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[Q] Inconsistent Volume Issues

I am almost positive this question has been asked before, but alas...
For reasons unknown, my Nexus S seems to have inconsistent volume levels.
1. Regardless of how loud the volume is set to, the "operation" sound effects are ALWAYS at bare-audible levels. For example, when the screen is turned off it's almost impossible to hear the noise. This holds true even when the system volume is at maximum.
2. In call volume is always low, and yet the speakerphone volume is always SUPER loud.
The posts I've read before always seem to mention it being a problem with the Nexus S phone itself, but how is that possible? If the sound comes out then the sound comes out. It would seem to me like a problem with Gingerbread.

i use this to keep my volumes set properly
http://www.appbrain.com/app/audiomanager-widget/com.smartandroidapps.audiowidget

WOW thanks for that link. It solved the problem immediately. I'm not exactly sure what the issue is with the actual Gingerbread software though...why don't the volume levels adjust properly?
Also, I saw your post in another topic and found your signature (image) to be quite fascinating. I too have used many of those phones actually.
On a side note, can you (or anyone) explain why my topic was moved from the Nexus S board?

yeah i recently learned about audio widget, and it seems to be able to seperate out different system level audio vs call audio etc. not sure why this isnt available in stock android, but this app is able to do it. so its a must have.

Few Problems

I have a few problems that occur on every rom I flash.
1. When ever I make a call or call someone, it uses the speaker phone by default.
2. The Car Home app opens randomly and can be annoying.
3. I cant change the media volume when headphones are plugged in.
- The volume is at it's loudest and there is no way for me to change it.
If anyone could help, it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I would search and check other threads before opening new ones. There is an ongoing conversation about the speakerphone issue and I believe it has to do with GoSMS. Not going into detail here as like I said there is another thread already developed. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1242116
If your volume is at max then it is at max. Or do you mean since it is at max, you can't lower it? Might also be an issue related to GoSMS. Never heard anyone mention about this before.

Agoattamer said:
I would search and check other threads before opening new ones. There is an ongoing conversation about the speakerphone issue and I believe it has to do with GoSMS. Not going into detail here as like I said there is another thread already developed. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1242116
If your volume is at max then it is at max. Or do you mean since it is at max, you can't lower it? Might also be an issue related to GoSMS. Never heard anyone mention about this before.
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Sorry, I searched in the Q&A forum, but I didn't think to search in the General forum. I never used GoSMS so that can't be the problem.
If I plug in head phones and try to listen to music, the volume is always at it's loudest and I cant lower it (tried using volume bottons and in the settings).
I think all these issues have something to do with the Car Home app. Also thanks for your reply.
Edit: I removed the Car Home app from the zip and re-flashed. The media volume problem is fixed now but even though I removed the application, it still says in the notification bar that it's running. And speaker is the default option when I try calling someone.

I have seen people with issues with the car home app. But I can't recall if it was in the inspire section or the desire HD section. Goodluck.

Ok, thanks for trying at least.

[Q] Call volume really low

Is there an app or other software to boost the volume? All my volume settings are maxed and i cant really hear the caller. Sometimes, though, it comes in just fine, but most of the time it doesnt.
Thanks

