Is there a speaker issue?

[I800C0LLECT]

Everybody keeps pointing the finger at phones... Why can't it be the manufacturer of the other hardware?

When I first purchased my VW I noticed the sound wasn't quite right. Most songs sounded just fine but few know that most music doesn't take advantage of stereo recording and is no better than mono.

Anyways, I figured out that the firmware had a typo or bug even... If I played a discreet left channel only signal through Bluetooth it played in EVERY speaker. If I played discreet right channel only, it wouldn't playback at all. Bingo, found the problem.

So the dealership didn't understand or believe me and neither did the mechanics or management. It took an engineer from VW getting involved to validate I found a real problem.

How many of you would have blamed the phone? Every single one of them did just that.

I think at some point it takes a mature consumer to realize that that their device, now or later, will never be 100% bug free. But that goes both ways. Then, when we run across real issues we have to make a choice, can I live with it and hope it's fixed in the next update? Will I be upset if it's never fixed? I think some of us are past the point of attempting to be informative though.

 

[anon(10092459)]

I haven't had any speaker issues, but I don't listen to anything "up to 11". Reading comments, though, it seems a few users do listen to at least some things all the way up.

I'm okay with what I consider a minor issue with this build. Pixel is establishing a baseline for the brand. Excited to see future models.

 

[Rumblee1]

Just saw this story pop up on my Google Now screen, was wondering if any of you have this issue?

Google's Pixel phones might have a serious audio problem

Well, this is just another reason why I maintain that pixel was a whole lot of nothing. First off, as an audiophile, my phone is a big part of my life since I use it to listen to music. When I got my pixel, I was so disappointed with the sound system, that I researched for a phone that had great audio capabilities. The name that always came up was the ZTE axon 7. So I bought it for its audio prowess. But the more I used this device, the more I realized that it truly is a great handset on every facet, right up with the big boys including pixel, galaxy S7 edge, lgv20 and more. And most amazingly, it cost me only $349.00. Im, now making sure that it works flawlessly with project fi then ill be happy to sell my pixel. So far, its working perfectly except it stays tied to the T-mobile network which doesnt seem to be an issue. I've been saying all along that pixel was the biggest dissapointment in a smartphone that i every made, especially at the price theyre getting. And when you read the forums, it's turning out to be quite a problematic device that Google is taking their time to fix. At least with axon7, i can get back to carrying only 1 device.

 

[ElronTheElder]

..... Im, now making sure that it works flawlessly with project fi then ill be happy to sell my pixel. So far, its working perfectly except it stays tied to the T-mobile network which doesnt seem to be an issue.....

It will work well if you have a strong T-Mobile signal. AFAIK it won't hand off to WiFi which defeats the whole concept. Project Fi does not penalize you for utilizing T-Mobile last I read so that's a plus.
Googles total integration of Phone, software + carrier has it's benefits. But it's downside is problems with one aspect can break the whole experience.

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

I just think it's funny that a bug in android N, that can be reproduced in every device running android n, is blamed on whichever phone people love to hate.

 

[LeoRex]

Everybody keeps pointing the finger at phones... Why can't it be the manufacturer of the other hardware?

When Tim Cook famously called Android a toxic hellstew, when referring to the version fragmentation... Android can't hold a candle to Bluetooth. Like Jerry mentioned, there is a HUGE divide between devices that provide the BT data (i.e. our phones) and the devices that 'play' that data back to us.. speakers, headphones, cars, etc...

Phones are extremely volatile... We get new versions several times a year running software that is updated several times a year, hell, my 6P gets a new update every month. People only keep them around for a year or two then move on to the latest and greatest.

But all the stuff we connect these phones to... those suckers are pretty static. Cars don't get OTA updates (thank god) to load some new crap in there... and even though many of those devices like speakers CAN get updates, few people every plug them in to get the firmware reloaded. So what you end up with cutting edge software attempting to communicate with software what is relatively stoneage... Your 5 year old car might not seem so old, but to your phone, it's ancient.

 

[Gdwheel]

I firmly agree that this is a Google issue and not a phone issue. The Pixel phones are good phones with a few bugs in the software. Unfortunately, Google is providing this buggy firmware to all of the other other manufacturers. Some will fix it -- most won't. While some of the issues can be explained by having a new bluetooth stack versus old, it cannot explain all of the issues that are plaguing 7.1.1. Take a look at this thread: productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/phone-by-google/SZrziPyWiHw. Look at all of the different car manufacturers, new and old, and the variety of problems. The problems I have experienced are problems of inconsistency. Sometimes the Pixel XL connects and works fine -- other times it will not work at all. That tells me that the software can work, it just doesn't work all of the time like it should. I think the overly aggressive doze is partly to blame for putting bluetooth and other connections to sleep when not active. There are so many different issues, however, many of them cannot be related to doze.

