FP5 - Microphone issue

/e/OS Devices Fairphone
1

Hi there,

Since 3-4 days, my microphone is not working anymore, on specific cases:

Not working:

  • phone app (the eOS default one, but i tried 2 other ones from the app lounge)
  • recorder app

But working on:

  • phone app with speaker on
  • whatsapp
  • videos recording

Seems like it is not a hardware issue, but OS one. My workaround is to always put the speaker, but then i look like those teenagers sharing their private discussion in public space…

It is quite annoying. Any solutions?

Phone: Fairphone 5
OS: 2.9

Thanks!

Doudou

2

Looks like I have the same issue with the Murena version of the Fairphone 5.

The microphone for the telephone app stopped working about 10 days ago. Removing the app cache did not solve it. Today e.OS v3.01 became available but the issue persisted after the install.

Calling using Signal works like a charm, so it still looks like a software issue,

@Manoj can you take this further?

1 Like
3

https://www.reddit.com/r/fairphone/comments/1bygam6/microphone_problems_on_fairphone_5/

Did some digging. Will try out if the speaker toggle does work.

4

Did some testing: when putting on the speaker, the microphone starts working. When switching the speaker, the microphone stops working again. :frowning:

5

eOS 3.0.1 indeed doesnt change anything.

6

Further digging into this issue, i found out that the FP5 has 3 microphones. When switching to speaker, another microphone is activated, so it still can be a hardware issue of mic 1.

A test that regular Fairphone users can do, is by calling this number in the phone app: *#*#2886#*#*

This test unfortunately does not work with /e/OS.

@Manoj is there a way to hardware test the Fairphone 5? The phone is one I bought from Murena directly (one year ago) and before going into a warrenty issue, I want to be sure it is a hardware issue, and not a software bug.

Thanks for checking.

Source: FP5 caller cant hear me - Fairphone 5 - Fairphone Community Forum

7

As a customer I would recommend taking the issue to the helpdesk instead of running some commands that may end up voiding the warranty in some way.

8

Thanks @manoj, I have contacted the helpdesk yesterday and will await their response.

9

Let me know :wink:
Me I installed eOS by myself.

10

These are the steps I received from support. I have requested where to find the Fairphone Checkup app (step 5).

This kind of behavior usually points to how the OS routes microphone input to different apps or functions. Here are a few suggestions to try:

  1. Check App Permissions
  • Go to Settings > Privacy > Permission Manager > Microphone
  • Make sure the Phone and Recorder apps have microphone access allowed.
  1. Safe Mode Test
  • Boot your phone into safe mode (on most eOS devices: long-press power > long-press “Power Off” > tap “Reboot to Safe Mode”).
  • Try making a phone call in safe mode.
  • If it works, a third-party app might be interfering with the mic.
  1. Reset App Preferences
  • Go to Settings > Apps > Menu (⋮) > Reset app preferences
  • This will not delete any data, but it resets permissions and default apps.
  1. Check for OS Updates
  • Go to Settings > System > Updater but as you mentioned, you already have 3.1
  • Make sure you’re running the latest version of /e/OS — newer versions might have fixed microphone routing bugs.
  1. Microphone Path Test using Fairphone checkup app
  2. Perform a factory reset, and make sure you backup all your data.
11

I still need to find time for a factory reset, but now see that for FP6 this issue has been logged:

Which looks rather similar…