DJRepresent said:
Is there an app or other software to boost the volume? All my volume settings are maxed and i cant really hear the caller. Sometimes, though, it comes in just fine, but most of the time it doesnt.
Thanks
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I had this problem with another phone and after an extensive search, I ultimately gave up on it. I will share what I tried and maybe save you a little trouble.
First and simplest, try gently cleaning out the earpiece with a little toothpick, a pin, or better yet blow it out with some air. This seems to work for some people, as overtime gunk can build up inside the screen.
Next, there are a lot of apps that claim to work as volume boosters. Most of them are for speaker volume and not for in-call volume. After sifting through many of them I found one or two that claimed to help in call volume but they really did not work. If you go this route then "happy hunting".
Some ROMs have a hearing aid setting under the Accessibility options but I couldn't tell you which. The ROM I'm using has ways to change the volume steps for all volume settings and that might help (I'm using Liquid Smooth found here in the DEV section).
There is an Xposed module that enables you to adjust some volume steps.
Viper for Android gives you a lot of control over the sound of the device (it has Xloud) and it works well with the Apollo Music Player found on many ROMs but I can't say for sure it helps in-call volume. It sure makes music sound good though.
Last and hardest, if you are rooted and have a file managing app, you can go into the system files and edit them. This would probably require the assistance of a dev who could tell you exactly where these file are located and what the correct settings should be. Of course, there is always a chance of damaging your phone this way.
That's all I know. Hopefully, one of these options will work for you, or someone wiser will jumped in with a better solution. Good luck!

You need to tell everyone what software you are using and how long you have been having a problem.

Moto Hint problems

Has anyone successfully used the Moto Hint with the 2014 Moto X?
I have a 2014 VZW Moto X and just got my Moto Hint this past Tuesday. When I tap the talk button on the Hint or say my launch phrase, Moto Voice launches but doesn't pick up any of my commands.
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Mike

Turns out the Hint has a problem with the microphones, caveat emptor, I'm returning mine.

MIne works fine. Did you check Playstore to ensure you have latest version of Motovoice installed? Have to wait for beep after saying custom trigger phrase (or pushing button) prior to speaking.

Thanks gadgetg.
When I go to Play Store I see no option to update or uninstall, my moto voice version is 6.1.10.1, I'm not sure if that's the latest version or not.
I don't know if I have a defective unit or what, but no one can hear me unless I shout really loudly when using the Hint. In addition, both the phone and the Hint play music when I'm using Pandora...doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose of the Hint?

Mine streams pandora fine to Hint and no issues with Motovoice. Maybe A2DP didn't pair right?
I'd recommend following from user guide:
1. Put Hint in ear and it will connect to phone. Then press and hold MFB on Hint for 10 seconds (should hear an initial beep and after ~10 seconds two beeps). This will put you in settings menu. Press MFB after option 1 to reset device.
2. Once reset, replace Hint in case
3. In phone's setting menu, Remove Moto Hint from bluetooth menu
4. Open Motovoice and retrain phrase in a very quiet environment
5. Then remove Hint from case and repair to phone -- accept all queries. In bluetooth settings menu when you click on Moto Hint both the Phone Audio and Media Audio should be checked.
6. Press MFB and select Motovoice as default if asked.
7. Lastly, make sure the two microphones in Hint are pointing to your mouth and not your eyes when in your ear. You may have to have someone take a picture to make sure . I did this. You may have to consciously rotate the back of Hint up a bit so it sits right in ear. I noticed this in user guide. Still comfortable, but improves microphone response immensely.
If that doesn't work, sounds like something is wrong with the Hint as mine works great.

Thanks gadget. I reset the Hint before but I did not retrain the phrase. I'll try that and will report my findings.

gadget. Thanks again for your help. I can't believe it buy it was the positioning of the microphones, they have to follow a straight line to your mouth; any deviation and my device would not work.
Now the question is how to get the Hint talking to me. I asked it a math equation and it launched calculator, but didn't read off the answer. Is there a way I can get the phone/Hint to read off the responses to my queries?
Thanks again, you're a life saver!

