Can't Hear Other Party on Phone Call

[daveb]

Having intermittent issue with phone reception.  Sometimes, but not always, I cannot hear other party on call, but they can hear me.  I thought perhaps the speaker in my 2-year old Samsung Alpha was failing, so bought a brand new Samsung S5 Neo.  Same problem has happened.  Samsung store suggests PM may have to reset my Network Settings and this should correct the problem since it's not a harware issue.  How would I get this done?

Any help would be appreciated.

[Rockdaddy22]

Can't you make a voip call and see if the mic works

[Korth]

If you're using your phone in a moving vehicle then you could move through regions with poorer cellular coverage.  Public Mobile (and Telus) will automatically use "HD Voice" quality when available, but signal handoffs to/from towers which lack HD Voice hardware can result in momentary loss of audio or strange audio compression artifacts the software in your phone detects as "noise" and automatically filters out.  Try disabling all background data syncing and data usage to free up as much bandwidth as possible during HD Voice calling.  And of course there's going to be weak service areas near concrete or near RFI sources or far from the nearest cellular tower which can underscore the problem, try to isolate variables by keeping your phone fully charged and monitoring signal strength during the "blackouts" on your calls.

Your vehicle Bluetooth might or might not be the cause, but it's definitely not going to help the issue.  You can determine if the fault is within the accessory by confirming if the problem occurs when somebody else (not on PM) uses it with their phone.  You can determine the fault is not within the accessory if call audio fails when it isn't being used.

[daveb]

Korth -

Thanks for the link re: APN.

Tried 3 different people on different phones.

Not using Bluetooth headset.  Just Bluetooth in vehicle and have had same result - can't hear other,

Good question about app.  Old phone was working fine til I switched to PM. (Coincidence?).  Haven't added any apps since switch-over or since getting new phone.  No idea which app may be corrupting normal audio.

Audio jack shouldn't be the the issue since I've tried different people on different phones.

At this point I've shut off Bluetooth entirely, and will monitor if this makes a difference.

[Korth]

Public Mobile Internet and MMS APN Settings for Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo.

You've used two phones and intermittently cannot hear the other party.  Is the other party's mic failing?  Have you tried talking to different people on different phones?

Bluetooth headsets fail after a while.  If you're using one (the same one on your old and new phones?) then turn off Bluetooth, recharge and reset the Bluetooth gizmo, reset the phone, pair them together again.

Are you running an app (same app on your old and new phones) which may be overriding normal permissions/priorities for control of audio?  If so then you need to update something, use an alternative app, or simply avoid using it.

A common problem with iPhones (and perhaps any phone) is for the audio jack to get dirty, something intermittently obstructs the sensor which tells the phone that headphones, headset, or mic is plugged in - this in turn intermittently causes the phone software to intermittently cut out the built-in speaker or mic hardware during calls.  You (or your other party) can try cleaning out the audio jack with lint-free swabs and non-perfumed isopropyl alcohol, carefully remove any debris and try to scrub out any (invisible but electrically-conductive) residue.  If the phone suffers a lot of drops or liquid spills then it may be wise to get a rubber cover or plug for this jack.

[Rockdaddy22]

Try a voip call, that should confirm

[daveb]

Thanks Luddite.

I'll try your suggestions.

[daveb]

Thanks for the bone ----- dogg.

I will confirm APN settings.  I certainly hadn't heard about resetting network settings either - could be a Samsung brush-off.

[Luddite]

Try as speaker phone? Make sure bluetooth is off.

Have you seen these?

http://androidforums.com/threads/i-cant-hear-the-other-party-during-calls.877355/

http://www.samsung.com/au/support/skp/faq/1046020

[daredogg]

If you search in the Knowledge Base on here, there are manual settings listed for various devices, and maybe making an adjustment to your APN settings would help. As for PM "resetting your network settings", I haven't heard of them doing that.

I'd provide more help, but have to leave shortly, so I figured I'd throw you a bone... good luck!