iPhone XR OK, now an issue ... poor call quality (sound)

[BigG94]

I'm still loving 99.9 percent of my iPhone XR that I've been posting about.

The .1 percent ... the call quality, at least what I'm hearing through the speaker to my ear, isn't up to par.

I'm having no connectivity or reception issues, it's just the sound of what I'm hearing through the speaker.

I didn't have HD calling enabled on my line (I use an MVNO that offers that but it hadn't been enabled). When I did that, I was expecting the call quality to improve. But it hasn't. Through the earpiece, you can tell that it does sound a little better than the average phone call, but it's nothing compared to the Android I was using that when you had an HD call, it sounded like you literally were standing next to the caller.

The thing is, when you put it on speaker, you get absolutely crystalline HD quality sound. Just not through the earpiece.

I've not had a chance given the holidays to research this, am doing it now. Probably looking at starting with a call to Apple Support and escalating from there.

I've tried some of the suggested tricks I've come across, like disabling BlueTooth or turning noise cancellation off, without any help.

I also have the thing in a bulky protective case. My understanding is that could be creating an issue, so I'm willing to look at something less bulky but still protective.

Just checking to see if anyone else has had this issue and what you've done about it, and whether it's worked or not.

I have been told that iPhone calls simply sound different than other cellphones ...

 

[BigG94]

Updating this ... I spent an hour with Apple Support yesterday, first on chat and then on the phone.

We tried multiple tricks to diagnose what was going on.

I did a voice memo. It played back crystal clear both through the earpiece and speaker.

I tried a FaceTime audio call with someone. The sound was crystal clear.

I tried disabling Voice on LTE and making a call to see if that helped matters; it didn't.

We finally diagnosed that the issue is not the hardware, but my cell signal.

I'm not getting but two bars, sometimes even just one, inside my house,with the iPhone where I consistently got full bars with my Android.

After getting the iPhone ... and rhapsodizing about it ... I really hadn't paid any attention to the number of bars because calls were connecting fine and not dropping out, and I knew that I hadn't had HD Voice engaged because of it being over the holidays and customer service at my provider not being available.

Specifically, I use Boom Mobile, a Verizon MVNO, which was bulletproof with my Android, no issues whatsoever. While I was on chat with Apple, I contacted Boom customer service ... which was great ... and had them check and reset my line. They said there didn't appear to be any issues with my line.

I verified that this was the issue later on, when I went out and got a call in a different part of town, I had full bars and the call was perfect HD Voice.

I also understand that bars don't tell the full story, so I went into Field Test Mode and got readings that fluctuated between -105 and -110, which sucks.

To end this, the senior support agent I talked to on the phone basically threw up his hands and said bring the phone back. I have an appointment at the closest Genius Bar ... 60 miles away ... tomorrow to do that. (He said I probably could just walk in and swap the phone but that it would be best to make an appointment.)

Now I'm leery about doing a swap, given what I've heard about signal strength, bars, antennas, etc., with the other X models, and am beginning to gravitate toward getting a refund and doing something else, because I don't have confidence that this is going to fix the issue and I don't have the time or inclination to get into swapping out phones until I get one that works. (120-mile round trips to deal with a phone are PITAs.)

I absolutely love 99.9999999999999999999 percent of everything about this phone and will probably shed tears if I have to give it back. I love iOS and do not want to go back to Android. I want to future protect myself with the latest technology I can get. This phone is absolutely the perfect size for me, and if I go back to an 8 it will be for something I don't really want because the standard is too small and the Plus is too big.

Can anyone offer any input? Talk me off the ledge or something?

 

[BigG94]

One more followup, tried refreshing network settings to see if that would help. Got immediate little burst of better signal then it dropped down again.

I love this phone and am throwing everything including the kitchen sink at it to try to hang onto it.

 

[martin2345uk]

How long have you had the phone?

 

[Velin]

First, turn off wifi calling. Try that for a while, see if it improves. I've found wifi calling generally sucks badly (across all phones and devices and platforms) and can lead to some of the issues you are experiencing. Even with two bars, see if HD Voice LTE calling with wifi calling off improves quality. It may. Many people are surprised how much their calls improve when you turn wifi calling off, because even in 2018-19, wifi reception, throughput, and packet priority can be total garbage in many places, including your house. And it's even worse when traveling, bouncing from crappy wifi to crappy wifi.

If that does not thing to improve the situation, read on.

See if you can use a Verizon femtocell with Boom Mobile. Or see if Boom Mobile offers a femtocell. If not, change your service to Verizon.