Mike,
Try using the phrase "How tall is the Eiffel Tower". After google looks up answer it will tell you the response. If you aren't hearing anything during the response then turn up the volume on the phone WHILE IT IS PLAYING BACK the response "The Eiffel Tower is 986 feet tall" and you will hear it. Not all questions have an answer, but I know this one does so try it... Or "What's the weather in Miami..." is another good one.
Also, note that you can use your trigger phrase (or MFB) to activate Motovoice and then say "Talk to Me" and then all incoming texts will be read out to you through the hint for the time period it is active.
Check out more detailed review I came across tonight here: http://www.droid-life.com/2014/10/03/moto-hint-overview-and-tour/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv3ffevpNHw
Hope this is helpful

I had a similar problem. I called Moto. After the 4th call finally talked to someone who spoke English.....
Anyway... I had to reset my phone, not the hint to factory settings, and now it works as advertised and I love it. Do not love having to factory reset though

Well looks like I need to return mine . No one can hear me when I talk through my Hint, it's as if the first split seconds of my voice is cut off. The microphone positioning is correct and I'd rather not reset my phone for this. I'll stick with my old LG HBS700 as it can do virtually everything the Hint does, just not always listening.

I'm starting to think I'm going to return mine. It just seems no matter how hard I try, it just isn't consistent. Even when I check a thousand times to see if the microphone is aimed correctly.

I have no problems with calls or the call volume. My issue is with the volume while streaming is very low. It has to be over 50% to be able to hear and close to 100% if it's noisy. It also sounds a bit tinny but I'm guessing that's just because of how small the speaker is.

I paired the hint with my Moto X 2013 and no matter what I've tried it doesn's activate with 'OK Google Now'. If I press the hint I get a prompt to say a command but I thought this was supposed to listen all the time without intervention?

Marlon41 said:
I paired the hint with my Moto X 2013 and no matter what I've tried it doesn's activate with 'OK Google Now'. If I press the hint I get a prompt to say a command but I thought this was supposed to listen all the time without intervention?
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On the actual Motorola support forums they're saying that always listening mode only works with 2014 phones right now. They say they hope to bring it to other models but have no time-line.

I got my hint today and it looks like it's going back tomorrow. I'd like to turn off most of the settings because I don't have a Motorola phone but it won't enter the settings mode by touch and hold for 8 - 10 seconds or anywhere around that.
Additionally, although in call volume is good, the streaming volume is far to low even with the phone cranked up to full volume and although my expectations for in call audio quality for the distant party were relatively low, it doesn't seem adequate to carry on much of a conversation.

I'm using hint with x 2013, is there a way to make all the prompts the same as moto voice? The hint prompts are very low compared to the moto voice prompts.

A quick blow on top mic fixed mine.

Anyone have experience with the version 2 Moto Hint? They're going for quite cheap right now and I'm hoping Motorola fixed all of the issues from the first gen.

I posted this over on the Motorola forums, but the general chatter around the Hint has gone pretty quiet on the internet which is a shame...
A US friend recently bought me a 2nd gen Moto Hint on his visit to the UK and I've got to say that the microphone
performance is really erratic. I did loads of testing and searching on the internet in case the problems were:
a) Related to the Nexus 5 I was using
b) Related to a faulty unit
c) Related to me not using the correct "gel" or positioning it in my ear correctly.
After a LOT of digging and reading the few reviews out there, I found that in quite a high proportion of the reviews I did eventually find, people mentioned about how others heard them; that people speaking into the Hint came across as quite faint and distant - exactly the problems I was getting.
A bit more digging and testing later, and I managed to eliminate both a) & b) from the equation... using a really crude test
involving a Bluetooth recorder app, I uncovered the following (Hope this helps!):
Option1.
Believe it or not, I can get consistent clear audio recorded - and subsequently call quality where others can hear me
very clearly if I... Take the Hint out of my ear and BLOW HARD into the front mic before quickly putting it back on!! I know it sounds crazy, but every time I do this, the Hint's mic works flawlessly for me (I should add, there is no debris or or anything else blocking the hole to actually be cleared and my ears are clean )
And this trick works whatever the orientation of the Hint in your ear is.. it can be positioned so the mic is level with your eyes, pointing a bit further down towards your mouth, whatever... this to me, completely dispells any previous info about rotational position in your ear being critical to mic's pick up (no consumer device suitable for everyday use should be that sensitive to position IMHO)
FYI, an audio engineer friend of mine thinks the sudden burst of white noise caused by blowing into the mic, might re-set the noise cancelling audio sampling start up processes but without pulling the thing apart and reverse engineering its code, they're at a complete loss to comprehensively explain why this should work..
FYI 2, The same audio engineer friend thinks the noise cancelling algorithms are broken in some way which is the root cause of the mic pick up being so poor out of the box, and could be fixed with a software update. They've got an older Moto Elite Sliver with Mics positioned no closer to the mouth than the Hint and the mic audio quality in comparison is damned good without having to resort to tricks..
Option 2. A bit more fiddly but also do-able, is to hold your hand up around your ear "Secret Service Agent/FBI Agent" style. Don't actually touch the hint, just have a couple of fingers brushing against the top of your ear with your palm and wrist towards your mouth to help channel the audio from your mouth into the Hint's mic. YMMV and in someways, having to do this to get enough audio to the mic kinda defeats the purpose of having such a small Bluetooth earpiece - may as well hold your phone up to your ear instead!
Anyway, I hope my findings help someone who's had problems, might've left it in a drawer etc.

