Database Users

Problem with microphone volume when calling

Hi,
Since my Hermes fell off the table people keep complaining that they have problems hearing my voice while talking on the phone. They say the volume of my voice is too low. When using a headset everything's fine.
I've never had a problem like that, nevertheless I dismantled the Hermes to see if there was anything wrong with the microphone after the fall, but it seemed ok.
I also recorded my own voice using the voice recorder in WM6 to test the microphone and strangely enough my voice sounds pretty loud and clear to me.
After some googling I found that many people seem to have a problem with their voice barely being heard by other people on the phone.
Solutions I could not find and I do not understand why that problem has occurred after the Hermes fell down, as it seems to be software-related (otherwise my mic-test would have resulted in a low-volume recording, which it did not).
Has anyone here had that problem and found a solution?

Well, I've solved the problem, although not by the means I originally wanted to. I just did a recovery of a Backup from before the day the Hermes fell down and voila - everything works again as it should (although I still don't get it how the phone falling down can change the SOFTWARE, but hey, as long as it works).
Again we see the importance of regular backups.

I had this problem before. tried to fix it but didn't work. Flashed all sorts of roms, all didn't work. Even newly flashed roms still had this problem.
Headset is fine
but just speaking into the mic isn't.
Same as you, recording works fine too, but mic to phone just doesn't work. I am curious how did you dissasemble your phone though, do you have a manual or something?

I had this problem before. tried to fix it but didn't work. Flashed all sorts of roms, all didn't work. Even newly flashed roms still had this problem.
Headset is fine
but just speaking into the mic isn't.
Same as you, recording works fine too, but mic to phone just doesn't work. I am curious how did you dissasemble your phone though, do you have a manual or something?

Hi again,
Well, the problem's back again. Even after resetting the Hermes at first it worked fine, but later people complained again that my voice was too low. So it seems that the problem is first solved by resetting/backup recovery, but then reappears. Don't know how that is possible, but I fear that it is indeed hardware-related.
Has anyone any suggestions as to what I can do?
Am I right in assuming that the hole next to the one for resetting the phone is for the microphone? Because when I dismantled my Hermes the corresponding part did not look like a microphone at all. Here's a picture of what I am talking about:
Is the part where the black rubber-thingy (circled below) that easily falls off when dismantling is placed over the microphone?
As for the dismanteling, go there:
http://www.mikechannon.net/page1.html
and search for "Hermes", there are some nice guides there.
I appreciate any hints that could lead to me solving this problem.

Update:
I've been searching for corresponding Registry Entries and so far have found these:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Phone
Changing "Vol" to 65535 increased the mic volume a little bit, but it was still too low for being acceptable (I have been testing the volume by placing my Hermes next to my PC speaker while playing an audiobook at a normal volume and calling my landline as to see how it sounds).
See also here for the thread where I found this info.
I also found these two threads:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-260171.html
http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-256734.html
My Values at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\HTC\AUDIOGAINx were originally at 18 and 19. I changed them first to AA and this did, or so it seemed, increase the volume more notably. Changing the Values to CC however changed little compared to AA (although this should make the mic even louder). I may be mistaken, but I even think that the quality was better with AA.
I am not familiar with the actual volume of the mic at the receiver's end, but in my opinion the volume was pretty ok. I will call a few of the people who have been complaining and see what they have to say about the volume.

Update:
I just called my brother and he said my voice was as low as before, so my modifications had no effect.
Next thing I will try is to totally disassemble my Hermes and put it back together so to check every connection that might have gone loose.

Update: Dismantled it totally (except for the screen part) - didn't help either.
Seems like there is no solution to this problem. Most likely I will have to get a replacement. This sucks.

