I cannot use my Volkswagen hands-free car kit with my Fairphone: I can hear my dialogue partner talking, but (s)he cannot understand me; what I say is just incomprehensible. This problem is reproducable and does not appear with my old Samsung dumbphone or my son’s Samsung android smartphone. So it must have to do something with the Fairphone software.
I have a FP1 with Android Version 4.2.2 and Kernel Version 3.4.5. Should be up to date.
Is this using bluetooth?
If so, it may be linked to the known issues with bluetooth that the Fairphone team are working on - hopefully there will be a further update on this soon
Yes, it’s connected via bluetooth. we have just checked with another Android smartphone which had no problem either.
My Fairphone does read my contacts, such that I can use them with the interface of my hands-free car kit. (It’s the original manufacturers kit.)
The point is that my Faitphone is useless for me, unless it is functioning in my car and I will have to sitch back to my old phone. I would not have bought a Fairphone, if I would have known that. And I can defivitively not recommend it to someone else as long as this is not functioning. This is really annoying 
I have just updated the firmware on my Volkwagen TouchAdapter to the latest version available, just to exclude this as a source of error. As expected, this had no effect on the quality of the connection.
I made a recording of the “Sound of Silence” produced by my Fairphone when placed in my car: http://hugemann.de/downloads/Fairphone_on_Volkswagen_TouchAdapter.mp3, i.e. I called another cell phone from inside my car, turned on the loudspeaker of the external phone and recorded it with Cubase. Nobody is talking, the Fairphone is placed in my stationary car with the engine switched off. The original sound is very loud.
Sounds like some kind of a feedback to me. If this stays like it is, I will have to get rid of my Fairphone.
@whugemann- sorry to hear this. Hopefully there will be an update within a few weeks which is targeting bluetooth, so hopefully this will resolve things. Can’t say exactly when the FP team will release this, but we’ll hear from them shortly I think.
It’s an odd noise indeed. I only can say, that I’m using the universal smartphone adapter 3C0051435CB, it works very well (Passat 12.2006), unfortunately without access to the adress book, due to the old car eletronic I suppose.
Are you able to test the phone in another car? I think it does’t sound like feedback (I’m musician, so I know what I’m talking about:-), it sounds like hearing the bits and bytes working…
Are you able to test the phone in another car?
Yes, it works with some other Bluetooth adapters. Unfortunately, I
cannot easily change the one I am using in my 2009 Passat, because I
bought the car with a ready-made phone adapter. The expensive genuine
Volkswagen Touch Adapter seems to be the only device available for that
system
(http://www2.volkswagen-zubehoer.de/de/produktwelten/infotainment/touch-adapter-voice.html).
I think it does’t sound
like feedback (I’m musician, so I know what I’m talking about:-), it
sounds like hearing the bits and bytes working…
I’m a hobby musician too, and of course this does not sound like
analogue feedback. But you have to keep in mind that the Fairphone’s
microphone switches on and off in order to avoid feedback and that there
is a small time delay between talking and listening mode. Keeping this
in mind, this dwelling intermittent sound starts to make sense: There
seems to be something wrong with this timing.
Wolfgang Hugemann