Cross Dialing and Echo

[Kate_mcc]

I get my own voice echoed back at me with a short delay. The person I am speaking with hears this echoing as well as some background noise I don't hear. This is relatively new to me as I have been using this Samsung A20 since June and been using publicmobile over a year without problem until it started in December. At first it was occasional calls and now it is almost every call no mater where in the city I am. 

[Kate_mcc]

It seems that for the last week there is no echo. I don't know about crossed lines as that was not something I noticed. I shut down the phone. Removed the sim for a few minutes then replaced the sim and sd card and restarted the phone. A week has passed and the echo has not returned yet despite being in areas where the echo effect had happened frequently.

If it comes back and the same solution works again I will post about that as well.

Thanks to the community for providing all the ideas for troubleshooting and possible solutions including the one (or possibly more than one as I also reset the airplane mode as well. I took so long to respond back to see if it was a solution or a temporary fix.

Kate

[Korth · Accepted solution]

@Kate_mcc 

The issue might be caused by your phone. Unfortunately, the actual quality of voice calling is not something smartphones emphasize these days - you'd think it'd be the most important specification for a phone but it's something nobody seems to think about - the advertising focus is always on all the other wonderful features and capabilities the phone can boast.

You're apparently not the only one experiencing this issue. Another A20 user reports that a software update fixed the problem.

https://r2.community.samsung.com/t5/Galaxy-A/voice-echo-while-calling-in-A20/td-p/1840278

[Kate_mcc]

I will have to find my bluetooth headset and purchase a headphone type one or see if I can find my logitech headset and get an adaptor to use it.

Thank you for the ideas. I have already tried the turning off, removing sim, waiting a few minutes and then inserting the sim and restarting the phone. 

It will take some time to try all these ideas as it is not a continuous problem. It happens a few times a day as a rule although the last few days it has happened more frequently.

[softech]

@Kate_mcc   As I said, it could be a device issue.  The best test is to put your PM SIM in another phone and test the calls.

Also, on your A20, I believe it has a headphone jack, try to plug in a headphone and see if it makes a difference.  Also, try with a bluetooth headset and see.  It could be an issue of the built-in speaker

[Kate_mcc]

No to no one I have had the problem with has been using a voip phone to my knowledge. Several people I know for certain are not using voip phones. One is using a newish Motorola and I am not certain what kind of phones the others are using. It also happens when I am speaking with someone on a regular landline (Rogers service in the Ottawa area).

It is primarily the delayed echo that drives me crazy. Is this a known problem with the Samsung A20 or ???

Kate

[Korth]

@Kate_mcc 

Is the person on the other end of your calls using a VoIP phone?

Can the echoes and artifacts be heard on calls to other people?

"Strange noises" are often artifacts from digital amplification. Mics on smartphones are cheap and tiny things, they can't discriminate voices from background noises (or from background voices) so they rely on software to do it all. The software can be quite clever and efficient, but it cannot be perfect at everything. Even nearly-imperceptible noise sources (like tiny little clicks inside your computer, gently whirring room fans, the "silent" humming of nearby light fixtures or electrical boxes, cash registers, passing cars on rainy days, soft rustling of leaves in the wind) can be turned into a deafening roar on speaker playback. Try using your phone in quieter areas.

[gpixel]

it means your phone is tapped and "they" are listening...

[BKNS27]

@Kate_mcc 

It sounds like a phone issue so try putting your SIM in another phone to see if has the same issue.

This happens to me when I am on VoIP.

[softech]

@Kate_mcc I wonder if it is a device issue.  Try to put your SIM in another phone and see if you experience the same.  If not, then it is device issue

Try to use a Bluetooth headset and make the call and see if any different.  Or try speakerphone and see

[Anonymous]

 @Kate_mcc : Maybe the old restart the phone? Or flip in/out of airplane mode. Possibly also try setting the phone to 3G or WCDMA or UMTS or HSPA.