[Q] can't hear caller & they can't hear me - AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-I777

i bought a used i777 that was advertised to be unlocked, but when i put in my t-mobile (straight talk) sim card to test out, phone was not unlocked so couldn't really test it out. it looked new so i bought it, then called at&t for an unlock code. after i entered code and called someone, i couldn't hear them and they couldn't hear me. phone was running 2.3.6 and after doing alot of research online, i first checked the flash counter (which was zero) then followed 'creepyncrawly' (cnc) thread 'how to prepare phone for return' and flashed the UCKH7-CL503881 stock kernel and system package using odin, then followed 'jack man' thread to upgrade to ics (4.0.3) but still have audio problems.
ok, so why i am i posting this? couple reasons actually. first, if i could ever get the I777_UCKH7_OCD_Root_No_BL.7z file to download before timing out (then having to wait another 30 mins before trying again!) then i would've followed cnc's thread 'How to Flash Custom Binaries Without Ever Incrementing the Flash Counter!!' i'm also thinking of trying entropy512's 'UCKH7/KK6 Return/Unbrick to Stock (or Root)'. also thinking about using the 'AOKP ICS ROM v7.1', but am thinking i am just missing a file or have a bad rom or something simple that is causing my audio problems because i found this in the q&a section for i777 under thread titled 'no audio on phone':
Here is the stock i777 modem (phone) TAR file.
Your audio shall magically return after you flash this:
{ link, but i can't post here because i'm a nooby } <---------- BUT THIS LINK HAS BEEN SEIZED BY THE FEDS!
You will need to flash this in Odin.
Be sure to put this in the PDA slot in Odin.
and although i'm using terms like 'root', 'kernel', rom, etc., i really don't know what the benefits are of rooting, changing rom, etc.
also, the threads referenced above are dated oct 2011 -- almost a year ago and wonder if i should use something more recent.
finally, i'm sure this is gonna sound real stupid, but can someone please tell me where the 'sticky' section is? i see alot of people here say 'i'm sure there's a sticky for this' in the dev section or general section, etc. but am not sure where these stickies can be found.
and yes, i watched the nooby video and know i'm supposed to be brief but wanted to be thorough in describing what i've done and where i'm hungup now before moving forward.
thanks in advance for any insight/assistance with this frustrating condition of my first i777!

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Off market purchase can lead to an intimidating amount of Grey area in trouble shooting. I've read of changes in hardware, and boot loaders in a single device over time in production, and off the top of my head, I question the method the seller used to prep the phone for sale. Could have used triangle away for the counter, simply flashed stock rom, and removed root. May have been an incompatible rom. If he said it was unlocked and it wasn't, he either didn't know what he was taking about, or obviously changed something afterwards. You're basically trying to figure out what someone else did wrong, and that's a *****. Were it myself, I'd go with entropy's most recent stock you can find, and if not that, hunt down the potential changes to the production of the phone, and sequentially try stock flashes coinciding with the possible time frames. I expect there's going to be a lot of more helpful advice for you in the future, but I hope these basics might help
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium

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The "stickies" are the threads at the top of each section that have a thumbtack icon to the left of the thread title. There are usually 4 to 5 (or more) stickies per section for our phone, and are usually the most important things to remember regarding issues, flashing, etc. They are "stuck" to the top area of each section so people can see/find them easily.

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Before doing anything more to your phone u need to spend time reading and understanding what u read. And searching terms you aren't familiar with. I find myself saying this more and more, and it seems redundant. But it's also just common sense. Good luck.
Sent from Team Pirate Headquarters. AKA yer moms basement.

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Phalanx7621 said:
Before doing anything more to your phone u need to spend time reading and understanding what u read. And searching terms you aren't familiar with. I find myself saying this more and more, and it seems redundant. But it's also just common sense. Good luck.
Sent from Team Pirate Headquarters. AKA yer moms basement.
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Click to collapse
I agree with Phalanx here - do some in depth reading of the stickies you were pointed to, as that will be your best source of information.
If you are ONLY having audio issues (as in, the phone works fine other than you are not able to hear callers, they are not able to hear you), my first guess as to your issue is that the previous owner flashed a custom kernel with the wrong mic. setup. As you read through the stickies, you will learn about mic-swap vs. non-mic-swap kernels, and when it is appropriate to use each.
It would likely be helpful if you could post the information contained here: menu>system settings>about phone.
Good luck.

