iPhone 7 Plus Phone Call Sound Quality

So we just got 2 new iPhone 7 Plus' and I am noticing that the incoming call audio quality on both sounds strange. I have the Apple leather case on the phone and incoming audio sounds distant. Like it is coming from behind the phone or something. It almost sounds like the phone is on speaker phone but it isn't. Turning the volume down helps a bit but it seems off. Previous I had an iPhone 6 so I don't know how this compares to the 6 Plus.


Any help is appreciated!


Thanks!

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11)

Posted on Sep 16, 2016 11:36 AM

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Posted on Feb 7, 2018 7:58 AM

This has been answered probably a dozen times in the thread you posted to. If you have a case that covers the small hole near the camera lens (the noise reduction microphone) remove the case; If you have a folio case do not fold the flap all the way back when on the phone.

504 replies

Dec 13, 2016 7:59 PM in response to Steven Fisher1

thank you all for the posts. i just got my replacement iphone 7+, people hear me less than the one it just replaced.


it's a 7+, 128gb, on at&t. the earpiece on my 6 was dying, so i figured i'd upgrade. really regretting this.


traveling soon, so looks like i'll fix the 6 and return the 7+.


getting 4 or 5 replacements seems just silly. i'm ****** because the extra camera really is a great thing. smh...

Dec 13, 2016 8:13 PM in response to nowXorXnever

I totally agree with you. If it's bad batches of phones, fix and recognize the problem and fix it. I've got the same problem. I've been out of town in Mexico and dread solving this problem when I get back. No one could hear me when I left on vacation. I've only been using the internet for 2 weeks. I'm hoping all of these posts will make Apple acknowledge the problem.

Dec 13, 2016 10:46 PM in response to Steven Fisher1

I think it's just possibly poor design.

On my iPhone 7+ it's typically pretty hard to hear when using it as an actual phone -- you know, putting it up to your ear. Speaker is fine. Bluetooth is fine. I've found that you have to align the teeny tiny speaker just perfectly to hear it decently.


Everyone I know with the 7+ has the same complaint. A friend also said it was the same with the 6 line but I can't confirm that one independently.


It seems that usability as a regular phone was backburnered


Anyone else having the same thing -- where you can get it to sound okay but only if you align it carefully to your ear?

Dec 13, 2016 10:56 PM in response to nccdrewster

I can't get mine to work as a phone and I don't think it's the way I'm speaking into it just because it "sounds robotic voice breaking up".... I think it's a defective microphone honestly. It happens on speaker phone too.


I had the 6 (and 3G, 4, 4S, 5) , my boyfriend had the 6S, several friends and family had the 6S+ and 6+ and one other friend has the 7+..... my 7+ and the replacement one are the only ones having this issue. That's what makes me think it's a batch of them and not all of them.

Dec 13, 2016 11:55 PM in response to nowXorXnever

I'm United Kingdom based and I know the guy that set up the F B page is too. With my 3 handsets I tried every possible trick from changing noise cancelling settings to removing from the case. I'm 100% certain it's not the carrier as when I gave up and went back to the competition, the exact same SIM card went into my new phone and all has been crystal clear since. Come on Apple, stop deleting people's posts on this and do something about it.

Dec 14, 2016 12:06 AM in response to nowXorXnever

I'm based in the UK and on my second 7+, I agree with everything you've said and more. Apple send replacement phones in a plain box so you end up with a phone that doesn't match the serial and EMEI on the original box which makes it more awkward to sell and Apple send no paperwork with the replacement. Also my 7+ is insured the insurer must be wondering what's going on with me phoning them to change the EMEI and Serial numbers for my policy then they request I get proof of ownership from Apple which then becomes another pain. After all this and Apple promising they fully tested my replacement 7+ prior to dispatch it exhibits exactly the same call issues as the phone it replaced. Apple should have made some form of announcement on this issue long ago, whilst it may not affect all 7/7+ phones it seems to be affecting a lot. As you rightly say if it's limited to certain batches then announce the serial numbers affected.

Dec 14, 2016 12:45 AM in response to Pip129

I'm also UK based on EE, my sim has worked fine in numerous non Apple phones. I'm on my second 7+ both have exhibited the same call quality issue where people on the other end of a call say my voice is breaking up but it's fine during Facetime calls and using Voice Memo app. I've recorded with Voice Memo talking into my 7+ as if making a call and it's clear as a bell. I continue to believe it's a software issue related to making calls, as someone also suggested perhaps the voice conditioning software is to sensitive and attenuating my voice during calls hence the breaking up. I worked offshore on the North Sea for 30 years and experienced many occasions when our public address system would break up during announcements and we found that settings had drifted over time resulting in the system being over driven causing the auto attenuation to kick in and voice cut outs, when this happens we had to switch to the standby PA system and set the main system up again. There is suggestion that restoring from backups is causing the fault and factory resetting then setting up as a new phone works, this isn't the case with both 7+'s I've owned. I'm not sure why restoring from an old backup would cause call problems, if that was the case wouldn't it be rectified during an IOS upgrade, 10.2 hasn't made any difference for me...

Dec 14, 2016 1:11 AM in response to Steven Fisher1

To prove a point one way or the other I've just recorded my voice using the Voice Memo app whilst holding the phone to my face exactly as I would during a call and my voice was as clear as a bell with no breaking up. This points toward the poor call quality fault being related to the processes involved with making a call most likely software voice conditioning. The voice cut outs remind me of attenuations that take place when PA systems are over driven resulting in voice cut outs.

Dec 14, 2016 1:45 AM in response to Steven Fisher1

I've just made a series of calls leaving myself voice messages with case on/off, holding the phone to my face as normal and speaking directly into the mic with a phone signal of 2 out 5 bars. All recordings were of similar quality, none exhibited the severe voice break up and fading being reported to me during normal calls, I could hear what I was saying though quality wasn't brilliant possibly a combination of the quality of my message recorder and week signal. I'm more confused than ever as to why call quality is poor when speaking to someone with a stronger signal...

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iPhone 7 Plus Phone Call Sound Quality

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