HI
Exactly the same problem here.
(No phone audio but Note recording & Headset works fine)
Only the phone was not dropped. Just happened !
Did a reset but did'nt wok either !
Phones in great condition.
Like you though it was a Software Issue
How much was a new mic ?
Can it be economically soldered on ?
Is there no solution whatsoever ?
Please keep me updated
Many Thanks
Sampler100

Hi Sampler,
In the end I found no solution to my problem. Got myself a Vario III and am using that one ever since.
Please let me know if you find anything that can solve this.
Greets,
Cartman

Some of these problems (I don't say all) may be caused by damage to the mini USB port and the fine wires inside it. The port has wiring related to sound both earpiece and Mic. As you know connecting a handsfree headset cuts off the Mic and earpiece, so you can see that damage to the port or bend pins inside it can cause Mic problems. This may be why sound recording is fine, but in phone mode the Mic is cut off.
I say this only to avoid the assumption that the Mic is damaged (it may be), but it can also be the port and associated wiring that causes the problem. If you are dismantling check the solder contacts around the USB port for cracks and also for bent pins in the socket.
Mike

ACER A500 Microphone Fix?

Hi, guys Ive been looking for microphone fix on my A500 , when i record any video it has this loud background noise...which in fact my room is silent , also when I'm recording videos outside & using Skype . Im using HC 3.2.1 rooted with thor's CMW ver 1.5 . I been searching the forum for a fix but i cant find it or so as I read that they will fix this issue on HC 3.2, but still i get this issues . Is this a Hardware problem or OS issue?
Also can I still return this tablet to walmart & get a refund? I already exchange the first 1 cuz It got a charging issue. SO basically I'm returning an exchange tablet. It hasn't been 14 days yet. as they mentioned for returns & refunds.
Thanks.

hatyrei said:
Hi, guys Ive been looking for microphone fix on my A500
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny, I was coming here to ask for help about something similar...
In my case, I have a refurbished A500 which has been awesome so far, with the exception of the microphone. It records terribly, lots of noise and distortion in any recording I make (using Recorder as the test app I made a short .amr recording which I attach 7zip-compressed).
A friend has an A500, and it doesn't seem to display this issue. While it's no deal-breaker (I can live without recording audio...playback of tv shows loaded on the card works better-than-fine!), I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to fix it, or at least make it a little less...noisy.

I believe the culprit has to do with the speakers creating feedback. The workaround is to use headphones. Hope this works for you.

Take a look here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1065219

tabasco22 said:
Take a look here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1065219
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did read that entire thread, which only tells me there are multiple unrelated issues around audio recording on the A500...these issues seem to get all mixed-together in that thread, with people who only care about Skype focusing on that and cross-talking to people who have completely different recording issues. I was hoping this thread could avoid the whole need-to-use-Skype distraction and focus on the specific issue of seemingly over-driven recordings. (With the refurb, I'm also out of the whole keep-complaining-to-acer-until-they-do-something-to-fix-it focus there seems to be on that thread. I can't really complain, and any warranty I had expired a while ago.)
The earlier suggestion to use a headset is, however, something I should have considered first (even read in the earlier Skype-centric thread), and am a little embarrassed I didn't. Sometime this weekend I'll pick up a cheap 3.5 mic/headphone set and see if that makes any difference. If it does, and the recordings though it are cleaner, I can be more comfortable it will work for one thing I care about...using the A500 with the SquareUp CC processor.

Mic - Solution for me.
Problem: Microphone recordings sound terrible. Soft, Choppy, Mechanical, like a bad cell call, bathroom (NOT the severe helicopter sound as others have reported). My hypothesis like others have suggested, seems to be noise cancellation issues. Especially since the issues vary app to app. These mics are right beside each other and I assume they're pretty much hearing the same thing, and the rear is trying to cancel what it hears, which is the same as the front! End result being filtering what it hears, ie filtering everything? FAIL.
Test 1: Using Recorder and Skype Test call, I tested different distances talking to the front/back, covering front mic, covering back mic, case on, case off, headphones plugged in/out, etc. In some instances you could hear some, and other hear nothing, some sound ok, some sound horrible. I wasn't satisfied with ANY.
Test 2: Popped off back of tablet and disconnected REAR facing mic. They are side/side, make sure you disconnect the correct one, the one with the diaphragm pointing out. Simple connector. Then tried Recorder/Skype Test call and both sounded Excellent. I have not tried a call with Skype, just the test. EDIT: Tested a real Skype call last night. No sound issues on my end or other end.
Conclusion: Removal of rear mic provided the best quality. There is zero filtering/cancellation/etc.

