Does Your iPhone 4S Audio Echo During a Call?

By , Nov 1, 2011

Battery life isn’t the only complaint about Apple’s newest smartphone. Customers are reporting an issue with the device’s audio echoing during a voice call.

An Apple discussion thread is alive and kicking with hundreds of disgruntled iPhone 4S users that are complaining about an audio echo on the other end of the call when talking on the phone via an Apple hands-free headset.

And we thought that no one used a smartphone to actually call people anymore…

Users are reporting a significant drop in audio quality and heightened sound reverb when using the Apple hands-free headset. The audio seems to generally go down in quality as the call progresses, and then the person on the other end of the line starts echoing uncontrollably. Sites like BGR have been able to independently confirm this bug.

One thread member wrote:

“It does not occur immediately. It can vary from 30 seconds into a call and as far up to 9 mins in before it begins the annoying echo. If I unplug the headset it goes away but will return when I plug the headset back in.”

Another complaint:

“Same thing happens to me.  Very annoying.  But, the echo is on the other side of the conversation.  What I hear is the person sounds like they are all of a sudden really far away, but the volume of the voice increases and it’s scratchy.  At the same time this happens, the person on the other side of the call says there is all of a sudden an echo. I haven’t tried unplugging the headset yet, because I pretty much always use the headset and don’t want to give that up.  I just hang up and call the person back.  SOOOOOOO annoying!!!!  I’m on AT&T 32 GB black iPhone 4S.”

The bug seems to affect both Apple-branded wired headsets and third-party headsets:

“I am having the exact same problem with my Klipsch wired headset with AT&T.  I switch to the Apple wired headset which did not fix the problem.  I did not have this issue using the same headset with my 3Gs last week.”

A temporary fix involves turing the iPhone’s speakerphone on when the call begins to echo and then turning it off immediately after. This supposedly restarts the audio cycle and the call goes back to normal until the echo returns after a few more minutes. Many of the complaints seem to come from AT&T customers, but iPhones on other networks, like Rogers, are reportedly experiencing the same bug.

Have you experienced this audio bug when using Apple’s headset on the iPhone 4S? Tell us the details in the comments below!

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  • MrA

    Nope. Battery sucks though.

    • Brandon

      Don’t have any problem with the battery. Lasts me easily two days – not using It 24/7. If I’m on it a lot it’s at about 50% by 9pm.
      Have expirenced the echo – can hear myself talking but delayed about a second. Only has happened in 1 call though.
      People with battery problems. Let your phone die, charge it till 100% then try. Way better then my blackberry torch 9860′s battery life.

  • Lopez

    I have a similar problem. Sometimes I hear myself start echoing and sometimes the person on the other line can’t hear me very well and says I sound static-like.

  • RF9

    I have never had this echo issue. Just battery problems. Though it seems better since I turned off location on time zone settings (coincidence? Placebo?)

  • Rodney

    Yes, I’m experiencing the same thing and I’m a Verizon customer! I’m a first time iPhone user and I’m starting to think this iPhone isn’t so smart… Anyone experience being on a call and then receives a text and the phone vibrates in your ear.. And there are no settings to fix it… That’s not smart all all!

    • http://twitter.com/geekinit @geekinit

      Settings, Sounds, and I flip vibrate switches to off.

  • http://youtube.com/matthewmspace Matthew

    I only have this problem with my scorched headphones. If I use the regular ear speaker, or the loud speaker everyone can hear, nothing happens. Battery life can be improved by turning off unnesscary location services, such as location iAds and time zone (unless you travel often).

  • Jesús Viera

    Yes I have the same problem!!

  • http://arttaylor.com Art Taylor

    Same problem. SF Bay Area, AT&T, 64GB 4S, Bose QC15 with iPhone connection kit. Sometimes I hear the echo when I speak and sometimes only the person I am calling hears it.

  • yOy0dEv

    Nothing here, all good.

