Cannot Make/Receive Calls iPhone 4s

I have had the same issues. Both my iP4S and my wife's are having this issue. We both have AT&T. Apple support had me restore the phone, toggle airplane mode, restore the phone as new device, reset, hard reset etc etc. I also went and got a new SIM card from AT&T since Apple support suggested a SIM card error. Nothing worked. Apple has since replaced my phone and the new one still has the same issue.

1. Call Fail

2. Other user can't hear me

3. I can't hear other user (most often)

4. Static during call

5. Echo (hear myself in ear piece)

iPhone 4 (and previous models) never had this issue...even after upgrading iP4 to iOS 5. I have no solution but wanted to share my issues so hopefully it will be addressed via software update.

+1 - Same issues here on the iPhone 4S. Getting ready to talk to AT&T, but not terrible hopeful. I haven't had calls failing, but definitely problems as follows:

1. Appears to place call, but can only hear myself echoing back - caller later confirms that they received a call, but I couldn't hear them.

2. Call never completes.

3. Can't hear end call (this seems to happen most often with calls from the 4s to landlines.

I'll check back here if there is some resolution, but I agree with AppleFan - this is probably going to be a software fix.

I just got off the phone with AT&T, and they said they are getting a large volume of calls on this topic. He said they are very aware of the issue with the 4S. He said they think it is due to all the activations in a short time. Doesn't sound right to me, but I am trying it. They said they are resolving some of the issues by re-establishing the connection and re-registering the phone. They reset both of our phones and are calling back in three days to see if it worked.

Interesting. I went the AT&T route to start with (figuring Apple would just send me there anyway) and the tech I talked to put out 'request for input' - apparently like an instant message for AT&T techs. Noone had heard of the problem, but he verified that the network quality in my area was fine and that there were no outages and then he connected me to Apple tech - this was yesterday.

Apple tech #1 gave me the same song and dance as above, reset your settings, reset all settings, restore phone as new... and every time within a short period of time, the problem cropped up. And then I had an 'ah-ha' moment and was able to duplicate the problem (along with a work-around.) It seems that whenever you use Siri, the iPhone 4s gets confused as to where to output audio. So, if you make a phone call. Then use Siri, then go back and try to make a phone call, you will most likely get the 'no audio' / echo problem. --The work around? Right after dialing the phone number, hit Speaker (to turn on the speaker) and then hit it again (to put the audio back in the handset) - this seems to reroute the audio back to the handset and 'unconfuses' the iPhone.

So fast forward to today - Apple tech #2 - I give him the full description as above and he confirms that they are aware of the problem and that it will likely be fixed in a 'future update'.

So there you have it. The best you can do for now is my 'speaker on/off' workaround. They offered to change the phone, but I figure if it's a software bug, what's the point. All we can do is wait and hope they churn something out fairly quickly. The fact that in less than a day both AT&T and Apple have gone from denial to admitting that there is a problem, makes me hopeful that they are working on something.

Hope this helps - regards - Ted

Hello Bob -

You are not alone - I had an iphone 4 and went to get the 4s only due to Siri - since I dont take a lot of pics the camera isnt a big pull for me - day one of the 4s I thought call quality was bad / dropping due to all the new folks activating their phones on the AT&T network. By day 3 it got worse - finally yesterday I went in to the local apple store - the genius said it might be the ambient noise opening that is at the top of the phone near the headphone jack - if it is covered or uncovered during a call it can impact the audio - my issue is that I can hear the caller - but they cannot hear me - exactly as Apple Fan from Texas states in this thread - so I told the genius i guess that would make sense if i was holding the unit while on calls - but I use a bluetooth plantronics headset and never hold my phone near me during calls - then he tested it further and got it to duplicate - he swapped out my phone for a new one and I walked out with everything working - then it started up again this morning - I thought there is no way ( what are the odds ) of getting an inital bum unit and then swapping for another bum unit - glad to know its not just me & that it seems like the powers that be are taking notice of it - I agree what's the point of having the phone with all the great features if you cant make calls on it - I use my iphone for my work and am always on it so its been frustrating to say the least having to switch to land lines or not pick up at all when im not near a land line. - I hope they update soon or ill have to argue with them and go back to my 4 - it worked great - so it must be a software or some type of issue specific to the 4s as my wife and others I know who have 3gs and 4's arent having this problem - PLEASE APPLE help!!!

Well, sadly, what the tech specifically said to me was, "well, you know, Siri IS in beta, so..." and I thought - yeah, but the PHONE isn't supposed to be! I haven't tried the phone with siri turned off. Maybe I'll turn off Siri, do a reboot and see how long it goes without problems...

