Bluetooth car connection: very low quality audio

[Kjoep]

Hi,

I recently paired my Xperia P with my bluetooth built-in audio system of my car (2010 Volvo V50).  This worked perfectly with my previous Android phone (HTC Magic, first on android 1.5, then later on 2.2 using CyanogenMod).

My Xperia P is running the latest ICS firmware.  The pairing works fine, including syncing the phone book and adjusting volume.

But the transmitted audio quality is horrendous.  It's safe to say it is not usable at all.  It sounds like it has very low bandwidth.  The receiving audio is fine.  Is there any way to tweak the bluetooth settings?  There are only some basic settings in the options screen.

This cannot be normal.

Any thoughts?

[androidgo]

No help with MW600, I just tried it. Maybe once in a while the sound is better because the microphone is further away from the mouth, but the same problem occurs with this device.

[Murdock]

The problem is the gain control, period!

I have one MW600 and the experience, to the person listening, is way better.. but sometimes had some distortion/echo/noise.

Sony, when you fix this BIG BUG?!

I have sensed some e-mail's to the support but no one give a reply about bluettoth noise... it's fun, really!

[LimBo]

I have exactly the same problems with the xperia P and a 2010 Volvo V50.

I first used a Xperia P for private calls (android 2.3 later upgraded to ICS) (not used in my car), and since it was a very positive experience privately, we've included the phone in our company shortlist.

We 've bought a new one out of the box with ICS.

We are doing tests to see what phones are good enough to switch all of our engineers to Android smartphones. (From Nokia, blackberry, samsung).

But since 80% of our staff drives Volvo, Sony phones are no option anymore.

[abubasim1]

I have the same problem with outgoing sound quality when pairing my Xperia P with a Sony DR-BT100CX headset. The other party always complain about not being able to hear my voice as the quality is too bad, a bit like the vocals on Throbbing Gristle's Hamburger Lady. My phone is running 6.1.1.B.1.54 while I cannot tell what firmware level is installed on the headset and no updates for it being available online.

Update 13/04/2013: I updated my phone to 6.1.1.B.1.75 on my own. So far I haven't received any complaints about outgoing voice quality being bad but I'll keep testing for a few more days.

[androidgo]

Has anyone tried that if this problem is fixed in Jelly Bean release?

[MietasM]

It seems to be much better on Jelly Bean stock ROM.

[androidgo]

I agree, it is better now with Jelly Bean stock, but definitely it is not yet fixed!

Once again, I compared the quality of the other phone (Sony Ericsson W995), and the difference was like night and day, with the Xperia bt microfon is too sensitive and the sound is distorted.