  • Shawn

    This is an iOS 5 issue. I have an iPhone 4 and all day today my phone echoed. I would say something and its like it would repeat then my friend would respond as though the echo was it just registering.

  • Dave

    I havn’t had a single problem with my 32GB 4S. No battery issues, no echo problems, nothing.

  • Greg

    Yup .. I thought I was the only one with an echo during a call.. It happens both with and without my headset

  • Bignighttrain

    Been having this echo issue on my iPad 2 since I updated to 5.0 I think it’s a software thing.

  • mmtk99

    no battery or echo problem on my 4s 32 gb! the only problem is that i cant jailbrake it just jet;( lol

  • Ru folk

    Be happy about that your phone actually can call…
    The only device that isn’t discharged yet is the ipad. And i don’t have power at my home…

  • Samuel Cortez

    Thats it! You no what? I’m getting the iPhone 4 instead!

  • W1L50n

    (Australia)
    Had same issue with my first 64gb iPhone 4S, as still under warenty I went into the genius bar to discuss with them, that I would get an echo, people had trouble hearing me with voice calls, sometimes nothing at all which resulted in them hanging up on me, unless I used the speaker option.

    As the replacement phone was a week away had to tempiarly fix it somehow.

    As I started conducting tests, to try and pin point it. I found through setting up voice mail, then calling myself through the same handset, then using voicemail to listen to calll quality( or could use a friend to call), so I could test how bad it was.
    Initial test without using loudspeaker on, caused it to be really bad cut in and out, echoed, got that bad would just go silent.

    Then tried with loudspeaker on, was no cutting in & out, was shallow a bit, small echo( greater improvement).

    I started thinking for couple minutes, then tried the mic app and was similar to the incall loudspeaker when played back through voicemail.

    In conclusion what I found, was that the iPhone 4/4S has a noise cancellation mic(not new to me but found was the culprit) at the top of phone, near headphone jack. I covered it with small strips of clear tape, only covering the top mic, a couple layers later was ready for similar tests, proceeded and was normal in all test done previous without tape.

    So for me it seemed to be a faulty top mic, I’m usure if it’s software related or hardware, but suggested above worked for me.

    iPhone 4S has been replaced since, done tests no issues.

    My 2c’s and findings might help some others out, might not, did for me till a replacement came.

  • DragON

    Yup…had the same echo problem with the iPhone 4s white 16 gb had to called Apple for a replacement. The replacement seems to be okay so far.

  • RilesPro

    Same issue on Sprint iOS 5 iPhone 4S 64gb!

    Mostly it has been customer service reps on landlines reporting the echo to me. 5 different companies so far with the stock headset!

    Anyone else have these problems…

    1 Rattle coming from the camera (even iPhone 4 has the rattle) but its excessive on my 2nd 4S

    2 Yellow tint but I’ve checked 6 4Ss all have it so I guess apple wants them that way

    3 battery drain, got it up from 8 hours to 12 hours on wifi. I can easily see 6% or more drop off in a matter of minutes! Needs two charges per day. I have shut off many settings.

    4 safari keyboard has massive lag. Can type 4 characters and they all stay on screen as big buttons before registering input.

    5 Volume for alerts and settings Bug involving AirPlay I’ve noticed. I set the alerts and ringer volume to max and to be unaffected by volume buttons. Usually after I AirPlay to atv2, the slider changes!!

    Btw when I put airplane mode in overnight battery lasts 8 hours on 1 or 2 % that’s great.

    I’ve been testing an original iPhone 4 with 10 hours of usage no network signal and no wifi it lasted 11 days. Wow

    • sOleFresh

      You think the dual antennas is what’s causing the battery drainage?

      • Masters

        Yes I was thinking the same thing!!

  • sOleFresh

    Nope.

  • reoquinn

    I as well have the same issues! I was telling them it has to be your phone because I have the new iPhone! pffffff.. very disappointing, I’m in Canada on Rogers, I thought it must be an issue with Rogers, but, it doesn’t seem to be the issue.. it begins with me after 30 minutes into the conversation, I have to hang up and call back..

