easier, I suppose to block a microphone on that phone and mess things up.

interesting thought. i wonder if there's a difference between "disabling" a mic and "blocking" a mic. if you think about it, your shoulder on the rear mic is probably louder than the one you're talking in to as you are rubbing against it.
Could someone test covering that mic with your finger and reporting the results?

cb474 said:
Noise cancellation is not a feature of Android, it's part of the electronics of the phone itself.
The 6P probalby uses Qualcomm's Fluence noise cancellation, which is built into Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipsets. Other phones have a separate chip for noise cancellation, like in the Nexus One, which used the Audience chip (now called Earsmart)--Audience is much superior to Fluence, but people are using it less and less (probably to avoid licensing feeds). The Nexus 6 uses Motorola's Crystal Talk (also better than Fluence). In any case, active noise cancellation is a hardware feature and has nothing to do with Android per se. Even Apple once used the Audience chip (in the iPhone 4)--now Apple uses it's own in-house and very much inferior solution (being cheap is universal).
In any case, the 6P has three microphones, two of which are used for noise cancellation. One of them is clearly right below the camera hump, on the back. You can easily see the hole. If you block that hole, you probably can cause problems with how the microphones are supposed to work in conjunction with each other. Given that holding the phone between your shoulder and your ear is going to press your shoulder against and cover up the top of the back of the phone, it seems probable that the microphone below the camera hump is being blocked.
The main mic that you speak into on the 6P is probably in the bottom speaker grill. I can't really figure out where the third mic is. In theory, three microphones, instead of two, should improve noise cancellation, but I haven't see anyone do a good review of this yet on the 6P (reviews pretty much ignore this feature these days, even AnandTech that used to do a nice test on it with new phones and post recordings for people to hear the differences).
The Nexus 6 has four microphones, so it would be even easier, I suppose to block a microphone on that phone and mess things up.
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Thanks for the info! I also had a feeling that, at least on the 6P, the mic hole on the back could cause issues if covered.

Hmmmwell sounds like there isn't a fix for this issue. VERY annoying.

motox502 said:
Hmmmwell sounds like there isn't a fix for this issue. VERY annoying.
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Yes I'm having the same issue. I'm sure it's the noise cancelling feature because if I adjust the phone upwards then the problem is gone. However, it's not easy to shoulder the phone like that.

motox502 said:
Anyone else use their shoulder to hold their phone while on a call? People say they can't hear me and I'm cutting out. This really sucks because I'm usually using both hands when talking on the phone.
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You should stop doing that. You will mess up your neck/spine. Get a bluetooth.

Never use bent neck/shoulder. Prefer Speaker phone.

Call quality is a bit disappointing

Anyone else think this? Everyone sounds muffled

abraxo said:
Anyone else think this? Everyone sounds muffled
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IIRC, this is a common issue with some Nexus devices. I saw somewhere that a 6P owner fixed the issue on their device by changing a line in the build.prop, as done here on the Nexus 5. Apparently you have to change the value of "persist.audio.influence.voicecall" from "true" to "false". Of course, you have to be rooted to modify the build.prop, and I think modifying the build.prop breaks OTA updates because of system block verifications.
Edit - apparently the muffled sound issue is a result of the noise cancellation microphone picking up your voice as background noise, meaning it attempts to reduce the volume of your voice. It's probably some sort of design flaw, but I don't think it's worth RMAing when it can be fixed with a simple software modification to the build.prop. Alternatively, you should be able to fix the issue by covering whichever microphone is the noise-cancelling microphone on the Nexus 6P (for the Nexus 5, I read that it was the top microphone)

