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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.

Mic issue? (muffled in video/audio chat).

Anyone experience any issues with Nexus 10 and its mic? I tested google voice and video chat with couple different people and they all had hard time hearing me. I had to talk louder than usual or even almost scream for them to hear me. They're reporting it always sounds muffled or the audio cuts off.
The video feed is coming in fine and I know my network connection isn't an issue. Wondering if anyone else is having similar issue and whether I should contact Google for a replacement.
Thanks!
Edit: Seems like I was able to figure out the issue. I removed the back panel and tested it and the audio is coming through fine. It seems the cover isn't aligned properly over the mic hole. I contacted Google and am getting it replaced.

bkforyou said:
Anyone experience any issues with Nexus 10 and its mic? I tested google voice and video chat with couple different people and they all had hard time hearing me. I had to talk louder than usual or even almost scream for them to hear me. They're reporting it always sounds muffled or the audio cuts off.
The video feed is coming in fine and I know my network connection isn't an issue. Wondering if anyone else is having similar issue and whether I should contact Google for a replacement.
Thanks!
Edit: Seems like I was able to figure out the issue. I removed the back panel and tested it and the audio is coming through fine. It seems the cover isn't aligned properly over the mic hole. I contacted Google and am getting it replaced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So does it work now? My friend has just got one and whenever he calls me on Google Hanouts, his audio works for a few seconds, then gets muffled and choppy - I can't understand him at all......

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.

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

Weird microphone issue?

I am familiar with how many people are dealing with microphone sound issues on their 6P, however mine is a little bit different. My phone had "slight" liquid damage that was repaired by replacing a few parts and drying out. Everything on the phone has been working 100% except for an issue with the microphone.
Initially, there was no sound being recorded on the phone at all, and so I decided to try replacing the daughterboard on the bottom of the phone (where one of the microphones is). Immediately I had sound being recorded again!
However, I have found that I will record sound only from a few particular instances.
This is what works:
Phone call microphone (not speakerphone)
General voice recording apps
Google Now / Assistant
This is what doesn't work:
Camcorder microphone recording
Speakerphone microphone
Hangouts / Duo video calling (will work if i set to 'headset' speaker as opposed to speakerphone)
I am assuming it has something to do with the other microphones on the device, whether they are failing or it has something to do with the noise canceling effects.
Has anyone experienced an issue similar to this on this device (or other devices) and found a solution?
The only other option would be to replace the entire motherboard that contains the other microphone (which happens to be about a $200 part, with new EVERYTHING)
Short of removing and resoldering a replacement 'mic' on that board, is there any software solutions?
I love this phone dearly, and it's especially sad that I cannot even record video of my baby daughter with sound.
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Nathan