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 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.

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.

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.

I had almost the same issue except when I called someone they couldn’t hear me and I couldn’t hear them. I tried calling my phone with my mother’s and it was made clear that it was my phone (X) so I tried powering it off and turning it back on and it worked again. Hope this helps someone.

I was having the same problem as you. Then I discovered my new waterproof iPhone X case was what was causing the problem. No one could hear me and if they did they said it sounded so muffled. I remove the case and everyone says that it’s perfect now.

I have had my iPhone X for just 2 weeks now and coming from a Huawei Mate 10 Pro I can definitely say the call quality is dreadful. I am being told constantly I sound muffled, tinny, to far away from the mic etc. So, I called Apple support who blamed my provider here in the UK, 3. To prove Apple wrong I grabbed my wife's Galaxy S8, my fathers Huawei P20 pro and my brothers Pixel 2 XL and tested my 3 sim and a giffgaff sim in all handsets and in my iPhone X. Funnily enough when using the Android devices call quality was crystal clear, with either sim yet with my iPhone X call quality was muffled and distant, my brother described it as listening to someone mumbling through a wet towel. My father tried his EE sim and we had the same results, poor iPhone X and great everything else. I then tried the same tests using a Samsung J3, a budget handset given me by work;

It has better call quality than my £1000 iPhone X.

At the end of the day it is the iPhone X, it's just terrible for calls.

I'm baffled at what to do next. My 14 return period passed yesterday and currently I'm sat here with my sim in a £119 budget phone and not my £1000 iPhone X.

I've just returned my 8+ (rather than an X) over this and problems with Bluetooth. Bought it on Sunday to replace an ageing 5. Initially I was very happy until I had some Bluetooth issues so I exchanged it - but after starting to use it seriously for phone calls it just about everyone I called started to complain they were struggling to hear me at times and it sounded like, yes, as you've said I was underwater (their exact words). I called someone back after they complained they were struggling to hear me - who said "Wow - you've fixed that phone, sounds great now" - I said "Nope, I stuck the SIM back in my previous iPhone 5".

Decided that its best to return it while the return window was still open. Problem is, now what? I was thinking about an X but from reading the stuff here, it sounds like its the same with the X? It's got to be software hasn't it?

My issues seems to have been resolved. At the Apple genius bar, they resent my wifi which erased all my saved wifi passwords (yes, it is a pain to enter them all again). I had already switched to WIFI calling when in a WIFI area that I am logged in to. Happy again here.

Well I made my third trip to the Genius Bar today and they replaced my iPhone X with a new one. So far the call sound quality is working properly. Stay tuned I'll let you know if it last.

I have the same issue with my iPhone X. Almost on every call people complain that I sound muffled or under water. Some have said I sound like I have a sore throat. I been through two Genius Bar visits so far, several resets, hardware tests and reloads of software on my new iPhone. I even had an Apple Senior IOS advisor send me to Verizon to have my phones sim card replaced. So far nothing has fixed the problem. Today, working with another Apple Senior she made my third Genius Bar appointment schedule for January 13th 2018. I never had any sound quality issues with my iPhone 6 Plus. If it wasn't for the battery life I would still be using it!

Restoring from update did not correct problem. The Senior advisor from apple did verify that there was a sound quality issue from talking to him on the iphone x vs the iphone 6s. The next step was to visit an apple store for further testing or exchange the phone again. I opted to return the phone as I was still in the 14 day return policy with 2 failed phones. I told him that while I really like the phone, this was way too much effort for a phone to get good call quality, that costs so much to buy. So now I am back to my iphone 6s - but at least I can hear callers and they can hear me.

Have been an Iphone user since the 3g - Thinking it may be time to jump ship and check out the Samsung phones

I also get too. Fixed please!! I lose my job today because of this!

iPhone X / ios 11.2.5 / Thailand AIS / Got full signal / Random happen / Using without case

** Troubleshooting >> Have to use headphones to stop this issue