Gotta try this
Hmm!
Should of thought of this myself. Going to give it shot and post back later!
Unhooked the rear mike --it helps the front m ike is usable now. Not perfect but works.
So for me
1 Run Flexreaper ICS by Civato = better mike
2 Drill hole for front mike = not as muffled
3 Disconnect rear mike= almost as good as a phone but not as sensitive.
Okay on recording and search but Skype still noisy without headset.
Damn connectors were a pain to unhook.

appoaf said:
Problem: Microphone recordings sound terrible. Soft, Choppy, Mechanical, like a bad cell call, bathroom (NOT the severe helicopter sound as others have reported). My hypothesis like others have suggested, seems to be noise cancellation issues. Especially since the issues vary app to app. These mics are right beside each other and I assume they're pretty much hearing the same thing, and the rear is trying to cancel what it hears, which is the same as the front! End result being filtering what it hears, ie filtering everything? FAIL.
Test 1: Using Recorder and Skype Test call, I tested different distances talking to the front/back, covering front mic, covering back mic, case on, case off, headphones plugged in/out, etc. In some instances you could hear some, and other hear nothing, some sound ok, some sound horrible. I wasn't satisfied with ANY.
Test 2: Popped off back of tablet and disconnected REAR facing mic. They are side/side, make sure you disconnect the correct one, the one with the diaphragm pointing out. Simple connector. Then tried Recorder/Skype Test call and both sounded Excellent. I have not tried a call with Skype, just the test. EDIT: Tested a real Skype call last night. No sound issues on my end or other end.
Conclusion: Removal of rear mic provided the best quality. There is zero filtering/cancellation/etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did and I agree this is a fix if you want to use recorder, Skype, talk, tango, etc. But I also learned to forget using the video camera UNLESS you have it using the rear camera (this is one you use by default when you Skype). Looks like it uses the microphone that points in the direction of the active camera.
So I would suspect the noise cancelling algorithm settings are to blame for poor sound recordings.

I solve this issue by using my stereo earphone with mic that came with my Nokia phone. I have tried a bluetooth stereo headset with mic and another wired earbuds with mic, there was either still a lot of noise or the sound level was very low. Basically, it is the same as using a headset. Finally I found one earphone with mic that works well. I actually have two of the same earbuds from 2 identical Nokia 5230. I tested them on two Iconia A500 with voice chat and video chat, it works very well both ways. I have also tried to turned off the Dolby Mobile as suggested by someone. It actually makes it worse and the sound level went down a lot.

acer a501 microphone fix
hi all
today i finally got to the bottom of the microphone issue
versions 3.x had some issues with the mic that cant be fixed - tried different internal and external mics but no good - i thought it was a hardware issue
and not able to solve but after ota update of ics the external mic is perfect - crystal clear and no noise and heaps of level.
the internal mic is crap so i decided to change the microphone with anything i could find - it has to be electret mic.
I had a few lying around and some worked well and some did not - i eventually found one that worked really well will heaps of level - the
only prob was that it was twice the size of the original.
i had to cut some of the plastic away but eventually got it installed.
The internal mic works great now - much better than the muffled one that came with the unit.
I left the second mic connected as it seems to make no difference in or out.
So what i have found -
firmware on 3.x no good for mic
ics makes mic work well if you use exeternal.
internal mic - get rid of it as it is useless.
hope this helps someone as i spent lots of time trying to fix this

OK but...
jzaiter said:
hi all
today i finally got to the bottom of the microphone issue
versions 3.x had some issues with the mic that cant be fixed - tried different internal and external mics but no good - i thought it was a hardware issue
and not able to solve but after ota update of ics the external mic is perfect - crystal clear and no noise and heaps of level.
the internal mic is crap so i decided to change the microphone with anything i could find - it has to be electret mic.
I had a few lying around and some worked well and some did not - i eventually found one that worked really well will heaps of level - the
only prob was that it was twice the size of the original.
i had to cut some of the plastic away but eventually got it installed.
The internal mic works great now - much better than the muffled one that came with the unit.
I left the second mic connected as it seems to make no difference in or out.
So what i have found -
firmware on 3.x no good for mic
ics makes mic work well if you use exeternal.
internal mic - get rid of it as it is useless.
hope this helps someone as i spent lots of time trying to fix this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HoneyComb 3.2 disconnected the rear microphone, Resulted in Better Quality without helicopter noise specially better for skype Etc.
Video recording still Just hardly acceptable. but quality is still bad.
Wont buy from acer anymore.

