Horrible Call quality

**animosus** · 04-28-2012, 09:03 PM

HTC one S for T-mobile, purchased at Walmart.

I found the call quality to be very poor, rattling as if the earpiece speaker was blown out. You can hear it with call volume set to medium, and is amplified as you raise the volume. The call quality is decent if you keep the volume at lowest setting.

It sounds as if something is vibrating inside the earpiece when someone speaks. The quality is FAR from clear, especially at volumes above half setting.

I can even replicate the problem just by calling voicemail and listening to the options.

I exchanged the phone at Walmart for another One S, and still have the same problem. I have a iphone 4s which doesn't have this problem at all, and a 4 which only has the problem at highest volume setting.

Is this normal ?? I am about to return the phone for good. There is no way i can have a enjoyable conversation with anyone for more than 2 mins. I rather make calls on my $20 prepaid phone.

**303kush** · 04-28-2012, 10:32 PM

Mine is the same, does your external speaker sound like that too when you play music for example?

**303kush** · 04-28-2012, 10:40 PM

Besides that the phone is awesome I love it. I've experienced things like this with HTC phones before. Their speakers aren't the best out there.

**animosus** · 04-28-2012, 11:15 PM

I tested the media speaker, the quality sounded normal. I streamed some music from the net and it sounded fine. I haven't moved any of my music to the phone, so have yet to test mp3 files.

I called my voicemail for testing purposes, only this time using speaker phone. The result was the same, vibration after certain words did occur. The volume set one click above medium was enough for me to notice the distortion.

The media speaker is not what is bothering me though. My left ear drum is actually soar from the distortion present in the earpiece, when conversing with friends.

The phone is not huge like most android phones, is super fast, and has a nice camera, but the call quality might be a deal breaker. I really want to keep this phone.

If the media speaker is fine while playing music and distortion only occurs while on speaker phone, I could assume it is T-mo's network.

I will test the phone a couple more days before I return it.

**venious** · 04-29-2012, 12:22 AM

Are you on the cell radio when this crackle occurs or is your voice connection routing over wifi? I notice this only when WiFi calling, so I assumed it was a problem that would be fixed soon with the upcoming software update.

Sent from my HTC One S on T-Mobile

**animosus** · 04-29-2012, 12:44 AM

WiFi calling has always been disabled on my phone. I tested wifi calling once, the call quality was choppy with horrible popping.

My problem is vibration , as if there is a wire vibrating at high frequency during certain words. And this problem occured on two 1s .

**venious** · 04-29-2012, 12:59 AM

Ah. Yeah, I hear the vibration when on cell that you are talking about. I didn't try it, but it may diminish with a reduction in volume. I'd say it was normal for this nano speaker. I avoid holding a phone to my ear when at all possible though, as it isn't comfortable. Anything over 1 minute, and I grab my Bluetooth headset.

Sent from my HTC One S on T-Mobile

**303kush** · 04-29-2012, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by animosus

I tested the media speaker, the quality sounded normal. I streamed some music from the net and it sounded fine. I haven't moved any of my music to the phone, so have yet to test mp3 files.

I called my voicemail for testing purposes, only this time using speaker phone. The result was the same, vibration after certain words did occur. The volume set one click above medium was enough for me to notice the distortion.

The media speaker is not what is bothering me though. My left ear drum is actually soar from the distortion present in the earpiece, when conversing with friends.

The phone is not huge like most android phones, is super fast, and has a nice camera, but the call quality might be a deal breaker. I really want to keep this phone.

If the media speaker is fine while playing music and distortion only occurs while on speaker phone, I could assume it is T-mo's network.

I will test the phone a couple more days before I return it.

Yea dude I feel you I've had tinnitus in my right ear for like 6 months and I tend to hold the phone to my right ear, the speaker making staticy/vibration sounds makes my ear ring even more sucks
It kind of sucks I thought I was the only one hearing these sounds cause my ear is constantly ringing lol

.

**303kush** · 04-30-2012, 11:17 AM

Anyone else with crackly/staticy speaker?

**animosus** · 05-04-2012, 02:01 AM

Here are a couple of posts made in other forums about the same problem. I'm trying to figure out if the buzzy voice quality is normal, or a defect.

**303kush** · 05-06-2012, 04:02 PM

I exchanged mine and it sounds a lot better than my first one s

**seangprice** · 05-06-2012, 04:27 PM

No issues here after a week of use. I've used WiFi calling, 3g, 4g and edge as a well for cell based calls away from home. My call volume is almost at maximum setting, it gets to loud, there is no distortion or crackling though.

