Calls going silent

[Penny_1]

Hey Guys & Gals,

Not sure if this is the appropriate place, but I wanted to know if anybody else was having a similar problem. If so, I'll move this into the Bugs & Defects thread.

The problem I'm having is that quite a few of my calls lately have been going completely silent after the call's already started. In other words, I start a conversation with somebody, and then less than a minute into the conversation, I can't hear them anymore even though they're still hearing me. This doesn't happen on every call, but it's happening often enough where it is definitely frustrating, especially because many of my calls tend to be work-related. It did not happen at all for the first few weeks I had the phone, but I just started noticing it this past Sunday. My previous phone (HTC Trophy), never had any of these problems and I'm making all of the calls from the same locations I always have (home and office in Los Angeles, California).

The only variables I can think to test for at this point are LTE signal quality (1 bar vs. 3-5 bars), and earpiece vs. speakerphone. Please let me know if you guys have any suggestions or if anybody else is experiencing this as well.

Update:
I was on a half-hour conference call this evening, and it seems like the problem is indeed the earpiece. Same problem occurred that I described earlier in this forum, the phone just suddenly went silent and I couldn't hear anybody on the call. Turned on the speakerphone not really expecting any results, but surprisingly the voices came back. Tried turning the speakerphone on and off several times throughout the call, and every time I would only be able to hear through the earpiece for a few seconds, and then it would go silent. Speakerphone worked fine throughout. Have not dropped my phone once or gotten it damaged by water in the three weeks that I have owned it, so it does seem to be a manufacturing defect. Does anybody know if I can go back to Verizon to get it exchanged if it has been over 14 days and I didn't purchase insurance, or do I have to go to Nokia now?

 

[Bull3232]

I am starting to have the same exact problem.. Started yesterday, on and off. It's been fine as of late. Maybe just a hiccup, will keep you updated. Let me know what you find.

 

[carolinesami]

i have the exact same problem happened today, it starts at the beginning of the call as it rings or in the middle of the calls. it suddenley goes silent and the other part cannot hear me as well, loudspeaker is working and when i plug in a headset it works, and after i plug out the headset the phone is working for few more mins then it goes silent all over again ! i did soft reset, hard reset, it didnt work

 

[Penny_1]

For anybody starting to or continuing to experience this problem (seems to be happening to more people now), I found that in my case it was a hardware issue. I got my phone replaced through Verizon and the replacement unit has been working great for the 3 weeks or so I've had it.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but unless someone can tie this problem to a software issue that manifests over time (in every situation I've seen so far, the individual has owned the phone for at least weeks before experiencing it), the only solution I know of so far is to get your phone replaced.

 

[daveakowalski]

As far as I can tell, after replacing my first two devices under warranty, there is a physical issue happening which causes this.

When I first noticed the issue, it was intermittent, and I thought it was related to signal quality. What I noticed was that the issue had a higher occurrence when using my phone in between my shoulder and my ear (you know, the old school "hands free" method).

I put a YouTube video on my PC through some headphones, put the earpiece next to the mic on my ATT phone, called the 928 and started doing some testing. There was in fact certain points on the back of the device that I could physically push on during the call which would cause the audio through the handset earpiece to cut in and out. If it was cut out and I couldn't hear anything, I could depress the back of the chassis next to the metal frame surrounding the camera lens on either side, and it would restore audio; I could also similarly do this if the sound was working well and I pressed it in the sweet spot, it would cut out.

This indicated to me that there was a physical connectivity problem. Having never seen a dissected 928, nor taking the time to rip mine apart (which will probably happen the day something breaks and my warranty is no longer valid), I'm not sure how the earpiece is attached to the phone's mainboard, but I would suspect there is some type of physical connection located in the area around the "Zeiss" text on the metal camera lens frame.

This week I have just received my third 928, and knowing about this issue, I inspected the old unit and the new unit side by side. What I couldn't detect visually was something I noticed by touch -- feeling the bottom edge of the lens frame (holding the phone upright in a portait orientation) felt very different between the defective unit and my new one. On the defective unit, the metal frame had receded into the polycarbonate chassis, or in other words the metal frame at the bottom was actually slightly below the poly shell. On the new unit, it is the opposite -- the metal lens frame sits slightly above the poly shell.

As the majority of the lens frame sits above the poly shell, and on the defective unit it was just the bottom edge which was receding, I am assuming there was some physical force which depressed the metal frame into the shell which subsequently damaged a physical connection for the earpiece.

That being said, I treat my phone like a newborn baby; there has been no drops, liquid damage, throwing, tossing, slamming, kicking slapping punching etc. to the device. My best guess is that this resulted from the phone being in my pocket and then the metal lens frame being leaned against (against a counter in the kitchen while putting away dishes, getting sandwiched between my leg and the arm of my office chair, etc.).

