Device and software
-
Device: Fairphone 6
-
Android version: Android 16
-
WhatsApp version: 2.26.34.81
Problem
Voice messages recorded directly in WhatsApp are consistently heavily distorted. The recording sounds very different from normal microphone recordings: it is unclear and unpleasant, with strong distortion/compression-like artefacts.
The problem has been present for some time. I cannot identify exactly which WhatsApp or system update introduced it.
Why this does not appear to be a hardware microphone fault
The microphone works normally in other apps:
-
Voice messages recorded in Telegram are clear and clean.
-
Recordings made with the phone’s built-in voice recorder / voice notes app are also clear and clean.
Therefore, the issue appears to be specific to the WhatsApp recording path, or to an interaction between WhatsApp audio processing and the Fairphone 6 Android 16 audio stack.
Steps to reproduce
-
Open WhatsApp.
-
Open any chat.
-
Hold the microphone button and record a voice message in a quiet room.
-
Send the message and listen to it, either on the phone or on another device.
Expected result: The voice message should sound comparable to a Telegram voice message or a recording made with the system voice recorder.
Actual result: The WhatsApp voice message is clearly distorted, while recordings made immediately afterwards in Telegram and the system voice recorder are clean.
Troubleshooting already performed
-
Cleared the WhatsApp cache.
-
Uninstalled and reinstalled WhatsApp.
-
Restored the WhatsApp backup after reinstalling.
-
Confirmed that WhatsApp has microphone permission.
-
Confirmed that the microphone works correctly in Telegram and in the phone’s voice recorder.
The issue persists after these steps.
Request
Could Fairphone please investigate whether there is a known issue affecting WhatsApp voice-message recording on Fairphone 6 with Android 16, particularly involving microphone audio processing, noise suppression, automatic gain control, or the audio input profile selected by WhatsApp?
I can provide sample recordings made under identical conditions in WhatsApp, Telegram, and the built-in voice recorder if that would help diagnose the issue.