I got my Essential on Sept 17. On Oct 3, the sound completely cut out. I opened a ticket with Essential. We did a factory reset, ensured the DND wasn't activated or anything silly like that, and then we walked through a couple of steps, I forget what they were. Nothing. I can connect with bluetooth, pairing to headphones but if I try to send any sound, or record any audio, the program freezes, the settings locks up, and eventually the phone reboots, at least twice. Sometimes it will look like it has rebooted, but when I unlock it, all I see is the background and the back arrow. (Triangle facing left.) The circle and square don't even make an appearance. Shortly after that, it reboots again. Even making a phone call is impossible. It can't open any application that requires the speakers, and applications that use the microphone receive no input. (No 'Ok Google' for me. I miss 'Ok Google'. It put my wife's Siri voice to shame.)
On Nov 5, the software was updated and it beeped at me in the middle of the night. I had sound, I could make phone calls again. I called my dentist. I checked my messages. I rejoiced. Six hours later, the phone went silent. Since then, it has come on twice, beeped at me to indicate that it once again has sound, but then rebooted before I could unlock the device. When it restarted, it was silent again.
I have fallen in love with this phone. The weight, the class, the jealous looks I get from my students. (I teach middle school.) It's a status symbol, I admit it, and for the first time, I'm not embarrassed by having a cheap phone. I want this to be my forever phone. (Or at least until the next Essential surpasses it.)
Do apps crash? Sometimes. Does it seem especially sensitive to touch? Some days. Does it regularly forget my fingerprint forcing me to put it in again? Yeah. But... I work with my hands, (Woodshop.) my fingerprints might actually change from week to week with callouses etc. I don't care. It's fast, it's simple, and it's mine. I want this phone to work. I want to integrate it into my commute, my workout routine, my calendar, my life. For the first time, I really feel like there is a mobile device that will make my life better, not just distract me. And it can't hear me.
I feel like I'm trapped on the other side of the glass. My phone can neither hear me, nor can I hear it. And the worst part, after scanning this forum it appears I'm the only one having this problem. I wish I could find a solution here. But it just seems hopeless. I know it's not a perfect phone. I know it can't hear me. But I love this phone. I'd rather have no phone at all than give it up.