n900 Voice Quality
 

I have had the n900 for several days now. I know Nokia tech support is worthless when it comes to this phone. All they want is for me to send it to them without asking me any questions.

Currently everything is working ok but phone calls. While talking on the phone, the sound of the person on the other end keeps fading in and out during the call. I am constantly asking people to repeat themselves. This happens on normal, Speaker, and bluetooth. Three different sim card. Changed mode to gsm only and 3g only, but still I cant use the phone as a phone.

************************
Update 01/06/2010
***********
I fixed the problem by reinstalling the firmware through the Nokia Updater Software. Thought it wasn't going to work since I'm running Win7x64 but managed to get the Updater to load.

Voice Quality is Excellent!

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

That's not a general issue. Quite on the contrary, I find the voice quality remarkably good on the N900, both with GSM/3G and VoIP.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I agree it was very good but I was asking if anyone else experienced this issue. If not I'll send it back and order a new one.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

Nope, no voice fading in and out issue on my N900. Sadly you may have gotten a lemon.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

My N900 suffers from the same problem. I bought mine from Amazon. Should I send it back? Otherwise, I love it.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

Im actually surprised with the good quality

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I bought mine from Amazon. No problems at all. Very good voice quality.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

voice quality far surpasses my n95...you may have gotten a bad one.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

Excellent voice quality for me, GSM or VOIP. I was very pleasantly surprised - though I know I shouldn't have been.

I've had no trouble with the speakerphone either.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

No "quality" issues with sound/calls, just an overall "lower volume" than I'd like on both ear and speaker...this coming from a VoIP engineer.

Are you having the problems when calling land lines as well as other cell phones?

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

The "quality" of mine is fine as well but I do have an issue with low volume. On every call, I have to put the volume on max and its still low. I know there is another thread about that issue. I hope its something that they will fix.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I was using the HTC Diamond 2 before I switched to N900 and have had comments by 3 people as to amazingly better this phone sounds in comparison. Infact the blueooth has the longest range of any other device I have used recently!

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I occassionally have the volume fade from quiet to decent when the volume is max... is it cause its bouncing from 2g to 3g?

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

The quality on my phone is pretty good. The speaker is very nice sounding, if you can say that.

Apparently the mic is extremely sensitive compared to my old phone because now people are always asking if I have company over when the TV is on. I typically kept the TV volume turned up on my old phone because no one heard it and I could hear them fine.

I wonder if there is a way to "bring in" the mic so more distant sounds are excluded from the transmission?

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I have found that pretty much every N series phone in the last several years suffers from this problem. They have good call quality. BUT in settings with background noise (even mild background noise), the mic picks up and overampifies the noise to a degree that can be really annoying to callers.

I'm trying out an N86 right now and it suffers terribly from this problem. But I've also seen this on the N73, N79, N80, N82, N95. And I've read elsewhere that the N900 is no different.

Nokia just seems to accept "good enough." Although I see the 6270 Classic and E72 have noise cancellation, so maybe in the future Nokia will doing something about this. But there's no excuse. Noise cancellation is not a new technology. Motorola has put it in their phones (Crystal Talk) for years and even midrange Motorola phones are supposed to perform great in this respect. I don't know what Nokia's problem is.

It's a big disappointment for me, because I'm really interested in the N900, but I need it to work okay as a phone in noisy settings (on the street, in cafes). I'm out in the world a lot and that is afterall the point of cell phones, to be phones when your out and about.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

The voice quality was 10/10 for me. My other phone is like 6/10. I can not believe how crystal clear the voice is.....!!

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I've had an issue with voice quality

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=37207

Fortunately it seems to be only me! :)

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I'm talking about a very specific thing with voice quality, which is how the phone handles background noise in a noisy setting on outgoing audio.

My experience is that Nokai N series phones have very good voice quality in terms of audio quality in the earpiece and quality of the reproduction of my voice from the microphone.

But in noisy settings Nokia has really bad noise cancellation. Its microphones pick up the background noise and overamplify it, so that my callers hear all kinds of clatter behind my voice.

So I'd say go out and test your phone in a noisy restaurant or cafe and see what your caller says. I've seen people report in other forums that the N900 is just as bad as every other N series phone in this respect. I think when people say voice quality is good for them on the N900, they're not talking about the specific situation that I'm addressing.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I have two N900's ATM and both have the best voice call quality of any "phone" I have used- including G1 and Droid (have or had them too).

