Database Users

Low microphone volume?

Does anyone else have the person they are talking to mention how low you sound to them when speaking on the phone?
It seems like I have a low microphone on my nexus 4, unless the phone is directly in front of my mouth the person can't hear me clearly, I'm thinking it might be hardware but I know with some phones this can be corrected with a custom driver that makes the microphone more receptive
Is there an app or setting that I can use that would disable noise cancellation in case that's what causing my mic to make me sound low?

mastrgamr said:
Does anyone else have the person they are talking to mention how low you sound to them when speaking on the phone?
It seems like I have a low microphone on my nexus 4, unless the phone is directly in front of my mouth the person can't hear me clearly, I'm thinking it might be hardware but I know with some phones this can be corrected with a custom driver that makes the microphone more receptive
Is there an app or setting that I can use that would disable noise cancellation in case that's what causing my mic to make me sound low?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I have the exact same problem - not sure what we can do to fix it.
If I crank up the volume fully it appears to -sometimes- solve the low audio problem.

_stefans_ said:
Actually I have the exact same problem - not sure what we can do to fix it.
If I crank up the volume fully it appears to -sometimes- solve the low audio problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if it -sometimes- solves the problem then it might be a software bug. i hope some dev can be notified of this. have you tried a different ROM? if yes, have you notified the dev of the ROM?

Jamal Ahmed said:
if it -sometimes- solves the problem then it might be a software bug. i hope some dev can be notified of this. have you tried a different ROM? if yes, have you notified the dev of the ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its actually on stock, so I just rooted it, and will try with a different rom shortly.

Same thing here.. Sometimes they hear me, sometimes they don't even during the same call..

I'm starting to think the noise cancellation is playing some tricks.
While driving home this afternoon I was on headset on the freeway, where those I talked to could barely hear me.
Unplugged my headset (klipsch s4 image ii), and sound was good. After a while I plugged headset in again, still bad.
When coming off the freeway I kept the headset on while talking - and all of the sudden it was crystal clear (using the words of the guy I talked to at the time). At the same time I noticed that I had no data (outside even edge coverage), don't know if that is related or not.
Is there some way we could experiment / disable or tweak the noise cancelling?
Ps: I have had the same issues without headset also, so definitely something general software things going on
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

_stefans_ said:
Its actually on stock, so I just rooted it, and will try with a different rom shortly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same setup. I am using the Xylon (stable) 15 ROM for several days now, and SO FAR I think the microphone reception is better. I haven't heard complaint from the person I speak to on the regular. *cross fingers* hope it's 'fixed' in some way.
equi said:
Same thing here.. Sometimes they hear me, sometimes they don't even during the same call..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly how my phone was as well. I would be on one call for a while and all of a sudden out of nowhere the person I'm speaking to says I sound like I'm speaking across a room and I'm like 'wtf happened? I haven't changed positions since I started talking to you!'
I did a little testing with the person I was speaking to as well, to test the microphone receptiveness and the mic seems to pickup my voice better, I wasn't speaking directly into the mic and they said they heard me fine.
_stefans_ said:
I'm starting to think the noise cancellation is playing some tricks.
While driving home this afternoon I was on headset on the freeway, where those I talked to could barely hear me.
Unplugged my headset (klipsch s4 image ii), and sound was good. After a while I plugged headset in again, still bad.
When coming off the freeway I kept the headset on while talking - and all of the sudden it was crystal clear (using the words of the guy I talked to at the time). At the same time I noticed that I had no data (outside even edge coverage), don't know if that is related or not.
Is there some way we could experiment / disable or tweak the noise cancelling?
Ps: I have had the same issues without headset also, so definitely something general software things going on
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a sneaking suspicion It might have to do with the noise cancelation as well, I think on paper whoever designed that feature on the phone thought it would be cool but it doesn't seem to be panning out too well. I've read somewhere on this forum about how to increase microphone volume and cancel the noise cancellation using the Terminal Emulator app and/or the phone's dial codes (#*#*some sumbers*#*#).
I have the same earphones (no mic attached) and I have similar experience but I haven't taken note of it like you have since 95% of the time I have my headphones in the phone.
I also want to mention a little trick that I think seems to work when on calls. Whenever I turn the phone over, screen facing opposite of me, I hear less complaints of me sounding too low to the other person. Maybe it's doning something... i dont know.