That is not to say that the auto manufacturers are not partly to blame because you are absolutely right that they are behind the times. My truck is relatively new and just received the newest Sync software that is just now being released by Ford. By the way, it can be updated over the air. It is as up-to-date as you can get from Ford. I know that is relative because they probably began working on the software a year or more ago, but all of these issues cannot be explained by simply placing the blame on the manufacturers of the other cars or items.

Apple and the others have certainly had their share of issues -- having widespread software issues is certainly not unique to Google. That is of little consolation to the people that paid $900 for a phone and are waiting for it to be able to do what their old phone did without problem. People tend to be a little more forgiving if they pay $350 for a phone.

The thing that strikes me the most is that people are so anxious to get the newest software updates and that is some of the allure of the Nexus and Pixel lines, but it is sometimes better to wait for these issues to be worked out and get the software a few weeks or months later. It will be interesting to see what happens with the manufacturers who are still testing and have not released the N update.

 

[ElronTheElder]

Hey, I fixed my auto BT problem.

There is a toggle for contact sharing inclusive to 7.1.1 BT pairing.
It's off by default, when toggled on WOOT it works.
Now this is an OLD car which gets BT from an after market radio.
Anyway...user error, can't blame Google on this, darn it.

 

[DJM626]

Cool find, but again will this work as it should with everyone that is encountering issues? Or is going to be another one of many inconsistencies that this phone seems to have

 

[Jeremiah Bonds]

I haven't noticed it with my V20 which has android n.

 

[Jeremiah Bonds]

Well, this is just another reason why I maintain that pixel was a whole lot of nothing. First off, as an audiophile, my phone is a big part of my life since I use it to listen to music. When I got my pixel, I was so disappointed with the sound system, that I researched for a phone that had great audio capabilities. The name that always came up was the ZTE axon 7. So I bought it for its audio prowess. But the more I used this device, the more I realized that it truly is a great handset on every facet, right up with the big boys including pixel, galaxy S7 edge, lgv20 and more. And most amazingly, it cost me only $349.00. Im, now making sure that it works flawlessly with project fi then ill be happy to sell my pixel. So far, its working perfectly except it stays tied to the T-mobile network which doesnt seem to be an issue. I've been saying all along that pixel was the biggest dissapointment in a smartphone that i every made, especially at the price theyre getting. And when you read the forums, it's turning out to be quite a problematic device that Google is taking their time to fix. At least with axon7, i can get back to carrying only 1 device.

Nice. I had the V10 and loved the DAC and the V20 DAC is even better. I continue to hear good things about the Axon device. I'm glad someone is making a good affordable option.

 

[Shaun_Collins]

Erg

 

[Almeuit]

There was an Android Nougat update T-Mobile pushed out yesterday to resolve anong other things the speaker sound problem. Already installed it on the wifes and mine but I did not ever notice a problem or hear of any in our household of four V20's.

This is for the Pixel -- Not the V20 .

 

[bnice]

I will say this, the speaker volume can be a lot better. For me it is to low for alarms and phone use. I also try the perfect piano and that cracking is present.

 

[DJM626]

I too found most of the alarms and ringtones that are preinstalled on this phone to be on the quiet side myself. I downloaded ringtones and alarms from Zedge. If you have not already tried that, you may want to do so, as it makes a drastic difference in terms of volume is concerned

 

[I800C0LLECT]

Well, this is just another reason why I maintain that pixel was a whole lot of nothing. First off, as an audiophile....

First off, audiophile is nothing more than self proclamation. Majority of audiophoolery is based on snake oil marketing.

Second, at what resolution does net effect become imperceivable? This is why I'm not a fan of all this nonsense about DACs, wires, power conditioners or whatever else is used in marketing and manipulation.

Anyways, I don't want to get into it here and I apologise if I've offended you for putting you on the spot. I will submit a video by Floyd Toole though. It's long but full of wonderful information.

Please... Anybody who's been lead to believe that your device audio output is well below "audiophile" quality... Just take that person's name off your list of successful people for the day.

https://youtu.be/zrpUDuUtxPM