iPhone X call quality issues

Reposting earlier fix with additional info explaining why...

Verizon customer iPhone X. Same problem. Phone works great except for phone calls. I sound muffled or underwater, but only sometimes. Other calls are perfect. Tried all of the fixes in this forum - Network reset, LTE off/on, full reset, wi-fi calls off. Noise cancellation off. With and without cover. Got a replacement phone from the Apple store. None of it helped and now I know why...

The issue turned out to be how I was holding the phone. There are three microphones on the X and one of them is located by the camera on the back of the phone. Even though I didn't cover it while holding the X (with fingers and thumb on the sides of the phone, I apparently was close enough to make that mic behave differently. When I move my phone-holding position in the same grip to the bottom part of the phone, the problems vanish. I have run through a series of test with my "complainers" and this seems to pinpoint the root cause. It's either user error or a design flaw, but there is a simple workaround. Hold the phone at the bottom of the case and definitely not near the top. Problem Solved!

Update as to why this works: Apple has designed noise cancellation into the talking side of the phone. (This is different than the noise cancellation in the Accessibility settings - those are for the listening not speaking). Anyway, there is a small mic on the back of the X by the camera. It's purpose is to listen for ambient noise (think crowded bar) and to cancel that noise from what it hears from the mics on the front at bottom of the phone. Those mics hear your voice talking plus they hear the ambient noise (crowded bar). The software "subtracts" the bar sound from what it hears on the front and the listener never hears the bar noise - just your voice. (You can test this by completely covering the back mic hole with your finger - then the listener hears the bar noise and has trouble hearing your voice).

Anyway, this is a really great feature - except that if you hold the phone near the top, it channels part of your voice into that back mic and it ends up canceling out all or part of your voice. So I have to hold my phone at the bottom and things work fine. This also explains problems with folding phone cases and issues when you are holding the phone between neck and shoulder.

I sure hope someone from Apple reads this. It would have saved me a lot of time if they had told me this when I complained...

I was having the same issue and figured out it was the Apple Folio case covering the microphone present near the camera. Depending on how I hold the phone/case (fold the case entirely vs. hold it open) issue would happen or not. Can you check whenever you face the issue that your back microphone near the camera is not covered/blocked?

I had the same problem.

Here is some possible causes after trouble shooting with apple:

- iPhone mic in the back of the phone is covered by the case or has some other obstruction (could be debris such as dust or dirt)

- WiFi calling is enabled with poor WiFi signal or speed

- Lastly some of the new iPhones have been sent out with faulty receivers from the manufacturers. Apple is aware of the issue and sent me a new phone without any hassle. I got them to wave the expedited shipping and there was no cost to me other then them putting a hold on my credit card until the got the other device returned.

Hope it helps

I have tried may of the online recommendations, exchanged phone at Verizon for a new one with same problem. Spoke with apple tech support and diagnostics came up with nothing. A senior advisor came online and asked if was restoring from a backup, which I did with both phones, his advice was to try and restore iphone x to factory settings through i tunes and see if that helps. Thoughts are maybe something from the backup is causing the problem. In the process of doing that now and will update with results.

Short story - if restoring from backup and there is a sound problem try restoring phone as new and see if problem still exists.

Problem solved. It turns out that the problem I had with poor phone quality on the iPhone X was simply coming from the Apple folio case. Whenever I made calls using this case and have the case folded around the back of the iPhone the voice quality was completely garbled. I was Able to verify this by calling a test bone wine I’m recording my own voice which I myself could barely understand it was so garbled. But when I use the same folio case on the iPhone X With out wrapping the folio around to the back I have zero problem with audio quality which I also verified by calling the same test phone number And recording.

From the UK.

Further experimentation has thrown up another result.

My friend and I, same iPhone X models, same network (3UK) made some calls yesterday to each other from the same location, the phones showing 3G and not 4G while calling, all calls were clear and easily understood.

Later in the day he was at another location some 10 miles away and called, his phone showed 4G while calling, mine showing 3G. He could hear me very clearly but his voice to me was foggy and unclear, we then terminated the call and he switched his phone to 4G for Data only meaning calls go over 3G and he called again, this time we could both hear each other clearly with no difficulty at all, my phone was already on 4G for Data only.

So it appears that keeping you phone on 3G for calls and 4G for Data is the best option for call clarity until the networks catch up and provide VoLTE everywhere instead of in patches across the country.

Hi

i manage to solve mine by going into accessibility settings and turning off phone noise cancellation

JnPC, if you have an iPhone X, as long it is not a cracked, Apple should replace it for a new one with no extra cost. They will test the phone for faulty. However, the muffed mic issue should appear at some point while making phone call tests. I had mine replaced just like that for a new one (it was already new anyways) with no charge (even thou I financed the phone through AT&T). You don’t have to pay out your phone for that. Please note that you should take your phone to an Apple store for test. They are the ones to replace for a new one.

Sent from my iPhone

Same issue reported by so many others. We are on Verizon, but that’s probably not it either. Different solutions seem to work for different users. Our solution, which helped a great deal, was to turn off “Calling on other devices”. How many people use their iPad to call grandma anyway? Well, it worked for us. I left noise cancellation on, and left WiFi calling on. Yes, I tried it every which way. Turn off calling on other devices.

Actually I found a response on this forum that helps. Set your LTE to "data only". There is a problem with 4G connectivity with the X. Some odd explanation that doesn't make any sense about 4G calls not being able to connect to 3G connections like they have for the past 5 years. Clearly it is a phone issue. But it did help. APPLE you need to get this fixed on your $1000+ phones!!

Verizon customer iPhone X. Same problem. Phone works great except for phone calls. I sound muffled or underwater, but only sometimes. Other calls are perfect. Tried all of the fixes in this forum - Network reset, LTE off/on, full reset, wi-fi calls off. Noise cancellation off. With and without cover. Got a replacement phone from the Apple store. None of it helped and now I know why...

The issue turned out to be how I was holding the phone. There are three microphones on the X and one of them is located by the camera on the back of the phone. Even though I didn't cover it while holding the X (with fingers and thumb on the sides of the phone, I apparently was close enough to make that mic behave differently. When I move my phone-holding position in the same grip to the bottom part of the phone, the problems vanish. I have run through a series of test with my "complainers" and this seems to pinpoint the root cause. It's either user error or a design flaw, but there is a simple workaround. Hold the phone at the bottom of the case and definitely not near the top. Problem Solved!

My recommendation would be to get some Bluetooth headphones. After « upgrading » from iPhone 6 to X i found that for most calls people couldn’t here what I was saying and i had to shout to be heard. Obviously not great in most situations! I bought some good quality Bluetooth spirts headphones and wear them all day so that I can receive and make calls. Everyone I know who has an X has the same issue so it seems to be a design flaw.

Dear Steven,

Earlier this week I bought an Iphone X too and people whom called me told me the same response you got. I called my service provider and told me that there were no issues with regards to the mobile line. I solved the problem by removing the case and replacing it with a new case. The problem turned out to be the case.

Hope my answer helps.

My hisband and I received so many complaints from friends that they heard us intermittently. It mainly occurred when placing the phone to our ear. We have flip covers so we flip the cover over to make the call. In settings>General>Accessibility>Phoine Noise Cancellation, turn it off. The mic is partially muffled when the cover is flipped over so the phone noise cancellation tries to adjust the volume hence resulting in the perceived voice quality issue. We both turned phone noise cancellation off and it appeared to resolve the call quality issue when the phone is placed on our ear.