[Q] microphone not working

OK everything been fine with my phone until this evening. My phone comes from the 2 week delivery estimate from the Nov. 27/2012 order batch
I needed to look for a local restaurant. Pressed the mic on google search bar and it would not recognize that I was talking. Tried a few times. Then reset the phone. Tried again. Turn the phone off and on. Tried again. Downloaded a voice recorder. It recorded static but no voice at all. Downloaded sound meter. It flux between 20-30db. I then called my wife. She couldn't hear me. Switched to speaker phone and she could hear me just fine. So now I reset my phone to factory and same results.
Any ideas? I know it worked earlier because I used voice recognition to send some texts without problems. I visually checked the mic hole in case lint or smeg might have blocked it. But it's clean. Blew into it just in case too. The top noise cacellation mic seems to work picking up ambient noises according to the gray rings around the google search mic icon. But it doesn't light up red.

Same issue. I used to be able to make it work better by plugging a cable in the charging port. Now nothing.

Does anyone know if there is a way to set sensitivity of the mic? I am assuming the same mic is used for speaker phone as with every other app including phone.. Since speakerphone seems to work..

So I decided not to waste any more time and get the RMA process going before I am outta my 15 day return period.
Was quick and easy. Exchange will arrive with in 3-5 days. Return label was in my email before I hung up.

on the iphone 4s and the gs2... speakerphone uses different mic. i could be wrong, but the reason i say this is... in my iphone.. i got sand on/in my phone and was blowing it out with air compressor. i ended up dislodging the bottom mic and had to use speaker. then on gs2 the leaked roms, specifically showstock... needed noise reduction turned off in order to use bottom mic. had something to do with the 'mic swap' from international to att version. but the end game was... i had to use speaker.
as far as maybe getting it back in shape before your rma arrives... did a piece of lint or something get lodged in the mic hole?

phermey said:
on the iphone 4s and the gs2... speakerphone uses different mic. i could be wrong, but the reason i say this is... in my iphone.. i got sand on/in my phone and was blowing it out with air compressor. i ended up dislodging the bottom mic and had to use speaker. then on gs2 the leaked roms, specifically showstock... needed noise reduction turned off in order to use bottom mic. had something to do with the 'mic swap' from international to att version. but the end game was... i had to use speaker.
as far as maybe getting it back in shape before your rma arrives... did a piece of lint or something get lodged in the mic hole?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Running a sound tester app or recording, initially it gets sound, but it seems to be static. It looks like what you are talking about with the gs2, the noise suppression kicks in and stays that way.
I really wish I could troubleshoot it before having to send it back, just to know what caused it and not repeat it on the replacement..
I looked at the bottom mic again, looked like a grain of sand. Got it out but still same results.

In call microphone issues when using headphones

Does anyone else have the problem where the other person can't hear you when you use a pair of headphones while in a call? When removed, they can hear me fine. I'm hoping that this is a software issue that can be resolved in an update. If not, then i want to return it before my remorse period is over.

I am having distorted sound - other party hearing it unclear and distorted..
looks like a hardware issue.. tried with 2 earpiece... no luck.

I'm actually starting to wonder about that. It may actually be a software/driver issue. I was on the phone yesterday and decided to do some testing. Unplugging them and plugging them back in provides perfect audio to the other person for a few seconds before going back to garbage, as does muting and then un-muting the microphone when in a call. Something I've noticed about the microphone is that the gain seems to be set too high - try to make a recording of cars going by - guaranteed clipping (don't have the volume too loud or you could blow out the speaker you're listening to it on).

rr5678 said:
Does anyone else have the problem where the other person can't hear you when you use a pair of headphones while in a call? When removed, they can hear me fine. I'm hoping that this is a software issue that can be resolved in an update. If not, then i want to return it before my remorse period is over.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ran into the same issue. However, the headphones I was using didn't have a built in microphone. I discovered that if I plug in headphones that lacked a built-in mic, the phone switches its internal microphone's gain to the gain it would use if you were holding the headset to your ear. I held the microphone in close proximity to my mouth and that solved the issue.
I guess this would be a software issue.

