Permanent Call Echo Fix (T-989, ICS + GB Roms)

Search This thread

Darmokk

Senior Member
Jun 13, 2011
245
32
DFW, TX
So I have had the call echo issue for some time. Specifically once I started flashing ICS leaks left and right, but come to find out our issue is HARDWARE related rather than software related. To be clear this is a fix for the caller echo issue where the person you are talking to on the phone hears their own voice echoing back to them.

This thread pretty much sums up the whole thing.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1441510

Cliff notes: There is a speaker that has come loose in your phone either from some suspect glue, or perhaps even a rough tumble if you've dropped your phone once or twice. Once this happens, the nearby NC (noise cancellation) microphone picks it up and the call echo follows.

The fix here is very simple, you just need to unscrew the 6 tiny screws (careful not to strip them, and remove and reinstall them in the same order) and then pop off the casing that protects your T-989's innards. While the thread (and pics) above are for the international Galaxy SII, the important part at the top that needs to be covered (the speaker) is the same.

I tried the fix without really doing anything except removing the casing, cutting a small sliver of an old business card to put on top of the speaker, and closing and screwing the case back on. Didn't mess with anything else, and the fix works great. I called a couple people before I reinstalled the screws and I encourage everyone to make a test call to make sure the echo is gone before putting everything back together.

This is a really simple/easy fix to get rid of the call echo, and it explains while some people have the echo with/without a case and to varying degrees. But I'm now enjoying Racing's UCLD ICS Rom with no call echo and all is right in the world.

If anyone needs anymore help just let me know, and those of you that have the echo and try this please report back.
 

sarni84

Senior Member
May 17, 2011
3,066
676
Levittown, PA
Interesting..... tho I do not have the dreaded call echo, this makes sense because I never dropped my phone. . I know what to do now if I have the problem tho!
 

monkeypaws

Senior Member
Feb 19, 2012
2,075
557
Thanks forbthe saceifice my question is tjis: if itsbhardware, then why is it that i dont get the same issue when running non-ics roms. It seems to me that running a non sgh-t989 ics ported rom is the issue. While some of us have been lucky, its happened to me with every ics ported rom but never with gb or aosp roms(eugene cm7 kang). ??? On a side note, if thats what it takes ro fix it, im more than willing to wait for ics for our phone than possibly break something and void my warranty. Also, ive used a case and also havent and have dropped my phone a few times. I would like to see other confirmed reports of people trying this.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
 
  • Like
Reactions: masamichi7

goldfingerfif

Senior Member
Jan 9, 2009
388
445
Chicago, IL
Make sense why some users never experience it and others do no matter what they flash.

I am thinking Samsung obviously must have adjusted the noise cancellation mic sensitivity or settings with ICS. It could also be the ICS framework with the way it handles it or maybe the RIL (radio interface layer) of the ICS roms.

Either way it makes a lot of sense especially if so many dont experience the issue on any rom while others it is every ICS rom.
 

rfail1988

Senior Member
Jul 22, 2011
241
49
Yea I second that! Hardware issue
Makes no since.it works great on gb Roms. Nice thought through. But I gotta say Epic Fail!!

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk

Not an epic fail if he beat the call echo issue. Its quite a macguyver type fix but it did the trick. I would rather wait for it to be fixed on the software side myself, however.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2
 

casonswag

Senior Member
Aug 31, 2011
4,522
943
Jacksonville
Make sense why some users never experience it and others do no matter what they flash.

I am thinking Samsung obviously must have adjusted the noise cancellation mic sensitivity or settings with ICS. It could also be the ICS framework with the way it handles it or maybe the RIL (radio interface layer) of the ICS roms.

Either way it makes a lot of sense especially if so many dont experience the issue on any rom while others it is every ICS rom.

Thats true or it could be that we don't have a official ics modem +Ics rom it could be interfering some how
 

defconoi

Senior Member
Oct 31, 2008
3,183
6,077
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN
www.android-unleashed.com
Call echo only happens with volume up all the way. If u put in call volume to medium-low it isn't noticeable. Call ur cell from a landline and blow into the mic on landline phone, if it repeats back lower volume and repeat until u don't hear it. What's happening is the headset speaker is too loud and the other mic is picking it up at the top

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium
 

casonswag

Senior Member
Aug 31, 2011
4,522
943
Jacksonville
Call echo only happens with volume up all the way. If u put in call volume to medium-low it isn't noticeable. Call ur cell from a landline and blow into the mic on landline phone, if it repeats back lower volume and repeat until u don't hear it. What's happening is the headset speaker is too loud and the other mic is picking it up at the top

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

That may not be best for pple in the city with low call volume i know they would want to be able to actually hear the person outside you know
 

gypsy214

Senior Member
Jan 24, 2011
2,197
528
Dallas, Tx
well i never dropped my phone but i do have that issue with ICS and GB!!! when im on ICS my friends says that there is an echo when im on GB they say they can hear me wierd, and when i take the case off they say its a little bit better. so i do think its a hardware issue!!

in the other hand my friend that works at tmobile says that he had heard this issue with all of tmobile phones not just this one
 

Darmokk

Senior Member
Jun 13, 2011
245
32
DFW, TX
Thanks for the replies guys, good discussion on this topic so far.

I agree this is definitely a "macguyver" type fix, but hey if it works it works. I've been daily driving Racing's various ICS ports since the initial leak in SPITE of the caller echo issue (I just talked to everyone on speakerphone lol) so this is really welcome news to me.