Same issue - with headset only though
I have the same issue, people really struggle to hear me on conference calls (which I spend a lot of time on), so I have to hold the mic in front of my mouth to speak which gives awful sound quality. I don't have this issue when not using a headset (phone mic works fine).
Nexus 4 + Klipsch s4a = really quiet mic, people can't hear me at all.
Nexus 4 = No problem, phone mic works.
Note - music playback is fine, no issues there.
My klipsch headphones worked fine on my GNex, no issues, so I don't think it is a problem with them. It has been an issue from the moment I switched to a Nexus 4. Have also tried other headset (samsung one that came with Gnex) - and have the same issue of sounding very quiet on the headset mic.
I did wonder if it was an OMTP vs CTIA issue, but the button on my headset works fine to answer/hangup/skip tracks/open voice search etc. so I don't think it is that.
I also tested with another Nexus 4 handset using Soundmeter and got very similar results on both handsets, suggesting it isn't a handset issue (though not a very scientific test).
Does anyone have any ideas?

Just In Phone Calls?
Hi Folks,
Is this mic issue just related to phone calls?
I'm using the latest CM10.1 nightly build and my mic is useless for phone calls.
However, Google's voice search works just fine and if I record a video my voice is recorded just fine.

I could be wrong but I suspect the Nexus4 can not use the phone jack for incoming audio.
In my opinion when one plugs a headset into the audio jack the Nexus4 camera microphone
becomes activated, not the headset one. And the Nexus4 cam mic is really bad.
Again, I might be completely wrong. (I hope)
---------- Post added at 04:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:59 PM ----------
Ord Mandrell said:
Hi Folks,
Is this mic issue just related to phone calls?
I'm using the latest CM10.1 nightly build and my mic is useless for phone calls.
However, Google's voice search works just fine and if I record a video my voice is recorded just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG you have it reversed. What a mess!
I have yet to see Google Search understand anything I say and video sound is horrible. Call audio is great.

Hi guys - I am on stock android - same issue on 4.2.2 as on 4.2.1.
This isn't just related to phone calls, same issue on google search. I tested headset mic pickup volume when speaking normally with Soundmeter - around 35-40dB (what it calls a quiet whisper at 3ft to quiet residential area, Park).
I also tried moving the headset mic closer and further away from my mouth with the phone in the same position - with the headset mic virtually touching my lips it went to about 60 dB (normal conversation at 3ft) - so it does seem to be related to the headset mic. I can only guess it is either a dodgy connection in the handset or some noise cancelling functionality that is cancelling out my voice!
Any ideas or thoughts greatly appreciated

OMG you have it reversed. What a mess!
I have yet to see Google Search understand anything I say and video sound is horrible. Call audio is great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Darn it!
I knew I was an outlier.
No way I'm getting a fix for my issue then

Anyone figure out a fix? I'm having similar issues with my microphone.
Hooked as bluetooth device in my vehicle, other end hears me fine.
On phone call using speaker phone, other end hears me fine.
On phone call WITHOUT speaker phone, other end cannot hear me at all.
Using a sound recording app to record voice, playback of the recording I can hear my voice faintly if I was YELLING during the recording.
Shazam/Soundhound apps do not work.
I am rooted on rasbeanjelly/trinity kernel. I have to say this issue started a few days ago when I have done no changes to the phone. Already running the rom/kernel for weeks.
I've tried flashing back to stock rom/kernel and the same problems persist.
Any ideas?

akira112 said:
Anyone figure out a fix? I'm having similar issues with my microphone.
Hooked as bluetooth device in my vehicle, other end hears me fine.
On phone call using speaker phone, other end hears me fine.
On phone call WITHOUT speaker phone, other end cannot hear me at all.
Using a sound recording app to record voice, playback of the recording I can hear my voice faintly if I was YELLING during the recording.
Shazam/Soundhound apps do not work.
I am rooted on rasbeanjelly/trinity kernel. I have to say this issue started a few days ago when I have done no changes to the phone. Already running the rom/kernel for weeks.
I've tried flashing back to stock rom/kernel and the same problems persist.
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just an update, I unrooted and reverted back to stock and the problem went away, so it was defnitely a software issue. Will be trying other roms/radios/kernels and see if the problem comes back.
I was on rasbeanjelly 4.2.2/trinity

akira112, did you get any success with your experiments?
Guys, is there any progress / comments regarding this issue?.. Microphone itself works fine when recording the voice with some app, but during the voice calls it is the mess...

