Terrible Microphone quality - Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Okay, so I'm getting annoyed with this phone now. I've had it 5 days, this one is a replacement because the previous one arrived with a damaged (scuffed) camera.
Aside from my other thread asking about the battery, I'm not sure if I have a problem with my main microphone - not the one on the camera. The one used for voice recording etc.
The sound on it is SO low, I have to pump up the volume to full just to barely hear it.
My family members all have a Moto G and that mics quality isn't great, but I figured for a flagship device this mic should be good? Unless I have a faulty mic?
I might try a factory reset to see if that does anything, unless anyone has ideas?
Or should I just return it?

Anybody able to help? Or let me know if their audio quality on audio recording is low (excluding video recording)?
I dunno whether to send off for a replacement or hold on and wait to see if an update fixes it.

I have noticed using Zello that the audio level is quite low compared to other phones and I have to boost the gain in Zello 12 dB to compensate, but the audio quality is excellent in Zello and on cell calls. The cell call noise reduction is excellent and beats my GN4. I have many problems with my N6, but audio quality is not one of them.

So you have to boost the gain to make yourself sound louder?
Hmm. I messaged Motorola and they said it seemed like a fault with my phone but not sure if they were just saying it. I'd rather not send my phone back for a replacement in case the next one is exactly the same and I'm out of a phone for a week +.

Related

"Tin can" issue

I'm not sure if anyone else has had this, but this is the first phone i've come across with this issue...
Whenever I'm gaming or something and my phone rings, I instantly pick up and balance it between my ear and my shoulder when i talk (you know, like old school phones when multitasking)...
But whenever i do this people say i sound like I'm talking in a tin can...
Is the second Mic (to drown out background noise) to blame?
make sure that mic isnt blocked. if you put it on your shoulder it will happen
No matter how I hold the phone people complain about this.
People have actually asked me what kind of ****ty phone/reception I have because the audio quality is so bad.
it may be a bad mic. have you always had this? maybe you should call gtc because all the major phone reviewers noted the nexus had one of the best quality calls of any phone. it should not sound that bad
Mine sound great at least. I know this since both me and my brother has a N1. Really good sound quality from my experience.
I've read this same issue before on the Google Android forum. Apparently it has something to do with the secondary mic and how the shoulder conducts sound thereby activating the noise cancellation of your own voice.
I also talk this way and don't have this issue atleast no one complaint.
I am waiting for my warranty replacement due to come in today.
Will report if that fixes it.
Have you guys tried using like a bluetooth headset or wired set to see if it's really the mic issue?
NexusDro said:
Apparently it has something to do with the secondary mic and how the shoulder conducts sound thereby activating the noise cancellation of your own voice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats the conclusion i came to... guess i'll start looking into a Bluetooth headset

