m17/ghost/xt1052 strange audio problem - Moto X Q&A

Hi,
after having received a used Moto X I made the mistake of immediately rooting it and flashing a custom ROM. After that, everything worked fine - except for phone calls, where you can hear an echo of your own voice (both with speakerphone off or on) but the other person can't hear anything at all. I thought the problem was with the ROM and restored the stock ROM, but no luck. My last-ditch attempt at solving the problem was to re-flash what seemed like the proper modem firmware (I think it was for the XT1052, but not 100% sure). Anyways, no dice either.
Didn't try to use the phone again until today, and noticed something funny:
When I blow into the front microphone, that blowing sound can be heard loud and clear by the other person.
Investigating further it turns out: in an app like RecForge, where you can choose either microphone, the back microphone works just fine. Good, loud, clear signal. And the front microphone shows the same symptom as in the phone app; only blowing into the front mic produces a strong signal. VERY loud shouting produces a very weak, but noticeable signal - of course that might be because very loud shouting moves a lot of air.
Trying to google this issue gets you lot of hits by people suffering from it on a variety of devices, interestingly many of them Motorola phones. Unfortunately, none of the suggested solutions work for me. What struck me though is that for one guy, covering the back microphone with two layers of tape seems to work. That got me thinking: blowing into a microphone basically produces white noise; the kind of noise you'd be looking to remove with active noise cancellation. Not sure how the echo effect of hearing yourself speak figures into that (except that it proves the microphone is not broken on the hardware level).
Using a BlueTooth headset everything works just fine.
One theory I have is that the microphones might be misidentified/swapped (i.e. front for back and back for front) in the firmware or software. Is there any way to mess with this (swap microphones, disable second microphone, disable ANC, etc.)? Preferrably without compiling one's own ROM, but if anybody could give me pointers towards how to compile e.g. LineageOS under Linux, I'd be happy to give it a try, given how nice a phone the Moto X is.

materialdefender2306 said:
Hi,
after having received a used Moto X I made the mistake of immediately rooting it and flashing a custom ROM. After that, everything worked fine - except for phone calls, where you can hear an echo of your own voice (both with speakerphone off or on) but the other person can't hear anything at all. I thought the problem was with the ROM and restored the stock ROM, but no luck. My last-ditch attempt at solving the problem was to re-flash what seemed like the proper modem firmware (I think it was for the XT1052, but not 100% sure). Anyways, no dice either.
Didn't try to use the phone again until today, and noticed something funny:
When I blow into the front microphone, that blowing sound can be heard loud and clear by the other person.
Investigating further it turns out: in an app like RecForge, where you can choose either microphone, the back microphone works just fine. Good, loud, clear signal. And the front microphone shows the same symptom as in the phone app; only blowing into the front mic produces a strong signal. VERY loud shouting produces a very weak, but noticeable signal - of course that might be because very loud shouting moves a lot of air.
Trying to google this issue gets you lot of hits by people suffering from it on a variety of devices, interestingly many of them Motorola phones. Unfortunately, none of the suggested solutions work for me. What struck me though is that for one guy, covering the back microphone with two layers of tape seems to work. That got me thinking: blowing into a microphone basically produces white noise; the kind of noise you'd be looking to remove with active noise cancellation. Not sure how the echo effect of hearing yourself speak figures into that (except that it proves the microphone is not broken on the hardware level).
Using a BlueTooth headset everything works just fine.
One theory I have is that the microphones might be misidentified/swapped (i.e. front for back and back for front) in the firmware or software. Is there any way to mess with this (swap microphones, disable second microphone, disable ANC, etc.)? Preferrably without compiling one's own ROM, but if anybody could give me pointers towards how to compile e.g. LineageOS under Linux, I'd be happy to give it a try, given how nice a phone the Moto X is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i understand your problem may be a problem with the rom flashed at first using fastboot. do a thing back to stock 100% using the steps given here may it helps you.
it helped me to sort out my other networs issues problems.

gowtham3834, thank you for the answer. The ROM I currently have on the phone was installed through the method you mention, and I used XT1052_GHOST_RETDE_5.1_LPAS23.12-15.5-1_cid7_CFC.xml.zip. I'm not convinced that it's a ROM issue, but I'll try out some of the other ROMs at firmware.center and see if any of them behaves differently.

