W10M exposes broken microphones on Lumia 930

QuadraFX

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This is just great. Since my 920 isn't getting Win10 I decided to buy a 930 even though my 920 is working perfectly. Found one in great condition, updated it to Windows 10 and surprise surprise... mics 3&4 don't work so no speaker functionality, no audio on video recordings and so on. Really hope Microsoft will issue a firmware/OS update to support this although they probably don't have any incentive to do this.

This is HARDWARE fault, how many times do we have to explain this ? The only way is to repair the phone at the service centre, no OS update will fix this.
 

eusty

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This is HARDWARE fault, how many times do we have to explain this ?

Correct! It's just a difference in the way WP8.1 and WM10 uses the mics which makes them appear broken or different. But at the end of the day they stay broken whatever you do until they are replaced.
 

jez_j

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I did the test and found out that mic 3 & 4 are faulty. Sent it off for repair, and due to a <1mm chip on the top right corner, microsoft have refused to repair the hardware fault.

Escalated it via email and the complaints department called me a week later just to basically reel off the T&C and said I have to pay to fix it due to 'Mechanical Damage'. I explained the reddit post by mvaneerde and that the Win10 upgrade caused the fault to become apparent, but didn't get any movement at all.

Seems to me it should be clear-cut. If I buy a car with an engine defect, I wouldn't expect the manufacturer to wash their hands of it due to a chip on the windscreen......
 

lyndonjohn

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I have been a loyal windows phone fan since its inception and I feel sad, disappointed and frustrated at the same time to leave windows phone because of this. To think that Lumia 930 was a high end device, and this defect is not fair to all 930 users. I have switched to iPhone and while using the device, I have realized that the quality between wp and iPhone is too damn high. Especially the customer service.
 

QuadraFX

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I have been a loyal windows phone fan since its inception and I feel sad, disappointed and frustrated at the same time to leave windows phone because of this. To think that Lumia 930 was a high end device, and this defect is not fair to all 930 users. I have switched to iPhone and while using the device, I have realized that the quality between wp and iPhone is too damn high. Especially the customer service.

Yes, I agree. Microsoft has really good customer service, the best I ever experienced. They do not tell you to pay excessive amount of money for outdated technologies like Apple does.
 

Chomiq

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Sorry but judging by the amount of users experiencing issues involving screen lift or microphone failures on 930 alone Microsoft should have enforced a recall on affected devices long time ago. That would be a good customer service.
 

jez_j

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What annoyed me the most was that their escalation team didn't read any of the previous correspondence, refused to even engage me in conversation relating to the issue and just kept reeling off part 3.5 from the limited warranty (Although it states cracking etc. is not covered under warranty, nowhere does it state other faults would not be fixed and the warranty would be wholly void if there was any damage.)

I even asked him to confirm that MS were refusing to repair a inherent design flaw due to a non-associated tiny chip on the corner of the screen, to which he replied 'Yes, you will need to pay for out-of-warranty repair'

I don't really care that much about the phone now as I bought a 950 before sending the 930 off, but its the principle of the matter and it's going to make me wary buying MS hardware in the future if they can't support their customer base when they make a mistake.
 

QuadraFX

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Sorry but judging by the amount of users experiencing issues involving screen lift or microphone failures on 930 alone Microsoft should have enforced a recall on affected devices long time ago. That would be a good customer service.

If you experience any problems with your device, you can have it repaired. What's the point in "enforcing a recall" if any faulty device can just be repaired ?
 

Chomiq

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Because by enforcing a recall MS would admit that there is an actual design flaw in 930 and that some units suffer the consequences of that bad design. Then it wouldn't be a case of users thinking that software update can fix bad design or physical failure of microphones, nor they'd have to worry if their issues will be resolved by warranty repair, not to mention the fact that said warranty might have already expired by the time that issues popped up.
Think of Nikon D750 issues and how Nikon handled that situation.
 

QuadraFX

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Because by enforcing a recall MS would admit that there is an actual design flaw in 930 and that some units suffer the consequences of that bad design. Then it wouldn't be a case of users thinking that software update can fix bad design or physical failure of microphones, nor they'd have to worry if their issues will be resolved by warranty repair, not to mention the fact that said warranty might have already expired by the time that issues popped up.
Think of Nikon D750 issues and how Nikon handled that situation.

