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Microphone Quality When on Speaker Phone

K

ka3keh

Lurker
Hello Everyone,

I got my S5 a few days ago. I noticed that when on speaker phone the other party does not hear me very well and end up turning the speaker phone off.
I did a little comparison with Note 2 and the Note 2 was much better. When on speaker phone the other party can hear me much better on the Note 2 than the S5. Same story with the Nexus5. I have used my Nexus5"s speaker phone in the car for the past four months with no issues, I could't carry any speaker phone conversation in the car since I bought the phone.

I tried a display S5 at the store and had the same issue. If you don't keep the phone close to your face the other party cannot hear you very well and sometimes a few words cannot be heard at all.

Is this a common problem with S5 or my handset happened to be faulty? Anyone has the same problem? Suggestions please?

Thanks.
 
So far, I have used mine twice on speaker phone.

No one complained as of yet... time will tell. Phone too new and only talked on it 4 or 5 times.

Playing with it is a different story though :rofl:
 
Are you using a case? If you are make sure it isn't blocking either of the microphones. As far as having the same issue with the display phone- Those phones take a beating every day, being dropped hit, flexed, and god knows what else.
 
Thank you guys for the reply.
It was my phone issue, I just got it replaced today and the issue is gone. People can hear me no problem now when on speaker phone.
Thanks.
 
I'm having the same issue with my phone. I ALWAYS use speaker and didn't have this issue with my S4. My phone is nekkid so that isn't the problem. So when you took it in, what did they do to test it?
 
Have the exact same problem here. I went to the T-mobile store yesterday and the guy said his phone has the same problem. He said that I should wait to see what happens with the firmware upgrades. :(
 
I have the same issue. I find I have to hold the phone pretty close to my mouth which defeats the purpose of the speaker.
 
Before, my wife was on a Galaxy Nexus and I was on an S4, but we both are on S5 now. We have remarked several times about the amazing clarity of the S5 speakerphone and headphone calls too.

But I have noticed a big improvement in call quality across the board since I moved from Verizon to T-Mobile. I thought it was marketing hype, but HD Voice definitely makes a difference.

My wife sounded better on speakerphone in her car on the freeway on the S5 with T-Mobile HD Voice than she sounded on the regular microphone on a Galaxy Nexus on Verizon.
 
Blarney on T-Mobile being better than Verizon....

I've been with VZW for 20 years, and they have mostly always had the best service.

I went through every carrier there was back about 20 years ago searching for one that was reliable, had good audio, and did not drop out every 59 seconds.

Found VZW and never looked back.
 
Thanks Saeedejc
I had the same problem and sent the phone in for repair and it came back with no change.
Now I can use the speaker phone.
 
Hi all. Only received my new S5 Friday and activated the small SIM card change this morning. Have received 2 calls since and both callers complained they couldn't hear me well. That's when I decided to check the web for known sound issues.
I have followed Saeedejc's instructions but my noise reduction was un-ticked. I then conducted a couple of sound tests and as I could barely hear myself on the playback, I safely assume the mic is the problem.

Vodafone sending a replacement phone which I should get tomorrow. They were pretty quick getting me connected to my old SIM card (off a Samsung S2).
 
I have exactly the same problems with my Note 4, its a nightmare,
All my friends complaining that they cant hear me and experiencing horrible phone calls from me, I can hear them, but my audio is in and out and faded and drops out,
what a shame, the note 4 has a fantastic speaker so speaker calls are loud and clear my end. but the other end cant hear me!.
Its not just speaker calls, it happens on other calls if you move the phone slightly away from your ear during the call (if the screen light goes on and off during the call)
I hope that Samsung are aware of this TERRIBLE issue
 
I have the same issue with my Samsung Galaxy S5 and latest software upgrade didnt help. Also the Jelly Bean upgrade was a nightmare and had to google how to clear the cache. Thinking of a new phone because you cant talk and drive in CA and bluetooth on older cars is also horrible. Total joke that the speakerphone is so bad on this device! I am VZW
 
My S5 has been great for Speakerphone use, we have two S5 phones and both sound good on speakerphone.

It is not HiFi quality because the diaphragm is so tiny, and it projects out the rear. Samsung, why do you do that?
I have to hold the phone in my hand cupping the speaker and it works very well. Or, we lay it on the kitchen table and that works well.

The microphone sensitivity is not as good as I would like, seems that you need to be closer than 18 inches for it to work well.
____________________________________
2 ea. Verizon Galaxy S5, 4.4.4 forever!, ART
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I've had my S5 for 6 months now and for the last 2 months everyone complains that they can't hear me when I use the speakerphone. I really don't want to send my phone in under the warranty as it's 4-6 weeks with a crappy loaner phone. But I do need this problem to go away as I use my speakerphone all the time. I've tried blowing into the pinhole mic and the problem isn't resolved. Does anyone have any other suggestions? My phone fyi is protected in an Otterbox Defender which is not blocking the pinhole but does trap it between it's walls/opening.
 
Good news! Just called Samsung Repair Centre and they confirmed that they could barely hear me. They instructed me to clear the data under my phone application.

Settings - Application Manager - ALL - Phone - Clear Data.

IT WORKED! People can hear me properly again.
 
That is good news
claps.gif


I sometimes have trouble with my son understanding us when we use our Speakerphone mic. Going to try that little trick and see if it works for him.


EDIT: Hmmmm, I backed off from doing that, I have over 500 contacts in my phone and clearing that completely out, and hoping that a Restore will fully populate all of the extra fields I have created....

I made a Super Backup and sent it to my email address, I'm going to upload that into a spreadsheet and see if everything is there first.

Caveat Emptor!
 
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Same thing here , normal call quality is ok... not great. When on speaker no one can hear me, unless i speak directly on the upper mic hole, not the bottom one... already tried everything clean cache, a factory reset and a upgrade, noise canceling, disabling other apps that use the mic, cleaning the mic holes.

It's probably just samsung cutting corners on the mic quality .
 
Solved:
-Uncheck Background Noise Cancelation In Settings
-Delete Phone Data In App Manager

Deleting Phone Data Does Not Affect Contacts

THANK YOU TO THOSE WHOM POSTED THESE SOLUTIONS ORIGINALLY

PS This is obviously not an isolated issue caused by a phone malfunction. There are too many people with the same issue for that to be the case. Replacing with a new phone will work because it will have no data in the Phone App and may not have the Noise Suppression selected. If you want and can get a new phone from this issue then kudos to you.
 
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