yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] imjimmy:
I have the exact same question. My phone is perfect except for CRAPPY microphone and other people not being able to hear me. I really have to move close to the microphone when speaking. The voice goes hollow and sometimes loud, is what I have been told.

Before I RMA the phone, I would like to ask whether this is a defect common across a majority of the phones or if it's my particular handset.

Here the wait time for a RMA replacement is 4-5 weeks. And I don't want to send my phone back only to get another phone which has same (or worst case even more) issues.

Finally - anyone know whether using a headset or bluetooth headset fixes this?

Thanks in advance.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] exxpired:
It only happens when you speak using the handset itself, loud speaker is fine, headsets are fine. Its the noise cancellation that's causing this issue, turning it off solves it..but then cause a few other smaller issues, are you sure its 4-5weeks? When I RMA'd my device, On the site it said 2-3 weeks but the lady said they keep stock back for warranty and alas, I got delivered this morning (after calling on Saturday) Plus you dont need to send the phone back - they send you a replacement first, so you wont be without a phone!
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] crazycage:
Hey, I'm having the exact same issue as you guys did, everything is perfect (with the exception of volume on some apps) except noise cancelling mic, you can almost hear it kick in and work TOO WELL because I've been told most loud background sounds around me are not coming through on the other person's end but the sound quality of the voices is horribly tinny, and sounds muffled or distant like deep in a cave.

Did your replacement fix the problem? (sorry but please say no so I can patiently wait for the software fix from Google lol).
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] exxpired:
I cant say until im home from work! (and after watching gravity :D) Wont be till maybe 1am GMT till I can give you an answer!
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] crazycage:
K thx :D
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] exxpired:
Well I tested it...same issue! Put the phone back in the box and its ready to be shipped back to google! Even tested the speaker on youtube against my current one and it sounds worse?! (maybe due to me having faux kernel idk) And the vibration motor with a little rattly compared to my current one. Now im just hoping on a software fix! otherwise im stuck with no noise cancellation
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] colonelcack:
Glad to hear its not hardware related...sucks it still is broke tho but hopefully this issue is raised with Google and they are able to patch it
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] exxpired:
could still be a hardware defec..maybe who knows!
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Scriptabit:
Squeaky Wheel

I am experiencing the same issue, and rather than disable noice cancellation entirely I would like to have Google investigate the issue and release a patch.

The more users that open support tickets regarding this issue the higher priority it will receive.

I have opened a support ticket with Google regarding this issue, noting that it appears related to the noise cancellation and referencing this thread.

I have included an example ticket below for those interested in opening a ticket quickly that does not exceed the character count limit Google's support site imposes.

#Sample Ticket#

I am experiencing a problem with the following symptoms on my Nexus 5 device:

1.) On a standard phone call, other parties on the call can only hear me with extreme difficulty.

2.) On a standard phone call, if I cover the top noise-cancelling mic, other parties can hear me clearly.

3.) On a speakerphone call, other parties can hear me clearly.

Multiple users are reporting this issue with this device. For example, please see the following thread <insert thread url here>.

Some users have worked around the issue by disabling noise cancellation on rooted devices, via editing build.prop and changing the value of persist.audio.fluence.voicecall=true to false.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] xxnoelziexx:
Received RMA 2 days ago same issue with wasn't a surprise. I am now awaiting this one to go back to google which is a real shame as I like the phone a lot. Think I will go back to my previous phone and hopefully when a fix comes available will buy one again.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] liltbrockie:
Any one else still suffering with this issue? I know I am!
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] bartolinio:
Of course we still suffer ;)

waiting for the movement from Google

people three times already exchanged phone under the RMA, and all the exchange had the same problem, there must be the fault of the software
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] exxpired:
Best fix for now is root and turn noise cancellation off.. It some how turned my Gfs complaints off too :p
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] liltbrockie:
Done that... Seems to produce echos for the other caller
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] exxpired:
Not had any complaints about exits as if yet.. Even through testing by leaving myself voice mails
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] muffinheart:
I also made a thread about this and was worried it was the phone antenna. I've been told my voice sounds muffled and I'm glad to hear it's a noise cancelling issue.

That being said, in a noisy environment the mic works GREAT. I was in a bar talking to my mum with a lot of background noise and she couldn't hear it.

I wonder when Google will acknowledge this like they did with the audio issue?

