Microphone only works with headphones plugged in - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I've been using my Xperia Z5 for roughly 2 years without problems, but lately I've experienced a rather annoying issue regarding headphone use and the microphone (the one built into the phone, NOT one attached to a headphone):
After using the headphones to for example listen to music, the microphone will stop working, unless the headphones are plugged in. This is regardless of app (I've tested: sound recorder app, Google Assistant and phone call). It doesn't seem to be because the phone thinks the headphones are connected because: (I) it uses the built in microphone when the headphones are connected, (II) the speakers function as normal without headphones.
The only way to fix this, seems to be a reboot. After that the microphone works until headphones are used again.
Sony support suggested resetting the phone, however this didn't help. I've also tried searching both Google and XDA, but haven't found anyone else with the same problem.
The only thing that's changed since the issue started appearing, is that I janked on the connector on my headphone cable, which meant it got a bit loose. This in turn means it can disconnect if the connector or cable is moved in a certain way (though I haven't yet been able to figure out the exact movement or if it's the connector or the cable). I've already ordered a replacement cable.
I think the problem may be related to this disconnect that happens when the headphones are still plugged in. However, after this occurs, it doesn't matter what headphone/set is used, and plugging in a headphone WITH a microphone will function without issues (though disconnecting will still make the built in mic stop working).

Related

[Q] S3 auxiliary audio issue - any suggestions?

Hi ,
I recently upgraded to the Samsung Galaxy S3 ( UK ) , and for the first time today have connected it to the auxiliary input in my car stereo.
Before this phone I had the Galaxy S1 and all worked fine with no problem.
There are a few concerns I`d like the answer to and hoping that someone here can shed some light on it.
First of all, the battery on the phone was low when I left home, so I plugged the phone into the car charger ( one that accepts a USB cable, and was charging through that ). My first dissapointment was that I STILL got interference from the charger when playing audio , i had hoped this may have gone away since I was charging via a USB cable, but I still get a hiss in the background that is more apparent during quiet moments of songs - this is not such a major issue as I was used to it with the S1. Still, if anyone knows how to prevent this I would be grateful.
Anyways, the noise was becoming irritating so once the phone had ample charge to see me into work I disconnected the charger.
When I did this, the audio level dropped noticably and seemed to become more `tinny`. Why would disconnecting the charger cause this to happen?
Also, some tracks seemed to almost totally lose vocals , for example when Foo Fighters `The One` started playing it almost sounded like an instrumental. When I plugged the charger back in the audio level increased but still sounded odd.
When I got into work I plugged my PC speakers into the phone and it sounded fine through that. This would indicate the problem lies in the car somewhere, however I never had this problem with the S1.
When I plug the 3.5mm cable in , the phone detects `headphones` rather than auxiliary, I am sure the S1 used to notice accurately if the device attached was headphones or auxiliary. However, anything plugged into the S3 shows as headphones.
I am using the Android Poweramp app, which i absolutely love, so I would rather not change that as a solution - but I will try a different player later for diagnostic purposes.
Short version of this post -
1) How can I get the phone to detect auxiliary is attached and NOT headphones - I`m sure this affects the output level.
2) Why does the volume level change when the charger is disconnected?
3) Why would the audio sound like the vocals have been muted in the car when its fine on headphones and PC speakers?
4) Is there a way to get rid of the annoying interference hiss when charging whilst playing?
If anyone can help with this I would be most grateful
Many thanks
Ade
Guess I should have done a little more fiddling before posting!
The problem was a faulty audio cable , it just threw me how the volume levels changed when the phone was been charged. I still find that odd.
Anyway, sound quality and volume levels are fine now. I also learnt that you can disable the headphone notification along with the app suggestions in the notification window. This was in Accessory in the phones system settings , just uncheck the Audio Applications box under Earphones. I expect everyone here knew that already though!
The only issue I have left is the interference noise from playing audio while charging, I suspect I may need a more shielded charger or cable?

