I have a very annoying problem with my new Fairphone 5. When doing video calls (tested for Whatsapp, Signal and Google Meet), the voices of my two kids are noise cancelled out. It can be up to 100% or sometimes a bit less. Making calls with friends and relatives are super annoying for the kids and everyone involved.
The voices can be heard when recording video. I also tested all three mics independent of this and all seem to be working fine. I assume some software filters high frequency sounds for video or audio calls over messenger software when using the phone. Calls over network are working ok, though. Also, when I use a bluetooth headset, the voices are heard ok. But that’s just a bad work-aorund.
I was on a Fairphone 3 before and had no problem at all. I also already contacted the support but all troubleshooting tips didn’t help yet. But it is an open case, so I am waiting if they come up with more ideas.
Any suggestions? I already tried a lot of “turn off clear calling”, “turn off wifi calling” and some similar things. Nothing worked.
Thanks, good to know I am not the only one.
I already contacted Fairphone about this and it is an ongoing support case. The first troubleshooting ideas didn’t help. So I am waiting for the next response by Fairphone.
The release of some updates may be delayed by up to a few weeks. This depends on your country and phone carrier.
Step 2: Disable 4G Calling and Wi-Fi Calling
Fairphone 5 is technically capable of using 4G Calling and Wi-Fi Calling, also known as VoLTE and VoWi-Fi. However, we might still need to complete the partnerships with your phone carrier. To exclude this as a possible root cause, please try the following:
Go to Settings → Network & internet → Mobile network → (Optional) Advanced.
If 4G Calling (VoLTE) or Wi-Fi Calling (VoWi-Fi) are listed in your options, disable them and retry.
These settings may be named differently or hidden, depending on your phone carrier. If they are hidden for you, switch the “Preferred network type” setting to 2G or 3G.
Step 3: Service test
Open the Phone app.
Dial ##2886##** in the same way you enter a phone number to make a phone call. Once the last character is introduced, the Service Menu appears (be patient, this can take a few seconds).
Select Manu.
Tap on Audio. This test covers all audio components. The first three tests are for the receiver and the speakers. You need to select PASS for them to be able to continue to the microphone tests.
Then you’ll reach the three tests for the three microphones. To do the tests, tap or move your finger over the hole of the tested microphone. You should be able to hear the result through the receiver/speakers.
It’s best to run these tests without a case on the phone. The microphones look like small holes in the frame of the phone and are located in the following places:
mic 1 is on the bottom of your Fairphone 5, to the left of the USB port when the screen is facing you.
mic 2 is on the top of your Fairphone 5, on the top right of the phone when the screen in facing you.
mic 3 is on the left side of the phone, opposite the power button/fingerprint sensor. It is most often used for loudspeaker and video calls.
Let me know the results from all the microphone tests. If one of them fails, you’ll still need to select PASS to go to the next test.
Step 4: Test with a Bluetooth or wired headset
Test if using an external microphone resolves the issue. You can test with a wired headset and/or a Bluetooth one.
Once done with this step, you won’t need the headphones for troubleshooting again.
Step 5: Safe mode
Reboot your phone in Safe mode and repeat the service tests from Step 3.
In Safe Mode, downloaded apps are temporarily disabled to help you identify the cause of an issue. In our article on Safe Mode, go through the steps and make sure to read the Important notes. You can easily exit Safe Mode by restarting the phone.
Step 6: Additional information
Share the results from the service tests.
Did anything change while performing the troubleshooting steps above?
Are you experiencing the issue in every condition or during a specific one only (regular calling, speaker calls, recording videos or audios, data calls with some apps…)?
Is there anything else you’d like to share about the troubleshooting steps?
Also, if not specified already, please share which network provider(s) you use, and the country where you are experiencing the issue.
I was talking with the live chat
and they said, it’s really important, that everyone with that issue reports it (via email) so they see how big the numbers are.
I found out more, when it’s happening.
I have already the new Android 14 update on it, still the same issue.
But I found out, the noise cancellation is ONLY happening, if I speak with the speaker on.
If we just use the phone, so no speaker is on, the voice is NOT cut out.
So maybe this helps you Fairphone devs.
I’m also facing this issue. Slightly different in my case as the issue seems to only appeared after Android 14 update. I can’t say for sure if it is directly related as I do not do handsfree calls every days. But that the only thing that come to my mind and I was able to have many normal conversations many months before (FP5 bought on march 2024).
Now my 3yo kid cannot be heard during handsfree calls (video or not, even with a normal phone call that does not use 4G/Wifi) despite literally screaming at the phone.
There is no issue at all without handsfree.
I’m also going to contact support. Could original poster follow the guidances on this page and add the appropriate tags to highlight this issue and this post ?
For the record, I discovered during a call this week that the issue seems to have disappeared on my phone. I don’t believe it is related to the last update because I had checked it right after updating and the issue was still there at the time.
Hey folks, are there some updates on this topic? It is still very unpleasant to have such an aggressive noise cancellation and not to be able to do anything about it. I’ve been using FP5 for some months now and it’s one of the things I am more disturbed about as it interfere with the link among my family members.
Please let us know something about it, this is about to be a deal breaker with this phone
