Solutions to Samsung Galaxy Phones Microphone Problems[Software & hardware Fix!]

This article will address issues that bother on how to solve Samsung Galaxy microphone problems. If instructions provided here are followed judiciously, it can also help to solve the problems on any Android device. The problem of a microphone on any smartphone may be either software or hardware related. I am a living victim of a microphone that goes bad due to software a software glitch. In today’s article, I shall not only tell you how to solve Samsung Galaxy microphone problems, but I will also mention how to apply similar solutions on other Android devices.

Defining A Phone’s Microphone Problem

The scenario I will explain here is a very tricky one. I mean it is a situation whereby when you make a voice/cellular call with the phone, the other side will not hear you.  On the other hand, you will be hearing the other side clearly. This problem can actually be due to two occurrences, hardware or software. I will first provide the troubleshooting guides, give you tips on how you can solve your Samsung Galaxy microphone problems as it relates to galaxy s6, s6 edge, s7, or s7 edge. I am actually using the galaxy s7 edge as my case study.

Troubleshooting Microphone’s Hardware Problems on any Android Phone

If all of a sudden your phone’s mic stops working. “Before I proceed, please make sure you have not connected your phone to any Bluetooth device. Als, make sure you have not attached any wired-connection”. Now please consider doing the followings:

 

• Hardware diagnostic tests
  

To fully test that all hardware components are working fine, dial *#0*# on your Samsung phone. Select receiver(this represents the microphone) If you hear a humming or buzzing sound, the microphone is 100% okay hardware-wise. {Hardware test)

• Hold your phone the right way and speak into the microphone. Do not hold it too far from your mouth.
• Try removing your phone’s protective case if you have one.
• This is not supposed to be a sim card issue
• Make sure you fully power off your phone and power it on again. If the problem persists, go to the next tip. {Software related}
• Try and clean the microphone port/hole physically: It might have been blocked. Many of us, abuse our phones so much. There’s a chance you could end up clogging the microphone hole with the constant abuse. On devices like the Samsung Galaxy S7 and older devices, you can find the microphone placed right around the charging port. Do the following to clean the dirt. Start off by taking a thin and blunt plastic needle, or the pointy end of a toothpick if you aren’t feeling too brave, and start scraping the inside of the microphone port carefully. Make sure you emphasize on being extra gentle with the pointy end because you could very well damage the mic if you poke it too hard. {this is hardware related}

Troubleshoot Microphone Problem that is Related to Software Issues

1. Disable all third-party apps via Samsung safe mode: In case you do not know, the problem might be caused by third-party applications. In other to rule this out, do the following to test the mic in safe mode.
2. Shut down the device and wait 30 seconds before turning it back on.
3. Press and hold the power button on your phone until a visual appears on the screen. This visual differs from device to device and generation to generation (but we promise you’ll know it when you see it). After it appears, release the power button.
4. Once you release the power button, press and hold the volume button down. Continue to do this until the device has fully rebooted.
5. At this point, the phone should be in safe mode—and the words, ‘Safe Mode’ should appear at the bottom of your screen.
6. Your phone is now in safe mode; release the volume button and test the microphone.
7. The best way to test is by using the recorder app on your device to record a short audio clip. If the voice is audible when you playback, it means the problem is not hardware { Hardware and software combo}
8. Make a call with other voice apps like WhatsApp, BBM, IMO,  hangout, Talku, Skype, and the likes. If the other party can hear you, it means it’s not a hardware problem. {Software test}
9. You can as well turn off noise reduction on the phone.  From your phone’s menu, go to
10.  the “Call Settings” menu, scroll down to find the “Additional Settings’ tab, where you should be able to find the Noise Reduction option. If the noise canceling and reduction feature of your Galaxy device was the culprit, disabling it from the Settings should help you counter it.
11. Disable other hardware devices to reduce interference. For example, do not use both Bluetooth headphones and your wired earpiece together.
12. Finally, Do a factory reset on your phone. Before you factory reset the phone, please makes sure you have done a full backup of it to an external drive. I use a computer for backups. Now on your galaxy s7 phone or similar android>>settings>>About or General management>>follow the prompt. Alternatively, you can hard reset your Samsung using button combinations>>Volume Up + Home + Power button for a couple of seconds. Release held keys when the Samsung Logo appears on the screen. After that select from the Recovery Mode menu “wipe data/factory reset” using the Volume buttons to navigate and the Power button to confirm

 Definition of Samsung Galaxy Phones Microphone Problems

Now to the big one, if you have performed all the hardware tests above and they all come out good, it means your case is a software problem like mine. I believe you must have also done the software test. If all the results of the software test are positive, it means you are experiencing the same problem as mine.  My phone is a Vodafone Uk carrier-locked Galaxy s7 edge. I am now using it in Nigeria after I did the carrier unlock.

Causes of Samsung Galaxy Microphone problems

This microphone problem can affect any android phone. In this post, however, the focus is on the following devices; galaxy s6, s6 edge, s7, and galaxy s7 edge. I hope Samsung has fixed this problem on galaxy s8. The problem is also specific to the July marshmallow v6.1 update.

I wasn’t having any problems with my microphone until I accepted and install the latest software OTA. The problems were not present on the preloaded v6.0.1 software. My problem started when I loaded v6.1.1 software through the phone’s software updates I strongly believe this is what is causing my problems. Currently, I am on android nougat v7.0.1 and the problem is not fully solved. However, the trick I will be releasing here will have solved this problem on other phones of the same model.

In my case, if I make any VOIP calls using other calling apps, I will be able to hear the other side and they will hear me. If I make a normal voice call, my caller won’t hear what am saying. If I make a normal voice call by putting the phone in speakers, my caller won’t hear me. When using voice call apps both in normal mode or via speakers, my callers will be able to hear me. The factory reset did not solve my issue. safe mode was of no help. What solved my issue was a full software upgrade via Odin and disabling other apps that use the microphone.