Aux Cable / Headphone Bug

So figured I'd go ahead and add a thread about this here for us Sprint users that are experiencing the problem with the Aux cable. Its a known issue and I'd link to a couple other posts, but I'm still a "noob"
I was a little upset to find that I wasn't able to use my phone to Pandora in the car.
However....
Today I got it to work, and here is how: I had the stereo set to the CD player when i plugged the AUX cable in and the icon stayed in the notification bar. Then I launched Pandora and let it start playing. THEN I switched the stereo to AUX mode, and it played fine my entire trip to work. Still experienced the "hot plug" sound between tracks, but I think I can deal with it.
geetee360 said:
So figured I'd go ahead and add a thread about this here for us Sprint users that are experiencing the problem with the Aux cable. Its a known issue and I'd link to a couple other posts, but I'm still a "noob"
I was a little upset to find that I wasn't able to use my phone to Pandora in the car.
However....
Today I got it to work, and here is how: I had the stereo set to the CD player when i plugged the AUX cable in and the icon stayed in the notification bar. Then I launched Pandora and let it start playing. THEN I switched the stereo to AUX mode, and it played fine my entire trip to work. Still experienced the "hot plug" sound between tracks, but I think I can deal with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recall having an issue with my samsung headphones. They didn't work at one point, I rebooted and they were fine. The phone didn't even detect them for some reason. I've had no issues with aux in my car (aside from needing a new cable), however I thought it would be worth mentioning that my Note 2 had an issue with aux when it is on any AOSP ROMs. Selecting any app, even swiping the notification window down, sometimes even just leaving the music app and going back will stop the music from playing. The only solution for this was to go to the home screen unplug the aux start music playing and plug the cable back in and touch no other app. Again, it never did this with stock. I even went back to stock briefly because of this. AOSP seems to throw a fit with the aux cables.
I had issues with AUX today as well. Thought it was my specific phone but I'm relieved to know it's common....and perhaps a software issue.
infernosoft said:
I had issues with AUX today as well. Thought it was my specific phone but I'm relieved to know it's common....and perhaps a software issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I have it as well...I've found if I start Spotify, then plug in the AUX cord from my car, it works fine.
So I think I know the answer to this one.
It seems to have to do with how cars and some other devices treat aux inputs. For the most part it appears (at least in the case of my Prius) that with the input switched to aux the phone would not consistantly stay aux mode. What it seems like was happening is that the car doesnt actually 'activate' the aux port unless it senses a completed circuit (ie: audio playing). I have to believe this has to do with preventing feedback.
Unfortunately it seems the phone does the exact same thing. The headphone or aux symbol appears on insert of the cable because the phone senses the initial connection but then finds no load on the circuit thus assuming it is not connected and disables the port. You end up with basically an electronic stalemate. Neither one engaging cause they sense nothing from the other side. No load on the circuit.
Bear in mind this is completely dependent on the device you are connecting to your phone, as to whether it does what I'm talking about. Likewise, those experiencing popping or similar during song or track changes would basically be experiencing the same issue as during the song change the phone stops playing audio and your car kills the port. When the car kills the port, the phone kills the port, or is in the process of it when the next song starts.
To counteract this I bought an audio cable with a ground loop circuit built in. It is designed to remove the buzz from car aux audio due to the phone or other device being charged through the car's power system. But the added benefit is that it creates an artificial load on the line that the phone senses. Same idea as plugging in headphones as the earphone on the headphones creates a load on the line in the same way.
This is the audio cable I bought. Works like a charm every time, although one warning. I did experience one case of very loud static when unplugging it through the speakers in my car because of the fact that the car and the phone believe the circuit constantly is active and thus do not kill the connection to save your hearing. So be careful to only plug or unplug it when the input is not active or the car is off.
http://www.amazon.com/Kensington-Reducing-SmartPhone-including-iPhone/dp/B0031U1ATQ/
It does appear that Amazon has put the item under review for now, though I'm not sure why as mine works flawlessly, but any similar car aux noise reducing cable would work, assuming its decent quality.
An aux cable with an in-line volume control should peform similarly due to the load created by the potentiometer, although it wouldnt remove the charger buzz.
Something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Apollo23-3-3-Volume-Control-Samsung-Smartphones/dp/B00COXA8Y4
wolfhelm said:
So I think I know the answer to this one.
It seems to have to do with how cars and some other devices treat aux inputs. For the most part it appears (at least in the case of my Prius) that with the input switched to aux the phone would not consistantly stay aux mode. What it seems like was happening is that the car doesnt actually 'activate' the aux port unless it senses a completed circuit (ie: audio playing). I have to believe this has to do with preventing feedback.