Did anyone see the hardware mod that supposedly made the speaker sound louder? http://www.xda-developers.com/android/google-nexus-5-speaker-volume-fix-yields-impressive-results/ . Anyone think a similar mod could work for the mic? I'm thinking more sound getting into the mic might mitigate the noise cancellation a bit.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] exxpired:
not sure if that would help much
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] WOrLdWAr2:
Seems like there are two different issues surrounding the same hardware (Microphone(s)):

1. What you are experiencing, muffled or cutting in & out audio during a call, especially on voices and sounds in general and can be more severe the further you talk from the microphone

2. What I and many others have been experiencing, a slight to very noticeable annoying static/hissing sound in relatively quiet or silent environments (home, bedroom, staircase), but our calls seem to come out crystal clear or relatively normal.

Turning OFF "Echo Cancellation" in the "ASR Sound & Voice Recorder" app (before version 10.5) delivers crystal clear voice recordings. Leaving it ON produces the noticeable hissing/static that I and others are experiencing. For an example of what I mean, Google "nexus 5 microphone noise" and click the first YouTube video with the colorful Android Mini-Fig in the thumbnail.

Could you guys give this a try? Perform a test video recording (use any camera app just make note of what you used) in a SILENT environment or relatively quiet like your bedroom, bathroom, etc., and play it back (put speakers on close to max volume or use earphones). Do you hear the same hissing/static noise as in the video? Slight? Severe? Then download the "ASR Sound & Voice Recorder" from the Play Store and do recordings with that, two recordings, first one on default Echo Cancel OFF and second with it OFF. Report your findings.

I only post this here since my/our issue seems related and similar to this thread.

Lastly, I've tested this personally on three brand new Nexus 5's, they all had the issue, even though the replacement is from the second batch built this month "311K", while the other two are from the first batch built in October "310K". One of the three is a replacement for the other, so I wouldn't play RMA lottery unless you have a severe hardware defect. My friend (as a fourth Nexus 5 for all intents and purposes) has the same issue. Interestingly, none of the four seem to have a call voice quality problem, but any other form of audio recording DOES except for the experiment with the old version of the ASR app. I have reason to believe this is widespread and people haven't noticed since nowadays it's ridiculous to use a cellular phone as a telephone, or actually listen to video/audio recordings.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] alissa7:
Same here... I thought the problem was fixed because they could actually hear me, however, they said they heard themselves echoing. Ugh.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] parmend:
Anyway to make the earpiece/call volume higher . I can barely hear anyone
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] exxpired:
Seems like eachoing only happens when you have the in call volume turned all the way up, turning it all the way down sorts it out but then it can be hard to hear anyone if your not in a quiet room.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] NexusFanBoy:
Solved with change on build.prop now everyone van hear me And no echo problem. Great!

Inviato dal mio Nexus 5 utilizzando Tapatalk
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] saddampir:
I am also facing with the same problem

Hey friends and Android expert, I am also facing with the same issue of dodgy MIC problem. Is there any one who can get me out of this trouble. I have LG Nexus 5 with the same problem.....
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] NexusFanBoy:
Read the whole thread and you can find how to change your file build.prop only for rooted users

Inviato dal mio Nexus 5 utilizzando Tapatalk
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] liltbrockie:
Anyone tried the 4.4.1 update? Any change?
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] exxpired:
Not yet, running a custom rom so waiting for that to be updated(hopefully today) though i doubt its fixed yet.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] liltbrockie:
Seems to be an improvement... at least my girlfriend is not shouting at me that she cant hear me anymore! Which is nice.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ballmead:
You people with mic issues, are you using a cover on the phone?

My old S2 had the same muffled voice problem and it was caused by full covers.

Take the cover off and try again.

Sent from my Nexus 5
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] exxpired:
Had the issue before my case even got delivered :(
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] exxpired:
Just left myself a voicemail...Seems like its fixed with 4.4.1 :D Will do some more testing.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] murtezahu:
that is good news... we be updating when I get home, will report back
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] exxpired:
Just left myself a few more voicemails..all seems well :D
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] murtezahu:
its definitely better... i still wouldnt say its good quality though... but much improved.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mp187263:
For me, the issue came on suddenly after about 3 weeks of regular use and was not there when I first got the phone. I turned off the noise cancellation and was getting terrible echo and static / feedback. Strangely enough what worked was disabling noise cancellation, rebooting, enabling it and rebooting again. After that it went back to normal and it's been fine so far.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] borchgrevink:
How did you do that?
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mp187263:
If you're rooted you can do this by editing build.prop as described earlier in the thread.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] borchgrevink:
Thank you. You had issues with sound in video recording too?
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mp187263:
Never tried it, so just with voice calls. But you could try enabling noise cancellation on the secondary mic and see if that helps.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] borchgrevink:
Thank you. Could you please try recording with low background sound? Try speaking with low voice from time to time.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mp187263:
It's working perfectly in a low background noise situation and being close (1-2 ft.) to the device. Version 4.2.2
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] denis23ru:
And is there a chance to fix noise cancelation microphone to do less noise canceling during phone calls? Some kind of mod or patch?
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Nikon5400:
new nexus 5 with bigger holes

Got my phone mid November. Now on 4.4.2, issue from day one.

