Speaker and headphone volume too loud during Whatsapp video call

My Whatsapp call volume is too loud even at the lowest volume setting. I have to cover the speaker with my finger to make calls without headset and with the headset it also very loud. Is there any possibility to set the volume basis level lower somehow?
Telefone calls are ok.
Thank you for your help.

I’m digging this thread up as I have the same issue, mostly with regular phone calls. The handsfree speaker output is way too loud and can’t be reduced (tried all available volume sliders in the settings), only by covering the speaker with my finger. Persists after reboots. I’m using bluetooth headsets regularly, maybe android gets confused by often switching between audio devices?

Here’s a similar thread, still sort of unresolved, too: Volume does not adjust during bluetooth phone call

Any experience or idea, anyone? thanks!

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That’s exactly what I experience. Really very annoying. Have been discussing this issue with FP support for more than 6 months, but no solution so far.

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Noone else with this problem? Would be very strange if this happens so rarely, especially since I’m not one to often un-/install many apps, and I’m using the stock Android, so I’d think I’m not far from the average user…? @MrOreo, do you use any special Android version or exotic apps?

I’ve done some testing: The problem appears both with WhatsApp and regular phone calls. The handsfree-speaker volume is waaay too loud, however the volume slider is in fact working: from very loud to extremely loud. So, maybe the speaker volume control is wrongly calibrated?

However, when playing music through the speaker, the volume control works fine, from mute to very soft to very loud. So it must be in the combination of phone call + speaker.

The only thing, as I said, could be that I almost daily turn Bluetooth on and off, which might confuse the audio system, e.g., BT devices can control the volume, so maybe the Android volume gets somehow confused when BT is turned off. But why is only the handsfree speaker volume affected, nothing else, and why isn’t that healed with a reboot?

What kind of system log, event log, or other data could help debugging this? Thanks for any help :slight_smile:

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Hi. That is exactly my problem. Seems to be a calibration problem. Twice after a Bluetooth connection it leveled down, but the basic level is far too loud.

Liebe Grüsse

Bernhard Winter

Thanks, Bernhard.

A request to others: Can others please quickly report how their FP3 handsfree-speaker works during phone/WA-calls? Even if it works fine, this helps to understand whether only very few people have the problem or many.

Thanks!!

Anyone, please just write a quick reply, here’s a template:

“My FP3 speaker works fine during handsfree calls.”
or
“My FP3 speaker is very loud and distorted during handsfree calls, and the volume control doesn’t help much.”

Thanks!!

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Hi there

I don’t have a FP3, and I don’t have any clues to the problem if you really tried every volume slider (perhaps try to find an app that reduces the sound as a workaround :man_shrugging:, but that’s not really a solution), and it doesn’t seem like many people have this same problem either.
It may also be a hardware issue, and you could try another top module to see if it changes anything (if you don’t have any, perhaps contact a #fairphoneangel if there is one in your area (although it’s probably not the case bevause it’s also a problem with handsfree…)

In any case, as you don’t seem to find an answer on the forum, did you contact Fairphone Support?

My FP3 speaker is very loud and distorted during handsfree calls, and the volume control doesn’t help much.

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FP3 Speakers are to loud -> regular phone calls

-> normal speaker is ok for me set to min
-> hands free is way to loud on min

Maked it some kind of unusable for me -> I don’ t use it anymore.

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Did you try a #dic:factorydatareset? It may solve the problem.

I completely reseted and switched to and from /e

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I didn’t contact Support yet since I was first looking for similar experiences here. Also, I assumed that FP Support is still quite busy and slow to respond, as they were last fall.

Anyway, while preparing everything for the support request, I did the following:

  • I ran the speaker test as described here, and the pretty chinese music that played was loud but not distorted; the volume controls had no effect (not sure if they are supposed to work during this special test)
  • To get the IMEI-Number requested by the support form, I shut down the phone and took out the battery, and restarted 2 min later. (I have restarted the phone several times during the last months, but never taken out the battery.)

Then I made some videos through a separate smartphone, in order to document the issue: Regular phonecall (to our landline with cordless phone), Skype call (to our Win10 Laptop with headset), WhatsApp call (to the other smartphone), with and without video, hands-free speaker of the FP3 always turned on.

And what can I say: The volume is now OK! The lowest setting is medium-soft (muting of the speaker is deliberately disabled during calls, I think), and the max setting is quite loud, but only slightly distorted. So for now, the speaker volume issue is solved for me!

Not sure which of the 2 steps above did it, or if it was something else which I didn’t notice. Others with the same issue might try those (fortunately easy) steps and tell us what happened. If the issue returns for me, I’ll post it here as well. Good luck!

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Idk whether it’s going to help anyone, but I just found an setting in the developer options called Disable absolute volume with description “Disable the Bluetooth absolute volume feature in case of volume issue with remote devices such as unacceptably loud volume or lack of control.”

Thanks, @Alex.A . I’ve activated this option some time ago, searching everywhere for settings which could solve the above issue, however this one didn’t. Interestingly, in the German version this option is called “disable max volume”, which makes me think of the ear protection features. However, I think it un-couples the android volume control and the BT device volume control, they can now be set separately, while per default they move in sync, which to me makes more sense.
Anyway, as I mentioned before, I’ve been able to solve the issue for me. Anyone else had luck with my solution?

I have the same problem FP3+, in normal call on loudspeaker, reducing the volume to 0 still results in very loud speaker audio. I would expect an effective muting of the speaker

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Hi there! I have a brand new FP3 with the same issue. Has anyone found a solution yet? I’ve contacted FP support but still waiting to hear back as they’re very busy at the moment.

I’ve tried everything (removing SIM, battery, FP technical help, restore to factory settings…) and the problem persists.

The issue seems to be the call volume of the loud speaker (the media volume is OK e.g. for watching videos on YouTube) and it happens on Messenger and normal phone calls with the loud speaker as well. It doesn’t happen in calls when I use the ‘normal’ speaker (as opposed to the loud speaker).
The minimum call volume on the loud speaker is louder than the maximum call volume on my old phone.

I’m still in time to ask to replace my phone, but also wanted to know how likely it is that the replacement FP will have the same issue. This is a feature I need to use daily so I just can’t use the phone this way.

Many thanks!

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FYI You can find the IMEI number(s) by entering *#06# in the dialer, no need to press enter

Yes I agree. It seems odd that the volume cannot be zero :frowning:

I’m just re-posting by quoting this issue with the handsfree. I have only had the phone for some 4 or 5 weeks and using the hands free is unpleasant, luckily I’m not used to using such but it would be nice to be able to use it confortably.

Add to that my daughter has just bought an FP3+ and the first complaint from her brother was that when using the speaker phone it was very crackly. It seems a bit better if I turn the mike away.

I thought there was also feedback so I turned down the volume but as firstmentioned the volume doesn’t go down as expected.

I will contact official support.