Well... But the service points do not deny that the delivered phone is faulty but repair them. And it is just users that try to avoid normal way of solving problems with the phone, thinking that they can "flash something and then reflash something else" and have their phone repaired at home.
The Internet makes people lazy and sometimes just dumb. Like with health problems, when you feel ill, you go to the doctor, right ? But of course, there is a lot of people that will google for some solutions given by Internet Wise Men.
 

lyndonjohn

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Sadly, customer service/repair service of MS in other countries, like some provinces here in the Philippines, is very poor. Its either they will offer you to replace the phone with a different phone or send the device for repair which could take at least a month. Seriously? 1 month? Good thing if you have a secondary phone. What bothers me, aside from repair service, is how in a world did MS let that "mic defect" pass in QA? Knowing that Lumia 930 was considered to be a high end device. This is not just a minor issue, this is a massive because almost 930 users are experiencing this. I want MS to know that they just lost a loyal customer because of this and I know, I'm not the only one.
 

Chomiq

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Well... But the service points do not deny that the delivered phone is faulty but repair them. And it is just users that try to avoid normal way of solving problems with the phone, thinking that they can "flash something and then reflash something else" and have their phone repaired at home.
The Internet makes people lazy and sometimes just dumb. Like with health problems, when you feel ill, you go to the doctor, right ? But of course, there is a lot of people that will google for some solutions given by Internet Wise Men.
Right, except my phone already came back once from warranty repair due to screen lift issues with "flashed new firmware" as a solution. A solution to screen physically lifting above the frame.
 

Beercules

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Well, I will try to explain my situation, which is kinda strange.

930 was running 8.1 denim
Put a call on speaker - works
Video sound - works
Shazam - works

Installed W10 via Insider program
Put a call on speaker - does not work
Video sound - does not work
Shazam - does not work
Had few hard resets during the update on builds - no change.

Official W10 showed up. Rolled back to 8.1 and updated to W10 via regular update
Put a call on speaker - does not work
Video sound - works
Shazam - does not work

Strange, because it does not seem to be hardware failure... I will try to check microphones later today and will keep you informed.

Now as I think, I should have checked when rollbacked to 8.1, before updating to W10. (facepalm)
 
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Beercules

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That's because 8.1 used different microphone for recording audio when on speaker phone.

Read my post again... How come video was recorded with no sound on W10 Inside with various builds and 3-4 hard resets and it came back working on normal W10? But only video record sound..

As I checked the microphones - 3rd and 4th failed...
 

Chomiq

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I was talking about speaker phone issues.

As for no audio in video it was already discussed numerous times here. When you migrate from 8.1 to W10 and restore backup from 8.1 it somehow breaks the audio in video, on the software side. If you perform a hardware reset without restoring backup audio in video comes back. Doesn't change the fact that:
a) under W10 voice recorder (and probably speakerphone) uses wrong microphone for recording audio, it uses mic4 instead of mic1
b) those that have no audio on speakerphone or in voice recorder have physically broken mic4, because other users report no issues after performing hardware reset.

Microphone checks are done offline to say, they are independent from the OS running on the device. If you have issues at that point it means that those microphones are broken.

My 930 suffered those issues long before I even installed W10M on it. Mic #4 had low audio level in nokia care suit almost half a year ago. Voice recognition worked back then because it used proper microphones. Windows 10 Mobile only exposes those issues because it's using different microphones for some functions. It doesn't do anything with hardware.