Unfortunately it seems the phone does the exact same thing. The headphone or aux symbol appears on insert of the cable because the phone senses the initial connection but then finds no load on the circuit thus assuming it is not connected and disables the port. You end up with basically an electronic stalemate. Neither one engaging cause they sense nothing from the other side. No load on the circuit.
Bear in mind this is completely dependent on the device you are connecting to your phone, as to whether it does what I'm talking about. Likewise, those experiencing popping or similar during song or track changes would basically be experiencing the same issue as during the song change the phone stops playing audio and your car kills the port. When the car kills the port, the phone kills the port, or is in the process of it when the next song starts.
To counteract this I bought an audio cable with a ground loop circuit built in. It is designed to remove the buzz from car aux audio due to the phone or other device being charged through the car's power system. But the added benefit is that it creates an artificial load on the line that the phone senses. Same idea as plugging in headphones as the earphone on the headphones creates a load on the line in the same way.
This is the audio cable I bought. Works like a charm every time, although one warning. I did experience one case of very loud static when unplugging it through the speakers in my car because of the fact that the car and the phone believe the circuit constantly is active and thus do not kill the connection to save your hearing. So be careful to only plug or unplug it when the input is not active or the car is off.
http://www.amazon.com/Kensington-Reducing-SmartPhone-including-iPhone/dp/B0031U1ATQ/
It does appear that Amazon has put the item under review for now, though I'm not sure why as mine works flawlessly, but any similar car aux noise reducing cable would work, assuming its decent quality.
An aux cable with an in-line volume control should peform similarly due to the load created by the potentiometer, although it wouldnt remove the charger buzz.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just want my G3 to work as it should for such a simple function as the headphone jack/aux port.
I want to listen to music in my car without fannying around with different cables etc etc.
I had a Galaxy Note and S4, both played fine in the same car with the same cabling.
Shame on LG for releasing us a substandard product that cannot perform the most basic of tasks correctly.
I will say, i was extremely dissapointed when i plugged my shinny new phone into my stereo and the audio continued to come through the phone speakers. All other phones/devices work just fine in my car and there is no reason why my G3 shouldn't either.
R2DeeTard said:
I will say, i was extremely dissapointed when i plugged my shinny new phone into my stereo and the audio continued to come through the phone speakers. All other phones/devices work just fine in my car and there is no reason why my G3 shouldn't either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My first feeling was confusion. I was also worried my headphones wouldn't work. But I was able to watch a beautiful high def video on my phone last night with my headphones on
Sent from my LGLS990
I just got this phone too, and although I love it, I was very sad to have this issue! I haven't had it on any other phone I have owned, so I certainly hope it is fixed in a future update. That and the video force close bug, but that is for another thread!
Guys, there is nothing wrong with the AUX port on your cars -- and they don't trigger via sound. They trigger via either conductive circuitry or via ohm load. Can you test if you are still seeing these problems when *not* charging? This issue is typically related to bad grounds. This happens to me at work when my phone is charging and I plug my headphones directly into my G3. If I pass the audio to my PC first (to the line-in,) and THEN to my headphones, the static is mostly gone.
So try unplugging the power source, and using different aux cables. Another factor is try plugging the power source into the same feed as the stereo. Sometimes this isn't that easy though.
What's happening on the back end with the sound changing between songs, etc, is that the audio codec, (the chipset,) is turning off to conserve battery. For me, when the chip turns on, it grounds the 3.5mm port just fine, and when it's off, AND I have power connected with headphones, I can get that whine -- depending on the scenario. So basically, this is by design -- an energy conservation tactic. I would be okay with them leaving the audio chip on the entire time headphones are connected.
Had this problem too and found that as long as I was charging the phone it would play like it should.
Yep, grounding issue. At work, routing the aux signal through my PC works just fine WHILE charging -- if I unplug, then I get all the machine noise.
In general, though, the headphone output is pretty crappy on this device. Even when it's "working great," there is still a faint amount of white noise that can be heard. Much higher than my HTC M7. The S5 had similar performance as the G3 though.
I just bought:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ANDHBNS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And plugged it into:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F474DVG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
So when I get in my car, it connects to the dongle for music and the car's blue tooth for phone.
It's not perfect, but gets the job done.
wolfhelm said:
So I think I know the answer to this one.
It seems to have to do with how cars and some other devices treat aux inputs. For the most part it appears (at least in the case of my Prius) that with the input switched to aux the phone would not consistantly stay aux mode. What it seems like was happening is that the car doesnt actually 'activate' the aux port unless it senses a completed circuit (ie: audio playing). I have to believe this has to do with preventing feedback.