Solutions to Samsung Galaxy Microphone Problems: Casestudy  S6, S7, S7 edge, s8, and s9

I will start with the simplest and end it with the most complex of the solutions. To start with, you must make sure you do a full backup of your phone and be ready to do things at your own risk.

However, if you follow this guide religiously, you will encounter no problems. There is little or no solutions on the internet for Samsung galaxy microphone problems. In the extreme case, you can invoke your warranty right to get a replacement. You can also get a warranty repair for your Samsung galaxy microphone problems.

These recommendations should only be considered by those who are out of warranty. Or those who want to do it themselves. Unfortunately, the galaxy s8,s8+, s9, and s9+ are also prone to this problem.

Solution 1:

A simple restart of your phone might fix this.

Solution 2:

Press the button on the right side of the phone and shut the screen off (after answering the call of course) it works 100% fine for a few people. {this did not work for me}

SOLUTION 3:

 Disable google voice under google settings of your phone and see if it solves it.  Open the Google app. In the top left corner of the page, touch the Menu icon. Tap Settings > Voice > “OK Google“ Detection. From here, you can choose when you want your phone to listen to when you say “Ok Google

SOLUTION 4:

If you are under contract with Tmobile: Tap Phone > Keypad tab.
Tap More options > Settings.
Tap Call > Voice over LTE settings.
Now, Tap Do not use VoLTE.

SOLUTION 5

Disable noise reduction (turn off Noise reduction in Samsung Galaxy S7? In Note 3 it was Phone icon -> Keypad -> Menu Button -> Settings -> Call Settings -> Additional Settings -> Noise Reduction>>uncheck it

SOLUTION 6

 It is important to also try disabling Samsung S.voice and see if the occasion is reversed.

SOLUTION 7

Do a manual update from your current v6.1 to v7.

How I Solved my Galaxy S7 EDGE Microphone Problem

Two things solved my microphone problems. I will walk you through them.

SOLUTION 8

If you have been smart enough to note down the firmware details that came with your phone, then downgrade to that very firmware via Odin. I was lucky enough to screenshot my default firmware. Download all official Samsung firmware from samsung-firmware.org/ or www.sammobile.com/firmwares (this worked but I wasn’t satisfied because I am keen to get to the latest firmware update)

SOLUTION 9

I had to upgrade my firmware to the latest Android Nougat v7.1. Before I do this, I first wipe my phone’s cache via recovery>>then I factory reset the phone>>Upgraded my phone to Android Nougat via odin>>Before I set it up, I went back to the recovery mode>>clear data cache>>factory reset>>I removed my sd card and format it via my computer>>I now set my phone up as new and everything worked fine.

SOLUTION 10

After some months, the problem reoccurred and I wasn’t willing to go through the stress of formatting my phone yet again. This is what I did:

I cleared the data in Apps>All / show system apps>>Phone/Call. To get to this path on s7 goto settings>>Apps>>click on the three vertical dots on the top right>>show system apps>>search for the call and phone apps(I got about 5 4 in my case>>storage>>clear data and cache.
2. I also disabled all the apps in Permission Control that had the permission to i)Record ii)Initiate Call iii)Initiate Multiple Party Calls iii)Write MMS (everything that could use your microphone of course except the system apps). To do this on s7 and s7 edge>>settings>>apps>apps menu>>app permissions>>Microphone>>uncheck>>go back and do the same for telephone.

That was how I was able to get rid of my microphone problem and it is still working fine up until today.

What You can do when Everything Else Fails

I will now give you just three workarounds that will solve this problem for you if everything else fails

1. This is the best workaround for this problem: Use a Bluetooth calling device to make and receive your calls. This works 100% and it works always. We have thousands of Bluetooth headphones, headsets, and earbuds. However, in recent times, people are leaning towards earbuds. Buy for yourself a very good earbud and you will leave the pains associated with galaxy microphone problems behind you. A good earbud is stylish casual and professional. With such an advanced piece of tech, you can continue using your Samsung Galaxy phones with a microphone problem to make and receive voice calls seamlessly.

2. Use third-party apps to make data calls or wifi calls. Before I found a fix, I usually make my calls using voice apps like Skype, BBM, WhatsApp, google hangout, IMO, and so on. This works 100%
3. Use the original wired headset to make and receive calls. This works most times but at times the headset speaker will go off meaning the other side can hear you but you can’t hear him. To solve this headset distortion problem, try and launch the music app, and immediately it starts playing music, makes your call.

How to prevent Microphone problems on all Samsung Galaxy Phones

Prevention they say is better than a cure.  I have just one preventive method for us all. If you own a Samsung Galaxy phone that is not internationally unlocked, please do not upgrade its firmware via the inbuilt updater. To ensure that you won’t mistakenly update it, disable automatic updates under the software update menu.

Secondly and this should apply to all the phones you use. Make sure you take a full backup of your phone as at the time you acquire it. Similarly, try to take a screenshot of your phone’s firmware information as at the time you start using it.  Make sure you do not save your back up or your firmware information the phone that uses them. See a sample picture of how you can gather all the firmware information of your phone:

Finally, if you own a variant of Samsung Galaxy phone that was formerly locked to a foreign carrier, please think twice before you upgrade the firmware. If you must upgrade the firmware do so it via smart switch or “kies”. I have learned my lessons never to upgrade my firmware via the phone’s updater. I hope this has helped out. Samsung galaxy microphone problems are a big deal. I will reconsider my stance in the future before buying another Samsung galaxy. The fear of Samsung galaxy microphone problems is the beginning of precautions.

 

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