denenatse said:
A quick blow on top mic fixed mine.
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Click to collapse
LoL, actually missed your post. Can you confirm if you also have to do a quick blow on the mics regularly/semi regularly, to ensure voice pick up?

Semi-Perm fix (no patch) for random sound change from clear to muffled/bass and back.

Thanks to @cstark27 for the Magisk Mod, and @S8rooted&tooted for troubleshooting a non-patch fix.
So there's an issue with our phones that makes the sound either sound clear, muffled (some call it bass heavy), and then it changes back and forth seemingly randomly. There are three things you can try without using the Magisk Mod, and all three seem to work with one that I personally found to work the best.
1. If you're playing YouTube videos you can pause/play the video. This seems to change the sound either way depending on how it sounds before pausing.
2. Raise volume to 100%, and then back down to where you want it. This seems to be consistent to have the sound be clear without the muffled bass sound.
3. (This is the best for me) Turn off any equalizers any apps have, and only have Google Play Music's equalizer on, and set to Normal without Bass boost or Surround sound on (as in the screenshot). There is a chance something starts the randomness again, and I found the best solution is to reboot, and then it will be good again for a good while (hence the title "Semi-Perm").
I've been using number 3 testing it in all apps I can think of that has sound/music from games to YouTube to simple apps that just make a click (even clicks can be different when the sound changes overall). I have yet to hear any sound change to muffled/bass, and even the top and bottom speakers seem even again. Pausing/playing, raising sound to 100% then back down, the sound is consistently clear.
Here's two links to the other thread with the Magisk Mod, so you can try either of these three methods, or try the Magisk Mod. Hopefully Google will sort it out when they release next months update/fixes.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/pi...agisk-mod-pixel-3-xl-muffled-speaker-t3911970
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=79294970&postcount=15
PS - Another great step to take is to submit feedback through your phone if you have this issue. I've done it myself, so if Google keeps getting feedback, hopefully they will take quicker action.

I think I found the main trigger. It may be known already, but I just put the pieces together. Since if the sound gets muffled, and turning the volume to 100% then back down via the physical volume buttons, and the sound gets clear again, I decided to test how long the volume stays clear after a reboot since a reboot always seemed to produce clear sounds every time. It seems to be steady clear through all apps, videos, and sounds as long as I don't touch the physical volume buttons. The moment I change the volume via the physical buttons my sound starts acting up. Say I'm in an app, and I want to change the media volume. Well if I use the physical buttons of course the volume changes, but like I said the sound suddenly becomes unstable, and I notice the change from clear to muffled soon after, but if I use the volume sliders through the settings section I never have an issue. I did it a couple of times, and it's been very consistent, so now I just use a shortcut on my homescreen to adjust the volumes, and never touch the physical keys. For those having this issue please report back if you try these methods, so hopefully Google can patch it sooner rather than later.

