Microphone not working in Phone/Skype/Sound Recorder but does in Video and Music Tuner

Help Fairphone 2
1

Hi - anyone had a problem with the microphone not working in all apps (especially in Phone) - but working in some.
Would like to avoid doing a hard reset if at all necessary.

2

I saw a post where there was a similar problem:

Maybe @Loraww can share her experience with you?

3

I can definitely make calls and have done to the Skype call test service, but it does not hear my voice. Same with ringing people and or trying to leave messages on voicemail.

So not the same problem.

4

It is me… And still haven’t fond any solution… But thanks

5

Hi @Loraww and @Tim_C,

I was researching a bit and maybe one of these approaches is working:

  • (I’m sure you tried this, but to mention all possibilities) Shutdown your phone, remove the battery for a least 30sec, start your phone again
  • Start your phone in save mode (sometimes other apps interfere)
  • plug in a normal headset (sometimes the mic and speaker output channel stuck to the wrong channel, even there is no connected mic)
  • activate/deactivate (if you have one) bluetooth headset/microphone
  • check (app-)settings if you can set your input/out media channel
  • there are apps in the playstore where you can check the audio input/output settings e.g. SoundAbout (:warning: I did not try any of those, so it is at your own risk to use them!)
  • remove (soundrelated) apps which were not originally installed on your phone

or finally if none of the above worked…

  • (after backup) factory reset

Good luck and I hope one of this approaches fixes your problems!

6

Thanks. It will probably need to be Sunday before I get time to work my
way through all this, including backing up.
I will report back.
Tim

7

Right… I have done all that and a hard reset… The mic is still not working in any voice or found recorder applications… Except doing a straight forward video recording through the camera…I presume that does use the same microphone.

I am a bit stuck on where to go with this now.

8

Maybe your main microphone doesn’t work anymore and the camera uses the secondary mic. Have a look at this topic.

9

Ok, I’m gonna try here, in hope this old thread will find some attention.

I got pretty much the same problem:
A few weeks ago my microphone stopped working correctly. At first it was just not working as good, people had problems hearing me on the phone. But after a few days it stopped working completly. I had just taken my phone apart the day before the issue first showed up, to clean the sensor which switches the screen on and off during calls. At first everything was working fine, but since the problem appeared so soon after, I assumed it might be connected. So I took the phone apart again and checked if the microphone unit looked good and cleaned a little dust from it, but that didn’t solve the problem. I mailed the Fairphone Support 3 weeks ago and again a few days ago but still haven’t gotton any respons (not so happy about that!).

After checking the forum I finally decided to do a hardreset, to check if it might be a software issue. Right after I did that my microphone was working for half a phone call, it worked completly fine for ~30sec and then it was working bad (but working) for the rest of the call. Pretty weird, since it hadn’t worked in two weeks. Since then it hasn’t been working at all again. I assumed it was a hardware issue, but then I tried to call someone with a plugged in smartphone headset (which I am pretty sure is working, it did before on the same phone) and again they weren’t able to hear me, so I think it might not (only) be the microphone unit…

Does anyone have any further ideas on how to fix this and what might be wrong with this? Also is there a better way to get in contact with the Fairphone support then via email?

My phone is recording sound when I am taking videos, other people have reported this, from what I understand its because the camera app uses a secondary mic. Is there any way to use this mic a the primary mic for phone calls?

10

I’ve also had a problem with the primary microphone - it doesn’t seem to be working for calls or any apps, but the secondary microphone still definitely works (e.g. on speaker phone, Skype, etc). I’ve tried taking out the bottom module but that didn’t do anything. The issue is that I’m also having the problem with the proximity sensor that has been discussed elsewhere on this forum; even after trying to clean it, the screen goes blank straight away when I try to make a call, meaning I can’t turn on hands-free to use the secondary microphone!

I was able to be heard on calls when using my Bluetooth headphones, which made me wonder whether this is an issue, as is mentioned on this thread, with the audio input.

So, some questions:

  1. Would the primary microphone still be in use when using my Bluetooth headphones or is that the secondary microphone?

  2. If it is the primary microphone, how do I change the audio input when the headphones aren’t in use? I’ve tried deleting the Bluetooth headphones and I always have Bluetooth off when not using them, but that hasn’t done the trick.

Appreciate any help!

11

Hello there, please find relevant information here, to check if you have an issue with the primary microphone of the Fairphone 2 or not:

https://fairphone.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/213161166-My-microphone-does-not-work-properly

2 Likes
12

Hi, I have been told there are quality problems with the primary microphone module and you are awaiting delivery of an improved module. How long must I wait and how can I be updated on the likely resolution of my problem?

Kind regards
Brian

13

1.) This is a community forum. FP employees only drop by occasionally, so this is not the place to communicate with the.

2.) Where have you heard this?

14

I was wondering if any members had an update on this issue as its a concern.
I have a problem and had the following reply:

Dear Brian,

Unfortunately, we can’t replace this specific module at the moment. The reason for this is that we are currently optimizing our production process. We are gradually introducing some changes to improve production quality, based on the teachings of the past half year of Fairphone 2-production. For that purpose, we temporarily stopped the assembly lines. We also engaged with suppliers to adjust their processes and materials.

Currently we are waiting until the new modules are shipped from China and back in stock again in our warehouse.

We will proceed with the replacement as soon as this happens.

Apparently Fairphone are unable to tell me if this is likely to be days, weeks or months.

Brian

1 Like
15

My Fairphone 2 doesn’t work as expected in Skype either: When using it with the primary microphone (the one at the bottom) the sound is okay. But when making a video call (thus holding the phone in front of you and talking towards the display), Skype switches to using the other microphone which results in a very low volume of the mic. I have tested that in the test call and with real contacts.
Skype doesn’t offer any audio settings in Android unfortunately, so I cannot experiment with that. I only noticed that the volume is good if I speak directly into the mic on the top of the phone (which is not quite handy if you want to be captured by the camera :wink: ).
From my investigations it seems like both mics are working in general but the secondary one maybe not completely as expected in Skype. Can anybody confirm my observations with his/her phone? Does anybody have a solution for that?
Thanks, Martin

16

Just for the records: The issue I described seems to be solved with the latest OS (1.11.1).

BR,
Martin

17

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