So I tried out all of the RETDE firmwares now, no luck. Even tried a French one by accident, after which I was offered an OTA update, but that didn't help either. For no good reason other than it being very new (Feb 5, 2017) I then installed XT1052_GHOST_RETEU_5.1_LPAS23.12-15.5-1_cid7_CFC.xml.zip. Still the same problem: front mic and back mic are basically swapped in the eyes of the OS.
Here's how I did the flashing:
Code:
#!/bin/bash
mfastboot="sudo ./linux-fastboot"
$mfastboot getvar max-download-size
$mfastboot oem fb_mode_set
$mfastboot flash partition $1/gpt.bin
$mfastboot flash motoboot $1/motoboot.img
$mfastboot flash logo $1/logo.bin
$mfastboot flash boot $1/boot.img
$mfastboot flash recovery $1/recovery.img
$mfastboot flash system $1/system.img
$mfastboot flash modem $1/NON-HLOS.bin
$mfastboot erase modemst1
$mfastboot erase modemst2
$mfastboot flash fsg $1/fsg.mbn
$mfastboot erase cache
$mfastboot erase userdata
$mfastboot erase customize
$mfastboot erase clogo
$mfastboot oem fb_mode_clear
Any takers??

Related

Microphone issues in Texasice ics

Having been using the texasice ics rom since the early alphas, I have now come across a problem with my microphone.
the sound is barely audible, and what is audible is a crackly hiss with some words hidden in it.
Is this the same problem others have had with this rom? I heard it may be something to do with apps2sd, but I'm not using it.
Upon installing the latest rom, (p6) my voice is apparently audible in phone calls, but muffled, yet a recording app still gives me the crackly sound.
I suppose my real question is, is it a problem with the rom, or has my phone finally decided to move on to a better place?
try to do a full wipe and then flash the latest texasice p6 to see if it solves the problem
Thanks,
wiping then flashing didn't help, so I'm going to assume it's a hardware failure. The phone has been abused a bit, so I'm not surprised.
I'll just use it for a dev device from now on
Mircophone hole
If you haven't already, you should make sure the microphone hole at the bottom of the phone is not plugged up... just a suggestion...
ICS 2.1e6 has been working fine for me so far....
i think it is rom--well known issue
do as suggested and wipe all including system
if p6 has issues try medroid v5

Change mic gain?

Trying to get a secondhand Droid 4 operational for my wife, who really, really wants a hardware keyboard. When I got it, it worked fine except that intermittently the handset microphone would get too quiet for the person on the other end of the line to hear. Switch to speaker or Bluetooth and everything is fine. It didn't happen all the time, but enough to be annoying. A search revealed a suggested solution was to clear data for Google Services Framework and reboot; this seemed to be somewhat effective, but the issue continued to recur.
Having tried everything else, I rooted it and flashed the latest CM11 milestone. And the mic behavior changed -- now it's always too quiet (not intermittent). Testing reveals that if I shout into the phone, the person on the other end can barely hear something. And Google voice search is unusable -- when I shout, the mic icon flashes sometimes, but it never gets anything.
The intermittent nature of the issue and the change in behavior after installing a different OS leads me to think it's a software issue. Can anyone steer me toward a system file where mic gain is set, or any other possible solution to this issue? Thanks so much.

Normal audio playing out of ear speaker.

This is kinda a follow up of my other thread. This is for the I9305T. I got the firmware installed but all audio is coming out of the ear speaker, not the rear one. I've tried reflashing it, factory resetting it, trying a different version of the stock rom altogether. No matter what I can't get the audio to come out the rear speaker. It comes out very quietly in the ear speaker and at a very low quality. But making calls still works normally.
I've tried all sorts of things in google, any idea whats wrong?
Turns out it was a physical problem the whole time. The old hit it with a hammer technique fixed it. (lightly hitting the speaker). Android must fall back to the ear speaker when it can no longer detect the main one. A mod can close this thread I'd you want.

