[One (M7) Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] 26kick:
Interesting!

I have not received the update as of yet, here in USA on Sprint. I also do not have a GSM option. I think Sprint is a one trick pony.

I have been doing a bit of experimentation over the last few days though. I think I've narrowed my problem down to low volume sources, as well as a bit more of a "robotic" tinge. IOW, if I'm speaking to my friend on his landline and he has a low volume phone or is speaking softly, he intermittently cuts out (on the softer syllables), I get static underneath his speech, and sometimes get some buzzing too. He hears the same thing when I speak and says it is definitely/noticeably worse quality than my Moto XPRT.

So I did a comparison. With my home studio, I simply mic'd the earpiece on the phones and recorded my wife's Moto XPRT first, then my new HTC One, both on the same Sprint account/network, same location, same automated American Airlines source. I then edited them so that you hear a sentence or two from the Moto phone, and then hear the same/similar sentence from the HTC.

They're pretty close, which isn't always the case, but you can hear that the HTC is generally more "robotic" or digital sounding, and the Moto has more of a live human on a land line (not completely of course) sound. But the real difference is where, towards the end, a different voice comes on about the baggage and it's at a lower volume. The Moto picks it up perfectly, whereas the HTC loses it almost completely at times. In addition, you can better hear the static or hiss I think people are referring to underneath the speech. This is typical of a substantial percentage of my phone calls where you might just get someone that is a little harder to hear, no big deal, you just turn up the volume. But on the HTC, it still cuts out, just louder. Download the mp3 here:

https://files.secureserver.net/0sPoZtYZMaBmdl

Remember, first is the Moto, then the line that repeats is the HTC. I would love for others to try this same call and see how their HTC One does. Could we also possibly compare carriers/locations this way? The number is (800)433-7300. If you give the same responses I did, and get to the baggage speal, that should be a good test of low level sources on your phone.

I actually went to a Sprint store and tried the same on their HTC One demo with the same results. I'm going to see a friend tonight who has an HTC One on ATT and check that.

Anther example that comes to mind is if I'm on hold with hold music. Often times the music is at a low, soothing volume and you can really hear the HTC One cutting it up. It sounds like the music pushes through in spurts on the louder notes and it also has that static underneath.

I have 90 days to exchange my phone (Costco online) so I'm thinking about struggling with it for a bit to see if any solutions come up. Otherwise, I like my HTC One and I feel confident that once either HTC or Sprint owns up to this issue in call quality, they will find a solution. I'm guessing it's firmware based? I've been with Sprint for a long time, through many phones, and their CDMA has always sounded good to me. That's why I'm so disappointed. Sorry this post got so long but I hope it helps.