I can't hear my voice through headphones - no sidetone

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Level 1

17 points

I can't hear my voice through headphones - no sidetone

Sidetone is the volume of your own voice re-directed back into your headphones (or other listening device) and is used to clarify the sound of your own voice when you are talking.

When I'm talking on the phone using my headphones, my iPhone 4 doesn't have any sidetone at all. This is a problem for me because my headphones fit tightly in my ears and don't allow ambient sound to enter my ears. The result is that my voice sounds very muffled, as if I've got my fingers in my ears. If you use the headphones that came with your iPhone, it's not much of a problem because the earpieces aren't very snug and you can hear your own voice much better.

If the iPhone added some sidetone to the headphones, I would hear myself clearly. This is how my old blackberry worked, as well as my other phones that I've had over the years. This is the first phone I've had that doesn't have any sidetone. I'm surprised because it's such a nice phone and you would think that Apple thought of this.

Does anyone else have this problem? If so, I recommend sending apple some feedback so they can get this fixed:

www.apple.com/feedback

iphone 4, iOS 4

Posted on Sep 29, 2010 11:06 AM

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Answer 1

DCGOO

Level 3

769 points

Sep 29, 2010 11:15 AM in response to JP Redtopia

I have the effect, but I do not consider it to be a problem.

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Answer 2

tonefox

Level 6

9,374 points

Sep 29, 2010 12:01 PM in response to JP Redtopia

There's an app for that: "Awareness"

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Answer 3

Sep 29, 2010 1:02 PM in response to JP Redtopia

is that a standard feature for all phones/smartphones?

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Answer 4

DCGOO

Level 3

769 points

Sep 29, 2010 2:15 PM in response to imnoapplefan

It is an old analog telephony feature from the olden days of poor four-wire to two-wire hybrids in old style telephone instruments. As technology advanced, sidetone had to be artificially inserted to avoid the phone sounding "dead." It is virtually non-existent in modern cell phones today (if we hear ourselves today, it is usually called "echo" and we complain about it).

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Answer 5

JP Redtopia Author

Level 1

17 points

Sep 29, 2010 2:58 PM in response to DCGOO

Sidetone is useful when talking into headphones that are made to prevent external sound from entering your ear, otherwise your own voice doesn't sound natural. Instead, your own voice sounds muffled. Try sticking your fingers in your ears and talking. That's what I hear when I use my headphones. When I use cheaper headphones that allow sounds to enter my ear, it's a non-issue.

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Answer 6

Sep 29, 2010 2:59 PM in response to DCGOO

thanks for that. my point exactly. the OP just hates the phone

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Answer 7

tonefox

Level 6

9,374 points

Sep 29, 2010 3:09 PM in response to JP Redtopia

I'll try again.

There is an app for this. It is called "Awareness". Search for it in the App Store.

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Answer 8

JP Redtopia Author

Level 1

17 points

Sep 29, 2010 3:13 PM in response to tonefox

Unfortunately, I just spent $3 on that app ("Awareness") and it doesn't work when making phone calls. As soon as a call comes in, or when I make an outgoing phone call, the app stops working. Even if it did work, seems like I would have to turn it on every time I got a call and I was using my headphones. No bueno.

It's good to know that the iphone hardware supports sidetone. I think this should be a feature in the phone settings, which would allow users to turn it on and set the volume.

Message was edited by: JP Redtopia

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Answer 9

JP Redtopia Author

Level 1

17 points

Sep 29, 2010 3:29 PM in response to DCGOO

The echo that you're referring to is not sidetone. Instead, the echo is an audio artifact from wireless headsets and speaker phone, where the mic is picking up your voice from the speaker and it comes back as a delay. It's very annoying and it is NOT sidetone. All the cell phones I've had (LG and Blackberry) have supported sidetone and there was never any echo effect.

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Answer 10

HolmanGT

Level 2

205 points

Sep 29, 2010 4:13 PM in response to imnoapplefan

*"thanks for that. my point exactly. the OP just hates the phone"*

*Talk about a quantum leap in the conclusion making process...*

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidetone

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Answer 11

HolmanGT

Level 2

205 points

Sep 29, 2010 4:20 PM in response to JP Redtopia

JP,

I use the Apple ear-buds and the lack of side tone is a little annoying for me also. I end up by shouting because of the lack of audio feedback.

I find it similar to a lot of VoIP systems that do not introduce a little white noise into the ear-piece when no one is talking - I find myself ask "are you still there". Anyway doesn't look like you are going to get much sympathy on this thread. 🙂

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Answer 12

DCGOO

Level 3

769 points

Sep 29, 2010 6:37 PM in response to JP Redtopia

You are correct of course. But if the sidetone is too loud most people will pull the handset away from their ear and complain about "the echo." That is what I was trying to relate. It is not the same as reflected echo from the far end of the call.

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Answer 13

JP Redtopia Author

Level 1

17 points

Sep 30, 2010 10:15 AM in response to DCGOO

"but if the sidetone is too loud"

Agreed, but that's rarely the case and is no reason to not have sidetone on a phone. Works perfectly well with blackberry, LG and HTC phones.

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Answer 14

JPeno

Level 1

8 points

Feb 9, 2011 1:39 PM in response to JP Redtopia

JP, I have the same issue. I use Etymotic earphones, which have great ambient noise reduction (i.e. can't hear the outside world, including myself talking). They have a mic on the wire leading to the right ear for talking on the iPhone.

But during conversation, while I hear the other party fine (and they hear me) my own voice sounds muffled, because I'm hearing it through my bones, not my ears. Like you say, this is disconcerting. You'd think Apple would put an option in Preferences to feed my own voice back into the earphones - surely they can tell if something is plugged in?

This ONLY applies to earphones. Obviously if you use the iPhone like a cellphone, it's not a problem. But I like to walk listening to iTunes and get calls.

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Answer 15

sn4p2k

Level 4

1,228 points

Feb 9, 2011 1:48 PM in response to JP Redtopia

regardless of all the posts in this thread no one here can do anything about this I suggest you leave apple feedback if you want this feature were just users like you

http://www.apple.com/feedback

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