If you can use the Verizon femtocell with Boom Mobile, or you switch to Verizon, get the femtocell, also known as the Samsung 4G LTE Network Extender 2. I've got one, and it works. Amazingly well. Full bars all the time when using it. This femtocell isn't some junko wifi-only router/extender, or a dumb-terminal signal repeater. What it does is provide dedicated voice/data signal using 4G LTE, and then sends that signal (and your communications) out to the Verizon network via your broadband connection.

With the femtocell set up, you will have full bars. No dropped calls. No quality issues. You don't have to log in, or sign up, or do any kind of authentication. You set up the femtocell, and the 4G LTE signal is available for you, your family, your friends 24/7 without any work or action by you. It is the ideal solution for anyone who wants full bars and dedicated signal without having to rely on crappy wifi calling. I love this thing.

The only minor hiccup I have found is sometimes I put the iPhone in Airplane Mode for two seconds, then turn off Airplane Mode, thereby forcing the iPhone to search for the best, strongest signal. This invariably is the femtocell/Network Extender 2. The reason this is necessary is, on occasion, when you are out, or returning home, the iPhone will stay connected to another Verizon cell tower further away. But putting the iPhone in Airplane Mode drops that connection, and once you switch off Airplane Mode, the iPhone looks for the strongest connection and then you are connected to the femtocell.

Finally, doing a quick Airplane Mode on/off to search for the best connection is something I do regularly while traveling, as all iPhones can stubbornly hang on to less than optimal cellular towers; probably has something to do with optimizing call/data continuity versus signal strength (though I have no expertise concerning this). So I'm not saying it's a flaw or defect with iPhones; I am saying if you are going to be stationary for awhile, it's worth the five seconds to break your current cell tower connnection and thereafter force the iPhone to search for the best signal it can achieve at your precise location.

Look to these two solutions, i.e. disable wifi calling and run tests and check quality, and if that fails, femtocell.

 

[BigG94]

First, turn off wifi calling. Try that for a while, see if it improves. I've found wifi calling generally sucks badly (across all phones and devices and platforms) and can lead to some of the issues you are experiencing. Even with two bars, see if HD Voice LTE calling with wifi calling off improves quality. It may. Many people are surprised how much their calls improve when you turn wifi calling off, because even in 2018-19, wifi reception, throughput, and packet priority can be total garbage in many places, including your house. And it's even worse when traveling, bouncing from crappy wifi to crappy wifi.

If that does not thing to improve the situation, read on.

See if you can use a Verizon femtocell with Boom Mobile. Or see if Boom Mobile offers a femtocell. If not, change your service to Verizon.

If you can use the Verizon femtocell with Boom Mobile, or you switch to Verizon, get the femtocell, also known as the Samsung 4G LTE Network Extender 2. I've got one, and it works. Amazingly well. Full bars all the time when using it. This femtocell isn't some junko wifi-only router/extender, or a dumb-terminal signal repeater. What it does is provide dedicated voice/data signal using 4G LTE, and then sends that signal (and your communications) out to the Verizon network via your broadband connection.

With the femtocell set up, you will have full bars. No dropped calls. No quality issues. You don't have to log in, or sign up, or do any kind of authentication. You set up the femtocell, and the 4G LTE signal is available for you, your family, your friends 24/7 without any work or action by you. It is the ideal solution for anyone who wants full bars and dedicated signal without having to rely on crappy wifi calling. I love this thing.

The only minor hiccup I have found is sometimes I put the iPhone in Airplane Mode for two seconds, then turn off Airplane Mode, thereby forcing the iPhone to search for the best, strongest signal. This invariably is the femtocell/Network Extender 2. The reason this is necessary is, on occasion, when you are out, or returning home, the iPhone will stay connected to another Verizon cell tower further away. But putting the iPhone in Airplane Mode drops that connection, and once you switch off Airplane Mode, the iPhone looks for the strongest connection and then you are connected to the femtocell.

Finally, doing a quick Airplane Mode on/off to search for the best connection is something I do regularly while traveling, as all iPhones can stubbornly hang on to less than optimal cellular towers; probably has something to do with optimizing call/data continuity versus signal strength (though I have no expertise concerning this). So I'm not saying it's a flaw or defect with iPhones; I am saying if you are going to be stationary for awhile, it's worth the five seconds to break your current cell tower connnection and thereafter force the iPhone to search for the best signal it can achieve at your precise location.

Look to these two solutions, i.e. disable wifi calling and run tests and check quality, and if that fails, femtocell.

Don't have wifi calling, is already turned off.

 

[BigG94]

Traded out phone. New one is much more better.