KlipperKyle said:
I ran into the same issue. However, the headphones I was using didn't have a built in microphone. I discovered that if I plug in headphones that lacked a built-in mic, the phone switches its internal microphone's gain to the gain it would use if you were holding the headset to your ear. I held the microphone in close proximity to my mouth and that solved the issue.
I guess this would be a software issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly the testing I did and exactly what I was thinking. Now to wait for LG or Google to fix it.

Another experiment you might try would be to put your finger over the secondary microphone on top of the phone and see if that makes a difference. (My guess is that the reason your voice comes through softly with the headphone plugged in is that the phone is still doing background noise suppression, which works by taking the difference between the main microphone, which picks up your voice plus ambient noise, and the secondary microphone, which mostly picks up just the ambient noise. When your mouth is far away from the phone, your voice is equally loud in both microphones, so the difference doesn't yield much voice signal. If your voice comes through louder after stopping up the secondary microphone, that would confirm this explanation for the problem.)

wmm said:
Another experiment you might try would be to put your finger over the secondary microphone on top of the phone and see if that makes a difference. (My guess is that the reason your voice comes through softly with the headphone plugged in is that the phone is still doing background noise suppression, which works by taking the difference between the main microphone, which picks up your voice plus ambient noise, and the secondary microphone, which mostly picks up just the ambient noise. When your mouth is far away from the phone, your voice is equally loud in both microphones, so the difference doesn't yield much voice signal. If your voice comes through louder after stopping up the secondary microphone, that would confirm this explanation for the problem.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Next time I'm in a long phone call where I am using headphones, I'm going to try that. It could be possible.

wmm said:
Another experiment you might try would be to put your finger over the secondary microphone on top of the phone and see if that makes a difference. (My guess is that the reason your voice comes through softly with the headphone plugged in is that the phone is still doing background noise suppression, which works by taking the difference between the main microphone, which picks up your voice plus ambient noise, and the secondary microphone, which mostly picks up just the ambient noise. When your mouth is far away from the phone, your voice is equally loud in both microphones, so the difference doesn't yield much voice signal. If your voice comes through louder after stopping up the secondary microphone, that would confirm this explanation for the problem.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This appears to be what is happening. The top mic is doing noise cancelation for the bottom mic.
I called a friend and plugged in headphones. When I didn't cover either mic, she said I was quiet (because the phone thought I was background noise). When I covered the top mic, she could hear me fine.
At this point, I'm inclined to say this is a software issue because the phone app can switch between microphones and which one is used for background noise cancelation. (Putting the device in speaker mode appears to use the top mic only.)
Sent from my Nexus 10

That's good confirmation -- thanks for running the experiment. Maybe I'll put a little wad of putty in the car to stick over the top microphone while I'm driving!

No one can hear me but microphone works

HI guys, please help me with my LG V20 VS995
Internal microphones (i tested them individually) works when using a recorder app.
Recording is loud and clear but when i call anyone, they cant hear anything.
External mic with headphones does work.
Things i did:
Factory reset. Clear cache, different firmware, root, no root etc ,nothing helps.
V20 has 2 built in microphones. Tried to swap, leave one attached or another no change.
Replaced phone jack with brand new, no change.
Soldered brand new microphone or swapped with the one from the top, no change.
Re-seat chip thats located near bottom microphone, assuming it has anything to do with it.
Few days ago after i soldered another microphone, it started to work and then it stopped working not sure when, maybe after i dropped the phone ?
I am running out of ideas.
I dont understand why when using app, voice is loud and clear but when i call, no one can hear me.
As if there is some kind of switch somewhere that activates ONLY when call is placed.

UPDATE:
I performed another test today by calling my self from skype.
When i steadily buzz directly into the microphone, the voice i head in skype is pulsating from quiet to loud.
I resoldered the mic again, this time using little more solder around the hole and now i can it works BUT only if i talk on the speaker.
I am very confused right now as to whats causing it