6packofun Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 My mom got a decent pay-as-you go smartphone with T-mobile a few months ago. At first we were not having any issues and we helped her learn how to use it. Now the phone is having trouble every time she talks to ME mainly. (Not sure if it's exclusively, but she didn't have the issue today with 2 other people.) When she talks to me on her landline OR cell phone, I break up for her but I can hear her just fine. I don't get ANY static or weird sounds and I get to listen to her yelling, "WHAT??" in the phone for every conversation. This is a sudden issue and we cannot figure it out! She is convinced it's my phone--could it be when I have no issues with anyone but HER? ARGH! We've both restarted our phones. ANY advice? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 (edited) Question: Do you walk around, when you are talking with her? If so, it could be that the signal in your house is better, in some parts of your house than it is in others parts of your house. Since you wrote that you are not getting complaints from other people, that leads me to suspect that it is *not* a problem wtih the Transmitter section of your phone, but that it has more to do with coverage in different parts of your house. However, since you report that you are not having issues, when speaking with other people, that leads me to no conclusion... Do you have this issue, speaking with her, if you are in some other physical location? eg: the supermarket It could possibly be the interconnect between your mother's carrier (T-Mobile) and your carrier, which may be different, is not good. That should not happen, but I suspect that it does happen. This is a small mystery that you may eventually figure out. If you have a GSM phone (those phones have a removable SIM card) and you have another GSM phone available, I would suggest that you put your SIM card into another phone and see if your mother can hear you, without these issues. OT: We live overseas and use an incredibly popular Messaging App called WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook. When we use that for voice calls, the quality is usually crystal clear. If you could explain to your mother how to install WhatsApp and configure it (they send you a code to activate it as I recall) and you both had it on your phones, it would be interesting to see if the audio quality is better with WhatsApp, than with your Cell providers voice service. Or Skype or the magicJack App. That assumes both of you have WiFi in your houses... Some phones, identical model, will catch the signal better than others. Years ago, when my wife and I first switched (reluctantly) to GSM service, from CDMA, the nearest cell tower was a long way from our house. My wife and I both had Sony Ericsson W300i Walkman phones. We could be sitting at our Dining Room table, with both phones on the table, near to each other. My phone would have the signal and her phone did not have the signal. Same model. Same provider. Same location. Same tower. Edited March 14, 2017 by Lanny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 If what Lanny said, above, is the case, you can often solve it by sitting near a window. I have to do that with my friend who is on T-Mobile, but not with other people. I like to talk in private, so I almost always end up in the bathroom, sitting on the potty, because it is nearest a window. :0) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Frog Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Is it possible that it has nothing to do with the phones? Perhaps her hearing is getting worse and your voice is at a frequency she can't easily hear over the phone. Can she turn up the volume on her phone? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 Question: Do you walk around, when you are talking with her? If so, it could be that the signal in your house is better, in some parts of your house than it is in others parts of your house. Since you wrote that you are not getting complaints from other people, that leads me to suspect that it is *not* a problem wtih the Transmitter section of your phone, but that it has more to do with coverage in different parts of your house. However, since you report that you are not having issues, when speaking with other people, that leads me to no conclusion... Do you have this issue, speaking with her, if you are in some other physical location? eg: the supermarket It could possibly be the interconnect between your mother's carrier (T-Mobile) and your carrier, which may be different, is not good. That should not happen, but I suspect that it does happen. This is a small mystery that you may eventually figure out. If you have a GSM phone (those phones have a removable SIM card) and you have another GSM phone available, I would suggest that you put your SIM card into another phone and see if your mother can hear you, without these issues. OT: We live overseas and use an incredibly popular Messaging App called WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook. When we use that for voice calls, the quality is usually crystal clear. If you could explain to your mother how to install WhatsApp and configure it (they send you a code to activate it as I recall) and you both had it on your phones, it would be interesting to see if the audio quality is better with WhatsApp, than with your Cell providers voice service. Or Skype or the magicJack App. That assumes both of you have WiFi in your houses... Some phones, identical model, will