[Q] galaxy s mic problem

hi:
besides the galaxy s I have a nokia 72e and I want to ask if anyone has a problem with microphone (with Galaxy s)? maybe is not something serious but when i`m talking from the e72 the people hear me more clearly than i talk from Galaxy s;they complain that my voice is muffed.
i don`t know what to do .... if i go to warranty and stand in lines and let the phone for almost a week in their custody,and find out after that the phone was alright...?!
i discovered the difference by chance,when I called the same person from both phones shortly.
if anyone knows this kind of problem please let me know......
First of all, this doesn't belong in development.
Secondly, yes there is a known issue with the mic on the SGS, or rather the mic drivers and settings. I don't think there is a community fix for this, and Samsung has not acknowledged it publicly, so I don't think it will be fixed any time soon.
jap, I just finished my mic mod there. I looked the youtube video
how to disassemble the phone and bettered the mic part.
The mic is situated 90 degree and little rubber channel is used
to direct the sound to mic. This tiny rubber channel was incorrectly
pressed in so half of the input was covered. So a I widened the channel input
and also drilled the hole in case little bigger (do not do that! it may ruin the
case chrome). Sounds little bit better.
Now, is this normal, to make a mod to better mic sound for a elite phone ?
yes, there absolutely a known issue. I purchased two of these phones, and both had the exact same thing you describe. It was absolutely horrible!! I received two replacements, and the sound quality is MUCH MUCH better... BUT, it is still no where near where i think it should be. all my previous HTC devices had far superior sound quality than the Samsung GS. The Galaxy picks up voices 100 feet away... and noises from other crap that none of my other phones ever did... I'm hoping that it is in fact a software thing, and once 2.2 is released, it has better canceling technology built in. Will see..
Construction of built-in microphone is not a problem... The problem lies in software. If you connect external mic (fe. headset) sound is still disorted. There's no way 2 microphones will be broken. This is the same headset which is shipped with Samsung Wave and that phone has no problems with build in and headsets microphone.
uberberben said:
Construction of built-in microphone is not a problem... The problem lies in software. If you connect external mic (fe. headset) sound is still disorted. There's no way 2 microphones will be broken. This is the same headset which is shipped with Samsung Wave and that phone has no problems with build in and headsets microphone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point !
But in my case there was 50% better quality with headset ..
Now that I have some of yours attention - why don't I see more post
of video jerkiness, stuttering problems ?
In my phone After every 1 sec. the video recording stutters slightly.
I saw this we saw this all ready in first galaxy test video.
My main problem with the mic is the distortion... It's so bad you can't even record a clip in the car with the radio on. It already gets distorted, something to be ashamed of samsung.
Nice to have HD recording, too bad the only thing worthwhile is the picture since the audio is utter crap.
(Yes, a bit frustrated )
Is it still this bad with the JPK Froyo firmware?
Moved thread to Q&A section
Never noticed this before. I hope this is software related. More and more bugs keep on appearing, almost wishing I picked another phone. The Galaxy S has downright amazing hardware, yet Samsung choose to let it down with all the bugs
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
I've just bought the Galaxy S for my other half and have noticed exactly the same problem . Went back to the shop and tried the test phone they have in the shop. I only noticed a very marginal improvement (guy in the shop didn't notice any difference).
Anyway I would be interested to know if anyone has swapped the phone since noticing this problem and had an improvement - i.e. is it just a dodgy batch of microphones from Samsung?
Thanks all!
Is there still no fix for the microphon problem? 5 million items sold and each owner of it cannot take a proper video from a concert or on a fair or even on a birthday party, where there are louder surroundings. Annoying.
Please, devolopers, have an eye, ups, ear on that!
I've been complaining about this since July... no response
Sent from my GT-I9000M using Tapatalk
ranjib said:
Is there still no fix for the microphon problem? 5 million items sold and each owner of it cannot take a proper video from a concert or on a fair or even on a birthday party, where there are louder surroundings. Annoying.
Please, devolopers, have an eye, ups, ear on that!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most smartphone will get crappy sound when using built in microphone on High volume environements. Basically, it's hardware limitation with the built in microphone.
I've done some test (see in the accesorie sections for result with video) and you can use an external microphone with an adapter for theses type of recording.
So, the delivered headset does nothing better than the onboard mic.
It is definitely a matter of the hardware?
Asap I'll give an external mic a try....(using the Nokia-made TV-cable...)
Grashoper said:
yes, there absolutely a known issue. I purchased two of these phones, and both had the exact same thing you describe. It was absolutely horrible!! I received two replacements, and the sound quality is MUCH MUCH better... BUT, it is still no where near where i think it should be. all my previous HTC devices had far superior sound quality than the Samsung GS. The Galaxy picks up voices 100 feet away... and noises from other crap that none of my other phones ever did... I'm hoping that it is in fact a software thing, and once 2.2 is released, it has better canceling technology built in. Will see..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pls reply to other forum messages showing that u also have the same problem after replacing the phone (it only solve part of your problem), because I see your msg from another post that u were saying that u have no problem after replacing the phone. And that is not totally correct, u still encounter some problems
My problem is slightly different
Hi,
I got a sgs early 2011 and I quickly noticed that the voice recorder gives a very bad sound when listening back. I started to be afraid I would be as bad when calling someone. The problem I have is a horribly distorted sound with a terrible noise in the background. The recorded sound is simply useless.
later I was very happy when I did the call test as the use of the embedded microphone to call is alright. I even rang a friend beside asking what he thought about the sound qualify and he said it was ok. Then we swapped phones and I too thought the sound was fine.
But we tested again a recorded sound & video with my friend and it was awful.
After finding this thread I decided to try again and to compare with the head set microphone. For me it makes a huge difference ! The noise disappears and the distortion too.
first I thought the problem came from the compression rather than the microphone and now I don't know what to think...
My phone is on Froyo 2.2.1 (thanks to this website).
My problem is slightly different
Hi,
I got a sgs early 2011 and I quickly noticed that the voice recorder gives a very bad sound when listening back. I started to be afraid I would be as bad when calling someone. The problem I have is a horribly distorted sound with a terrible noise in the background. The recorded sound is simply useless.
later I was very happy when I did the call test as the use of the embedded microphone to call is alright. I even rang a friend beside asking what he thought about the sound qualify and he said it was ok. Then we swapped phones and I too thought the sound was fine.
But we tested again a recorded sound & video with my friend and it was awful.
After finding this thread I decided to try again and to compare with the head set microphone. For me it makes a huge difference ! The noise disappears and the distortion too.
first I thought the problem came from the compression rather than the microphone and now I don't know what to think...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLZbz6KXLso
I have the same issue.
Check the comments, there is a guy who says how to fix it, but he is not very precise, so i asked for more info.
We'll see
Πάνος
Try out Speedmod by Hardcore in the dev section. Includes fixes for the mic and headphone output.
No need for Audio boost or any hacks. Sound is the way it should be now
A lot less background noise on mic now and no more EU regulations degrading the audio quality anymore.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Note 9 audio breaking up