N910T3 No Microphone Input

Since some time today I lost mic audio. when I click the mic in the google search bar, it doesn't hear anything. If I get reaalllyy up into the mic and say something it picks up words, but the text is completely wrong.
Worst yet my phone calls I can hear them great, but they can't hear me until I yell into the mic up close like I do with the google voice search.
I was on Tek rom, then flashed Pacman, back to Tek, flashed beastmode kernel, the another kernel, back to beastmode, tried every combination I can think of.
I found a thread saying the app "soundabout" that manually redirects audio could be the solution. Something about lollipop having issues transferring after headphone connection. I did use headphones for the first time on this phone today... But that was no help either
Any thoughts? I've only had the phone 2 days I the only step I've not been able to perform is to ODIN flash it with a stock firmware, because I cannot locate one. Does anyone have a lead on a T3 firmware?
To elaborate, I do have audio from mic but I wouldn't even call it 5% there. It's like 3% extremely faint.
Wife says that when I really eat the mic and talking when test calling she can hear clearly... But extremely faint. I duno what to do
wow, so there was something stuck in the second mic hole. I could see one was fine, and the stuff stuck in this mic hole was the same color as those little bands around the body that there's 2 of by the IR port and one by the Headphone port , then mirrored on the bottom. So I didn't think to try clearing that little spot out .
Aaaand now it works, so there, for anyone in the future googling and finding this issue, that did indeed help