My issue with both N900's for phone function is weak reception in low signal areas and slooow reacquisition when signal is lost, on both N900's. Others are having great reception, so great for them:)

I would gladly trade some of that crystal clear quality for better recption in low 2G areas ;)

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

Again, I'm only talking about how the N900 handles background noise, in noisy settings. Have you specifically tested the N900 for noise cancellation in those settings?

My experience is that Nokias indeed do have excellent call quality in general. But in noisy settings they do not handle background noise well.

Usually, when I post about this, people write back and say, my call quality is great! But they are just talking in general and not specifically testing the phone in a noisy setting. And they have never bothered to ask their caller how the background noise sounds to them.

I've read reports elsewhere that the N900 has this problem, like every other N series phone of the last several years.

I did go test the Droid compared to a N86 I have right now. My result was that the N86 has very high fidelty audio quality, both in the earpiece and for reproducing my voice to callers. It is distinctly better than the Droid, in this regard. **BUT** in a noisy setting the Droid hands down was night and day better than the N86. The Droid, which has dual microphone noise cancelling technology, totally blocked out background noise. The N86 overamplified this noise and created all kinds of chatter for my caller.

I have personally tested many N series phones and never seen a single one handle background noise well. Since the N900 does not have any special noise cancellation technology built in, I don't see why it should be different than all other N series phones in this regard. And again, from those who have bothered to test the N900 specifically for this background noise issue, what I've read is that it has all the same problems as the N86 and other N series phones.

I really find it hard to believe that those who say the N900 is great for audio quality have specifically tested it in noisy settings, asking their caller how they sound, and compared it in the same place and same way to a phone, like the Droid, that has noise cancellation.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I have that same problem but am not yet ready to take this phone to repairshop - I am not yet ready to live without it.

Volume level fades up and down during calls and I am not fully sure if it is mechanical issue with the lid. It seems like it gets back normal if I move the phone slightly against my face...

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I have the same problem as the original poster (volume seems to fade during calls). Other than that, my opinion is that the call quality is far superior to my previous phones (HTC G1, Blackberry Curve, Motorola Razr). I've never had anyone complain about background noise, including when I've had a screaming baby in the same room.

The fading problem is definitely annoying.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

Update, see first post

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

Thanks for the update. I've re-flashed and will see how it goes.

UPDATE: I re-flashed and am still experiencing the problem.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

Did anyone get anyhelp from the latest 1.1 update? All four of my latest calls have been ok so I have high hopes.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I've had the fade in and out problem today after the update (had it before too). So the update didn't help me. Go figure...

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I never had the issue, and had an hour long call to a landline in the US, following the update. No issues (FWIW I'm a VoIP engineer...I tend to pay attention to call quality).

For those having the issue, are your calls being made thru 3G or 2/2.5G? Also, does it happen when calling other cell phones, or to land lines as well.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I'm having the same problem as well where my volume fades in and out during calls. It's on landlines and cellphones for my wife and I. When I press the phone like hard on my ear, it's as if it fixed a loose wire in the speaker part of the phone and the volume comes back to life. When I'm not pressing, the volume goes away so it's as if there is a loose wire or part in my phone.

But since many of us are experiencing this, does this mean it's faulty hardware on all of our N900's? I mean what do we do at this point as some people have said reflashing didn't fix the problem which is what I was about to do.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I have this exact same problem since I updated to the firmware on the 14th jan. Voice quality was perfect before then, but now it just fades in and out all the time. So bloody annoying. Can anyone tell me what I can do?

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I agree; people are unable to hear what I say when I'm in a restaurant, because it picks up all the background noise. It's the same on another Nokia phone I have.

On something like the N900 they should have put multiple mics. A nice bit of software would be able to cut out background noise to some extent and localise it onto the nearest source, and mics are cheap and tiny. Oh well.

That said, poor voice transmission also happens when the signal is weak, and I find that's usually the case in restaurants too...

The sound from the speakers is very good; I like that. I really like the way you can turn on speakerphone before the call finishes connecting, too.