catch the signal better than others. Years ago, when my wife and I first switched (reluctantly) to GSM service, from CDMA, the nearest cell tower was a long way from our house. My wife and I both had Sony Ericsson W300i Walkman phones. We could be sitting at our Dining Room table, with both phones on the table, near to each other. My phone would have the signal and her phone did not have the signal. Same model. Same provider. Same location. Same tower. Thank you very much, Lanny. Apparently I talk almost exclusively to my mother which I didn't realize so I wasn't getting a good idea of what others are hearing--or NOT hearing. LOL I called 3 of my kids and on their phones my voice cut in and out, too! I think it's my transmitter/microphone. :( My mom and I tried every combo of standing still, finding a "good" place in the house to talk, talking outside...her calling me from another location and vice versa! So I guess it IS my phone. I tried a few fixes (using safe mode, blowing compressed air in the mic hole, etc.) and nothing worked. Off to the shop! Thank you for taking the time to respond! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Thank you very much, Lanny. Apparently I talk almost exclusively to my mother which I didn't realize so I wasn't getting a good idea of what others are hearing--or NOT hearing. LOL I called 3 of my kids and on their phones my voice cut in and out, too! I think it's my transmitter/microphone. :( My mom and I tried every combo of standing still, finding a "good" place in the house to talk, talking outside...her calling me from another location and vice versa! So I guess it IS my phone. I tried a few fixes (using safe mode, blowing compressed air in the mic hole, etc.) and nothing worked. Off to the shop! Thank you for taking the time to respond! My iPhone 5s cuts out a lot lately. What kind is yours? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Thank you very much, Lanny. Apparently I talk almost exclusively to my mother which I didn't realize so I wasn't getting a good idea of what others are hearing--or NOT hearing. LOL I called 3 of my kids and on their phones my voice cut in and out, too! I think it's my transmitter/microphone. :( My mom and I tried every combo of standing still, finding a "good" place in the house to talk, talking outside...her calling me from another location and vice versa! So I guess it IS my phone. I tried a few fixes (using safe mode, blowing compressed air in the mic hole, etc.) and nothing worked. Off to the shop! Thank you for taking the time to respond! You are welcome. Wow. :hurray: Another possibility is a wire going to the antenna is loose. If you have an excellent cell phone doctor (we do), s/he can hopefully find and fix the issue. Mystery solved... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 These cheapo crap phones suck. I've been through several of them. Yes sometimes they start out ok and then stop being so good. I've had several where I can't even make calls while inside my house. The current one is like that. So it COULD be the phone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 These cheapo crap phones suck. I've been through several of them. Yes sometimes they start out ok and then stop being so good. I've had several where I can't even make calls while inside my house. The current one is like that. So it COULD be the phone. Turns out it is not the phone her mother has.The phone of the OP has an issue. @Sparkly In our house we have my very low end (2014 model) Samsung, which works perfectly, and 3 mid range Motorola phones and 1 mid range Lenovo phone (Lenovo owns Motorola Mobility). All of them work perfectly. Samsung modifies the Android OS, a lot, so if and when I move to another phone, I will go to a Motorola or Lenovo, to get a pure (or almost pure) version of Android. If you look at new phones, I suggest looking at Motorola, Lenovo and Samsung. However, in the Dummies book for Android Phones (which I've read, twice) on almost every page, there is a place where it says, "But if you have a Samsung phone, it works like this...") 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 I didn't read all the replies so I apologize if this is super redundant... I have a TMoible phone. Mine defaults to "calls over wifi" or something like that. So, if I am in wifi range of a network I sign in to automatically (like home) my calls are over wifi. Now, that's normally not a big deal since we have good wifi, but if I walk (or drive) away from it calls get all wonky. It's a HUGE hassle. So, if it's a call I don't want all messed up I have to turn off my wifi before I make the call. For real. I never had these issues with Sprint. I am looking forward to getting a new carrier soon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 I didn't read all the replies so I apologize if this is super redundant... I have a TMoible phone. Mine defaults to "calls over wifi" or something like that. So, if I am in wifi range of a network I sign in to automatically (like home) my calls are over wifi. Now, that's normally not a big deal since we have good wifi, but if I walk (or drive) away from it calls get all wonky. It's a HUGE hassle. So, if it's a call I don't want all messed up I have to turn off my wifi before I make the call. For real. I never had these issues with Sprint. I am looking forward to getting a new carrier soon. Same here. Turning off wifi fixes it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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