Have anyone gotten the new version of nexus 5 with bigger holes? If so, has it been fixed?

My N5 is from sprint, so I have to send it in for replacement. I wish I could get replacement first, like most of you and compare.

Thanks.

P.S. I left myself dozens of messages from T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T store. The only phone sounds worse than N5 was Sprint's G2. All samsungs, Nokias Moto, HTC -sound better. So, if you think your N5 doesn't have this issue, please compare to other devices and see if you are really lucky or just a loud talker :)
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] niteowl360:
covering mic

I tested today covering the noise cancelling mike and the person on the other end confirmed voice much clearer and louder when mic covered...
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Mischaseb:
any news on this issue? I RMA'd my first phone and the replacement has been no better.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] niteowl360:
Do you have serial 312?

From my research that's the device that best fixes this issue..

Thanks
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Mischaseb:
Nope... Replacement device serial starts with 049
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] niteowl360:
I think you need to look on the box directly.

Should be either 310, 311 or 312
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Mischaseb:
It's a 311 :|
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] niteowl360:
Essentially the 3 stands for the year being 2013.

The 11 refers to the month.

From my research the 12 version being December manufacture date seems to have fixed the mic issues.

You can also check the hardware version by shutting down your device and while off press the power button and volume down button together to load the boot screen.

There you can see the hardware version number.

Then press the power button only to continue normal booting.

Take care doing this because incorrect pressing of the volume buttons may wipe your device.

In conclusion it would seem that the serial numbers 310, 311, 312 are purely indicative of when the device was manufactured and bears no relation to any hardware change.

One would assume 312 would be the newer hardware form, but this may not necessarily be the case.

However to reiterate, any mic fixing that I've seen seems to be applicable to the 312 manufactured devices.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Nikon5400:
Serial Number?

Where? I see 031. This is Sprint version used on T-Mobile
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] niteowl360:
On the box itself under S/N serial number.

Or as per above post.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Nikon5400:
Where? (again, this is sprint box)
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kejlabal:
The 312 is still having the issue, i have one.

---------- Post added at 12:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:03 PM ----------

To anyone having this issue, does your case cover the hole on top of the nexus ? near the Jack connector ?

Thanks
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] niteowl360:
That's what I was afraid of.

Seems not to be related to date of manufacture!

Many claim there are no hardware changes, simply differing standards of manufacture.

I covered up the Noise Cancelling mic with tape which seemed better.

However once I removed the tape after a few weeks, seemed the same as when the tape was on.

Since the phone quality is intermittent, it's difficult to make exact conclusions.

I have returned the phone I purchased to the seller.

Might re-purchase through Orange and use their returns policy should the next device be a problem.

Just an interesting thought, wondering if the issue seems to be primarily on the 32Gb device.

The seller had a white phone himself, 32Gb which had the same bad quality in call issue as was evident on my 32Gb black device.

He has a 310 serial number, I had the 311 serial number.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] alexdumitru:
I can confirm that. Just got a 312 today and it has the issue.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Nikon5400:
Google doesn't care...

I ended up returning Sprint version and got one from Google. Sprint version DOES NOT have serial number on the box.

The one I got from google is 312. Same issue, higher cost. I'll either keep RMAing it every 2 weeks until I get something different or just return it. Every time I'm on the phone I am asked to repeat myself at least once. This is unacceptable.

Call google and complain. I bet you they "never heard of this issue".
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] markdapimp:
Sorry to say but my Nexus 5 is perfect its a launch day nexus 5 310k

my dad has a 401K :eek:!

401k units seem perfect every time I use my n5 with his I just seem to find little flaws best of all his unit seems to have no light bleed at all except near the bottom where the home button is its not noticeable

And theres a manufacturing date on the box I think

Overall I don't see this issue on my n5 or his.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] niteowl360:
I returned mine because in most calls the other person would not be able to hear me at times, or my voice sounded underwater.

I had 311 device manufactured 2013 November.

Being in SA I can't easily return devices.

Will try order another one from Orange but unfortunately, they can't confirm in advance the ser number.

Presumably more recent ones may be better.

Certainly the in call issues apply to some 310, 311 and 312........
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Nikon5400:
Please do this test

If you think your phone does not have issues with microphone, please do this test.

1. get another phone to compare (Preferably Samsung Galaxy, as that's the one I compared against. But if not, please use both N5s you have)

2. set both phones on the desk, right next to each other

3. call some other line from both of these phones at the same time, reject calls or don't pick up the ringing phone so you can leave messages (you'll end up with 2 identical messages)

4. start talking like you normally talk on the phone, not louder!!!...... DO NOT USE SPEAKERPHONE!!!