As far as damaging your phone, IMHO hacking the phone and installing Rom's is just as potentially dangerous (if not more so) than taking out 6 tiny screws out and inserting a small piece of paper underneath the casing, but its everyones decision if they want to try or not.

I have verified with 4 different callers and tested myself that the fix works for me WITHOUT a case. When I put the D30 case back on my phone there is still echo. Not as bad as before, but its definitely there.

So rolling with no case is kinda annoying but I was thinking of getting an extended battery anyways so this just makes it easier ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: monkeypaws

c130pilot

Senior Member
Aug 16, 2007
184
7
FWIW I tried this fix and still get call echo... Slightly reduced maybe but definitely still there.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
 

Darmokk

Senior Member
Jun 13, 2011
245
32
DFW, TX
FWIW I tried this fix and still get call echo... Slightly reduced maybe but definitely still there.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

Interesting do you have a case on your T989? Are you on a GB rom or an ICS leak?

Did you use a business card or just a thin piece of paper? Sorry about all the questions just trying to get as much info as possible from people experiencing this issue.

I also ONLY had the call echo issue when I flashed an ICS rom (and I had the call echo on all 3 of them), however when I went back to STOCK Gingerbread it went away. So maybe this issue is part software/part hardware?

The ICS leaks were the first roms I ever flashed, so I'm interested to know if ANYONE has the call echo on STOCK Gingerbread? I'm thinking that something in ICS increases the gain or does something to either the NC microphone or the speaker somehow?
 

c130pilot

Senior Member
Aug 16, 2007
184
7
Happened only on ICS Roms with and without case. GB Roms are ok. Used a business card.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
 

Darmokk

Senior Member
Jun 13, 2011
245
32
DFW, TX
Happened only on ICS Roms with and without case. GB Roms are ok. Used a business card.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

Bummer man sorry to hear :(

If it is a "little" bit better with the business card in there you could try to maybe fold it over and make it a bit thicker? If it helps even a little bit maybe there is some potential there to fix it?
 

gypsy214

Senior Member
Jan 24, 2011
2,197
528
Dallas, Tx
my experience from today... i went back to 100% stuck and still had echo.. not as bad with an ics rom.. but my girlfriend had told me that she was hearing it so i took off the cover and she says that it was better. so i kept talking to her and then she said the she hears an echo again so i started to talk more into the mic.. and it was gone. so i do believe its a hardware issue and its when my mouth is not close enough to the mic is when others hear an echo.. ok then again i rooted the phone and flash ics megamix on it so i gave my phone to my girlfriend to see if i can hear an echo.. so when she was holding the phone correctly i didnt heard it but when she put the phone in her shoulder and to hold it there while she talks i hear the echo.. so tell me if this a software or hardware issue.. i think it have something to do with the surrounding and how laud you talk to the person
 

Top Liked Posts

  • There are no posts matching your filters.
  • 3
    So I have had the call echo issue for some time. Specifically once I started flashing ICS leaks left and right, but come to find out our issue is HARDWARE related rather than software related. To be clear this is a fix for the caller echo issue where the person you are talking to on the phone hears their own voice echoing back to them.

    This thread pretty much sums up the whole thing.

    http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1441510

    Cliff notes: There is a speaker that has come loose in your phone either from some suspect glue, or perhaps even a rough tumble if you've dropped your phone once or twice. Once this happens, the nearby NC (noise cancellation) microphone picks it up and the call echo follows.

    The fix here is very simple, you just need to unscrew the 6 tiny screws (careful not to strip them, and remove and reinstall them in the same order) and then pop off the casing that protects your T-989's innards. While the thread (and pics) above are for the international Galaxy SII, the important part at the top that needs to be covered (the speaker) is the same.

    I tried the fix without really doing anything except removing the casing, cutting a small sliver of an old business card to put on top of the speaker, and closing and screwing the case back on. Didn't mess with anything else, and the fix works great. I called a couple people before I reinstalled the screws and I encourage everyone to make a test call to make sure the echo is gone before putting everything back together.

    This is a really simple/easy fix to get rid of the call echo, and it explains while some people have the echo with/without a case and to varying degrees. But I'm now enjoying Racing's UCLD ICS Rom with no call echo and all is right in the world.

    If anyone needs anymore help just let me know, and those of you that have the echo and try this please report back.
    3
    not sure if anyone else is still having this problem, i certainly was.. i tried doing the business card trick and it didn't really do anything.

    however, during my in-call testing, the echo that the other person was hearing went away while holding my finger over the noise cancellation mic, and immediately came back when i took my finger off again. so i ended up putting a piece of tape over the hole and it has seemed to solve the problem for now. i used a small piece of thin metallic silver tape from my job and it matches great with the silver bezel.

    specs:
    aokp jb 4.1.2 from 12/22/2012
    stock kernel
    noise cancellation checked in phone settings

    i will report back if anything changes. :good:

    pic for reference-


    IMG_2383a.jpg
    2
    This is a software issue not a hardware issue since in gb I get no echo

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium
    2
    Call echo only happens with volume up all the way. If u put in call volume to medium-low it isn't noticeable. Call ur cell from a landline and blow into the mic on landline phone, if it repeats back lower volume and repeat until u don't hear it. What's happening is the headset speaker is too loud and the other mic is picking it up at the top

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium
    2
    I have a software fix in place for this. With the new Amaze ICS leak though I've been busy trying to port Wi-Fi calling.
    People say that the Skyrocket is the same exact phone, but it is a bit more different than you may think!