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topspin Author

Level 1

8 points

iPhone4 Voice Control activates randomly when listening to audiobooks/music

Hello all,
I have a problem that is frustrating the **** out of me.
I listen to audio books and songs while working out at the gym or travelling in my car.
*Here is the problem:* *When listening to either an audio book or music, voice control pops up randomly. I cancel it then the track skips forward at a very fast rate.*
*Current Fix:* I then have to rewind back to where the Voice control kicked in. When I do that I am ok for a few mins, then the voice control kicks on again. Rebooting the Iphone staves off the issue for a few hours.
*I am using the Apple supplied headsets with the phone mike built in.*
Do I have a defective Iphone?
I see that a lot of 3GS uses have the same issue. See the following URL.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2058366&start=0&tstart=0

This is so frustrating. If this is not solved soon, I will go back to my 3GS which has been extremely stable.
Pls help.

MBP 17", Mac OS X (10.5.4), 4GB RAM

Posted on Jul 19, 2010 1:53 PM

Top-ranking reply

mike98789

Level 1

8 points

Posted on Jul 30, 2010 8:42 AM

It is July 7/30/ 2010 and There have not been any fixes for this.

I have an iPhone 4 (previously had an Iphone 3gs and before that an Ipod 2nd gen) Over 3 Different devices and a multitude of headphones (both apple and non-apple) and I STILL get this problem 20-30 mins in. It seems the voice control "features" is not perfect. It assumes you're giving it a command when you're breathing heavy or something. But even then that makes no sense because then the song starts to skip like you pressed fastforward (which isn't even a command). I originally thought the case I was using was at fault. Then I thought well maybe its the headphones with mic...But I get the same problem with my headphones without mic as well.

It is EXTREMELY frustrating that you can not disable voice control. I've tried several times to do this. I can't even get a good cardio session in.

I'm sure voice control is useful for SOME users, and SOME users love it the way it is. But clearly its not useful for everyone.

Why is apple ignoring this issue?
Please release a patch giving users the option to DISABLE voice control COMPLETELY.

Thanks

View in context

85 replies

Leo810qt

Level 1

0 points

Oct 18, 2010 11:16 AM in response to LucianC

@lucian... did you try and reset the phone to factory settings? Please post any changes.. Thanks!

cpliler

Level 1

6 points

Oct 26, 2010 9:48 PM in response to topspin

I'm having a similar issue with an external microphone. I'm using a small Sennheiser boom mic for video taping and every time I plug it in, Voice Control pops up - kicking me out of the video app. It is beyond irritating that this cannot be disabled.

Leo810qt

Level 1

0 points

Oct 27, 2010 1:30 PM in response to LucianC

Have your rest the phone back to factory settings? Any change?

Jan 4, 2011 9:39 PM in response to topspin

I'm seeing a bit of a pattern: though not everyone, many of us have mentioned having this problem in conjunction with some form of exercise and while using a headset with built in microphone.

I wonder if a bit of perspiration may be shorting the electronics out in the microphone?

Arjan75

Level 1

0 points

Jan 16, 2011 1:46 PM in response to topspin

I have a the same problem that is frustrating also the ** out of me.
I listen to the internetradio while working out at the gym.

Voice control pops up randomly. I cancel it then the track skips forward at a very fast rate.

I have found this and will see if is works this week.

http://www.ehow.com/how7656951turn-voice-control-iphone-4.html

While the voice control feature for the iPod application cannot be disabled, the voice control for the phone application is configurable, according to "iPhone: The Missing Manual." The voice command tool provides voice dialing by matching your voice with the name of the contacts stored in your phone, or by dialing based on the number you say into the phone. By configuring the phone's passcode tool, the voice dialing feature can be disabled, which prevents accidental calls.

Instructions

1 Touch "Settings" and "General" on the phone's screen.
2 Tap "Passcode Lock" and "Turn Passcode On." Enter the passcode twice to activate the passcode lock.
3 Touch the switch on the "Voice Dial" tab to disable it.