Hi
I'm having big issues with audio breaking up and distortion with louder audio tracks, or when its busy musically.
Any ideas?? It's Exynos (8GB/512GB) version. Atmos doesn't affect anything. All audio sources of the same track produce it.
It sounds horrendous when its doing it. I thought my headphones were broken but it does it on speaker too.
TheMathMan said:
Hi
I'm having big issues with audio breaking up and distortion with louder audio tracks, or when its busy musically.
Any ideas?? It's Exynos (8GB/512GB) version. Atmos doesn't affect anything. All audio sources of the same track produce it.
It sounds horrendous when its doing it. I thought my headphones were broken but it does it on speaker too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having the same issue with the US unlocked snapdragon version.
I spent an hour with Samsung Support going through issues. Interestingly the audio through the speaker in diagnostic mode didn't show any issues but probably due to different frequencies and sound profile to the songs that are causing the issue. Safe mode made no difference and neither did a factory reset. They said I could do a handset swap but no current stock of the blue. Ended up finding a local store with a 512GB blue in stock so drove over there, purchased it, same issues so instantly returned that handset. I also saw this thread about the S9 Plus where people have been describing similar issues (https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s9-plus/help/galaxy-s9-plus-sound-problem-t3774829)... maybe I've made a poor decision ditching iPhone!?
Is this the sort of thing using something like Viper4Android would fix?
Same issue. 128G Verizon. I had this issue on a call once(may have been the signal) but then the audio did the same thing a couple times. The behavior is that of a track where the track had been recorded with the signal too strong or the gain too high(same thing really). Turning the volume down only makes it sound like a quiter distorted signal. 1 thing i noticed was, when using smart switch my custom "EQ" setting was transferred over. I changed it but that didn't change anything.
meccadon123 said:
Same issue. 128G Verizon. I had this issue on a call once(may have been the signal) but then the audio did the same thing a couple times. The behavior is that of a track where the track had been recorded with the signal too strong or the gain too high(same thing really). Turning the volume down only makes it sound like a quiter distorted signal. 1 thing i noticed was, when using smart switch my custom "EQ" setting was transferred over. I changed it but that didn't change anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean like clipping ?
I wonder if a fresh install will help.
TheMathMan said:
Hi
I'm having big issues with audio breaking up and distortion with louder audio tracks, or when its busy musically.
Any ideas?? It's Exynos (8GB/512GB) version. Atmos doesn't affect anything. All audio sources of the same track produce it.
It sounds horrendous when its doing it. I thought my headphones were broken but it does it on speaker too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For start - turn off all the eq settings (if you have some turned on) in sound menu - dolby, adaptive sound and so on.
If it's software problem rooting and moding the phone would help, if it's hardware issue maybe it can mitigate it, but that's beside the point to have expensive device with not working sound out of the box.
I tried the audio settings but soundalive is always on. I force closed it whilst listening but no real change. Once you start googling it you realise there's a fair few Samsung's over the years that also do it including S9/+, S8 and so on. Maybe I shouldn't have left iPhone. Audio is very important to me as I'm always listening. Back in the day Exynos Samsung's were the best due to the Wolfson DAC. Sadly I'm disappointed and considering backtracking on the purchase. What would be better though, an LG? A Sony? Or am I then just settling for something less.
TheMathMan said:
I tried the audio settings but soundalive is always on. I force closed it whilst listening but no real change. Once you start googling it you realise there's a fair few Samsung's over the years that also do it including S9/+, S8 and so on. Maybe I shouldn't have left iPhone. Audio is very important to me as I'm always listening. Back in the day Exynos Samsung's were the best due to the Wolfson DAC. Sadly I'm disappointed and considering backtracking on the purchase. What would be better though, an LG? A Sony? Or am I then just settling for something less.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lg have awesome dacs .
TheMathMan said:
I tried the audio settings but soundalive is always on. I force closed it whilst listening but no real change. Once you start googling it you realise there's a fair few Samsung's over the years that also do it including S9/+, S8 and so on. Maybe I shouldn't have left iPhone. Audio is very important to me as I'm always listening. Back in the day Exynos Samsung's were the best due to the Wolfson DAC. Sadly I'm disappointed and considering backtracking on the purchase. What would be better though, an LG? A Sony? Or am I then just settling for something less.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LG V series got awesome DAC. Did you tried a player like powermap (there is a free trial) that can output at high resolution directly from the DAC, ignoring the OS? It produces vastly superior sound on my exynos s7e. Don't forget to sign up for the beta tho, a lot of improvements in the latest in sound/UI design. The new exynos 9810 still uses wolfson/circus logics DAC that is praised everywhere (especially hifi forums and ofc for a phone). Maybe you just don't like the sound balance of it, as it's quite neutral. That is personal preference though, not negative point - some like neutral, others warmer and so on.
Limeybastard said:
You mean like clipping ?
I wonder if a fresh install will help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah but it's not constant. It only happens sometimes. To me the behavior is exactly like when you record something at max volume and then play it back and it sounds like it's blowing your speakers apart. Mine sounds great for the most part and this only happens sometimes.
meccadon123 said:
yeah but it's not constant. It only happens sometimes. To me the behavior is exactly like when you record something at max volume and then play it back and it sounds like it's blowing your speakers apart. Mine sounds great for the most part and this only happens sometimes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I know exactly what you mean.
Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk
i remember having this problem in the samsung S3 a long time ago ...this can only be fixed with a samsung update...
Same problems intermittently on exynos.
Fingers crossed. Would point to software if experienced by S845 and Exynos.
meccadon123 said:
yeah but it's not constant. It only happens sometimes. To me the behavior is exactly like when you record something at max volume and then play it back and it sounds like it's blowing your speakers apart. Mine sounds great for the most part and this only happens sometimes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this happening with wired and bluetooth? I haven't had this issue with mine, but my bluetooth devices support separate audio control, so that the phone can be turned all the way up, but my bluetooth devices can then control their own volume further.
I'm getting some intermittent issues with speaker output where the bottom speaker seems to lower in volume and bass after some minutes of use. Overall the speakers fare well for upbeat music but very poorly for piano tracks where they add some rattle and crackling (same goes for some narration or podcasts). Some days I don't notice this at all but it might be due to multiple audio apps running or how the lower speaker is normalizing the bass. Also, just a few minutes ago my speakers just stopped working for media playback, but the volume rocker still made sounds through the speaker. I was using headphones and playing music for the video editor for super slow motion videos before this happened. The only way out was to restart the phone. I tried replicating it but it didn't happen again.
FYL21 said:
I'm getting some intermittent issues with speaker output where the bottom speaker seems to lower in volume and bass after some minutes of use. Overall the speakers fare well for upbeat music but very poorly for piano tracks where they add some rattle and crackling (same goes for some narration or podcasts). Some days I don't notice this at all but it might be due to multiple audio apps running or how the lower speaker is normalizing the bass. Also, just a few minutes ago my speakers just stopped working for media playback, but the volume rocker still made sounds through the speaker. I was using headphones and playing music for the video editor for super slow motion videos before this happened. The only way out was to restart the phone. I tried replicating it but it didn't happen again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most likely a software issue (same with the cracking sound) and will be fixed (hopefully) in a update or atleast in P.
I have no such issues with my Exynos Note 9. I listen to music a lot with headphones and it sounds fantastic quite honestly. I actually ditched my LG G7 becuase I didn't hear too much benefits with the sound to justify keeping it just for music. I actually kind of prefer the output from the Note 9 generally. The G7 might have had a tad more spacious sound but also a bit more "muffled" at the same time. A little bit more emphasis in highs in the Note which I prefer.
hi all after 1 week of trying i figure out how to fix the problem simply delete the file with name ((SoundBoosterParam.txt)). in the root/system/vendor/etc
you're done