Unfortunately it seems the phone does the exact same thing. The headphone or aux symbol appears on insert of the cable because the phone senses the initial connection but then finds no load on the circuit thus assuming it is not connected and disables the port. You end up with basically an electronic stalemate. Neither one engaging cause they sense nothing from the other side. No load on the circuit.
Bear in mind this is completely dependent on the device you are connecting to your phone, as to whether it does what I'm talking about. Likewise, those experiencing popping or similar during song or track changes would basically be experiencing the same issue as during the song change the phone stops playing audio and your car kills the port. When the car kills the port, the phone kills the port, or is in the process of it when the next song starts.
To counteract this I bought an audio cable with a ground loop circuit built in. It is designed to remove the buzz from car aux audio due to the phone or other device being charged through the car's power system. But the added benefit is that it creates an artificial load on the line that the phone senses. Same idea as plugging in headphones as the earphone on the headphones creates a load on the line in the same way.
This is the audio cable I bought. Works like a charm every time, although one warning. I did experience one case of very loud static when unplugging it through the speakers in my car because of the fact that the car and the phone believe the circuit constantly is active and thus do not kill the connection to save your hearing. So be careful to only plug or unplug it when the input is not active or the car is off.
http://www.amazon.com/Kensington-Reducing-SmartPhone-including-iPhone/dp/B0031U1ATQ/
It does appear that Amazon has put the item under review for now, though I'm not sure why as mine works flawlessly, but any similar car aux noise reducing cable would work, assuming its decent quality.
An aux cable with an in-line volume control should peform similarly due to the load created by the potentiometer, although it wouldnt remove the charger buzz.
Something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Apollo23-3-3-Volume-Control-Samsung-Smartphones/dp/B00COXA8Y4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just purchased this:
http://www.amazon.com/Kensington-Reducing-SmartPhone-including-iPhone/dp/B0031U1ATQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406313911&sr=8-1&keywords=kensington+noise+reducing+car+audio+aux+cable
Working pretty well. Mainly solves the connectivity issues.
Still have the pop between tracks but it's much better.
Still have the "computer talk" garbage noise related to the display coming through the left channel.
I can live with this until LG or Android comes up with a fix.
aux problem
I guess I lucked out with my phone but then again maybe not. First off I will describe my setup, I have a 05 Subaru WRX with stock 6cd changer head unit ( no aux port ) I installed a Harmon Kardon Drive + Play iPod dock. This allows me to remote control my iPod and comes with a display that shows tracks and such. It works by FM transmitter but has an optional wire which I have that connects directly between the antenna and the stereo so you get little to no loss of signal. Between the AUX and my phone I connected a PAC SNI-1/3.5 3.5-mm Ground Loop Noise device. My previous phone was an LG Optimus G which I loved, when I hooked this phone up I could listen to Pandora/TuneinRadio through my car speakers and upon making/receiving a call I would hear the call through the car speakers and when I talked the phone mic. would pick up my voice. When I attempt this with the G3 I get no popping between tracks but the phone mutes the mic and when I say mute I don't mean the mute button comes on I mean the other person can't hear me. I found if I unplug and plug the phone in during the call eventually the mic works again, but to do this while driving defeats the purpose of hands free calling. Does anyone else have this problem? (or a solution).
Click to open expanded view
gorillaz1 said:
Yeah I have it as well...I've found if I start Spotify, then plug in the AUX cord from my car, it works fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Works for me, thank you.
Mines does not work at all, with headphones or aux Jack, now I have to get Bluetooth headphones and bluetooth radio for car
Sent from my LGLS990 using XDA Free mobile app
Do we know if LG is working on this issue? Or if it is something that can even be fixed with an update? I'm getting tired of messing with the cable just to play music in my car, and I don't want to have to buy extra accessories to get the job done.
Sent from my LGLS990 using XDA Free mobile app
Bumping this thread because I just started having issues. Last night I was listen to music with headphones and my device kept turning itself down. I thought it was Tasker at first but it kept happening. Today at work I wanted to listen to music on headphones again and the sound would only come through my device. I'm going to try an aux and other headphones when I get off work, but does anyone know if a system restore will fix this? I'm rooted with TWRP, I just don't want to wipe it for nothing.
Srambo217 said:
Bumping this thread because I just started having issues. Last night I was listen to music with headphones and my device kept turning itself down. I thought it was Tasker at first but it kept happening. Today at work I wanted to listen to music on headphones again and the sound would only come through my device. I'm going to try an aux and other headphones when I get off work, but does anyone know if a system restore will fix this? I'm rooted with TWRP, I just don't want to wipe it for nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They fixed it with ZV6. If you're already on ZV6 then I have no idea.
Sent from my LGLS990 using XDA Free mobile app