https://support.google.com/pixelphone/thread/3551881

Found another trigger. All was fine for over a day without touching the physical volume buttons, and then I received a call. Took the call (didn't touch volume), and once the call was complete the next app I opened had he muffled sound. Same app I used tens of times since last rebooting. Rebooted again, and all is good again.
So far: Physical volume buttons, and voice calls are two triggers.

bobbyphoenix said:
https://support.google.com/pixelphone/thread/3551881
.
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I've been keeping my eye on this thread, and came across a poster who said they "fixed" the issue by uninstalling the Phone app updates, and then reinstalling it. I've tried so many things that I almost gave up, but for three days now I haven't had the issue even after several calls. I haven't rebooted yet, so I don't know if it will stay "fixed" (I'm using quotes since I don't really know if it truly is fixed for good). The funny thing is I went to say thank you to the poster, but their post somehow is now gone. I don't know if they removed it, or a mod did, but the "fix" seems to work.

bobbyphoenix said:
I've been keeping my eye on this thread, and came across a poster who said they "fixed" the issue by uninstalling the Phone app updates, and then reinstalling it. I've tried so many things that I almost gave up, but for three days now I haven't had the issue even after several calls. I haven't rebooted yet, so I don't know if it will stay "fixed" (I'm using quotes since I don't really know if it truly is fixed for good). The funny thing is I went to say thank you to the poster, but their post somehow is now gone. I don't know if they removed it, or a mod did, but the "fix" seems to work.
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Well this worked for several day, but I was watching YouTube, and had a phone call come in, and the issue came back. Retrying the "fix" didn't seem to work again. I deleted updates from Phone and YouTube, but I still get the issue. The only reliable temp fix is to reboot, and it seems good until a call comes in. Luckily I don't have that many calls, so sometimes I can go a day or so with good sound all around.
On a positive note I tweeted at Made by Google about this, and they replied saying that's not what they want users to have, and to DM them, so hopefully it will lead to a real fix by Google.

I think the random sound change isnt a bug, its automatic presets based on what type of sound it is, like sound for phone, sound notifications, different types of music etc etc.

boe323 said:
I think the random sound change isnt a bug, its automatic presets based on what type of sound it is, like sound for phone, sound notifications, different types of music etc etc.
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Right, but there is a bug because the phone will apply the Phone app sound/bass to YouTube, but if you pause/play it, or turn the volume up to 100%, and then back down, the bass goes away. I agree with having presets, but they shouldn't mix/match when they feel like.

Since Google doesn't seem to care about this phone, or this issue, or their customers who bought it, as they haven't even bothered to acknowledge that it is happening I've trying all kinds of things, and keeping track of when it happens most. The latest "fix" that seems to be consistent is keep the in-call volume at 100%. Usually I keep it one notch down, but I was on a call two days ago, and had to turn up the sound to 100%. I forgot to turn it back down after the call, but ever since I haven't had the issue where the sound randomly changes from clear to muffled/bass. I've had sever calls since, and all is still good. I know when none of the volume controls are at 100%, and you get the issue, you can "fix" it by turning the regular volume to 100%, and then back down. So my theory is since the call volume is always at 100%, it is keeping the sound switching at bay.
I still can't believe after more than six months Google treats their customers so badly after paying $1000 (I did since I pre-ordered it). "Here buy our over priced phone now that will soon be half the cost, and then don't expect fixes for issues." Thanks Google.

bobbyphoenix said:
Right, but there is a bug because the phone will apply the Phone app sound/bass to YouTube, but if you pause/play it, or turn the volume up to 100%, and then back down, the bass goes away. I agree with having presets, but they shouldn't mix/match when they feel like.
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I see what you mean, kind of gets tangled up in itself as it doesnt switch fast enough between the presets, when i get notification after notification really fast the phone the phone gets confused.
Its defo googles ai, i remember this bug from way back.