Iphone 8 voice quality issue

I bought 2 8+ and both have a muffled voice. People in the other end constantly ask me to speak louder or complain that they can’t hear. I exchanged one of the phones to see if i just got unlucky but the same problem resurfaced with the exchange. Thinking of returning both phones at this point.

Folks,

Like to share our experience with voice audio quality issue on the iPhone 8, the specific issue, anyone you talk to is having problem hearing you, like static, drop outs and various other problems. The issue does not happen all the time, seem to build up to the issue, good quality at first then over time it gets worse and worse. Others are staring to report this issue. The iPhone 8 itself has no problem with hearing the other end of the call's audio.

https://www.macrumors.com/2017/09/25/iphone-8-plus-owners-static-sound-calls/amp /

https://forums.att.com/t5/Apple/Poor-call-quality-on-iphone-8/td-p/5287444

What I have been able to determine is it LTE issue, if you turn off the LTE feature on the phone and force it to 4G only the audio is fine, also making a wifi call or Facetime audio or video calles as long as it using wifi to make the Facetime call it is fine (IE turn off Cellular data). VoLTE seem to be the the issue, even turning off VoLTE and just doing LTE data does not always clear the problem. I did a bunch of testing and was able to isolate the issue.

Spoke to Apple and they are claiming no issue, they test the phone using the onboard diagnostics and it shows no issue so they refuse to replace the phone. The Apple tech kept saying as long as the diagnostics do not show an issue there is nothing they can do. Also kept repeating that Apple and AT&T continue to work on voice quality over the network, it is something we have to live with until the network is improved. This happen no matter if the phone has full bars or 1 bar, does not matter if you call another cellphone or a land line, everyone on the receiving side hears bad audio.

We were going to demonstrate the issue to the apple tech, and they could care less they kept repeating like a broken record, if the test show everything working the phone is fine, and any audio problem with a call is most likely the network.

In our house we have an old iPhone 5, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s took the SIM card out of the 8 put into all the other phones and no audio problems what so every. Only the iPhone 8 had the issue. So that tells me the network is working fine.

We have had iPhones since the first, along with iPads and Laptops and always got Apple care even though most times we never had to use it, however, when we had any sort of issue with iPhones Apple just replaced the phone no questions asked. My son replaced his iPhone 4 times, because of display clicking, home button not working all the time, the power on and volume buttons intermitting working. This is the first time we ran into an issue with Apple absolutely refusing to replace the phone, they even refuse to just swap our SIM into another iPhone 8 to see if the problem stayed with the phone or moved with the SIM or as they claim it is a network issue which AT&T needs to address. What is interesting to note, no one on Verizon, Sprint or T-Mobile is having the issue.

After talking to Apple and AT&T they seem to know about this issue but are refusing to do anything at this point, They want you to do a network reset on the phone, reload software from scratch, turn off VoLTE or LTE all together. Doing this does seem to temporarily clear up the issue, but I suspect it will come back when you do not expect it. I am thinking it has something to do with the new LTE modem in the phone, and the new EVS Audio Codec which requires updates to the LTE network which AT&T has yet to do.

http://wccftech.com/iphone-8-8-plus-and-iphone-x-supports-evs-audio-codec-for-im proved-voice-quality-and-galileo-gps/

It would be interesting hear how many people are running into this issue.

I have had the same issue with the voice quality on my iPhone X. I did the following and it seems much better. No more complaints from whoever i am talking to. I am on AT&T,

Go to Settings-General-Accessability, and turn Phone Noise Cancelation to OFF. Hope this helps.

Some other useful information on this topic, the iPhone 8 for AT&T uses a new LTE modem form Intel, this is different than the iPhone 7 and before. Also Verizon phone use a modem from Qualcomm, thus the reason people on Verizon and Spring at not seeing the issue.

Same issue on iPhone 8 Plus from T-Mobile. The noise canceling on/off does not fix the issue for me.

Good voice quality on FaceTime or phone calls using Bluetooth headphone.

Apple told me they can replace it but I have already paid $43 for Zagg screen protector, if I change the phone my Screen protector will be wasted.

I hope Apple take a closer look into the voice quality issue.

I also have the same issue my voice sounding muffled and low to the caller. I'm on Three UK network, so tis not limited to AT&T in the US, but also in the UK. I've tested all IOS versions even beta versions of iOS 11.2, same issue.

I called Apple support with the same iPhone 8 plus, and they could not hear me clearly and had to switch to speaker in order for them to hear me better. They replaced it without question, but... my new iPhone 8 plus replacement has the same issue. I switched the SIM to my old iPhone 6s, and works fine. They said it's a microphone issue, but I doubt that's the case as WhatsApp, Skype, and others all have very clear call quality.