I don't think that the occasional pressure on the back of your phone should be enough to completely destabilize the earpiece, but what do I know. I love my 928, and I don't want to part with it until a better Lumia becomes available on Verizon, but now I am hypersensitive and freaked out about repeating the incident for a third time. The build quality of my iPhone is unrivaled by any other device I've got my hands on, and I just couldn't imagine Apple's new 5c implementing a poly shell and having this occur. Then again, I know more than one person who have outright snapped their display on the Samsung Galaxy S4 from similar in the pocket leaning/bumps that we all suspect our phones to survive and would very comfortably classify under "regular usage".

tl;dr -- My theory is there is a physical connectivity issue between the earpiece and the mainboard; you can test this if you have the issue by depressing the back of the case near either/both sides of the lens frame near the "Zeiss". It is most likely caused as best as I can tell as a result of pressure being applied to the back of the phone from leaning on it with it in your pocket. Shoddy build quality IMO, but at least it's not a Samsung GS4.

 

[Marconis4]

It's a loose wire, or something similar. This was happening on my first 928...if I put pressure on the back right of the device, the voice would come back. All said above.

 

[Penny_1]

Yep, I've had pretty much the same observations as you guys above. On my second unit that turned out defective, I learned to keep my finger pressed firmly against the back of the phone (near the camera lens, to the right of it and slightly above) to keep the audio going. I did not however pay attention to how even the ceramic lens area was with the surrounding polycarbonate shell, so that's something I'll keep a look out for this time around.

 

[JudgeHolden]

Yeah, this happened with phone #1. I would squeeze the back which usually worked, likely indicating a loose wire.
When it happened with phone #2 I realized that if you squeeze the top right corner there's a little give. The give is not there on any other corner. If I squeeze where there's give on the phone, like Penny does, I can usually hear. I'll get at least 14 out of every 15 words.

In any case, it's a defect and I returned phone #2 today. Phone #3 was defective out of the box, so I'm technically on phone #4.

 

[fuclosure]

i thought i was just crazy. i have been having this same issue for a month now. question is, what do i do about it?

 

[Marconis4]

i thought i was just crazy. i have been having this same issue for a month now. question is, what do i do about it?

Get a replacement phone because it won't go away. In fact, it will start to get worse. Your index finger will thank you for it.

 

[SomethingSomethingDarkSide]

I have the same problem as well, as well as the issue with the top right corner

 

[awilliams1701]

I've been having an issue where the calls cut in and out. The signal is fine as far as I can tell. I thought it was a problem with the tower. This thread makes me wonder if its an issue with the phone though. The top right corner of the phone is slightly loose on mine.

 

[awilliams1701]

I've confirmed this is definitely my problem. bluetooth calling works fine. How does the replacement work? Do I go to a Verizon store and they give me a new phone, or do I end up with a temporary phone or what? Other than this issue, I love the 928 and wouldn't want to change unless it was to an even better WP.

Get a replacement phone because it won't go away. In fact, it will start to get worse. Your index finger will thank you for it.

 

[Penny_1]

I've confirmed this is definitely my problem. bluetooth calling works fine. How does the replacement work? Do I go to a Verizon store and they give me a new phone, or do I end up with a temporary phone or what? Other than this issue, I love the 928 and wouldn't want to change unless it was to an even better WP.

For a replacement, you put in an order with Verizon to get a free replacement. You can do this over the phone or in the store. Once you request that replacement, they will ship it out to you (and it will usually be a refurbished unit, but should be working like new). After you receive the replacement, you have 5 days to switch over to it, test it out, and ship back your current unit with the provided return shipping label. The entire process will be free for you, and you will not be without a phone at any time in the process. Good luck, hope it works out for you!

 

[WarDamnEagle09]

I lost my initial Lumia 928 and had to get a replacement from Asurion. I'm on about my 5 or 6th replacement. After two to three weeks of use my ear piece starts failing. I do use the headphone jack everyday so like others have speculated I believe it's related. I don't think the speaker itself breaks, I believe the phone has a hard time determining whether or not headphones are plugged in. It's truly terrible.

My newest replacement has different feel (the power button is much taller), hopefully this one is from a different batch and they resolved this issue. Just got it last Friday, so I'll know in about 2 weeks.

 

[awilliams1701]

Interesting. I'm forbidden from using bluetooth at work, so I use the headphone jack a lot. However now that I have a car with bluetooth support, I'm using the jack about 50% of the time that I was before.

I lost my initial Lumia 928 and had to get a replacement from Asurion. I'm on about my 5 or 6th replacement. After two to three weeks of use my ear piece starts failing. I do use the headphone jack everyday so like others have speculated I believe it's related. I don't think the speaker itself breaks, I believe the phone has a hard time determining whether or not headphones are plugged in. It's truly terrible.

My newest replacement has different feel (the power button is much taller), hopefully this one is from a different batch and they resolved this issue. Just got it last Friday, so I'll know in about 2 weeks.

 

[Robinsonmac]

Just ordered a replacement. I just lost all sound in my earpiece as well. I thought it was bad signal previously as it would only happen intermittently. Where is the 929 this would be a great reason to get it now....