Speaker Sound quality issue and how to fix

Hello, i've bought this phone and i notice the speakers distort in some frequency (i don't know which) it's not like a very used speaker, it's like high pitched sound getting distorted by too much volume and getting into your ears.
I tried to setup the sound settings, but i don't any major difference.
Someone can give me some tips and a recommended setup for audio settings, like using a modified equalizer, and use or no use the other settings.
Sorry for my bad english, is also time to go bed so i'm not trying too hard to write properly
Thank you
The speaker on mine works fine. Really loud and clear, no distortion. Check to see if your phone's speakers are calibrated. Access the service test menu by dialing *#*#SERVICE#*#*# then go to test, then under speaker calibration. It should say "CALIBRATED".
I can't put words in the dialer.
After some researching, and testing myself, i think sim tray has something to do with it.
If i extract the sim tray, i notice an improve in the sound output, idk what is wrong, still don't like these speakers lack of bass compare to mate 9/10 pro in house, but is rich in details.
So anyone at some point want to share the experience with the phone, i'd like to read it, thank you
trigos9421 said:
I can't put words in the dialer.
After some researching, and testing myself, i think sim tray has something to do with it.
If i extract the sim tray, i notice an improve in the sound output, idk what is wrong, still don't like these speakers lack of bass compare to mate 9/10 pro in house, but is rich in details.
So anyone at some point want to share the experience with the phone, i'd like to read it, thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, you can't put words in the dialer, which is why you convert them to numbers. *#*#SERVICE#*#* would be #*#*7378423#*#*.
Like I said in my previous post, the speakers are really loud and clear. I don't have the Mate 9 or 10 so I can't compare, but I agree that it does lack on bass, even with equalizer adjusted. If you'd want a lot of bass, I suggest just getting a portable speaker or something.
Today i keep testing, definitively without the sim tray, sound doesn't distort, it doesn't mean is perfect, but good enough.
I'll keep testing today if there is some pattern apart from this, i'm not saying everyphone have the problem, i'm just telling you my personal experience.
Hi, my model distorts sounds at higher volumes too. The top speaker sound definitely worse than the bottom.one. My speakers are CALIBRATED into the service menu and also i noticed no difference when pulling out the sim tray. A ny solutions? Or, i.ll just have to livie with the fact that i have a deffective unit...
Ok, i found the problem. At least for me. The speakers weren.t clean. When dust/drops of water enter near the speakers, the sound gets distorted.
No its not dirt in speaker problem, Xperia xz2 had same issue. And xperia xz3 has same chipset and lot of simular stuf like xz2. So it has same problem. Lot of users of xz3 have that speaker problem. Crackling sound when play media also over bluetooth speaker ect. Also people with xz2 send phone for repair or replacment and problem would stay on new device or replaced speaker. Think its a bug that sony cant fix. Maby if someone have rooted xz3 so he can send catlog we would know more and ask some dev for fix.
Nope, I have my XZ3 and no issue with speakers. True when they get dirty they start to distort but I solve that by playing music loud while my phone is put on its screen to take out the dirt gathered in the speakers (I don't recommend cleaning by any other method. Speakers should never be touched by any object in any phone especially the front). For Bluetooth, I have Sony SBH56 and it works fine. Speakers are clear. I even tested again in many modes. First making call while in my Bluetooth earphones no issue. Second, I tested making a call over Bluetooth but using XZ3's front earphone still nothing strange I can hear the call clear with no issue. Finally, I make the call over Bluetooth but this time using XZ3's loudspeakers and still no issue. I only had an issue a long time ago when I put an sd card my speakers start producing crackling and distorted sound over +70% volume, then I took out SIM tray and then tested again. The speakers returned to work normally. I put back the SIM tray with no sd card and speakers were still working just fine, so I thought maybe my unit has an issue with SD card module idk. I tested a different SD card and the speakers were still working clear until now. I can't stand speakers being too quite or crackling that's why I keep my speakers clean. XZ3 is IP68 certified, so its speakers really have only those two holes to let the sound out. It makes full sense if speakers start distorting if they get dirty.
If you must know the sd card I used that caused my issue was from Kingston while the one I am using now is from Samsung Evo+ 256GB.
What is your model- ‎H8416, H9436, H9493, SO-01L, SOV39....? Because H8416, H9436 have that problem.
And btw. nobody ask if you have or dont have this problem, We ask for solution.