[Q] Headphones not working anymore

I got my z2 last Tuesday and my headphones (Logitech UE 350) were working perfectly until I tried using them today. For some reason they aren't being recognized anymore and the music just keeps playing through the phones speakers.
I tried plugging them into my old iphone and they work fine. I also tried plugging in another pair (Shure SE215) into both phones and they work fine. Except on the z2 it makes a clicking sound whenever I change songs now.
Does anybody know any way to fix this? Or could it be a faulty headphone jack?
Could be a number of things mate. Firstly, check and see the headphones are not physically damaged and even make sure that the microhpones in the in-ear pieces aren't affected by water exposure. Next check the headphones out by moving the wire around while they're plugged in and see how the sound comes out and if the phone reacts to any movements. When I used my phone in water even after hours of drying the headphone jack still wasn't dry so even the slightest movement switched tracks etc. Alternatively, it could be a headphone jack fault in the sense that it may be shorting? Or the 3.5mm 5pin connector on the headphones itself is damaged. It could also simply be a software glitch. Go into "Sounds" in your settings and change what kind of accessory it detects the headphones as. Try "Other", it may solve your problems. Alternatively take it into a Sony store or a phone shop and see if there's anywhere with a similar headset which you could test out.

Headphones pluged in mic problem with phone calls

Hi guys,
I need your advice here. I love the music capability of the v10. So my headphones is plugged in the phone all the time while listening to music. However, I noticed that 30% of the time when I receive/make phone calls the mic would just stop working. If I unplug my headphone and replug it back, about 50% of the time it will work again. The other 50% the phone call would end when I unplug my headphones. During all these scenarios the mic would work under speaker mode.
Is this a software issue?? Coz the mic obviously work flawlessly when the phone is unplugged or when it's on speaker mode. Would reboot the phone solve this problem or should I send this unit back to lg??
Thanks in advanced for your help!
I'm having the exact same problem you are. This happened to me once before and it just sort of fixed itself after a while. Do you see a weird little headphone chord icon at the top of your screen? If you do, it means that your phone thinks that a headset is plugged in when it's not, thus not allowing sound - such as music - to output from your external speaker. Mine doesn't even play music through headphones or allow me to hear anyone while making calls if I don't use speaker phone - the person I'm calling can't even hear me.
This is such a faulty issue - and a rarely known or talked about one at best. I'd take it up to your local carrier store and see what they say.
Mic prpblem even without headphone plug-in.
JBlake93 said:
I'm having the exact same problem you are. This happened to me once before and it just sort of fixed itself after a while. Do you see a weird little headphone chord icon at the top of your screen? If you do, it means that your phone thinks that a headset is plugged in when it's not, thus not allowing sound - such as music - to output from your external speaker. Mine doesn't even play music through headphones or allow me to hear anyone while making calls if I don't use speaker phone - the person I'm calling can't even hear me.
This is such a faulty issue - and a rarely known or talked about one at best. I'd take it up to your local carrier store and see what they say.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. I think I will contact LG. However, today I hada mic problem without pluggingin my headphones
Now I know the phone's mic works ~80% of the time. When it works, it works flawlessly. So, do you guys think this might be a software problem??

Mic and phone speaker only working in loudspeaker mode

Hi Moto Experts,
since a few days I have an issue with my moto z.
Phone Speaker and mic are only working when I make a call and switch to loudspeaker.
Besides calling mode they won´t work
I also tried headphone plugged in and then I can hear music or videosound but only on headphone.
Also ring tone works via phone speaker.
I tried to restart phone a few times but without luck.
What can be the problem here?
Also the usb-c plug isn´t working really good as it looses connection if you only move plugged cable a milimeter in wrong way, which shouldn´t be with usb-c.
This problem is there for a long time so accepted it but with mic and speaker not working the phone isn´t really useable
I searched here in moto-z forum but can´t find any similiar problems.
Do you have some troubleshooting ideas?

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