Sound dropping intermittently on calls

[macoleclough]

The following problem has recently developed on my Samsung Galaxy S7 (SM-G930F) running Oreo (8.0.0).

The sound cuts out intermittently during calls. Usually it is only for a few seconds but sometimes longer. Then it's OK for a while (maybe a minute) before doing the same again. There doesn't seem to be a pattern. I've noticed it at the start of calls, in the middle of a calls, only once, or multiple times during a call. It seems to be happening in both directions, i.e. the person at the other end loses me as well.

FYI:
I have owned the phone for nearly 12 months without any similar problems.
4G network signal here is consistently 2 bars or more.
My network provider (Virgin>EE) is not reporting any issues - and the problem has been going on for several days, anyhow.

Having checked for solutions on the internet, I've tried the following to resolve the problem, without success:
Removing recently installed Apps.
Resetting phone cache.
Booting in Safe Mode.
A full factory reset!!!
Trying a SIM from a different phone.
I've also run diagnostic software (Phone Check) which reports everything is "normal" including mic and speakers.

Anyone able to help, please?

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Does this also happen in speakerphone mode, or when you use a wired or Bluetooth headset?

 

[macoleclough]

Welcome to Android Central! Does this also happen in speakerphone mode, or when you use a wired or Bluetooth headset?

Thanks for replying. Tried Samsung headphone and phone seemed to be working ok. Tried speakerphone and that was ok also. Then tried phone "normally" and and now that was ok as well! Maybe that has fixed it? I'll see if the problem reappears.

 

[B. Diddy]

If it happens again, check again if the same thing occurs on all of those different modalities. If it's only the earpiece speaker, then that speaker might have a loose connection.

 

[macoleclough]

If it happens again, check again if the same thing occurs on all of those different modalities. If it's only the earpiece speaker, then that speaker might have a loose connection.

Thanks for your help! Or maybe a loose connection/faulty headphone socket? That would cause the phone mic/speaker to cut out intermittently.

 

[B. Diddy]

That's a good thought -- but usually, in that case, you'd see the headphone icon appear in the status bar when the phone thinks a headphone is plugged in (and therefore is routing the sound through the jack).

 

[macoleclough]

That's a good thought -- but usually, in that case, you'd see the headphone icon appear in the status bar when the phone thinks a headphone is plugged in (and therefore is routing the sound through the jack).

Just an update as I've been doing some experimenting.

The problem seems to be location related and limited to 1 room in my house. Unfortunately the room is my office where I make most calls! Other rooms seem to be fine so I don't think now that it's a mic/speaker issue. What I find strange is my office is upstairs where I would expect a stronger signal. Downstairs rooms seem fine.

I decided to see if it was a network issue. I'm currently using Virgin which piggybacks off EE. Vodafone works without a problem, but I seem to experience a similar problem with Three. I need to give O2 a try to complete the survey.

Looks like I might have to change network.