**earlytomid80s** · 05-06-2012, 04:46 PM

Originally Posted by seangprice

No issues here after a week of use. I've used WiFi calling...

while the call quality is perfect for mobile calls (op's problem is isolated), wi-fi calls exhibit crackling and popping sounds for everybody and likely is a software issue. it gets even worse with skype. hopefully, they'll address that with wi-fi calling battery drain patch.

**animosus** · 05-08-2012, 04:54 PM

Thanks for the reply guys. I have decided to do another exchange. I will do an exchange at a different Walmart tomorrow.

Two people confirming their call quality is good, leads me to believe my problem is isolated. I found it hard to believe problem was isolated, considering I tested two brand new phones.

**AndroidBlizzard** · 05-08-2012, 07:51 PM

Call quality is decent, never had a phone with out of the world quality so I guess all phones to an extent will have some problems. If its screeching bad, then it has to be a defective handset.

**animosus** · 05-09-2012, 09:59 PM

I went to test a floor model at T-mobile store. I called voicemail from the demo phone and the call quality was the same, horrible.

I was thinking maybe the micro SIM card could be loose and cause vibration during some pitches. I shook the phone's earpiece frequently to see if there was any vibration/moving parts and there was. I took off the camera cover and removed the micro SIM. I proceeded to shake the phone again without the SIM and still noticed vibration. I am almost certain there is something lose inside the phone causing horrible vibration during certain high pitches.

I am very certain the earpiece speaker for my ONE S is in good condition and not blown out. I am thinking about unscrewing some parts of the phone to find the loose object and securing it.
The problem is a VOID sticker sitting on top of a screw needed to disassemble the phone.

I'll probably do it tomorrow when i buy the right tools at harbor freight.

**seangprice** · 05-11-2012, 12:15 AM

Is it worth voiding your warranty for curiosity? Return the phone and get something that fits your needs. I have two One S models and both have goods voice quality. I will say that WiFi calling has some distortion sometimes.

Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Android Central Forums

**mattpga** · 05-15-2012, 11:02 AM

seems to depend on the other end too. only made a few calls and all were fine except the last one, which was tinny and rattly until i turned the volume down, then it was fine. Fortunately i dont make a huge amount of voice calls.

**Ryandroid86** · 05-15-2012, 12:08 PM

my phone just notified me to go to T-mobile so they can replace my Sim card in regards to call quality over Wifi, not sure if it will help over Radios, but we shall see

**mullrat#WN** · 05-16-2012, 12:41 PM

Originally Posted by Ryandroid86

my phone just notified me to go to T-mobile so they can replace my Sim card in regards to call quality over Wifi, not sure if it will help over Radios, but we shall see

keep us informed as to any changes. thinking of doing the same thing myself.

**going_home** · 05-16-2012, 04:06 PM

Only problem I've had is some calls come in so loud (which makes it rattle a bit)
that I have to turn the volume down halfway.
I've narrowed it down to just a few people that I talk to a lot.
Its weird because its not random, and most calls the volume is perfect turned up to max.

**Ryandroid86** · 05-17-2012, 11:33 AM

Originally Posted by ArterialRed

keep us informed as to any changes. thinking of doing the same thing myself.

I went to T-mobile yesterday and they looked at me crossed eyed and said "your phone told you get a new SIM card?" and i stated yes... she then said we dont have the SIM card available for my phone yet.... we should be getting them within the next week. So ill keep on waiting and keep you posted.

**Ryandroid86** · 05-23-2012, 02:44 PM

So I went back to get the new SIM card and they told me I would have to pay $19.99 for it..... So I passed. I'll wait for the update. fingers crossed

**lmc05** · 05-23-2012, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by Ryandroid86

So I went back to get the new SIM card and they told me I would have to pay $19.99 for it..... So I passed. I'll wait for the update. fingers crossed

The micro Sim in your phone is brand new, but I've seen that message pop up on other phones utilizing the new wifi calling set up. When you go to use wifi calling, does your little speech bubble turn red instead of blue? If that's the case then all you really need to have them do is update your 911 address. Then you'd just restart the phone and you should be set.

**Ryandroid86** · 05-23-2012, 03:05 PM

Originally Posted by lmc05

The micro Sim in your phone is brand new, but I've seen that message pop up on other phones utilizing the new wifi calling set up. When you go to use wifi calling, does your little speech bubble turn red instead of blue? If that's the case then all you really need to have them do is update your 911 address. Then you'd just restart the phone and you should be set.

No when I recieved that message I had already updated my 911 information and it was a blue bubble. Not red. I know the SIM was brand new. I saw her take it out of the box, so the message baffled me as well.