My Nexus 4 is two months old and is being returned to Google due to the microphone constantly cutting me out on calls to business clients. I've tried every trick from sound apps to custom roms. No joy. I'm hoping my replacement doesn't have the same problem (although given the sheer number of postings on this issue, I suspect a Nexus 4 design flaw)...

Hello
Is there any solution to low microphone volume problem?
I have been using my N4 for a week and some people complain about my voice's volume. There was no such problem with my previous phone (Defy). There is no difference whether I use phone's mic or bluetooth headset.
My Nexus runs CM10.1 with Franco kernel.

Also keen for a solution
I just returned my first N4 due to the speakerphone cutting out after a minute or two, and getting stuck in non-speakerphone mode.
The replacement seems to not have this issue, which is nice.
But now people are telling me they can hardly hear me. It happens both with normal mode and speakerphone mode.
Ridiculous.
I will be calling Google tomorrow to see what they say, but I am not going to hold my breath for a decent response. Judging by the number of people reporting this issue online, it's not something Google has a solution for.
If anyone figures this out, I'd love to hear about it.

Have sent mine for repair because of this problem. People told they could not here me well.
Skickat från min GT-I9305 via Tapatalk 2

I have the same issue, couldn't fix it but what I noted was that any mic gain adjustments I made only applied to the phone's mic not the headset mic. That means that there is something else that modifies the headset mic, but I do not know.

[HELP] Mic sensitivity in calls

Hello,
anyone face this problem whereby, when u're in calls, the other party hear your voice like far away from the phone or soft but when loudspeaker mode is activate, is fine.
works fine in skype call as well.
any solution? software issue?

extr3mus said:
Hello,
anyone face this problem whereby, when u're in calls, the other party hear your voice like far away from the phone or soft but when loudspeaker mode is activate, is fine.
works fine in skype call as well.
any solution? software issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm experiencing the opposite with VoIP calls. The other party hears everything include any background noises.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

extr3mus said:
Hello,
anyone face this problem whereby, when u're in calls, the other party hear your voice like far away from the phone or soft but when loudspeaker mode is activate, is fine.
works fine in skype call as well.
any solution? software issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an issue with that as well. All this time I thought I was the only one

Same problem for me too....when calling they can't hear me at all but when I turn the loudspeaker on they hear me fine....
Any ideas why or how to fix it?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

My Nexus4 has really bad video recording audio and good in-call audio.
It seems from reports here that this is reversed with some people.
When you switch from Normal to Speakerphone mode the audio is re-routed
from the mouth to the videocam microphone.
Here is one quick 'hack' to try, not sure if it will work. Call your friend and ask how they hear you.
Then plug something in the audio jack (headphones, earpiece, whatever) and ask how they
hear you then. If the audio is much better with something plugged in - cut the cord and
keep the phone jack in your phone at all time.
If the sound is better normally - don't use earpieces or speakerphone.
In the meantime hopefully a kernel developer can figure out a fix.

acegolfer said:
I'm experiencing the opposite with VoIP calls. The other party hears everything include any background noises.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the opposite like one of the fellow forumistas... during a voip call or video call on skype my mic goes silent. Is this a software issue?
---------- Post added at 07:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:01 AM ----------
-Mindroid- said:
My Nexus4 has really bad video recording audio and good in-call audio.
It seems from reports here that this is reversed with some people.
When you switch from Normal to Speakerphone mode the audio is re-routed
from the mouth to the videocam microphone.
Here is one quick 'hack' to try, not sure if it will work. Call your friend and ask how they hear you.
Then plug something in the audio jack (headphones, earpiece, whatever) and ask how they
hear you then. If the audio is much better with something plugged in - cut the cord and
keep the phone jack in your phone at all time.
If the sound is better normally - don't use earpieces or speakerphone.
In the meantime hopefully a kernel developer can figure out a fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tried your little hack... if you make a skype call or video you can put the jack in once and pull it out and the call continues normally...So you are suggesting it is a kernel issue?

