Video recording volume far too low

My FP3+ [ie FP3 with upgraded camera] barely records video sound. Other family phones - Nokia, Samsung - record videos where you can easily hear children playing etc.
I have tried the FP3 stock app, GCam port, Open Camera. Same whispering sound with all three.
My recording app by contrast allows me to record at an acceptable volume. It is ASR by nllapps and I have set the gain on record to +20dB. So there’s nothing wrong with the hardware, I guess.
Anyone got any ideas? Very grateful in advance.

I am generally very happy with FP3, use it because of its moral stance, but am not a geek, so don’t want clunky workrounds. [I have installed AudioBoost and get a decent volume on playback - but that is clunky - why not a properly working video recorder?.]
In 2021 a working video recorder is an essential component for everyday non-geek smartphone use - I have seen posts which effectively come from the early mindset of Linux users and don’t find them all that helpful as an everyday user!

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Same problem here apparently, but only with WhatsApp :-/

Hi Antoine
I am in contact with Fairphone help, and they have passed on my problem to their technical people.
Would you want to link to that?
As for WhatsApp, mine gives decent audio from me when on video calls, so far as I know.
My FP3 also has very low record volume using most audio record apps. I covered that in my initial post, but didn’t make it clear this was only possible on one single Recorder, set at max gain - not really very acceptable either.
Wait and see, now.

Hi Gordon,

I don’t know, it seems to be a software issue, because my microphone is working well otherwise, so I don’t think the support could solve it, and I’d like to avoid a hard reset…

Hello all
this issue is dragging on and I would like to be sure that I’m not simply seeking something beyond what is standard in FP3+.
Are there other FP3 users in Sheffield UK area with whom I could physically compare my recording volumes?? [without using Facebook please]

How do you intend to do this, meet up? then what’s the ref to Facebook for?

I’m miles away in Cornwall.

You don’t mention the latest update, what version are you on? not that I had a problem since purchase in Oct 2020.

Have you tried safe mode, which will disable any custom apps you’ve installed.

Apologies also I’ve only just gone back to read the whole topic and I see it’s only on video recording. Now I see why facebook :slight_smile: does that include WhatsApp, how about Signal or Threema?

@gordon

UPDATE: Just made a video and note that unlike when using WhatsApp etc it is the bottom mic that is being used ??

The sound of me talking is fine but Pink Floyd playing some 3 metres away is maybe a bit quiet, that’s not the real Pink Floyd three metres away, that wouldn’t be quiet.

Hey @anon9989719 thx for this information. What software do you use for video recording/editing? Any recommendations?

Hi Mark welcome to the forum.

I’m not sure what I was using when I did the video mentioned but I use NGcam now.

Hi and welcome to the forum.

You have given no detail of how you are recording so it will upleasant trying many option to then ask you if you did or that.

Maybe you’d like to narrow the discusion by proving lots of detail :slight_smile:

I seem to have drafted the text below but never sent it. I will now send [9 Jan 2022] and add a further post.

Just to close this off floowing my initial post, after any amount of effort both by support and me, and much patience on both sides, support sent me a new FP3 [I could have opted for a 3+ but that felt cheeky so instead also fitted the new camera module which I had before].
Sadly, the volume on video recording continues to be much lower than on parallel recordings made on Nokia and on Samsung both tablet and phone.
It must be a design feature. But it remains, for me, quite unsatisfactory.

Although I wrote above the result was unsatisfactory, that is not a complaint about FP support. They simply could not find the cause of an evidently rare condition.

Strangely the difficulty has cured itself. I have no idea why. So as I wrote previously, there was a lot of joint effort which included me making many comparative recordings between my FP3 in different modes and with Nokia and Samsung, me doing one [or two] factory resets. Even with the brand new replacement FP3 I still had the low recording sound issue.
Then for no apparent reason it now records at an acceptable volume on video and sound recorder.
This will be of no help to you since I cannot find anything to explain it. I had not changed any use behaviour, to my knowledge, nor changed the apps loaded. Nor was it linked to any OS upgrade.

Nor have I started using hearing aids or getting ear wax cleaned out.

I’m sorry not to be of help. Good luck

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Maybe it changed after an OS update or an app change.

All the best

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