Codename13 said:
IIRC, this is a common issue with some Nexus devices. I saw somewhere that a 6P owner fixed the issue on their device by changing a line in the build.prop, as done here on the Nexus 5. Apparently you have to change the value of "persist.audio.influence.voicecall" from "true" to "false". Of course, you have to be rooted to modify the build.prop, and I think modifying the build.prop breaks OTA updates because of system block verifications.
Edit - apparently the muffled sound issue is a result of the noise cancellation microphone picking up your voice as background noise, meaning it attempts to reduce the volume of your voice. It's probably some sort of design flaw, but I don't think it's worth RMAing when it can be fixed with a simple software modification to the build.prop. Alternatively, you should be able to fix the issue by covering whichever microphone is the noise-cancelling microphone on the Nexus 6P (for the Nexus 5, I read that it was the top microphone)
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Thanks, I'll definitely check those fixes out. I don't think losing ota updates are too big a deal since you can't use otas when you're rooted anyway

abraxo said:
Thanks, I'll definitely check those fixes out. I don't think losing ota updates are too big a deal since you can't use otas when you're rooted anyway
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Here you go: I'd go ahead and post here to add to the "pile" of people confirming this as a legitimate issue. Someone from Google confirmed earlier they were looking into it. https://productforums.google.com/forum/m/#!topic/nexus/g70qCHkqLA4
(Also, the desktop view looks WAY better)

Yes it's weird. Also I am surprised other party cannot hear if you place the phone on the table. What is up with that...

Google can't seem to get noise cancellation right. I remember the issue with my N5. I left myself a voicemail back then and was surprised how muffled I sounded. After that, I understood fully why people would keep asking me to repeat things while on a call. I'm still subscribed to the threads on Google Product Forums and it seems they never actually fixed it.
I suggest calling your Google Voice number or something and leaving a message to test.

Yeah, noise cancellation is kinda funk though I've actually been pretty pleased with it on the 6p. I do notice times with both the 6p and the 6s+ that sound gets muffled and I assumed noise cancellation was the cause.

coolguy949 said:
Google can't seem to get noise cancellation right. I remember the issue with my N5. I left myself a voicemail back then and was surprised how muffled I sounded. After that, I understood fully why people would keep asking me to repeat things while on a call. I'm still subscribed to the threads on Google Product Forums and it seems they never actually fixed it.
I suggest calling your Google Voice number or something and leaving a message to test.
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Ironically, Google once had the best noise cancellation there ever was and was possibly the first to put it in a smartphone. The Nexus One used the Audience chip (now called Earsmart). It was amazing. People regularly thought I was at home when i was in a noisy cafe or out on the street. Subsequently Apple put the Audience chip in the iPhone 4 and it also got rave reviews for noise cancellation.
But it's been downhill since the Nexus One. The Nexus S had no (!) noise cancellation. The Galaxy Nexus had something crappy that I have never figured out what it was. Then the Nexus 4 turned to what is now the default in most phones, Qualcomm's Fluence--it's built into their chipsets; Fluence is pretty medicore and tends to have a lot of issues, compared to the Audience chip. The Nexus 5 also uses Fluence and has had a lot of issues cutting off the beginning and end of people's statements. The Nexus 6 uses Motorola's Crystal Talk and has four microphones (instead of two) for noise cancellation; it seems to be a step up from Fluence, but nothing like the Audience chip. And now I assume with the Snapdragon 810 chipset in the Nexus 6P Google has gone back to Fluence; however the 6P has three microphones, which is interesting; I read at least one person saying it's better than the Nexus 6.
Anyway, probably people should blame Qualcomm, rather than Google. As their chipsets have become more and more common, Fluence has become the default noise cancellation on many phones and it's never been that great.
Strangely, Apple dropped the great Audience chip in the iPhone 5, and people noticed that was a real step backwards. And Samsung, which used to put in in all the Galaxy S and Note phones has now dropped it with the S6. So for whatever reason (probably companies not wanting to pay licensing fees) the Audience chip seems to almost be unused these days, even though it is the best and was a pioneer in the field. Noise cancellation started out great and has only gone down hill ever since.
*
For those experiencing muffled voices, it's possible that the way you're holding the 6P is blocking one of the noise cancelling mics. There is a whole under the camera hump on the back that is one of the mics. I'm assuming the main mic is in the speaker at the bottom of the front of the phone. I'm not sure where the third mic is.
If you block one of the mics that can create issues with call quality. So you might try moving your hand around to see if that improves call quality.
If you take the advice above to disable noise cancellation in the build.prop, your voice will be more clear in quiet places, but you will have no noise cancellation at all and in noisy places it could really suck--every tiny little background sound will probably be picked up and overamplified, for your caller.

