Poor call quality on Z5 Compact

[ddubs8699]

My partner and I have just gotten Xperia Z5 Compacts and are both experiencing really bad call quality. The caller on the other end is mumbly and sounds far away and during the call it jumps from being really loud to really soft, and the whole time unclear.

Is anyone else experiencing this and is there a way to fix this problem with settings?

Right now it's pretty much unusable and I'm going to have to return it if it can't be fixed. Believe it not I actually need to use my phone as a phone.

[Samuel1]

Are you both using the same operator/carrier? Which one? I have not heard about this before actually so it seems very strange. 

[snapdragon810]

Please perform data factory reset and never activate the sounds options under settings, make sure everything is disabled and usually these sound setting make the sound worse than enhanced and better. Tgis happened to me and now it is fixed. I hear normal voice now when I call and receive calls and when I listen to music.

[ddubs8699]

It's Telstra in Australia. My old phone was with Telstra and my current work phone (an iphone 6) and no issues. I am certain it is the phone and not the carrier. Ive only had the phone one week. I've read on other forums people have had this issue with earlier xperia phones and suggest turning off noise cancellation but I cannot find this option on the Z5. 

[ddubs8699]

BTW both phones have up to date firmware 32.0.A.6.170. There was no change in the call quality before or after installing the update. The caller voice is always metallic and robotic sounding.

[wagge]

Hi!

Me and my partner is also experiencing similar problems. The sound sounds distorted and as soon as the other party starts talking we hear a white noise in the background that disappears as soon as no one is talking.

We have had our phones for more than 4 months now and it has been a problem since day one. We have tested several firmware updates, headset and phones. It seems to be worst when we are talking to each other but it is noticeable when we are talking to other people as well. We are both calling within Sweden using Telia which is the biggest operator in Sweden. Both of us has used them for 15 years or so with several phones and has not noticed similar problems before.

[wagge]

My partner will likely switch phone if it is not fixed since it bugs her so much. I might stick around for a while due to the contract with the operator and that I like the phone otherwise, but I would also really like to see it fixed!

[Naks]

I've also experienced poor call quality since I got the phone in October 2016.

People are always telling me that I sound 'far away' when they call me or even when I call them.

I have found that disabling mobile data and Wifi when on a call improves the call quality greatly. Very inconvenient, but at least it's a workaround.

[Jonas]

Hi @Naks,

I'm sorry to hear about that.

Does this happen in every call that you make or receive? If it does, I would recommend that you test the microphone outside a call in the inbuilt Diagnostics test in the phone. Go to Settings > About phone > Diagnostics > Test > Microphone.

How does it sound in the test, do you hear yourself far away in here as well?

If everything is fine in the test, go back to Settings > More > Mobile networks > Preferred network type, change this to GSM Only and make a few calls and see if there has been any change for the counterpart.

Let me know how it goes!

[Naks]

Thanks @Jonas,

I just did the mic tests with everything off, then mobile data on, then Wifi on, then both on. The sound level/quality is all the same in all 4 scenarios, so I don't think it's the mic.

Switching to GSM only also improves the quality of the call, although not as much as switching mobile data off completely.