iPhone 7 Plus Phone Call Sound Quality

Got a replacement phone 3 weeks ago. Still bad. Just called apple support so they could hear the problem and they are sending me another phone in the mail. Let's see if this one is ok.

My replacement 7 Plus call quality is similar to the faulty phone it replaced even though Apple said they fully tested it including call quality before dispatch to me. Iphoned Apple Support using my 7P and they couldn't hear me properly and claim they have no knowledge of this fault and it's new to them, should I believe that when there's so much evidence in this string of owners contacting them with call quality problems and so many have been replaced, it's actually an insult to be treated like this but unfortunately Apple must think we are of low intelligence and are blind to what's obviously going whilst at the same time they have buried there head in the sand in the hope it will go away. We actually know it won't go away until they sort it out, don't we?

Like Samsung with the Note 7 Apple need to accept and admit there's a fault, then take a leaf out of Samsung's book and do something about it. Some owners have had their Iphone 7/7P replaced 3 times and the fault is still present. I have a 7 and 7P and neither have call quality anywhere near the Samsung S7 series phone's. Isn't the fundamental function of a mobile phone to make phone calls or have I misunderstood what it's for?

I spent a couple of hours on the phone to Apple support yesterday (speaking on my land line so they could actually hear me). They connected to the iPhone and ran a number of diagnostic checks. The ultimate step was to backup to iCloud then do a complete factory reset. I think this has helped but it is quite subjective and difficult to tell for sure. I'll check as I make calls today.

My testing shows that the microphone works in two modes. When you use Voice Memo the microphone picks up all the sound in the room quite happily. Apple get you to test this, presumably to check the microphone(s) are working.

However, when you are on a phone call it seems to use a different "directional" microphone mode. Presumably this is using some sort of directional signal processing to cut out any ambient noise when you are on a phone call. I assume this mode is triggered when the sensor detects you have the phone to your head and the screen goes black. It is this "holding the phone to your ear on a phone call" mode that is very sensitive to the distance your lips are from the bottom of the phone.

The best call quality is when using the headset when the directional signal processing is not used.

It seems to me that the microphone hardware is working ok but the signal processing software needs to be adjusted to widen the zone used when on a call. I suspect this is more of a problem on the iPhone 7+ as it is physically longer therefore moving the bottom of the phone further from your lips.

Hopefully a future iOS update can fix this. If you are having the problem can you also report it to Apple support so it gets flagged as a priority issue.

Andrew

I've been through all this more than once with Apple, there's some thought that Voice Memo and Facetime use different mics than the phone app suggesting using these apps as advised by Apple Support to prove the phone call mic proves nothing but would be misleading. If it's true there are serious questions to be asked about Apple's handling of this issue.

The 6s and 6 Plus don't appear to exhibit the same call quality issue suggesting it's not a software fault which will explain why so many 7 and 7P's have been replaced and the issue is still present. If it's not software it's hardware, does anybody know if the call mic itself or position or both changed with the removal of the headphone socket in the 7/7P compared to the 6s/6P?

The microphones are the same it's just the signal processing software that is used on a phone call is different from Voice Memo recording. It is quite a struggle to convince Apple support that there is a problem. They are obviously working to a script and spend ages testing pointless things like Voice Memo. Hopefully we can all report the problem and it will encourage them to adjust the signal processing software for a future iOS release.

I've got to ask the obvious question Andrew, if it's software why is the reported fault predominantly only on the Iphone 7 series when the 6 series uses the same software, even Apple claim to be unable to answer that one.

Although a number of iPhone models all run iOS 10.1.1 it does not mean the same code is used on each model. For example, the iPhone 7+ has a better camera with depth effect. This feature is in 10.1.1 but not useable in anything other than a 7+. I'm a programmer and I can assure you it is very easy to detect the hardware and run different code based on the result.

I suspect the fault is reported mostly with the iPhone 7+ as it's size moves the microphone further from your lips and it probably uses different audio signal processing software to that used on a iPhone 6/6+.

Here is an interesting question...did anyone report this issue with iPhone 6+ which is a similar size to the 7+? Does anyone know if the 7+ uses different audio signal processing from the 6/6+?

That's very interesting, I'm an Electrical engineer so more prone to taking the hardware route :-). Some ex 6s/6P owners have reported going back because those models didn't exhibit the call issues they experienced on the 7/7P.

I have the same issue with my brand new regular iPhone 7.

Hi all, in relation to this I have a question, I have a iPhone 7 Plus model, and audio quality is awful at calls, is it possible to think that to fix this problem Apple will have a new software relase or it's not possible and have to be fixed with hardware components?.

Regards!

Can I encourage you to report the fault to Apple support. At the moment they refuse to recognise there is a problem. Perhaps if we all report it they might think about fixing it.

Alternatively, do you know a good plastic surgeon as it might be quicker for me to remodel my face to make it compatible with this phone! :-)

Andrew

Haha, Andrew! That's a pretty drastic solution. Hope Apple will find a solution before you need to do that!

I think they Do now know there is a problem. When I went to Genius Bar a week after getting my 7 when it was just released they checked it and said there was nothing wrong. When I went three weeks later they did further tests and confirmed the issue. Gave me a new phone. Still problems. This time I called support so they could hear it. Without any question they are sending m a new one. We will see if the third time is a charm.

I have a Genius Bar appointment this afternoon. I'll report back what I find out.

I've sent links to the various community discussions to Apple Support. They called me today I get the impression it's considered a minor issue compared to the number of 7/7+ phones sold globally.