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removed comments -- didn't use multiple quote feature correctly. will re-post comments

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Nice quotes..

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Cmoore0965 said:
Were it myself, I'd go with entropy's most recent stock you can find, and if not that, hunt down the potential changes to the production of the phone, and sequentially try stock flashes coinciding with the possible time frames.
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Click to collapse
thanks cmoore. i thought when i flashed to UCKH7-CL503881 stock kernel (return to stock by creepyncrawly) that everything would be returned to original build, but maybe 'everything' isn't. i should have tested out phone before moving on to flash to ics (4.0.3) via kies. guess my thinking was that the le5 build would have addressed 'issues' found over time by those using kh7. i will flash the kh7 again, then test out before moving on from there.

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jack man said:
The "stickies" are the threads at the top of each section that have a thumbtack icon to the left of the thread title.
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Click to collapse
thanks jack man. turns out i was reading the stickies in both 'general' and 'q/a' sections. guess i just wanted to make sure i wasn't overlooking some other area. seems like alot of threads display what looks like a square yellow sticky -- the thumbtack icon comment clears up my confusion.

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Phalanx7621 said:
Before doing anything more to your phone u need to spend time reading and understanding what u read. And searching terms you aren't familiar with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks phalanx. i'm trying to correct these audio probs as soon as possible cuz i bought this phone for a handicapped friend who lives on a tight budget and was paying 35/month for std cricket talk/text service. he doesn't have a tv or computer and can't afford tv or internet service anyways. i convinced him to get an i777 smartphone so he could get news, sports, etc. by moving over to 45/month unlimited service with straight talk (i've been using with my t679 t-mobile with ST service and hope to move up to i777 myself soon) but didn't anticipate someone would screw me over with a problematic phone for $200. not trying to waste anyone's time with this thread or clog up an outstanding website (xda), just trying to rectify phone problems to return it to him fixed soon. i agree i have much to learn (i get confused by different terms that have same meaning) and will hold off on rooting and changing rom for now, just wanted to make sure i didn't need to do certain things first to restore some file that i suspect is missing or corrupt and might be needed in addition to files contained in original kh7 build.

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dandrumheller said:
If you are ONLY having audio issues (as in, the phone works fine other than you are not able to hear callers, they are not able to hear you), my first guess as to your issue is that the previous owner flashed a custom kernel with the wrong mic. setup. As you read through the stickies, you will learn about mic-swap vs. non-mic-swap kernels, and when it is appropriate to use each.
It would likely be helpful if you could post the information contained here: menu>system settings>about phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks dandrumheller. all problems are audio related, everything else seems fine. speaker does not work for mp3 files, but headphone jack works. during a call, sometimes putting speakerphone on then off works, and when it does an indicator appears that i can't find in user manual. then (while call is still active) i can hear music from mp3 files w/o headphones, but the audio comes through the phone earpiece. then if i turn speakerphone back on (still during active call) the music comes through regular speaker on bottom/back of phone. once the call terminates however, so does the music (stops coming through speaker) but music can still be heard through headphones. very strange stuff!
current settings (but will be going back to kh7 build shortly) baseband: I777UCLE5, kernel version: 3.0.15-I777UCLE5-CL652575 [email protected] #3, build number: IML74K.CLE5

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Multi quote would be your friend in this thread
Raise yer mizzenmast and swab 'er poop deck!

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i was thinking the 'mic swap' kernel is the key to audio probs (thanks to dandrumheller's comment) but while researching i stumbled on this comment from 'dayv':
"And if you are using a firmware based on an i777 firmware you don't need the mic swap."
and i'm wondering about when I followed creepyncrawly's thread: "Prepare Your Phone to Return ..." and flashed the UCKH7-CL503881 stock kernel and system package using Odin3 One-Click Downloader, shouldn't that already had the necessary kernel (or some other file) already in the stock KH7 build in order to restore phone back to where audio features work normally?
Or, if i do need some additional 'mic swap' kernel, would i need root status to add it? reason i ask is i am about to flash my phone back to the KH7 build and will use the root version this time if necessary: I777UCKH7_OCD_Root_No_BL

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Yes the ucle5 ics u downloaded and flashed had a kernel in it that works fine. However, I'd suggest doing what yer doing right now, flashing back to stock and starting over. If u like stock u can even keep it that way. (gingerbread of curse I mean not jellybean)
Sent from Team Pirate Headquarters.

