iPhone 4S - Outgoing call no audio - anyone here have this problem?

[ramonesfreak]

i rarely make calls without my headphones so i didnt really notice this issue until yesterday when i tried to call just using the handset. the timer starts ticking but i hear nothing...no ringing and no answering by the other party but they can hear me. usually the second attempt to call the number works fine

for some reason, when using the handset only, the speaker in the ear piece gets turned on mute and you have to toggle the speaker button to get it to work....

well i did a quick search online and wow...

there is a 74 page thread on this issue here
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3404857?start=0&tstart=0

nobody seems to know if its hardware or software related. people have returned their phones and received new ones with the same problem, some have not had the problem return.

apparently the soon to be released IOS update does not fix the problem.

anyone here experience this?

[ramonesfreak]

rdar://10413124: iPhone 4S - Outgoing call no audio

Open Radar
Community bug reports
iPhone 4S - Outgoing call no audio
Originator: sckormilo
Number: rdar://10413124 Date Originated: November 8, 2011
Status: Open Resolved:
Product: iPhone/iPod Touch Product Version: 9A334
Classification: Serious Bug Reproducible: Sometimes

Summary:
Sometimes (most of the time) when attempting to make outgoing calls on my iPhone 4S no audio is heard through the earpiece.

Steps to Reproduce:
Go into the phone application.
Dial a number on the keypad.
Press Call.
Hold handset to hear.

Expected Results:
Hear phone ringing and then someone saying "Hello"

Actual Results:
No audio. Sometimes able to recover the audio by manually toggling from earpiece to speaker and back. Sometimes audio gets stuck on speaker and will not move to other output.

Similar issue with headset plugged in. When dialling the number, audio is heard as the numbers are pressed. Once call starts, audio is routed out the speaker and cannot be moved onto the headset.

Regression:
n/a

Notes:

This issue was also present for me on the iOS5 GM as shipped with the phone, but continues to be present in iOS 5.0.1 beta2.

Many other people experiencing the same issue:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3404857

[Z-man]

My only suggestion would be to verify that you are no longer paired to the headphones, if they are bluetooth headphones, or any other BT device for that matter.

Also - when calling, tape on either handset speaker or speakerphone once the call is made.
-Z

[Scott Watkins]

I've only had mine a couple of weeks and it does this also.

[ramonesfreak]

tapping speaker was the only thing that corrected problem for me, but not always...

this afternoon i went to the apple store. told genius the situation. he knew exactly what i was talking about and was able to reproduce the problem in the store by calling the store's number. timer started counting seconds, no ring tone, no sound of apples voice mail message....no sound. for once...my car has never been so cooperative

i mentioned the thread above (from apple discussion forum), and he was aware of it

they replaced my phone even though im beyond 30 days.

they gave me a "black boxed" phone...but i dont mind even if refurbished because i believe there is a hardware problem and i like the idea that the phone has been on a tech's bench for some reason or other, and thus scrutinized more than if it were directly off the assembly line

if this was a software problem, it would have been fixed by now with a patch im convinced

all i had to say was, 'what if my house was on fire and i couldnt speak to 911'...and he turned around to his locked cabinet and gave me a replacement

there is no way anyone with a brain at apple would risk the above scenario if some new code could fix this problem. losing a customer's faith in the dependability of a product's primary purpose (to make phone calls) is not a wise thing to do to stockholders....if a fire extinguisher didnt work consistently would you buy the product? a home security alarm system? a hand gun? a phone? of course not...my problem was much more serious than a poor battery problem or yellowed screen problem or a siri malfunction.

i really think that apple is hoping that the thousands of people with bad devices will quietly go to the store and get new ones without protest from store employees, utilizing the 12 month hardware warranty to explain even phones with unreproducible or questionable symptoms, and that the problem will disappear eventually without media drama

what could the hardware problem be? ive seen some interesting theories concerning lack of, or fluctuating, battery power to the components involved, to unusual behavior concerning the headphone input jack.

to me this is all very interesting from a legal and business marketing/ethics point of view i think

assuming my new black box phone continues to work as intended, at the very least i have paid for a new phone but own a black box phone which i know is refurbished because it came with a scratched bezel

faulty phone and replacement phone both ran 5.0 and then 5.0.1

[ramonesfreak]

oh and btw i never used BT devices, though many do have problems once they do

[ramonesfreak]

Originally Posted by Scott Watkins

I've only had mine a couple of weeks and it does this also.

there are thousands of people with the same problem

read the thread above and google "no audio outgoing call" or "audio mute problem" or "audio problem 4s"

[rattlsnak]

FWIW, i havent had that issue on my 4S, but i had it on my 3 and 3S...

[Scott Watkins]

I received this advice from my daughter:

"I would take it to the Apple store and they will replace it for free. I had a similar situation when I first got my iPhone. When making an outgoing call, I couldn’t hear anything except for if I was on speakerphone. The headset wouldn’t work. I read a lot of the blogs and they said try to put the headphones in and remove them, the phone would sometimes think it was still in headphone mode – this didn’t help. The guy at the Apple store also said you could try a hard reset on the phone. You hold the power button and the home button simultaneously until the phone shuts off and begins to restart. You won’t lose any data if you do this."

Will let you know if it works.

[ramonesfreak]

i did many reboots of phone, reset all data, etc....these things help temporarily and then problem returns

and unlike my 3Gs which had this problem maybe twice in 2 years, my 4s was doing it every day, getting worse every day

go to store if you have one and see what they do. most likely you will be offered a black box phone....probably refurb, without new headphones or charger

this problem is pretty widespread...

seemed to happen under either 5.0 or 5.0.1 and the new 5.1 beta doesnt appear to address problem from what i read. seems like a hardware problem...bad batch of parts?

one day with my new replacement and no problem so far and i have tried to reproduce it. all is good for now.

[Rick Lee]

I'll have two new iPhones 4S on Wed. I hope this bug has been worked out.

[Scott Watkins]

I sure miss my BB!!! Did all I need a phone to do.

[ramonesfreak]

iPhone 4S Users Complaining of Audio Issues: No Audio on Outgoing Calls, Echoes, Static - MacRumors Forums

[Scott Watkins]

Had an appointment with the "genius bar" today. They worked on the phone for about 15 minutes and were having the same issue.

They gave me a new phone and sent me on my way with the apology.

[ramonesfreak]

ive had no call problems since getting my replacement. no problems whatsoever. the camera elements or something rattles of course, but whatever. nothing is perfect haha

[jyl]

No such problems with my 4, 4S, or 3G.

[JE928sx4]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

ive had no call problems since getting my replacement. no problems whatsoever. the camera elements or something rattles of course, but whatever. nothing is perfect haha

This was a problem on the 3G and 3GS phones also. If you use the headset a lot it can get stuck in headset mode. Sticking the plug into the jack and removing it really quick about 6 or 7 times can get it out of headset mode.