5. talk with mics a couple inches away, then move away by a few inches, move a foot away if that's how you may be using your phone in real life

6. compare the 2 messages.

If your N5 message doesn't sound like garbage when you are 4 inches away and if you can still hear your message fine when you are 8 inches away, then you are very lucky.... and if that's the case, please tell us if that's with 401 or 310 or both. Thanks
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] markdapimp:
They sound the same its i compared my n5 and my dads N5 then i compared both the Nexus 5 against my iphone 5c

Sound similar just the iphone sounding a bit crisper that's all
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Nikon5400:
If you can please follow the steps and then report back, I"d really appreciate it.

With my steps you are comparing THE SAME MESSAGE left by two phones at the same time from the same distance. It is very important to compare 2" away, 4" away, 6" away, etc....

Testing phones any other way is not really the same test.

Thanks

P.S. Since you also have an iphone, it'd be nice if you compare N5 (one or both, all 3 at the same time) to iphone. Even-though I didn't compare to iphone, but if you can't hear your messages from 6" away on iphone, then it works just as bad as N5 (just as bad when comparing to samsungs)
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] markdapimp:
i already stated above they sound the same, it sounds like Verizon when leaving a voice mail

however when i do a phone call it sound really nice Upon further investigation it appears HD voice does not apply to voice mail only direct HD Voice to HD voice handsets that do answer
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Nikon5400:
Can you please tell me how you tested? Did you call a 3rd line from N5 and iphone

at the same time

and end up with

2 identical messages

on that 3rd line? Did you have your mouth 2,4,6, etc inches away from phones (assuming you talked to more than one phone at once)? Could you hear messages left with N5 from more than 6" inches away (talking like you normally do, not louder, with speakerphone OFF)

Thanks

P.S. I was told by google that the test script I have (above) is excellent and NOW they can clearly see the issue. That's why the steps I outlined are the ones I'm concerned with. If you are not having 2 or more phones on your desk at the time when you leave a message (essensially leaveing 2 or more identcal messages), you are not testing it right
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] markdapimp:
I used both a iphone and nexus 5 at the same time i called with the iPhone my dads N5 and the nexus 5 calling my landline

I held both phones on each side and i positioned them about the same from 2,4,6 inches away then i proceeded to go from inches to feet 3 feet was max on nexus 5 and iphone you could still hear barely at 4 feet
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Nikon5400:
Just to make sure I understand -

1. You did not have your phones on a desk, both being equal distance from you mouth, you had them on each side of your face. Correct?

2. You positioned them "about the same", but again they were not on your desk, so it's not exactly the same

3. You didn't call the same line, you called your dad's phone and land-line. Doesn't really matter, but if you called the same line you would have the same answering machine\voicemail recording your call, which I think would be better

4. You could still hear your voicemessage from N5 from 3 feet away while you were talking normally, just as loud as you do when your phone is touching your ear... and you DID NOT use speakerphone.???? If that's the case, then your phone is working much better than all the onesI tried!!!! (as long as you did not use speakerphone, if you did, then the test is worthless). If that's really the case, I'm not even sure which phone works as designed, yours or all the ones I tired :)

The difference between the way N5 and Galaxy work is that with Galaxy the microphone sensitivity with speakerphone is the same as without. With N5s I tried you must use spekerphone if you want to be heard from more than 6 inches away. If your phone works differently, then I'd say you got a very good one.
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] markdapimp:
No speaker phone was used at all in the test. the only real difference between everyone elses phone you have tested is the box both mine and my dad were from T-Mobile and besides the LG logo it has a T-Mobile branding on the side of the box. perhaps these units are quality control tested by the carrier?
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Nikon5400:
I doubt it. I checked T-Mobile displays - they didn't sound good either. But now that you mentioned it, I may go to tmobile store and compare it to mine following my steps.

You didn't have your phones on the desk, did you? If not, how did you manage to get them 3-4ft away from your face?
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] markdapimp:
they were placed on a desk during that test. if you want i can somehow extract the voice recording from my nexus 5 somehow..
[Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Nikon5400:
If you could upload 2 identical messages left from your N5 and iphone at the same time that would be great. If within those messages you could say how far you are from mic (like I'm 2 inches away, now I'm 4 inches away, 6 inches, 1 foot, etc) that would be awesome. Just please make sure you always speak as if your phone is next to your ear (not louder) and you do not use speakerphone. If I (and I guess others) would know for a fact this issue is not with every phone, we'd keep RMAing our phones until we get a good one.

I may stop by T-Mobile store and do this test myself, comparing T-Mobile's display to my phone. Hope they won't have loud music playing at the store.

Thanks