cb474 said:
Ironically, Google once had the best noise cancellation there ever was and was possibly the first to put it in a smartphone. The Nexus One used the Audience chip (now called Earsmart). It was amazing. People regularly thought I was at home when i was in a noisy cafe or out on the street. Subsequently Apple put the Audience chip in the iPhone 4 and it also got rave reviews for noise cancellation.
But it's been downhill since the Nexus One. The Nexus S had no (!) noise cancellation. The Galaxy Nexus had something crappy that I have never figured out what it was. Then the Nexus 4 turned to what is now the default in most phones, Qualcomm's Fluence--it's built into their chipsets; Fluence is pretty medicore and tends to have a lot of issues, compared to the Audience chip. The Nexus 5 also uses Fluence and has had a lot of issues cutting off the beginning and end of people's statements. The Nexus 6 uses Motorola's Crystal Talk and has four microphones (instead of two) for noise cancellation; it seems to be a step up from Fluence, but nothing like the Audience chip. And now I assume with the Snapdragon 810 chipset in the Nexus 6P Google has gone back to Fluence; however the 6P has three microphones, which is interesting; I read at least one person saying it's better than the Nexus 6.
Anyway, probably people should blame Qualcomm, rather than Google. As their chipsets have become more and more common, Fluence has become the default noise cancellation on many phones and it's never been that great.
Strangely, Apple dropped the great Audience chip in the iPhone 5, and people noticed that was a real step backwards. And Samsung, which used to put in in all the Galaxy S and Note phones has now dropped it with the S6. So for whatever reason (probably companies not wanting to pay licensing fees) the Audience chip seems to almost be unused these days, even though it is the best and was a pioneer in the field. Noise cancellation started out great and has only gone down hill ever since.
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For those experiencing muffled voices, it's possible that the way you're holding the 6P is blocking one of the noise cancelling mics. There is a whole under the camera hump on the back that is one of the mics. I'm assuming the main mic is in the speaker at the bottom of the front of the phone. I'm not sure where the third mic is.
If you block one of the mics that can create issues with call quality. So you might try moving your hand around to see if that improves call quality.
If you take the advice above to disable noise cancellation in the build.prop, your voice will be more clear in quiet places, but you will have no noise cancellation at all and in noisy places it could really suck--every tiny little background sound will probably be picked up and overamplified, for your caller.
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I bet the main microphone is the one in the back and that is ****ed up choice by whoever made this phone. You cannot have a vonference call and lay the phone on the table while speaking because microphones get muted.

anglerstock said:
I bet the main microphone is the one in the back and that is ****ed up choice by whoever made this phone. You cannot have a vonference call and lay the phone on the table while speaking because microphones get muted.
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The main microphone is absolutely not the one on the back. The main microphone is always the one positioned closet to the mouth, when you hold the phone to your head. There is no other way noise cancellation could work. The back of the phone is a very typical place for a secondary, noise cancellation, microphone. There is nothing wrong with that position. It needs to be faced away from the source of your voice (your mouth) and towards an other external sound surrounding you (the rest of the room, space around you, etc.). Otherwise, there would be no way to distinguish what's background noise, from what's your voice, and filter the background noise out. What matters is the hardware chip that does the signal processing. Some (e.g. the Audience chip) are much better than others (e.g. Fluence).

cb474 said:
The main microphone is absolutely not the one on the back. The main microphone is always the one positioned closet to the mouth, when you hold the phone to your head. There is no other way noise cancellation could work. The back of the phone is a very typical place for a secondary, noise cancellation, microphone. There is nothing wrong with that position. It needs to be faced away from the source of your voice (your mouth) and towards an other external sound surrounding you (the rest of the room, space around you, etc.). Otherwise, there would be no way to distinguish what's background noise, from what's your voice, and filter the background noise out. What matters is the hardware chip that does the signal processing. Some (e.g. the Audience chip) are much better than others (e.g. Fluence).
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Main microphone is on the back. Put your phone on a desk and make a call. Good luck having other party hear you

anglerstock said:
Main microphone is on the back. Put your phone on a desk and make a call. Good luck having other party hear you
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You are just completely wrong about this and do not understand how noise cancellation and microphones on cell phones work. The reason placing the phone on the desk may interfere with call quality, is because it may block the secondary noise cancellation microphone on the back and cause the noise cancellation to improperly filter out your voice (as if it were background noise), because it can't tell what is background noise when this secondary mic is blocked.