Be sure to check mic3 again, it's the one on top back. Mine is recording at proper levels, that's why I sort of have stereo in my videos, it's just that it's kind of a back left channel.
 

hyrific

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I found this thread on search. Have a Lumia 929. My Main mic is bad and on W10 really annoying not able to sue regular phone calls or Cortana. So I ordered two mics from China for a few bucks. I will let you all know how it goes replacement them. My phone is out of warranty and I have opened it up before to fix the wireless charging. The mic Part is supposedly found here:for Nokia lumia 929 930 microphone flex cable.Original ,free shipping-in Mobile Phone Flex Cables from Phones & Telecommunications on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

I very much like WM over Android and Apple (tried a galaxy S5 for a month and just couldn't take it anymore so slow to get into and out of anything) So lets see if I can make this happen. If any of you successfully take your phones apart and replace the mic any guidance would be appreciated.
 

gourav mopidevi

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i'm from india.I love nokia, when my friend was going to visit Hongkong i requested him to bring Nokia Lumia 930(special edition) which he did :)

it was fine on win 8.1 but when i installed win 10 then i found like many L930 users out of 4 some mic's was not working..

Q) when was mic broken ?
A) we got L930 with Win8.1 pre installed...we got an update Denim well i'm sure this update messed mic.

Q) what are the infamous problem L930 users are facing regarding mic ?
A) 1) if use speaker while on call other end can't hear our voice,voice recorder can't record any voice,whats app audio recorder can't record voice to send.
2) can't hear any voice in recorded video while playback...i mean video recording have no voice.

Q) is it software problem or Hardware problem?
A) it is hardware problem live with it....it's not software.

Q) but i heard sound while recording on win 8.1 with Lumia camera? it's all win 10 inbuilt camera fault?
A) yes, we have sound on win 8.1/win 10 with lumia camera because lumia camera use different array of mic in different scenario...for eg: we dont get sound when we record video in portrait mode..etc

Q) How many mic's are there? where are they situated? which one is crused?
A) Four mics, out of which two are soldered on board, one behind earpiece another one back top most...other two are flex cable mic one front bottom another one back bottom.....well it depends and hard to find....many says it's on board mic,some says its back two, some says only two.

Q) whats in you're case?
A) well in my case...it's bit complicated...here is my experience...i ordered two orginal on board mic...i changed them when i'm on win 10...after changing i got sound but only mono...i mean while video playback,plug in headset then i can hear only on right ear plug where as left one is complete mute.

Q) I've very low sound recording from some mic?
A) whatever it's still broken.

Q) How to test which mic is broken?
A) Well many suggesting to use Lumia test application 6.0.9....in my case it failed,how? well before repair it said 3 & 4 are broken after repair it still says 3 & 4 are broken. for some people it showed all mic are working fine...this take me to next question.

Q) Does changing mic solve problem permanently?
A) No, it just solve temporarily.

Q) How you know it doesn't solve permanently?
A) well 2days back i installed win 8.1 using windows recovery tool...i checked video recording and playback...it had no sound :(...then i installed denim otp update i guess i got sound then i installed win 10 lost sound came to initial state...

Q) what i suggest?
A) If possible Change whole motherboard dont change faulty mic..
If possible just throw it or sell it...doesn't worth time.
less on budget or want to replace only mic....fine replace it on win 10...never ever go back to win 8.1.

Q) What i think?
A) Denim changed how mic's are used to record video in return many handsets caused some circuit fault which enable in failure of mic.
Microsoft doesn't want to take responsibility...so we left with unreliable A**H*** company....i hope i bought Apple..i just blinded by
fanism...my first smartphone was S3 never got a single problem from past 4yrs.
sad part i have warranty but in HongKong which is not valid in India :( i'm very low on budget so i will use this piece of useless sh** untill
2017 nov then i will buy iphone 7s/8...or i will wait for 4/5 months of flagship Lumia release before buying..

i just want effected users to make something viral so that microsoft fall on their knees,listen to us,acknowledge us, solve our problem same li apple step up to solve their customers problem..

Thank you.
 

Chomiq

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So to update. My phone came back from warranty "repair". It took 2 weeks for European Service Center IQOR to "fix" the issue. Phone came back with... exchanged torx screw. Microphone 4 is dead, just like it was. Tested with Lumia Test App. Microphone 3 records audio at lower volume. Screen lift is there, but how it's not suppose to be there if they only exchanged one torx screw. It's the adhesive that keeps the screen in place, not some torx screw.
Immediately contacted Microsoft on facebook, I guess one post describing the "quality" of warranty service is enough to get their attention. They've opened a new ticket for me and apologized for quality of service. We'll see what future brings.
 

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