One thing that has changed is Apple support. When called last week I got this reply " It sounds amazingly good to me." So i tested him, and turned the microphone off, and still said "sounds good. I can't hear any problem.", Yes, you could not hear any problem or even sound, as the microphone was OFF!! I guess this is the new solution.

I have the same problem on Sprint. I HADto turn off the noise cancellation off on my iPhone 8 Plus. It made talking impossible. The person on the other end said that I was “breaking up” and sounded like I was underwater.

I am having the same issue. This is my second iPhone 8. I returned the first one within the same week I bought it because of the same voice quality issue. Now I am having the same problem with the second phone.

Same Issue with my new iPhone 8

Its very disturbing and the other end receiver is also feeling same echo!!!!!

Kindly rectify the bug otherwise its a huge concern on your brand.

Basic need of a phone is voice clarity!!! If you could not satisfy customers even for that Its worst!!!!! First time such an experience from apple product!!!!!

Hi Mustang,

Thank you for your post about your issues. I have an appointment for the Genius Bar next Saturday and now know what to expect from them as I have had the same issues. I am a beta tester, so when I first called about the problem, they said that as long as I had a higher version using the beta test, they could not assist. That it was probably the beta version of iOS 11.2.5 that I was currently on. Thier suggestion was to go back to the current iOS version of 11.2.2. I had to set up my phone on reset as if it was a brand new phone. The only issue I had was that I had many text messages that I did not download the pictures from, that I would not be able to recover. I of course then had to go to iTunes and look at redownloading any purchases I had in the past. In one way that was a good thing in that I could be more selective of what apps I wanted. If I had not signed into FB or game center, then of course those games I would have to start back on level one. Again not a big issue. So, I did all that even after telling the tech, that I had a feeling based on the support boards that this was not going to create a fix to the sound quality issues I was having. I was correct, 8 out of 10 people I talk to say that I am muffled or sound like I am in a tunnel when we talk.

I find it hard to believe that having an iPhone since the first generation back in the 3 series and this is the first time I have had consistent problems with the quality of sound talking to people. It does not matter what location, I am in or whether I have a case on the phone or not. So I think whether Apple is admitting to it or not, there are problems with the iPhone 8 Plus (the phone I have) sound quality. There you go, that is my story. I have been contemplating going to an Android but felt I would upgrade from the 6+ to the 8+ because I felt there were enough good changes to the iPhone that I would give it one more shot. I am now second guessing that choice. Will see how things go at my Genius Bar appointment on Saturday.

Switched from iPhone 6 to 8 two months ago. People complained they couldn't hear me and asked 'to speak up'. My iPhone was replaced, but I still have the same issue. Has the iPhone become a lousy phone? I have now disabled noice cancellation, see if this works.

I bought 8+ and it has a muffled voice. People in the other end constantly ask me to speak louder or complain that they can’t hear me. They say that it seems I am calling them sitting in a tunnel. Some people on the other end said that I was “breaking up” and sounded like I was underwater. Turning the speaker phone helps a bit but the voice quality still suffers.

Some suggested it may be because of Freedom Mobile Network issues. I switched to Fido but the problem persists.
This phone was bought from local Apple store back in October, 2017.

Can any body suggest a solution? I read on Google that many other users are having the same issue with their iPhone 8s.

Dear Iphone Lovers,

Why should we suffer a lot even we have paid around 60K for i8.

Appe inc should find a solution for this by recalling their i8 or should compensate the clients for not providing the basic neecessity of the phone!!!! Apple Inc please respond on this!!!

Apple please respond to our requests to fix the flawed mic/sound problems on iPhone 8. How many more people you need to believe this?

Do you want to lose your customers to Samsung? If nothing is done to resolve this issue, how can you expect repeat business?

I have no idea and I think Apple is the same. A friend has torn his i8 apart to compare parts and pieces to a old i6 he owns. To this point he says: the i6 is built better. His views are, Apple thought everyone would flock to the iPhone X and the i8 would be left hanging on display shelves as a light mover. (or) Marketing made a judgement call on the phones before mass production so, the i8 was down graded. (or) Now the manufacture in China knew before anyone Apple mite bring back production to the USA, quality may stink for that reason also. As owners of iPhones we now own a generation of iPhones that has let us down. Too many phones have been sold to physically fix now, software upgrade ?? maybe. Your choice as a consumer is your choice. I'm hoping Apple does something, anything at this point. I'm also seeing things on the street, TV news people now using Samsung that once used Apple. Steve is rolling over in his grave!