Low front speaker volume during call and test SM-N950F

Hi,
I have a Note 8, now about 4years old. I began having issues with front speaker during calls about 2 years ago -about 2 months before warranty ended. First it was intermittent, about every 20calls, the speaker was so quiet, if I had aircon working, I could not hear anything.
During a period of about a year, it came so far that every call is problematic. I had a company phone with 2SIM so I put both in and I was ''happy''. BUT STILL MY 1000€ phone had speaker problems after 2-3years.
Now I got around - read got time to tinker - to fixing this issue and get my nice powerfull phone back in use.
As I was not to carefull with water (rain drops) on my phone - its IP67 or68 even - my first thought was that the speaker got wet. I ordered China replacement and bought 5pcs just to be sure one will definitly work.
Tried it with all 5 pcs + original and resault was the same. LOW volume. Yes I checked the contacts and cleaned them but no oxidation or any other clear issue with the HW.
I started googling for the problem and found that this was a problem on Samsung phones, though ''very'' rare. Solutions were usually in the line of restart/farctory reset/check settings of the phone and it will be OK. Tried factory reseting/settings.. and no luck, still have the problem.
Now I found a site with info on how to get inside Diagnostic SW in the phone. Got inside, tested and result was low volume.
I also found some info, that if the top mic had dust in the hole, the noise cancelation did somehow lower the output volume on the front speaker - not sure if this is legit info, I don't see how noise cancelation could interfere with received sound output. Just to be on the stupid safe side I removed the protection film on the case for the mic and cleaned it. No affect.
Now I do not know where to turn, if this is a SW or HW issue. I will be calling the Samsung distributor in my country tomorrow to ask what would be the solution, but from my previous experiance I am predicting the response - no solution or your motherboard needs replacing with cost of about 500€.
Just to get the idea how low the volume is - My wife and I bought same phone on same day, so I have a good comparison. Yes she does not have any issues and no I will not open her phone to check for my ''dead'' speaker funcitonality.
If I call the phones and put her on lowest sound setting, mine is still about 30% lower with setting to max. This result is same either phones are in same room or in different rooms - just to be sure the noise cancelation is not interfering.
Do you guys have any ideas/experiences with this issue? How did you fix it?
If you suggest reflash the phone, where can I find original ROM?
Hope you guys can help me.
Thanks.

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