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Phalanx7621 said:
Yes the ucle5 ics u downloaded and flashed had a kernel in it that works fine. However, I'd suggest doing what yer doing right now, flashing back to stock and starting over.
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Click to collapse
thanks again phalanx. that is very helpful to know. i will flash the uckh7-cl503881 again using the one click download method and test again

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here is the post from dayv regarding mic swap:
dayv said:
The mic swap kernels are needed for Samsung/miui roms that based on i9100 firmwares - the i9100 hardware and i777 hardware are very similar but not exact matches - thus the software drivers in the kernel for the microphones need to be swapped for our microphones to work properly with i9100 firmwares.
And if you are using a firmware based on an i777 firmware you don't need the mic swap.
Now all you need to figure out is which phone the firmware you are using was based on to know whether or not you need the mic swap version of the kernel.
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and then he added the following comment:
dayv said:
Oh, and the aosp kernel is needed for cm9 and aokp based firmwares - so if you are running cm9 or aokp ROM you need to choose this version of the kernel in question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

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Random question, had the phone had the audio issues since you you purchased it? I assumed from your post, that you used the phone to handle unlocking with at&t, but I don't see a specific statement attesting to that fact. My train of thought being, that if showed up like that, hardware could be the culprit. Just a thought. Also if not, and this does sound like a kernel mic issue, there are TAR format siyah kernels used to achieve root, which you might try so as to specifically compare results pertinent only to the mic configuration.
Sent from my SGH i777

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Could the in call audio be an APN issue? The op states it is used with straight talk.

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adfurgerson said:
Could the in call audio be an APN issue? The op states it is used with straight talk.
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Nah they have to set up the apns before they can even make calls. Without an apn u wouldn't be able to even connect.
Sent from Team Pirate Headquarters. AKA yer moms basement.

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Cmoore0965 said:
Random question, had the phone had the audio issues since you you purchased it?
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Click to collapse
thanks again cmoore. when looking at to purchase this 'unlocked' i777 (craigslist) i tried my straight talk sim card (for t-mobile phone) in the i777 but when powering it up it asked for unlock code, so seller said, "oh, i guess it's not unlocked" so i foolishly assumed everything would be fine cuz it looked new and he said all worked fine. like many others here, i've had plenty of good experiences with cl purchases -- up until now. so i activated the straight talk sim card i bought for $15 (for att phone) and had these audio probs from the start.
it had the uckk6 (2.3.6) gb version so i followed creepyncrawly's thread to return to stock and flashed to uckh7. then i followed jack man's thread to flash to ucle5 using kies. then i phoned att and got unlock code and entered it to test ability to use t-mobile sim card so my friend could see which would be strongest signal for data use at his house and also have ability to test phone using both sim cards thinking maybe one was bad, but audio probs are same regardless of which sim card i use -- i bought this phone for his use and am trying to fix the audio probs before giving it back to him cuz he's never had a smartphone and has limited tech abilities, worse than me if you can imagine that!
so i don't really know if it's h/w or s/w, but obviously am hopeful it's s/w and can be corrected once i figure what file may be bad.
Cmoore0965 said:
Also if not, and this does sound like a kernel mic issue, there are TAR format siyah kernels used to achieve root, which you might try so as to specifically compare results pertinent only to the mic configuration.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as you probably already realize, i have only performed flashes above using odin via ocd method and am not confident/savvy enough yet to perform what you are suggesting, but it seems to me that maybe i should flash to the uckh7 version with root though to have ability to do what you suggest i try and then search for that kernel and search for procedures to compare results. since i'm not sure how to do what you are suggesting and only partly comprehend what you think i should try, any additional details how to go about this would be appreciated.