Yup happens to me. Its either i raise my voice or take the phone closer to my mouth...
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

A couple of people have told me to speak up during the call, i haven't tried speaking on loudspeaker though. only had the phone for 2 days. Running PAC with Franco kernel.
Sent from my Nexus 4

Hangout Seriously needs fixing

So the Nexus 10 should be a good device for making Google Hangouts calls or Google Talk. But every time I use it I get such a bad experience.
I want to use the speakers on the device but when I do either the other side cannot hear me or they get an echo, or sometimes I just cannot hear them. If I use head phones it is fine, but that is not the point. Does anyone else have the same problem?

springy said:
So the Nexus 10 should be a good device for making Google Hangouts calls or Google Talk. But every time I use it I get such a bad experience.
I want to use the speakers on the device but when I do either the other side cannot hear me or they get an echo, or sometimes I just cannot hear them. If I use head phones it is fine, but that is not the point. Does anyone else have the same problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don`t think it a softwarebug, i think it's a hardwarebug. Try any software, where you choose front and rear mic, and you will see, that the front mic record really bad quality and extream weak. good luck...

I don't think it is. When you search using voice it is perfectly fine. Whenever there is any type of sound coming out of the device speaker it is somehow inputting that into the microphone and that this something which a software update can sort out.
Another work around is to attach a loud speaker through the 3.5mm jack. When you do that you do not get an echo being presented back to the user you are talking to.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda app-developers app

springy said:
I don't think it is. When you search using voice it is perfectly fine. Whenever there is any type of sound coming out of the device speaker it is somehow inputting that into the microphone and that this something which a software update can sort out.
Another work around is to attach a loud speaker through the 3.5mm jack. When you do that you do not get an echo being presented back to the user you are talking to.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I obtain a similar result as you. Not exactly the same. When I hear some body througt hangout-gtalk I hear him faltering and with very low sound. The work arround I did is:
It's behaviour is the same with gtalk video call.
With Skype works perfectly, so it isn't hardware issue. Please try it to corroborate. In didn't try with Tango, we should.
With headphones works perfect bidirectionally, but it demostrates nothig i think.
I think the problem is on echo cancelator applied on these apps.
What is your oppinion?

The geniuses at Google have the rear microphone as the default microphone for skype and hangouts...
We have an open ticket for it on the support pages, but they never fixed the issue in 4.2.2

cb3ck said:
The geniuses at Google have the rear microphone as the default microphone for skype and hangouts...
We have an open ticket for it on the support pages, but they never fixed the issue in 4.2.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But with skype works right for me, and you? Could you please attach link about your ticket to have a look.
I hope with new Key lime prime they do a apps comunication unification and fix it.

Tango is not working for me. Very choppy receiving audio and sending it back. Almost like a real bad speakerphone where the two callers are always "stepping on" each other.
This is my second N10 and I recall the first one working much better with Tango. I also added a case to this one when I got it, so maybe that's impacting it as well?

Microphone issue ( Maybe Noise Cancelling)

Hello guys, i'm facing a very annoying issue, since i updated zenfone 5 to lollipop, my microphone randomly and at most time, the microphone doesn't work, during a call the other side can't hear me, but if i put in speaker mode, the microphone works well, also in recorded videos or audio, there's no sound, curiously, if i speak near the upper mic hole, the other side can hear me with a low quality voice. In nexus 5 there's a similar problem, and if you change the "persist.audio.fluence.voicecall=" to true in build.prop the problem is solved, so I guess the issue is in microphone noise cancelling. I want to know if there's a way to solve this, where I can disable the noise cancelling, i searched in build.prop but i didn't find a option related to mic/noise canceling.
P.S. I already change the firmware from stock lollipop to shell rom 5.0 and did a full wipe and the problem persist.