Arjan75

Level 1

0 points

Jan 20, 2011 4:31 AM in response to topspin

What i have tried didn't work.
still searching 4 the answer

narkurs

Level 1

10 points

Mar 15, 2011 7:37 AM in response to topspin

Am having exactly the same problem with iPhone 4 with headphones with built-in mic/remote.
Always 20-30mins into using, always at the gym on the running machine, sometimes when out walking, voice control randomly turns on, and then songs start fast forwarding. Sometimes even after disconnecting the headphones voice control randomly comes on.
I NEVER use 'voice control' anyway: it ***** BIG TIME! It never does what you say, it's maybe worked 2% of the time I've bothered trying to use it. I'd just like to deactivate it but can't find a way.
I've researched online and seen that MANY people are having this problem, yet NO-ONE has received any feed back or help from Apple, they seem to be simply ignoring this problem: BIG disappointment!!
Can anyone PLEASE help? Or suggest and kind of solution?
WAKE UP AND HELP YOUR CUSTOMERS APPLE!! AT LEAST ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM!!

Jbarry

Level 1

0 points

Mar 15, 2011 7:57 AM in response to topspin

The only I have found from broken headphones(Mine, friends')
When ANY headphones have shorts in the wire, that does the same thing as clicking the little mic button.

If you wiggle your headphones and it suddenly happens?
Your headphones have a short in the wiring.

Theoretically, this could happen from having a headphone jack in the phone that wasn't making a solid connection, as well.

Note: I don't have any problems with my iPhone 4 using the supplied Apple headphones or my Sennheiser ones.

narkurs

Level 1

10 points

Mar 16, 2011 12:57 AM in response to Jbarry

it's happening with the supplied headphones and two sets of newly bought apple headphones which are made especially for iPhone. so it's not a short in the wiring. . .

Mar 16, 2011 5:17 PM in response to topspin

Same problem. Why on earth can't VoiceControl be disabled? Madness.

Mar 19, 2011 9:59 AM in response to topspin

Same problem with my iPhone 4 - 20-30 minutes into the exercise bike at the gym, voice control keeps popping up and interrupting and/or fast-forwarding the music player. Rebooting doesn't help. I can't tell you how annoying this is.

Perhaps sweat gets into earbuds or mic and causes a short?

Apple - next iOS 4 update MUST have a way to deactivate Voice Control. Or better yet, cut the feature altogether as no one uses it anyway.

BQuirk

Level 1

0 points

Mar 25, 2011 12:11 AM in response to topspin

Same exact problem. New phone and headphones, so it ain't a short. Apple really needs to step up and update the OS to allow disabling Voice Control. Will try the old school tape job in the meantime.

narkurs

Level 1

10 points

Mar 25, 2011 12:16 AM in response to BQuirk

have been to the gym once since the recent iphone update, and didn't have a problem. maybe they sorted this in the update?? doubt it though, as they don't seem to even acknowledged that there's a problem.

am going again today, will let you know how it goes . . .

Apr 12, 2011 10:15 AM in response to narkurs

Its not the apple headphones... I while back I bought a set of bose earbuds($120)... the first day, the voice control activated, songs skipped... sucked.... took phone to apple and they replaced my iphone!! said had a software problem.. so....shiny new phone
last week I bought the new Beats by Dre sport earphones ($180).. (i am at the gym a lot).. guess what... voice control activates...songs skip... ***

I think any 3rd party headphones screw with the phone. I dont know what to think about this.. it seems it cannot be fixed.. do I take my phone back and get ANOTHER replacement phone just to get shiny new face? haha

Apr 26, 2011 5:16 AM in response to topspin

Hi Everyone,

I faced this problem as well. Let me clarify what I believe is the issue and how I managed to fix it.

The problem really occurs if you are operating your iPhone4 (for that matter any Apple device, using the headphones with mic / hands-free cable), while exercising or in a hot / humid environment. The problem is with the sweat especially when it enters the mic on the hands-free cable.

The unit near the right ear piece which has the mic and controls mounted on cable, is really seal tigh on either ends, but the mic itself is an easy way for sweat to enter this unit. The sweat (being what it is in nature, a good conductor due to it's composition), causes a short in the controls. The sweat trapped in the button contacts, causes these fake button press signals to the device.

How I found it out, well I had a vague feeling that this could be a reason, so I wiped the cable well, used a hair dryer to accelerate drying up of sweat and the behaviour went away sooner than normal. This did not mean it completely solved the mystery.

So, I used a cello-tape band to protect the mic opening on my work-outs for the next few days... and the problem did not re-occur.

Suggestions:

1. Protect the mic opening if you plan to use it for workouts or in humid conditions (like cycle in rains).

2. Opt for a reasonable waterproof BT headset, minus the mic, for such conditions.

iPhone4, iPodTouch

iPhone4 Voice Control activates randomly when listening to audiobooks/music