    I hope Apple put’s out a fix, patch or something in the firmware, I’m hoping it’s not a hardware issue..

    Cheers,

    Rob

  • PeiSzeOng

    I believe it is IOS5 problem.. I am on iPhone 3gs 32GB and just recently upgraded to IOS5… All those problems like battery life shorter, message SUPER lag (stayed at one character when I am already typing 5th to 6th character already), echo~ Hope it will be fixed soon and hoping much it is not iPhone 4s hardware problem cuz I am planning to get one soon.

  • chris

    Battery lasts me about 12 hours with moderate texting throughout the day on my ATT 32gb 4S. Can’t make a single call without the person on the other end having a terrible echo–none on my end. Doesn’t make a difference if using regular speaker or headset.

    • Jose Alan

      I just got a 4s and had a tech friend of mine check it out. I had the echo problem on the other end of conversation. He came up with 2 fixes, first of all I had a protective cover, took it off and it (echo) got better, but not gone. The he replaced the back cover with a brand new one and whala… problem solved. He said that some how my cover was grounding out.
      Cost me $20 bucks to replace cover.

  • rsimon24

    Same here on iPhone 4 iOS5!

  • Betty

    I have the echo problem intermittently using the iPhone 4S Verizon with a Motorola T505 bluetooth device. I have not noticed a battery problem, but don’t have another iPhone for comparison.

  • Tom

    I had my iphone 4s for a week and it did this randomly. I just wasn’t sure it was a thing CDMA. Anyways waiting on my iphone 4s from AT&T hopefully all these issues will be solved by then

  • Radu

    That freaking echo drives me crazy! I’m using an unlocked 4S with a prepaid career in Germany, so I don’t think it’s the career’s fault. Apple really fucked up this time.
    Thanks for the fix.

  • DomPerignon

    This issue is correctable and not as bad as the battery issue which you can’t do anything about it.

  • Polemicist

    But I thought iPhones are the most perfect thing on the planet??? ;)

  • Quango

    I have a similar experience and realized I was not the only one. I am using SoftBank Japan.

  • Jimmy

    I’ve had ZERO problems with my 32G 4S. Battery life is GREAT! Audio (Wonderful).

  • Tim

    I agree this problem is not limited to iPhone 4S. My iPhone 4 starting echoing right after I installed iOS5. I’m in Canada; my carrier is Rogers. This is a problem with or without my headset, a Plantronics Voyager Pro. It worked beautifully before the software upgrade. Plantronics has blamed Apple. I have a friend who is a genius at an Apple Store. He’ll get an earful next time I talk to him…

  • Marcus

    Have experienced this same problem when just making a normal call. But am also getting a problem where the screen flickers on and off during a phone call. Anyone else getting this ?

  • bob

    I’m having issues too. Sometimes I hear my own voice echo and nothing from my caller at all. Then I hit speaker twice and it fixes and my caller says he never heard me (until I do the fix). I have a hunch it may be the sensors in the headphone jack that get tripped up but I don’t know. ;(

  • Harv

    I’m with Rogers and I dont have that problem, Battery life was a problem now it has gotten much better after changing the time zone setting.

  • Man0

    No problems here

    It seems that iOS 5 needs a huge patch!! I hope the update to be soon available and jb after that, of course ;)

  • Danish iphone4s

    I have the same problem. Echo and loud distorted sounds after random time, using the Apple headet.
    And sometimes the one in the other end of the line, cant hear me at all, when I make a Call.
    Have to redial to fix it

  • Axl

    In here in Waikiki Oahu and no problems with Echo I’ve even tried with the apple ear buds talking with a friend for 15 min no problems. Then with my iBeats still no Echo. No battery issues either I mean if I leave the phone on I loose 1% every 7 min or so but I guess that’s normal.