Celo88xda said:
Hello guys, i'm facing a very annoying issue, since i updated zenfone 5 to lollipop, my microphone randomly and at most time, the microphone doesn't work, during a call the other side can't hear me, but if i put in speaker mode, the microphone works well, also in recorded videos or audio, there's no sound, curiously, if i speak near the upper mic hole, the other side can hear me with a low quality voice. In nexus 5 there's a similar problem, and if you change the "persist.audio.fluence.voicecall=" to true in build.prop the problem is solved, so I guess the issue is in microphone noise cancelling. I want to know if there's a way to solve this, where I can disable the noise cancelling, i searched in build.prop but i didn't find a option related to mic/noise canceling.
P.S. I already change the firmware from stock lollipop to shell rom 5.0 and did a full wipe and the problem persist.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HI,
maybe you fixed you problem yet (I'm sure you did after more than a year, but for other people having that problem).
Open claculator and type .12345+=
Go to BoardMic_Test
Make loud background noise for eg. from PC select one under youtube for phrase "industrial sounds 10 hrs"
Tap Start and talk to you phone.
Stop noise and listen results.
You may repeat procedure several times as results will satisfy you.
Try the same without noise, should be OK.
It works for me, no mic replacement, no software upgrade, no restarts, no restore factory defaults

Poor call quality (both over cellular network and WiFi)

Hey fellas,
So the call quality on my g4+ absolutely sucks. It doesn't matter if I am using the cellular network (for voice calls) or WiFi (Skype, Duo etc.). People always complain that either there is a lot of static or as if I am talking from an extremely windy location (No I'm not actually in a windy location). And the funny thing is that the problems are the same on both networks, which leads me to believe that it could be a local problem. Maybe something with the microphone or the voice cancellation or perhapps the radio on the device ? Listeners also complain that my microphone is too silent. For video calls, I literally have to put my mouth next to the mic for the other side to listen to me properly.
I have tested my WiFi connection by placing same calls on Skype using G4 plus and my G1 one after another. Not a speck of noise in the G1.
Now I bought this device in India and am currently in Germany which makes approaching customer service a bit tricky.
Has anyone had problems like this? Any suggestions or fixes? BTW, running a stock device with no custom changes whatsoever.

I wouldn't say for sure but maybe it's cause the in-call audio and loudspeaker both use the same speaker.
Or something to do with your network provider? Perhaps?
But like I said, I am not sure if this might be a reason for poor call quality.
from Moto™ G⁴ Plus (XT1643) running BeanStalk 6 ROM

I am leaning on striking off network issues as the same SIM and WiFi result in clear voice on my 1st gen G. I just went through resetting network settings first and the whole device finally, but to no use.
Can anyone share how their mic works during a video call. Is it loud enough from around 15cm distance for the other side to hear them properly? Just want to make sure that it's not a general device problem.

OK, so I have isolated the problem to be (mostly) in phone's mic or its noise cancellation. I say this because when I use a headset mic, the world is noise-free again.
Does anyone have an idea if noise cancellation works when using the headset mic? If yes, then I guess the only solution to my problem would be to get the mic replaced.

pratik11 said:
OK, so I have isolated the problem to be (mostly) in phone's mic or its noise cancellation. I say this because when I use a headset mic, the world is noise-free again.
Does anyone have an idea if noise cancellation works when using the headset mic? If yes, then I guess the only solution to my problem would be to get the mic replaced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you use a body cover?because some covers can also cover the noise reduction hole.

anhoxhrs said:
Do you use a body cover?because some covers can also cover the noise reduction hole.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do yes. But I have checked that already. Removing the back cover doesn't help
I tried recording video and audio today as well. Its a lot more noise/static than my voice. And given that no one else is experiencing this, I am beginning to believe that it is a mic issue with my device.

pratik11 said:
I do yes. But I have checked that already. Removing the back cover doesn't help
I tried recording video and audio today as well. Its a lot more noise/static than my voice. And given that no one else is experiencing this, I am beginning to believe that it is a mic issue with my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol,then i would suggest visiting service center.