Galaxy S4 - In Call Sound gone. Anyone experiencing this?

[Anonymous]

I received my Galaxy S4 on 27th April.

Two weeks ago all in call sound went.  Movies, games and music worked fine but I cant hear caller and caller cant hear me.

I checked volume (d'oh), reset the phone, factory reset the phone and reflashed stock firmware.  Still didnt work.

I sent the phone back to O2 and it was repaired (by Chris apparently).  I was informed of the repair steps and the phone was back to me working within the week.  

I checked it and everything was fine.  Re-installed my Apps and everything was fine for a week or so.

Now the same thing has happened.  No sound in call but fine everywhere else.

I've logged it with O2 again and its going back in to be repaired.

I'm not a phone noob and but I've not flashed or rooted or dropped this one!  I've kept it on stock and have searched the internet and forums but cant find any solutions (so far just reboot / WCDMA only / Noise Reduction Off).

I cant believe I am the only one experiencing this and why wasnt it fixed first time?

O2 have been pretty good to be fair but if this repair doesnt resolve it I will expect a new phone not a third repair!

Any thoughts?

[Bambino]

If you say that everything was fine for a week or so, then it obviously had been repaired, but as the fault has reappeared. I don't think you can blame O2 for that. I believe you have to give O2 three repair chances before you can ask for a replacement.

[Anonymous]

I guess if you consider repairing it by replacing a faulty part with another faulty part then yes it was repaired.

I'm not unreasonable but I do use my phone an awful lot and I cant be the only person experiencing this problem on the S4.

[perksie]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I guess if you consider repairing it by replacing a faulty part with another faulty part then yes it was repaired.

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I can't believe you think they would have fitted a part knowing it would fail, these things happen.

[Anonymous]

I dont believe that they knowing replaced it with a faulty part.

What I mean is that whatever the fault was with the original part in manufacture was also present in the replaced part.  Unless a different part was the reason for that faulty parts failure.

Put it this way.  The second time the fault happened I did what O2 said they would do. Reset phone, Factory Reset, Flash Stock.

When I went to Factory Reset I got the Android error "No Command"

Surely if it had been flashed (as I was informed it was) this would have been noticed.

I am not a trained O2 technician and I spotted this.  This says to me that it wasnt tested thoroughly before dispatch.

I like O2 and they did a good job the first time round, albeit the fault rearing its head again, but its extremely frustrating to have to resort to a backup phone and having to setup my phone again within a matter of days.

[Anonymous]

Okay, I am going to assume that when you put it onto loudspeaker you can hear the caller and they can hear you? have you tried this?

Go to SETTINGS, then ACCESSIBILITY, scroll down to HEARING and make sure "Turn off all sounds" is UNCHECKED.  See if this helps.

Now...something that "might" work! Get the headphones that came with the phone and plug them into the phone. Make a call, you should be able to hear the other person and vice versa. End the call and remove the headphones. Now try making a call normally. Does it work?

I believe this was a problem on the SG3 so it wouldnt surprise me if the same problem has arisen on the SG4

[Anonymous]

have you tried the good old Samsung sensor test to see if the mic and earpiece are working?

Step 1) Press your phone icon like you’re about to make a call

Step 2) On the keypad press *#0*#

The phone will now run through a series of tests including testing the earpiece and mic (I believe). This should rule out if its a hardware issue or not!

Oh...when the problem is occuring, does a battery pull resolve the problem?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the help and suggestion PapaDug.

- I've checked accessibility settings to no avail.  

- The in call mic doesnt work whether its in Normal, Speaker or Headphones mode

- The *#0*# you suggested brings up a screen of buttons and the receiver button and speaker buttons both make appropriate sounds.  There isnt a mic button and it doesnt run through tests.  You have to click them.

Finally,  no a battery pull doesnt solve the issue.

If it had been a setting on the phone I would have expected to have been told this by O2 rather than them saying they "fixed" it.

Thank you for your help, but I think its going back for a HW fix.

😞

[Anonymous]

Ah well, it was worth a try!

It sounds as though its definitley another hardware error then  Possibly the motherboard.

Its now going to have to be down to you to either allow O2 to repair the phone again or stand your ground and ask for a new phone.

[Anonymous]

"Ah well, it was worth a try!"

and was much appreciated.

Its going back tomorrow morning... but not sure I'll be patient enough should a third repair be necessary.

Other than Kies ... can anyone recommend a decent app (and app data) backup?