Overall I think the N900 does great voice calls, as long as you're in a quiet environment with a good signal.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I am sorry to report that I also have experienced the Low Volume issue or maybe the fading in/out ( hard to hear when volume is so low)
i ONLY use 3G and Skype ( over 3G), talking on the handset.

talking on a bluetooth Stereo headset Nokia BH-503 makes it even worse.
it is hard to accept not hearing other people if you are making biz calls...make you look stupid

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I took mine to the shop, let's see how it comes back.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I have the same fading in and out problem. It only started up after the first couple of days though, very strange. I didn't have this problem before, it just kind of started all of a sudden. However, the speaker quality and headphone quality are still fine. Could be a hardware issue or maybe from some faulty programs? I did install a few programs over the last couple of days, some from the development repository. Any ideas? Did the flashing work for anyone else? So far one person did it successfully and one didn't.
Thanks,
Kham

Edit:I meant to say it only started up a few days ago. Not " after the first couple of days". It could have been moisture introduction into he speaker port. Did anyone else recall being in a moist environment, i.e. rain, near the sink, or maybe getting out of the shower then taking on the phone? I think this could be the root of the problem. Also, you guys think Nokia will cover it?

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I've this problem too. The speaker sound fades in and out when talking with someone in the phone. I didn't have this problem before FW 1.1 update, it just suddenly appeared. I've installed apps from Extras-dev. S o my guess is:

1. Hardware Problem
2. FW 1.1 Problem (But only few people seems to have this problem, so it's hard to beleave that this is the reason. IMO)
3. Installed App from Extras-devel

Maybe i should re-flash my N900 too and avoid installing apps from Extras-devel /-Testing for a while. Then i could see if the problem is there.

I have these apps installed in my N900:

appwatch
Bluemaemo
Conky
Custom operator name applet
darksky-theme
DrNokSnes
Droid Fonts
Duke Nukem 3D CD version
easy-chroot
easy-deb-chroot
Extra Decoders Support
fApn
fm-Boost
fMMS
ForecaWeather widget
gTranslate
Headphone daemon
Hermes
iivilsteel-theme
iNES
ioquake3
Jagged Alliance 2
Leafpad
Maemo 5 (2.2009.51.1) FW
Maep
Matrix-theme
Mplayer
Nameday applet
ogg support
openSSH server
pymaemo-optify
qtify
Recorder
rootsh
ScummVM
sib
Simple Brightness Applet
Simple FMTX desktop widget
Subtitles support
systeminfowidget
Transmission
Tunewiki Desktop widget
VGBA
Wormux
Zeemote-Control Panel

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

It sounds pretty clearly like a hardware fault, at least in your case.

For other people who don't have as clear a set of behaviours as you see, two quick tests spring to mind:

1. Do you experience the volume fade problem when using the headphones that shipped with the device?
2. Do you experience the fade problem when using it on speakerphone?

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

Same problem here. I didn't notice it until after the FW update, but it seems like a hardware issue to me. No fading in and out when using BT. The problem is sometimes "corrected" when I push more firmly against my ear. How do I initiate a service call on this thing?

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

There is another big thread about how folks fixed this issue. The problem there was the slider cable being loose. They opened up the back cover (few screws) and reconnected the connecting ribbon cable firmly, that seemed to fix the problem.

Good Luck!

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

Can some mod please merge the threads then?
Thanks,
Kham

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

Which thread is that? I am unable to locate any decent solutions for this. I don't want to be separate from my phone -> Don't want to get it to repairshop.

Re: n900 Voice Quality
 

I have the same fade problem!!! :(

The fading happens while talking to someone and it depends on how hard I press my ear against my phone..... shaking my phone around a little bit while calling also solves the problem, but it works the other way around too: if im walking, it can fade out and i wont be able to hear that person anymore... :P

The speaker works, so it MUST be some hardware (loose cable??) problem. If I plug it into my carradio or headphones, it works too,btw.

Important: Since a day, when I shake my phone, I hear something loose around where the ear-speaker is. Something is definately wrong inside my phone :(

Anyway, this phone is useless like this, because I can't make proper phonecalls anymore. For the people that dont know what the fade problem is: Imagine talking to someone at max volume and then out of nothing 5 sec at lowest volume and then back to max volume.
How can I fix it myself? I'm 700km away from the nearest Nokia service point. (They don't even sell this phone in my country...)