Calls sound fuzzy and distorted

[paulkdavison]

People I call are telling me I sound like a robot when I speak via voice call. For the most part I can hear them fine but the odd time they will cut out then return as well. I'm in Cobourg, ON and want to know if there is an issue with the network or if its me? I thought Telus was the best for network coverage but this is proving to be quite frustrating. I switched from Bell where I had absolutely not problems with text or voice calls (I switched because of the savings) but this is making me wonder if I need to go to go back. Please let me know if anyone has any info. Thanks!!

[jor123]

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@will13am wrote:

@paulkdavison, Telus = Bell, Bell = Telus.  In fact, Telus owns no towers in Ontario.  The two companies share towers.  Switching between these two brands should have zero effect on coverage.  That said, it is possible that you were using VoLTE with Bell.  Public Mobile does not have access to VoLTE.  This can change voice qualify. 

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Telus operates the cell sites in and around Ottawa and Windsor.

[xydin]

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@paulkdavison wrote:

So far I've tried re-setting the phone and it seems to have worked. I called a different person (their on Bell network) and stood in the same spot as before in my house and they could hear me crystal clear. I'm using a Google Pixel 3XL.....Have there been any issues with these phones? I've done some research and some people say their actual phones are garbage. Either way a full reset seems to be working. Thanks.

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Hi Paul,

I also have a Pixel 3 (not the XL) and I have the same issue with call quality. At first I thought it might be because I am on Public Mobile and not on one of the big telecoms (even though I know PM is a Telus company - if i recall correctly). Anyway, I was on a trip with some friends to Montreal and one is from Ottawa who has a Pixel 3 and is on Bell and he said he has the exact same issue. So that made me think that it might not be a problem with Public Mobile. I did RMA my phone with Google after that, so far I think my phone calls are better. I haven't had anyone tell me that I'm cutting out or distorted. But I have read online that some people have RMA'd their phones several times and still have the issue. So it might be hit or miss, but it might be worth while to give it a try and RMA your current Pixel 3XL and see if the issue is better.

[geopublic]

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@paulkdavison wrote:

So far I've tried re-setting the phone and it seems to have worked. I called a different person (their on Bell network) and stood in the same spot as before in my house and they could hear me crystal clear. I'm using a Google Pixel 3XL.....Have there been any issues with these phones? I've done some research and some people say their actual phones are garbage. Either way a full reset seems to be working. Thanks.

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@paulkdavison  I use a Pixel XL and call quality with PM is excellent. I know that the Pixel 3 had a microphone issue with syptoms similar to the ones you described in your first post. If that's the case I would contact Google for a replacement unit. More info on the problem can be found here.

Hope this helps!

[geopublic]

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@paulkdavison wrote:

People I call are telling me I sound like a robot when I speak via voice call. For the most part I can hear them fine but the odd time they will cut out then return as well. I'm in Cobourg, ON and want to know if there is an issue with the network or if its me? I thought Telus was the best for network coverage but this is proving to be quite frustrating. I switched from Bell where I had absolutely not problems with text or voice calls (I switched because of the savings) but this is making me wonder if I need to go to go back. Please let me know if anyone has any info. Thanks!!

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@paulkdavison  As others have mentioned it's probably because Bell supports VoLTE (HD calling) and Public Mobile does not. Please note that both Koodo and Telus also support VoLTE. What type of phone do you have? Is it an Android phone? If yes, make sure VoLTE is not provisioned on your device. If available, dial *#*#4636#*#* select Phone Information and make sure VoLTE provisioning is turned off or if it's greyed out even better. Also make sure that for voice network and data network are both set to to LTE.

[GinYVR]

@paulkdavisonI think there is no official problems so far with the Pixel 3 line because it is still pretty new. However there seems to be problems with the Pixel line in general with the audio chip. The class action of the first model had just been settled not too long ago, and there is an ongoing one with the Pixel 2.

In the end, it is not a high volume phone and it seems the engineering issues don't get caught as quickly as other higher volume phones do. Honestly their after sales support sucks in comparison to Samsung / Apple. They don't do hardware recalls unless being sued, and usually by the time people had ditched the phone already.

For Pixels I would recommend only purchase from Google direct mainly to the amount of settlement one get. No used, refurbished etc. Not put the phone in high stressed areas like pants as the case of Pixel 1 and 2 it was the chip getting detached slowly (no software patch is going to fix that) causing the no audio problem.

[paulkdavison]

So far I've tried re-setting the phone and it seems to have worked. I called a different person (their on Bell network) and stood in the same spot as before in my house and they could hear me crystal clear. I'm using a Google Pixel 3XL.....Have there been any issues with these phones? I've done some research and some people say their actual phones are garbage. Either way a full reset seems to be working. Thanks.

[GinYVR]

@ChuckYeahThe problem is VoLTE is a red herring. It is not supported in the Public Mobile network. Having it enabled or not would not result in any change of functionality in the question here. It is just like asking a user to turn off Windows File Sharing, while the user is having problem downloading a file from Google.

This is a support forum, we try to give as accurate information as possible. There is already a lot of noise and force people going down unnecessary rabbit holes.

 OP's problem would more likely be due to whether his phone's baseband supports the lower frequencies (better penetration) and also the availablity of the frequencies of the cellphone towers at his location.

[ChuckYeah]

Is this something personal against me? I was hoping he could turn it off and solve his problem. @will13am thought his phone might still be trying to call volte. I was hoping by shutting this setting off he could clear it up. I guess as an Android user I'm not up to date on iphones, but I didn't think that meant I couldn't share my ideas on here.

First time it's been me, but I've seen too many people's ideas being rudely shut down here. Let me ensure you, it will not change my will and enjoyment of trying to help. @srlawren @GinYVR 

[ChuckYeah]

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@GinYVR wrote:

@ChuckYeahyour screenshot is no longer relevant as Apple has disabled that selection. It is part of the carrier profile, so end user cannot change it.

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OK. Just a thought.

[srlawren]

@ChuckYeah good luck with that:  PM doesn't support VoLTE

[GinYVR]

@ChuckYeahyour screenshot is no longer relevant as Apple has disabled that selection. It is part of the carrier profile, so end user cannot change it.

[ChuckYeah]

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@will13am wrote:

@paulkdavison, Telus = Bell, Bell = Telus.  In fact, Telus owns no towers in Ontario.  The two companies share towers.  Switching between these two brands should have zero effect on coverage.  That said, it is possible that you were using VoLTE with Bell.  Public Mobile does not have access to VoLTE.  This can change voice qualify. 

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[MoreYummy]

maybe phone has issue..  or signjal.  try another phone

[ChuckYeah]

If this turns out to be the right answer, nice catch @will13am .

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@will13am wrote:

@paulkdavison, Telus = Bell, Bell = Telus.  In fact, Telus owns no towers in Ontario.  The two companies share towers.  Switching between these two brands should have zero effect on coverage.  That said, it is possible that you were using VoLTE with Bell.  Public Mobile does not have access to VoLTE.  This can change voice qualify. 

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[sulagok]

You may try and check the coverage map to see if you're at the fringe zone

[will13am]

@paulkdavison, Telus = Bell, Bell = Telus.  In fact, Telus owns no towers in Ontario.  The two companies share towers.  Switching between these two brands should have zero effect on coverage.  That said, it is possible that you were using VoLTE with Bell.  Public Mobile does not have access to VoLTE.  This can change voice qualify. 

[RossN]

@paulkdavison  hi do you have another phone to try your sim in?