cb474 said:
The main microphone is absolutely not the one on the back. The main microphone is always the one positioned closet to the mouth, when you hold the phone to your head. There is no other way noise cancellation could work. The back of the phone is a very typical place for a secondary, noise cancellation, microphone. There is nothing wrong with that position. It needs to be faced away from the source of your voice (your mouth) and towards an other external sound surrounding you (the rest of the room, space around you, etc.). Otherwise, there would be no way to distinguish what's background noise, from what's your voice, and filter the background noise out. What matters is the hardware chip that does the signal processing. Some (e.g. the Audience chip) are much better than others (e.g. Fluence).
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cb474 said:
You are just completely wrong about this and do not understand how noise cancellation and microphones on cell phones work. The reason placing the phone on the desk may interfere with call quality, is because it may block the secondary noise cancellation microphone on the back and cause the noise cancellation to improperly filter out your voice (as if it were background noise), because it can't tell what is background noise when this secondary mic is blocked.
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Thank you for clearing that up, I've seen the same ignorance on different forums besides XDA from people who made a big deal out of this and blew it way out of proportion. This is as ridiculous as one post I saw that demanded there be an LED notification on the back so he can place his phone face down.

cb474 said:
You are just completely wrong about this and do not understand how noise cancellation and microphones on cell phones work. The reason placing the phone on the desk may interfere with call quality, is because it may block the secondary noise cancellation microphone on the back and cause the noise cancellation to improperly filter out your voice (as if it were background noise), because it can't tell what is background noise when this secondary mic is blocked.
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In any case, some basic uses like putting phone on table and holding between ear and shoulder results in no mic/voice capture. This is a serious issue. I have experienced at least the latter on more than one occasion and it was extremely frustrating.

omnius1 said:
Thank you for clearing that up, I've seen the same ignorance on different forums besides XDA from people who made a big deal out of this and blew it way out of proportion. This is as ridiculous as one post I saw that demanded there be an LED notification on the back so he can place his phone face down.
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If you use your phone for phone calls maybe you would understand

subhani said:
In any case, some basic uses like putting phone on table and holding between ear and shoulder results in no mic/voice capture. This is a serious issue. I have experienced at least the latter on more than one occasion and it was extremely frustrating.
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I didn't say it wasn't an issue. I was just clarifying what and where the different microphones are, since some people have complete misunderstandings about this.
Given that one of the two noise cancellation microphones is on the back of the phone, just below the camera visor, and given that covering a noise cancellation microphone will always disrupt call quality, obviously holding the phone between your ear and shoulder (which blocks this microphone) is going to be a problem. Complaining about it isn't going to change it, because the only solution would be for Huawei to redesign the phone. I wouldn't hold your breath for that to happen. If holding the phone that way is a crucial functionality for you, then obviously the 6P is not the right phone for you (though frankly, really? this is important to people?).
On the other hand, it is reasonable to expect the phone to work properly when placed on a table in speakerphone mode. So if that is a problem with the 6P (no everyone is reporting this), then that is a true design flaw. But still, I wouldn't hold my breath for a fix, because there may be no software solution for this (other than disabling the noise cancellation, as some have done--but then of course, you have no noise cancellation, which isn't great either).

anglerstock said:
If you use your phone for phone calls maybe you would understand
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I do, the NC mic is located way at the top back of a quite tall phone. It's nearly impossible to grip a phone to your head and have your hand be anywhere near that mic unless your hands are literally half a foot or more wide. So that leaves sitting it on a table in speakerphone or shouldering it. I don't shoulder phones, but I have used it on a table in speaker without any issues. And it's not happening to that many people anyway.

abraxo said:
Anyone else think this? Everyone sounds muffled
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I think everyone in this thread misunderstood your question. From your question I take it you are the one using the Nexus 6p and you are the one who hears everyone else muffled. Which would not have anything to do with your mic but everything to do with the top speaker.
I don't know about you but I personally think this phone is the best sounding phone for calls I've ever owned when it comes to hearing people on the other end. Whether they can hear me OK or not, I don't know. I haven't heard complaints.