  • HChoo

    this is my 3rd iphone 4S 64 GB Black AT&T. I had the echo problem using the apple headphones on all 3 phones… I’m thinking whether or not to get another replacement… the 4th one…

  • Oliverf

    Had my 4S since day 1 and have not experienced any echo issues. Battery is worse than my 4. It just ticks down regardless of usage and even with time zone settings and localized iAds off. Really hope they fix this or I’ll have to get a morphie pack.

  • Anonymous

    I tried making a call today between 5 & 6pm. I had to disconnect the call exactly 10 times with a connection time of between 46 seconds and 7 minutes. Each time, the call connected clearly and then the sound degraded so that it was un-listenable. There was either an echo so I was constantly hearing myself a few seconds after I spoke, or the sound was so jumbled that I couldn’t understand the other person and there was lots of feedback. WHAT IS HAPPENING??? This has been going on since I got my new iPhone 4s. I’m using skull candy headphones and the other party is using the apple headphones on her new 4s. It’s nearly impossible to make a phone call. I never thought I’d say this but I’m on the verge of returning my phone! D@mmit!

  • http://twitter.com/a_mamtsev alexander mamtsev

    confirm. The echo at the beginning of a conversation in one out of five calls approx

  • http://twitter.com/cbc245 vinicius gehlen

    Confirm, The other person hears a very annoying echo. I tried only with default Apple’s headset.

  • Anonymous

    I got same problem and its exactly as descibed above… bloody annoying… Already returned one phone and the second one does the same… now I have had a new sim card cos apple said to try that and I can report that still the same happens…. Hardware problem??? Mine is 32gb Black on o2 in the UK

  • Anonymous

    Just to be clear. The majority of the echo issue is when the caller on the other end hears the echo (my wife and I have the same issue) I bet there are many people who think they don’t have this issue but really do. The only way you would know is if the caller on the other end is nice enough to mention the echo. Sometimes the people on the other end just think its a bad connection or is an issue with their phone. I guarantee this issue is on every singe device or at least a lot more common than it looks. The only way I found out my phone was doing this was when I got 2 complaints within a few hours of each other. After the first complaint I thought it was a connection issue. After the second complaint I started to investigate and sure enough it is an Iphone 4S problem.

  • Charlie Landherr

    yo

  • http://www.facebook.com/bdruitt Ben Druitt

    yup, me too. in Australia and on Telstra. happens with apple headset or Klipsch. sounds like a hardware fault!?

  • Nishant Suneja

    I am extremely frustrated with my iPhone 4S as well. When plugged in via the audio cable to the car speakers, the person I am talking can hear themselves and I hear a strong echo as well. Similar thing happens when using headphones and I have also noticed an echo when using the headset. If you facetime to iPhone4 close to you for test purposes, you can hear a serious echo in the 4S but none in the iPhone4 (not tunning iOs5) This NEVER happened with the 3GS.

  • http://twitter.com/nikkibot nikkibot

    4GS, Apple headset. No battery issues, but after approx 20 min of talk time, horrible static begins & can be heard on both sides. Only workaround so far is what was suggested in the article – switch to speaker, unplug/replug headphones & proceed until it happens again. Lots of fun, especially when running a conference call with 6 high-level coworkers. *facepalm*

  • James Schwartz

    Yes, I have a similar problem. My 3GS had no problem when using my Shure earphones during a phone call. But with my 4S, I believe the problem is that the iPhone loudspeaker is on during a call while wearing earphones. The sound from the loudspeaker goes into the iPhone microphone and creates a feedback loop. If I cover the loudspeaker, the reverberations/echos go away. I think the solution may be to turn off the loudspeaker while on a call wearing headphones (it shouldn’t be on anyway since I’m listening to my caller through my headphones). Apple, can you fix it with an update to the iOS?

  • http://twitter.com/pinklucifer pinklucifer

    Yes, I experience this. The battery sucks too.

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