Microphone not working in call. Please help.. :(

Suddenly my Microphone not working in call. People at the other end can't hear me at all (both normal or in speaker phone). However if I use wired headset or Bluetooth headset in call the everything is fine.It was working fine (I was at CF Rom sutl44 with exposed) then it suddenly stop working since a week ago.
My phone is Verizon Droid Turbo XT1254 bootloader unlocked with sunshine.
At first I thought that maybe my mic is dead but it is not. The voice recorder app (Hi-Q MP3 recorder) can still record from the mics without problem.
I read a lot of this issue and mostly because of software problem, so I tried all that I can think of.
I have reset my phone, even do a full wipe and start clean install but the problem still same.
I flash full stock odexed firmware (sutl44 or 49) with same result.
I flashed resurrection remix rom (the latest) still same problem.
I changed build prop as per some people suggest but still same problem.
From the hardware side, I disassembled my phone and clean mic holes, check mics condition, all seems fine. When I tried using the voice recorder it can register any sound or even touch so the mics are working and sensitive.
FYI, this phone has 5 mics, I checked and tested (with voice recording) them when I disassembled the phone. All are working fine.
I'm really desperate right now.. I love this phone and this is my main phone. I will appreciate any help or suggestions.
Maybe some ROM recommendation that may fix the mics problem.
I just flashed RR Marshmallow to see if I get any luck but unfortunately no.. mic still not working in call.
I tried to remember when this problem start to happen.. I guess it was after I install GravityBox in Xposed and start played around with the GB settings.
I have TWRP backup before I install that GB, I tried to restore the backup but still mic not working in call.
Did Xposed can change something very basic (like a 'driver' in windows) that can't be changed back by re-flash or load a TWRP backup?
Because somehow I think that this 'driver' or 'library' for mic in call is bad or gone.
Please.. any suggestion?
This might be a long shot, but I just had the same issue. After making a call using Google Hangouts, it started working again for me.
riplayne said:
This might be a long shot, but I just had the same issue. After making a call using Google Hangouts, it started working again for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried that since I mic is not working.. still problem
tertiary
Remove your tertiary microphone. It is the lower right when looking at the back. After this you must ground your audio output pin or you will get buzzing sound during recordings and conversation. This pin will be lower left out of the four where microphone was removed, there will be a chevron shape beside it which is a convenient ground location. This problem as far as I can tell happened after a security update from Verizon. I realize this sounds like a bogus fix but it made my phone work GREAT. This microphone is picking up your voice as well as the main mic and causing noise reduction to the point of no audio.
snugroho3 said:
Suddenly my Microphone not working in call. People at the other end can't hear me at all (both normal or in speaker phone). However if I use wired headset or Bluetooth headset in call the everything is fine.It was working fine (I was at CF Rom sutl44 with exposed) then it suddenly stop working since a week ago.
My phone is Verizon Droid Turbo XT1254 bootloader unlocked with sunshine.
At first I thought that maybe my mic is dead but it is not. The voice recorder app (Hi-Q MP3 recorder) can still record from the mics without problem.
I read a lot of this issue and mostly because of software problem, so I tried all that I can think of.
I have reset my phone, even do a full wipe and start clean install but the problem still same.
I flash full stock odexed firmware (sutl44 or 49) with same result.
I flashed resurrection remix rom (the latest) still same problem.
I changed build prop as per some people suggest but still same problem.
From the hardware side, I disassembled my phone and clean mic holes, check mics condition, all seems fine. When I tried using the voice recorder it can register any sound or even touch so the mics are working and sensitive.
FYI, this phone has 5 mics, I checked and tested (with voice recording) them when I disassembled the phone. All are working fine.
I'm really desperate right now.. I love this phone and this is my main phone. I will appreciate any help or suggestions.
Maybe some ROM recommendation that may fix the mics problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ramseymarka said:
Remove your tertiary microphone. It is the lower right when looking at the back. After this you must ground your audio output pin or you will get buzzing sound during recordings and conversation. This pin will be lower left out of the four where microphone was removed, there will be a chevron shape beside it which is a convenient ground location. This problem as far as I can tell happened after a security update from Verizon. I realize this sounds like a bogus fix but it made my phone work GREAT. This microphone is picking up your voice as well as the main mic and causing noise reduction to the point of no audio.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since it's a software based issue, flashing a ROM different from stock firmware wouldn't fix it? He said he tried flashing Resurrection Remix.
BHB27 kernel's problem
I don't read your post carefully, so I don't know if your ROM and kernel is same to me, but I have similar problem in last few days. Finally, I find the problem is the custom kernel, the lastest BHB27 kernel, when I flash the old version custom kernel, the problem is solved. I hope this information can help you.
My ROM: http://forum.xda-developers.com/droid-turbo/development/rom-mpg24-107-70-2-brazilian-6-0-1-t3426234
Kernel: http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-maxx/development/kernel-bhb27-kernel-t3207526
The new kernels have problem, so I flash back to BHB27-Kernel-V201-8-M.zip
i was able to solve the issue by plugging in a headset and then unplugging it. sometimes some dirt/junk get stuck in there, and the phone thinks that it is plugged in, thus muting audio out except through the jack.
I have the same problem, you fixed this problem in your phone?
I try RR (Android L, M and N), CRDROID (Android N) and NX (Android M). In all of this ROMs, I have the same problem.
ramseymarka said:
Remove your tertiary microphone. It is the lower right when looking at the back. After this you must ground your audio output pin or you will get buzzing sound during recordings and conversation. This pin will be lower left out of the four where microphone was removed, there will be a chevron shape beside it which is a convenient ground location. This problem as far as I can tell happened after a security update from Verizon. I realize this sounds like a bogus fix but it made my phone work GREAT. This microphone is picking up your voice as well as the main mic and causing noise reduction to the point of no audio.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i had the problem where i can make calls in whatsapp without any problem but when i call using my regular cellular network (not using VOLTE), i can hear the other phone ringing but my when they pick up, i cant hear them and they cant hear me. i tried headphones and its the same thing. can hear the phone ringing but once they pick up, no sound what so ever. i just want to confirm that you and i were facing the same situation before i go ahead and perform surgery on my phone. any help will be appreciated.
---------- Post added at 01:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:21 AM ----------
archnine said:
I don't read your post carefully, so I don't know if your ROM and kernel is same to me, but I have similar problem in last few days. Finally, I find the problem is the custom kernel, the lastest BHB27 kernel, when I flash the old version custom kernel, the problem is solved. I hope this information can help you.
My ROM: http://forum.xda-developers.com/droid-turbo/development/rom-mpg24-107-70-2-brazilian-6-0-1-t3426234
Kernel: http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-maxx/development/kernel-bhb27-kernel-t3207526
The new kernels have problem, so I flash back to BHB27-Kernel-V201-8-M.zip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you give more details about the problem that you faced?
After nougat update in Moto M mic not working.
I was not ready to do a factory reset. But there is no other option to fix mic issue after nougat update.
So, last night kept back up of all important folder and run factory reset without automatic restore.
Now, everything looks fine to me. Incoming and outgoing calls are working fine.
So, I am suggesting everyone to do a factory reset, this is one and only option to fix mic issue.
Thanks,
Saurav Sinha
email: [email protected]

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