iPhone 4S call audio issues to remain with new iOS 5.1 build

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Some iPhone 4S owners have been experiencing a sporadic yet persistent issue that mutes all audio when a user places a call, and new reports claim that Apple's upcoming iOS 5 build will leave the problem unsolved.



According to a 109-page thread on the Apple Support Communites forum, the problem cropped up when the iPhone 4S was launched in November 2011 only to remain unfixed when iOS 5.0.1 was released a month later to deal with battery life complaints, and a look at the new build of an update seeded to developers shows that the audio issues will likely remain unresolved, reports GigaOM.



The issue was first identified when a number of Apple Community forum members began to complain that the audio on their iPhone 4S was intermittently failing when placing calls, forcing them to hang up and dial again. Interestingly, recipients on the other end were unaffected and could reportedly hear the iPhone user who originated the call.



The reports are fairly widespread as the Apple forum thread alone is still very active and now has well over 1,600 replies. Some are reporting a 1 in 10 audio failure rate, while others are seeing multiple back-to-back calls experiencing the problem.







It is unclear what is to blame for the audio failure, and although most calls go through without a problem, some users have reported the issue becoming bad enough that they needed to reboot their device.



Some forum members posit that the iOS software is to blame as the problem is not exclusive to the 4S and has been seen on previous generation iPhone 4 models running iOS 5. Others suggest the issue arises from new hardware in the 4S and its inability to communicate with carriers' networks.



Affected users were hoping that the issue would be resolved when iOS 5.0.1 was released, though it seems that the problem remains. The newest build of the iOS, now in the hands of developers, also reportedly doesn't address the situation.



Although no conclusive solution has been found for "Audiogate," as some forum members have taken to calling it, workarounds have been found and include using a bluetooth headset, placing the call through Siri and completing a full restore of handset software.



Apple has yet to make any official statement regarding the matter.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 22
    A friend of mine bought an iPhone 4S last week and it had this issue. He replaced it, and now his replacement works fine.



    This seems like the kind of problem that you would probably notice within a day or two of buying the phone, so most people experiencing this issue should have the opportunity to swap out the defective phone.
  • Reply 2 of 22
    Oddly, this used to happen sometimes on my iPhone 3G, but it hasn't happened once since I switched to a 4S in October (still on AT&T).
  • Reply 3 of 22
    Quote:

    Some forum members posit that the iOS software is to blame as the problem is not exclusive to the 4S and has been seen on previous generation iPhone 4 models running iOS 5.



    Whew, dodged another iOS 5 bullet! Another reason to keep iOS 4.3.5 another day.
  • Reply 4 of 22
    Who uses their phone for making calls anyway?
  • Reply 5 of 22
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    I had the problem twice. Pretty rare, but when it did happen, I didn't realize it did until after redialing, the person asked my why I couldn't hear them, and why I didn't say anything
  • Reply 6 of 22
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    I had corrupted audio today when placing a call on my iPhone 4 running iOS 5.
  • Reply 7 of 22
    obamaobama Posts: 62member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rjbruce View Post


    Who uses their phone for making calls anyway?



    Adults who need to function in society. When you grow up, you will find that you can't tweet and text everybody.
  • Reply 8 of 22
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Obama View Post


    Adults who need to function in society. When you grow up, you will find that you can't tweet and text everybody.



    Remember that when today's kids grow up, they'll consider that nonsense normal and it will be acceptable to do it.
  • Reply 9 of 22
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Remember that when today's kids grow up, they'll consider that nonsense normal and it will be acceptable to do it.



    Texting has fallen off significantly. Every new technology supersedes the last.



    But there are always times when you simply must speak to someone. None of these technologies is sufficient into itself. When talking, you can much more easily get a point across, or question the other person. And it happens in real time. It's why business people would still rather SEE people. There's nothing like a face to face. Even video conferencing isn't often good enough.
  • Reply 10 of 22
    Have never had that problem, yet my friend has it somewhat frequently. I'm on AT&T and she's on Sprint.
  • Reply 11 of 22
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rjbruce View Post


    Who uses their phone for making calls anyway?



    Ha! Love it!
  • Reply 12 of 22
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by andrewhaji View Post


    A friend of mine bought an iPhone 4S last week and it had this issue. He replaced it, and now his replacement works fine.



    This seems like the kind of problem that you would probably notice within a day or two of buying the phone, so most people experiencing this issue should have the opportunity to swap out the defective phone.



    I had this along with a static noise problem and swapped it. My new one sometimes still leaves the Pandora or iHeart radio app playing when I go to make a call. Also the static came back today.
  • Reply 13 of 22
    I hadn't taken the time to research it yet, but I've had this problem on almost 50% of my iPhone 4S calls. Sometimes I've found that clicking "speaker phone" will enable audio on new outbound calls. I've also suspected Siri's "raise phone" feature interfering with call audio due to similarities with raising the phone when calling, but haven't tried disabling it. Guess I should consider a full restore.
  • Reply 14 of 22
    cameronjcameronj Posts: 2,357member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Obama View Post


    Adults who need to function in society. When you grow up, you will find that you can't tweet and text everybody.



    Do adults need to understand sarcasm too?
  • Reply 15 of 22
    Doesn't exist. If it does, it is because the consumer is holding the phone the wrong way.



    LOL ROFL
  • Reply 16 of 22
    Isn't this article assuming that no further betas of iOS 5.1 will be released that could possibly contain multiple fixes for numerous issues including call related issues?



    ~B
  • Reply 17 of 22
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rjbruce View Post


    Who uses their phone for making calls anyway?



    I am with you. Bought 4S last month still have not use it as a 'telephone'. Only data. Not because of the 'forever alone' meme but still have my 3GS and have not find time to move things across. Plus, using two networks. Guess I need to do some quality checking and a field test.
  • Reply 18 of 22
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BoxerBoi76 View Post


    Isn't this article assuming that no further betas of iOS 5.1 will be released that could possibly contain multiple fixes for numerous issues including call related issues?



    ~B



    Not everything can be fixed in software, like flaws in antennae design.
  • Reply 19 of 22
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Splash-reverse View Post


    I am with you. Bought 4S last month still have not use it as a 'telephone'. Only data. Not because of the 'forever alone' meme but still have my 3GS and have not find time to move things across. Plus, using two networks. Guess I need to do some quality checking and a field test.



    A field test? News Flash: You don't work for NASA. Just make a call.
  • Reply 20 of 22
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cnocbui View Post


    Not everything can be fixed in software, like flaws in antennae design.



    Agreed but I've seen substantial and clear improvements in both the audio and searching (where the 4s searches for signal in an area with full coverage) issues since restoring 5.0.1 build 9A406 as a new iPhone. This build has completely eliminated the annoying audio echo issue and has almost eliminated for me that digital warbling sound 5.x users have been reporting. The only changes in this build and 9A405 were to the baseband firmware as I recall so at least for this issue many folks that have loaded 9A406 can state that fixes have been made and it's likely they will continue to be made.
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