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jay968

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 2, 2019
452
268
California
Really interesting:
I have an iphone Xs. I have found that depending on how I hold it and depending on which hand I hold it in, my voice can sound find or terrible on the receiving end.
I usually hold the phone one of two ways. Either with my palm sort of cupping the bottom of the phone (not touching it, but sort of surrounding the back of it) with my fingers holding the phone about half way up. I'll call this Number One way. Or I hold it with just my fingertips about half way up and my palm away from the back of the phone. I'll call this Number Two way.
Well if I hold the phone in my right hand the Number One way, it sounds fine on the receiving person's end. If on the other hand I hold it in my right hand Numner Two way, it has lower volume and it also sounds a bit muffled. Normally I'd just assume that my palm is sort of creating a barrier for my voice to bounce off of and thus provide a bit extra volume to the mic.
Well, the thing is, if I do the exact same thing with my left hand holding the phone, both ways sound exactly the same. It is only when I do it with my right hand that the problem exists. I can even transfer the phone from my left hand and left ear, to my right hand and still use my left ear and the sound worsens again when I hold the phone the Number Two way.
It makes no difference what direction I am sitting or standing in and it makes no difference whether or not some other object is close to the phone. It's just that when I take my palm away from the bottom of the phone and hold it with my fingers only, and only in my right hand, that the sound worsens.
I've confirmed this by calling and leaving my own voicemail messages on a second like that I have.
Soooo strange.
Has anyone else experienced this or have any clue what it going on?
Thanks
 

jay968

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 2, 2019
452
268
California
OK I think I may have discovered my answer. Knowing that there is a noise canceling mic on the back of the phone by the camera lens, I decided to hold the phone in my right hand (Number One way) with my palm cupping the bottom of the phone. I started talking to my other voicemail this way and during my talking I took my left hand and placed it over the camera lens area, then took it away.
Bingo. When I listened to the voicemail, the part where my left hand covered the noise canceling mic by the camera lens, it made that low, muffled sound. So apparently, the noise canceling mic needs to be free and clear, and apparently when I hold the phone with my right hand, somehow that hand is interfering with that mic unless I hold the phone low enough so that my right hand is far enough away from this mic.
 

jay968

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 2, 2019
452
268
California
So I turned off the noise reduction in the settings and the calls sound great no matter where I hold the phone.
So this begs the question of why is it that if I have my hand or fingers too close to or covering the noise canceling mic this ruins the audio quality of my voice? Why should basically letting the phone not hear any noise from that mic in the back make the front speaker sound bad? Does anyone know what's going on here?
 
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