I'll report back here - but "boss" is right- they need to get on this - especially for those of us that were attracted by the promise of Siri.

--Ted

I have an iPhone 4S on AT&T (I'm located in Denver). In a variety of locations, with moderate to low coverage, seemingly more often with calls that I receive than that I place, I answer the phone, and I can hear the caller absolutely perfectly--the signal seems very strong. But they cannot hear me at all. No intermittent in-and-out: they hear nothing at all from me.

I just upgraded from an iPhone 3G on AT&T and never had this issue. But I can't say whether it's related to the iPhone 4S, or iOS 5, or an interaction of one of them with AT&T's network.

OIther than this, I have found sound and call quality pretty good--big improvement over my 3G, but that may not be saying anything. I would say this happens with between a quarter and a half of all my incoming calls. I'm not sure whether I've ever had it happen on a call from a landline, but that could be just coincidence. I don't think I've noticed any of the other issues complained of (except maybe a slight echo where I hear myself, but that happens when I can hear the other side... not when I can't hear them).

This really appears to be a software issue. If it were AT&T, then the 'speakerphone toggle' fix shouldn't work. The tech I spoke to at Apple all but confirmed my suspicions, but gave no clue as to when to expect a fix (as they never do.) As much as I'm reading about these problems here, I don't seem to be seeing any media coverage. And my guess is, with iTunes Match being their next big unveiling (read: nightmare) they are going to be up to their necks.

Too many product launches at once (new iTunes, new iPhone, new iOS, new interface [Siri], new services [iCloud, iTunes Match] - I think they've just bitten off more than they can chew. Let's just hope that the big increase in Apple's employee population will help to get a resolution out the door.

I would think that AT&T is already getting tired of fielding calls and taking blame for something that appears at this point to not be their fault. However, on the other side of the coin, I haven't ready anywhere that Verizon/Sprint users are seeing this same issue (unless there is some difference in the software?)

Who knows - it's all guessing until a resolution is put forward. - Ted

UPDATE - I went in to the apple store genius bar - they said that they have realized a bad batch of 4s had come out - and they swapped my bad unit out for a new out of box ( not a refurb ) unit and i havent had a problem since - at least they are admitting it now - and doing the right thing to fix it - hope you all can get the same good result as I know how frustrating it can be

I'm having the same issue in the UK on the Orange network - iPhone 4S 16gb Black

• When calling others, the recipient can not hear me nor can I hear them
• Feedback through the handset, I can hear myself speaking
• Placing the phone upto my ear causes it to activate speaker phone
• Interference during phone calls
• Disconnects after 30 seconds or so
• Numerous diagnostic logs are produced on the phone

I phoned AppleCare and the agent couldn't troubleshoot the issue on the phone (Very hard to call AppleCare when the phone keeps disconnecting, took 5 attempts and when it did work, it went silent for a minute with the agent just going "Hello, anyone there?!"!).

I'm just wondering if anyone has had any luck at the Apple retail stores with getting a replacement handset / is it a common issue?

ITS THE PHONE MIC. TAKE IT BACK TO APPLE FOR A NEW ONE. BAD MIC! TAKE IN ASAP TO SOLVE YOUR PROBLEM. APPLE HAS BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE IN STORE. SETUP GENIUS APPT ONLINE FOR NEAREST STORE TO YOU AND TAKE IT IN THEY WILL SWAP OUT. BACK UP YOUR PHONE THOUGH. ICLOUD RESTORED MINE IN STORE WAS AWESOME! TAKE CARE

ITS THE PHONE MIC. TAKE IT BACK TO APPLE FOR A NEW ONE. BAD MIC! TAKE IN ASAP TO SOLVE YOUR PROBLEM. APPLE HAS BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE IN STORE. SETUP GENIUS APPT ONLINE FOR NEAREST STORE TO YOU AND TAKE IT IN THEY WILL SWAP OUT. BACK UP YOUR PHONE THOUGH. ICLOUD RESTORED MINE IN STORE WAS AWESOME! TAKE CARE

As a follow-on to my earlier post, let me ask this: does the phone use the same mic when on speakerphone vs when listening through the handset? I would assume so. If that's the case, then my suspicion is that is is an OS-level software issue with the control of the mic, not the mic hardware, and not the carrier. I say this because it seems pretty consistently that when I have a call where the caller can't hear me (and I have confirmed now that it happens both with calls I place as well as receive), I can hit the 'speaker' button, and have the conversation just fine. When I take it off speaker... again the caller can't hear me. I'm not going to bother taking it in to the store, when it may be fixed with an iOS update, but I wish they would hurry up and get on with it.