Called party cannot hear me very well...

[silverman166]

Sony Xperia Z2, recently acquired second-hand, with Android 6.0.1 installed.
Call recipients complain of great difficulty in hearing my call.
Starting in Safe Mode does not make any difference. Microphone 'holes' seem clear of obstruction. Microphone noise suppression on or off makes no difference.

Ideas, anyone, please?

 

[lvt]

Try to record a song with your phone, if your voice is clear then it should be the network.

How many people did you called?

 

[silverman166]

Thanks. lvt, that was a brilliant suggestion. The recording I did was indeed very faint, and proves, to my mind at least, that there is a fault with the phone.
I had called a couple of people, then done some trials at home and confirmed the problem.
Do you have any idea as to what could be wrong? Sounds as if it could be expensive!?
I was aware when I bought it that the back kept coming off, but until I received it I didn't realise that they were originally 'permanently' attached, as all my previous phones had removable backs for battery replacement and sim card insertion etc. I can only conclude that someone has tried to work on it before.

 

[lvt]

Personally I would do a factory reset to see if the microphone works correctly.

If the problem persists you might wants to have it replaced. This part is available on eBay for a couple of bucks.

 

[lvt]

Other solution is to make calls using a wired or bluetooth headset. If this method works well then it could be the microphone's fault.

 

[silverman166]

OK, thanks.
I believe it had been already factory reset when I got it. Unfortunately I don't have a headset to try that!
I'm in contact with Sony support and am currently waiting for a diagnostic "in case there's a software issue".

 

[silverman166]

Diagnostics confirm there is a problem with the microphone. I'm reasonably competent with electronics and am wondering if I can do the repair myself.There are lots for sale on ebay in the uk, all at varying prices. How to choose, apart from assuming when brand says Sony it is genuine, but how to know it will be OK??!! I see there is info on the web, but would you recommend doing it myself, and if so are there any pitfalls I should be aware of, please?

 

[silverman166]

Before sending away for repair, I repeated the microphone test and found I could hear it but faintly. I then made another outgoing call, speaking this time directly into the microphone itself, and it heard OK. Thereafter, it appears to be functioning normally now, holding the phone as normal!!
Some sort of blockage in the port, which was not visible??
Anyway, I've saved some money here, but spent around 2 hours on it!
Thanks for your time and interest, and sorry to have wasted your time.

 

[lvt]

Glad to hear it worked.