Hi everyone, I am creating a new topic for this, I know there are/were related and resolved topics about microphone issues with the FP5 but my issue is very specific. I would like your input on this and maybe for someone else to verify this behavior before I go and bother FP and possibly even WhatsApp support.
Onto the problem: In my use case I regularly end WhatsApp calls while being on mute. This causes all three microphones of the FP5 to “stay muted”. As in, no other app besides WhatsApp calling is able to use them until I restart the phone. This includes WA voice messages, the microphone test in the My Fairphone App, the internal testing area, Teams and worst of all regular phone calls.
A restart fixes this until I end another WA call while muted. Force closing WA didn’t fix it either. Ending a Teams meeting while muted didn’t cause this behavior so I think this might only be related to WhatsApp + FP OS. I don’t have other calling apps to test this behavior.
I have tested this in video and regular audio calls and it seems to happen regardless of who ends the call. (At least it didn’t fix it, I didn’t restart my phone between each test tbh).
So my question, can anyone confirm this behavior? Is there a way for me to check logs or something to see if maybe WA is hogging the microphones somehow?
Hi, just tried this. I can confirm that, after having ended a WhatsApp-audio-call on mute, the Phone App starts on mute - which it shouldn’t. I had no problem unmuting the Phone App immediately during the test call, though. No restart of the FP5 necessary.
I tried this also vice versa with a Pixel phone muting WhatsApp. The Pixel’s Phone App wasn’t on mute afterwards.
Thanks for testing and confirming, I’ll open a case with FP about this. I can confirm unmuting during a regular phone call enables the microphones again. Having to make a phone call so I can use WhatsApp voice notes, Teams or my translator app again is at least faster than doing a restart lol
Hi, I got basically the standard reply from FP support on 14.01. and have updated the ticket with the information they requested. It is currently on their support queue with the status “open”.
I am expecting their next reply in about 1-2 weeks from now. I’ll update this topic if FP tells me anything of value. Hoping they forward the issue to the dev team right away.
you can keep your massage short and refer to this topic by placing a link.
by the amount of seport requests the support team estimate how many people are effected by this problem.
Please be aware that the support team and software developers are a bit overloaded at the moment. Please keep your message clear and short. That will help them a lot.
maybe someone can dubbele check firs if this is a Fairphone isue and not a WhatsApp issue?
preferably a different brand phone than, a google pixel, @mgkoeln already tested.
Funnily enough in another topic it was said to keep your support message long and technical so they can forward it to the dev team immediately instead of replying with standard questions continuously. I had already linked this topic here in my ticket as well.
This worked on my Sony Xperia 5 II that I had before the FP5. Same with my Moto Z2 Force that I had before the Sony, but that was also a long time ago at this point. It’s only happening on the FP5.
This not being an issue on a Pixel is the most important imo, since FPOS is supposedly Pixel adjacent with the Google certification and all. Including Pixel specific issues like the permanent search bar or at a glance widget on the home screen. This to me points to an issue within FPOS or whatever they use to control audio and microphones.
I would be interested if this also happens on the FP4.
Update, Fairphone Support has now said they’re checking with their tech team and that “This might take a while”. I’ll update here whenever I get something new.
By now I am used to the workaround of calling my house phone so I can get my microphones back
Many thanks for looking into it! I know it’s an odd and niche issue to have
I meant that the microphones worked on the Moto and Sony after having ended a WA call while muted. They were available in other apps, including WA voice notes and regular calls (without having to unmute manually first).
One thing I also have (lightly) tested by now is the quick tile to disable microphone access. It sadly also does not restore microphone functionality after the call. If the microphones are in the unusable state and I disable the microphone via the quick tile, trying to start a voice note will ask me to enable access again but it will still not pick up any audio after granting access. The little audio level graph stays flat when recording. (I tested this once with restarts of WA in between each step)
Also I can’t remember right now if I added this to the ticket, the little indicator that the microphones are muted is showing in the status bar after starting a regular call when in the “muted” state. It disappears when unmuting there, as intended.
My gut feeling is that this is maybe some kind of flag that is not properly cleared?
Update from FP!
They are now actively tracking this issue and working on fixing it:
I have reported your case (it’s now something we’re actively tracking) to the relevant team who will work hard to identify the root cause of this issue. We will do our best to have this resolved as soon as possible.
They also recommend the trick with starting a regular phone call and unmuting there as a workaround for now:
We’ve identified a quick way to reactivate your microphone, that you’ve actually come up with. This workaround forces the system to reset the microphone state: 1. Make a standard phone call (it doesn’t need to connect). 2. Confirm the microphone is muted (the icon will show this). 3. Unmute the microphone using the on-screen button. 4. End the call.
So I’d assume any tickets about this issue will get that as a response for now
(Credit goes to @mgkoeln for finding the workaround though )
Now we wait for their next update! I’ll reply here if they give me more info, hopefully about when an OS update will include the fix.
