Can not hear the other person during phone calls - but only when in a specific area.

[Complexify]

Hello,  Both my Mom and I are on public mobile, and have each of us have an iPhone 6.  We live a long way apart (4 hour drive).  Several of months ago my Mom starting having a problem where she would not be able to hear the other person on a call, but the other person could hear her just fine.  I happens on most calls within about 5 minutes.  Sometimes interruption will only last 20 or seconds, other times it seems indefinite and she will hang up.  We call right back and the call starts off fine, but then it happens again.  It doesn't matter who she calls, or if it is another cell or a landline, the same thing.

Now this is where it gets interesting, about a month ago I drove to my parents, and guess what... as soon as I got within a few kilometers of their place, my phone did the same thing, I couldn't hear the other person, but they could hear me.  I had the problem for the duration of my time at my parents (several days).  When I left my parents and returned home, the problem did not occur anymore. 

This happens even though we have 4 and 5 bars of service, so it isn't a coverage thing.

It appears that there is a "conflict" between the settings associated with the cell tower serving their area and either our iPhones, or PM in general.  Is there anything that can be done about this?  It has made Mom's phone pretty useless for phone calls.

Any help is appreciated.  Thank you.

[Luddite]

@Complexify  Just a minor fyi: you should be able select 3g only by "forbidding" LTE Go to Settings >> Cellular >> Cellular Data Options: turn Enable LTE off.

[Nezgar]

Just to rule out if the phone speaker is having issues...

1. test by switching to speakerphone mode when this happens
2. test with plug-in earbuds (ones with a mic)...

[LurganIeUk]

Take a look at this. https://vkrepair.com/iphone-6-cant-hear-caller/

Any environmental differences nearby. High voltage tower wires? Trees, tall buildings, bottom of a hill in a valley? What happens if you tried the old wired hands free???

[gpixel]

@Complexify I just learned this the other day. 

when you insert a new sim, you are in essence deleting your old sim from the 'system' this in turn forces your carriers network to force an update to the network, making cell towers 'aware' of the new sim, this can improve reception as any new agreements between carriers and their cell towers and any new cell towers since your last sim will be 'aware' of the new sim, allowing it to access them.

in turn 'improving' your reception, in areas you previously had bad reception, this is why they ask.

dont purchase a new sim, but tell your parents to turn off the device. remove the sim turn on the device and reinstall and then reset your network settings. hopefully this will update the sims PRL(preferred roaming list)

1. From the home screen navigate to Settings>General>Reset
2. Tap Reset Network Settings
If prompted enter your passcode
3. Tap Reset Network Settings
4. Restart your phone

the signal you're seeing is the LTE signal. this is not accurate because pm only uses 3g for calls. you need to switch your iPhone to 3g to find out what your real reception is. your parents may have to purchase a cellphone booster. there's a cheap one on Amazon you can try. 

[Complexify]

@totalUser Unfortunately she doesn't have a different phone to test, and I also have an iPhone 6 - I don't think I can force 3G on the iP6. It doesn't seem to be signal strength issue, the call is as clear as a bell, then she loses the other person, yet the other person can still hear her clear as a bell, and if the sound comes back for her the call is still clear, and this is all without moving, standing still in the house... 

[Complexify]

@Jb456 That map is awesome!  Thanks.  I always figured the tower in the distance was for cellar, but now I know for sure.  It is line of sight to the Bell tower in the area (no Telus towers in the area - so runs off Bell towers I believe).  They live on a lake and you can see the tower in distance across the lake.  Nice little red light on the tower at night, that helps you to know where you are on the lake in the dark!

[totalUser]

Hi @Complexify 

For talk you need 3g connection and the bars on the phone are most likely reflecting strength of LTE signal.

Would she be able to test it on different model.

Some phones let you force 3g connection, if she can do that bars would better reflect the connection for talk.

It's still good idea for her to contact moderators so they are aware of connection issues in her area, if nobody complains they probably won't kno

[totalUser]

Hi @Complexify 

For talk you need 3g connection and the bars on the phone are most likely reflecting strength of LTE signal.

Would she be able to test it on different model.

Some phones let you force 3g connection, if she can do that bars would better reflect the connection for talk.

It's still good idea for her to contact moderators so they are aware of connection issues in her area, if nobody complains they probably won't know

[Jb456]

@Complexify  check the tower map below. How's it look in momma's area?

https://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/cancellsites.html

[Jb456]

@Anonymous  was thinking that to. Especially if the momma came from a company that has volte they would have never noticed.

[Complexify]

I am 99% sure helped Mom turn off noise cancelling as a test, months ago when this first started.  Note: it happens outside, inside, in silent environments, when connected via bluetooth to the Subaru car phone, when connect via bluetooth to the Audio car phone,  when I have green eggs and ham, said Sam I am.  🙂  But only within several kilometers of my parents place, so noise cancelling causing the problem is pretty much ruled out.

[Anonymous]

 @Complexify 

Perhaps you're in a weak WCDMA/UMTS/3G area. That is what is used for calling. When not on a call, the phone would rest on LTE/4G with the bars you're seeing. When you get on a call, the phone flips to 3G. Have your parents watch their bars when they start a call. They should see the bars that are on 4G (not that it says so) and then it'll change it's bars to 3G. Maybe that reception is weak.

[Jb456]

@Complexify  Have you tried turning off noise cancellation?

[Complexify]

Hi Jb456,

I am reaching out to a moderator as suggested above.

The phones are up-to-date.

No haven't tried changing/resetting cell network settings.

It is not a hardware issue, since as stated two phones do this, and my phone only does it when that particular coverage area, and the phone is fine again afterwards.

Thank you for asking about speak, I forgot to include in original message happens on speaker and "ear mode" and changing between the two does not resolve the problem once it has occurred.

[Jb456]

What have you tried to resolve your issue?

Is the phone up to date? Plug into iTunes and see if it needs any updates.

Have you tried resetting the network settings? Note this will erase any saved wifi passwords.

Do you have another unlocked phone lying around that you can out your sim card in to determine if it's a phone hardware issue?

Have you tried speaker phone? To see if any change?

[JK8]

@Complexify 

Have the Moderator Team investigate this:

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