Audio issues

[MontegoRX]

Starting yesterday, my phone only allows me to hear callers when on speakerphone. Apps still have audible sounds, so it's only the headset speaker that seems to have an issue. I've not made any changes to the phone between the headset speaker working and not working. The phone has been power cycled three times (two standard and one with vol-down and power). VZW techs suggest a reset in case of a software glitch (which I'm sure will wipe my phone and not solve the issue) and a possible replacement for the phone.

Before I go through the backup/reset/replace paces, does anyone have any idea of what may be forcing my phone to a speakerphone-only mode? Any troubleshooting ideas? Anything? :blink:

 

[94lt1]

I'd try plugging in a set of head phones and unplugging them.. Sounds stupid but ya never Know.. Other than that.. I'd look into the settings of any music player apps you may have downloaded.. That's all I've got..

 

[Einsteindks]

I'll second the setting idea. Maybe set to auto-answer?

fat-fingered and Maxx-ed out.

 

[MontegoRX]

I don't have any headphones to plug in, and I've not downloaded anything that would affect the audio settings. The only thing I can think of is maybe a program auto-updated and changed some setting, but it's hard to imagine that an app would disable the headset speaker.

 

[94lt1]

Then a fdr is your surefire way to find out if it's software or hardware..
As much as it sucks.. Consider this.. You've danced around it for a day or so correct? When you could've just gotten it done and had your replacement device on the way or had your phone in working order

 

[doogald]

Since you have't mentioned it, have you checked the volume while in a call? So, while your phone is connected to somebody, and not in speakerphone mode, press the volume up button. Is the volume just set all the way down? (While not in a call, the volume buttons just change the ringtone volume, or media volume, if you are listening to music.)

There are also some third party apps that can check in-call (or voice) volume while not in a call - Persist is one.

But, other than that, I agree that if you see the same thing after an FDR with no apps installed, it's a warranty issue.

 

[MontegoRX]

Thanks for the responses guys. I plugged/unplugged a pair of headphones I had at the office, and the audio is back! My foot-dragging and the suggestion helped me dodge the FDR/Replacement bullet!

 

[MontegoRX]

Well, I should've attempted more than once at "fixing" the audio problem. It seems that my headset speaker works only if I unplug something from the headphone jack DURING a call. It also makes a strange sound when transitioning to speakerphone that it didn't make before this issue started. Sounds to me like it's a physical defect, so I guess a backup and trip to VZW is in store.

 

[MontegoRX]

Backup, FDR, and same issue. VZW visit - painful as it may be - is in order. I may see if I can switch over to a GS4 or another platform, since this one didn't treat me very well.

 

[cybertj.2000]

I know you've probably checked this, but make sure there isn't something actually in the headphone jack, lint or something like that, that could be making a weird connection somehow.

Also, as someone suggested, have you gone into your sound settings just to make sure that it is turned up there?

 

[MontegoRX]

thanks for the response, but yes... I've checked the headphone jack, and I had already made sure to turn the volume up to eleven while in a call before I decided it just plain wasn't working.

 

[mjustlovinglife]

Hi
Met some one else yesterday with the same issue, that prompted me to Google here.
I am having issues with audio too enough times to notice a sequence
1) First, the phone becomes slow, and apps such Contacts stop responding.
2) The phone becomes hot, and the battery life goes to nil in a couple of hours- with light use.
3) Then when using the telephone, the sound cuts o. ut, and the qulaity call is very suckyNow if I press the mute or speaker I may "reconnect", but eventually there comes a point when that no longer works.

I've been through a couple of phones with the same problem. No one has been able to give me an answer on that. Hoping I can get a resolution here.

 

[doogald]

When the phone gets hot, I'd go into settings / battery and see which apps are using up battery in the list. That may be a good clue what's going on.

One other idea is that you may have a Google sync corruption issue. That can drain battery fast as the phone keeps trying to resync. Go into settings, and tap "Google" under accounts. If a Google account has a red circle next to it, it's having a sync issue. If you tap the name of the account you can actually see which of the individual elements are having a sync issue (if any are.) There are fixes for any of them; for example, if it's a calendar issue, you can go into settings / apps, under "All" look for "Calendar Storage", tap it and tap the button "clear data". This will wipe the calendar (so if you have any unsynced calendars, events will be lost), but Google sync will repopulate the events and the calendar sync issue will be cleared.

Otherwise, if it's not that, and you've had this issue with multiple phones, you may want to think about it being an app problem - an app in the background may be using too much CPU. Again, that app could be listed in settings / battery, but you nay want to see if there is an app and you can live without it.

Also, in settings / battery, when you tap the graph it shows you some more information. One of the charts is mobile network signal. If you see a lot of red there, that means you have bad signal and that will drain a battery fast. The phone increases power to the antenna to try to hold a signal.

Anyway, I hope that this helps you diagnose the problem...