cb474 said:
I didn't say it wasn't an issue. I was just clarifying what and where the different microphones are, since some people have complete misunderstandings about this.
Given that one of the two noise cancellation microphones is on the back of the phone, just below the camera visor, and given that covering a noise cancellation microphone will always disrupt call quality, obviously holding the phone between your ear and shoulder (which blocks this microphone) is going to be a problem. Complaining about it isn't going to change it, because the only solution would be for Huawei to redesign the phone. I wouldn't hold your breath for that to happen. If holding the phone that way is a crucial functionality for you, then obviously the 6P is not the right phone for you (though frankly, really? this is important to people?).
On the other hand, it is reasonable to expect the phone to work properly when placed on a table in speakerphone mode. So if that is a problem with the 6P (no everyone is reporting this), then that is a true design flaw. But still, I wouldn't hold my breath for a fix, because there may be no software solution for this (other than disabling the noise cancellation, as some have done--but then of course, you have no noise cancellation, which isn't great either).
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That was an answer straight out of Steve Jobs' mouth . Jokes aside. If there are faults, one shouldn't dismiss them simply out of the view that it may need a HW revision, when the solution may be simpler. One certainly mustn't assume that a phone with one stated defect is simply not for me, since really that is for me to decide and at no point have I given the impression that this is a deal breaker for me.
TLDR; it IS an issue for some. Is there any solution? How widespread is the problem? Nothing too complicated guys. This IS the 'Help' section of the forum.

subhani said:
That was an answer straight out of Steve Jobs' mouth . Jokes aside. If there are faults, one shouldn't dismiss them simply out of the view that it may need a HW revision, when the solution may be simpler. One certainly mustn't assume that a phone with one stated defect is simply not for me, since really that is for me to decide and at no point have I given the impression that this is a deal breaker for me.
TLDR; it IS an issue for some. Is there any solution? How widespread is the problem? Nothing too complicated guys. This IS the 'Help' section of the forum.
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Yes, I thought of making a steve Jobs joke when I wrote that. But if ever there was a case of don't hold it that way, this is it. With the iPhone 4, the problem was you couldn't hold the phone in the most normal way, during calls, that almost anyone would do. Whereas shouldering the phone to your head, especially with cell phones that are so thin and not conducive to this, is a pretty limited use case.
Sure, it could be a deal breaker for some people, but I don't really see this as a design flaw. That noise cancelling mic needs to be on the back of the phone and as far away from the mouth as possible, for noise cancellation to work. The position it is in makes a lot of sense. There aren't a lot of other good places for it, where it wouldn't be more likely to be covered by a finger (like on the side of the phone). If the trade off for functional noise cancellation is you can't shoulder the phone, that's a pretty sensible trade off, I think. You can't please everybody and catering to a very small use case scenario doesn't make sense.
On the other hand, if the phone doesn't work properly in speakerphone mode when sitting non a table, an incrediby common and normal use case scenario, then that to me seems more like a legitimate design flaw.
That aside, part of my point is also, whatever people think of the design and whether it works for them. If they are hoping that mic on the back is going to be repositioned in a revision of the phone, so people can shoulder it, they are deluding themselves. This is not an issue that's going to be addressed. But other noise cancellation issues, that might have to do with the algorithm might get addressed, although it would require more than an update to Android, since the noise cancellation is built into Qualcomm's chipset. I don't even know if it can be updated. So again, whatever one thinks, you probably should take it as a point for deciding whether you want the phone, because I think it's pretty unlikey there will be a "fix" for these "issues."
The most likely thing that might get fixed is just if there are quality control issues, having to do with the position of the microphone inside the phone and the gaskets between them and the holes in the body of the phone. Tiny misalignments can be surprisingly detrimental to the performance of both mics and speakers. That's something Huawei could correct, without having to physically redesign the phone.
So it's prefectly okay to hate the 6P for having these issues and not want the phone. But I think people should set there expectations pretty low if they think they will be fixed. It's much more complicated than as simple update to Android.
TLDR: Don't hold it that way. And now may be the time to lose all hope. (But by the way, some people report the call quality on the 6P is great and it would be nice to hear more from those people.)