Carrier Is My Problem the Carrier or the iPhone?

[Newbert]

I have an iPhone SE and my cell provider is Straight Talk Wireless. Lately, I've been getting poor performance with phone calls on this combination,

Specifically, when I speak into the phone, I get quite a bit of feedback (echo?) that I hear but the person on the other end of the line does not hear it. (But they hear what I'm saying just fine.) And when the person on the other end of the line speaks, it often comes in garbled and broken up and hard to understand. This seems to happen no matter where I call or where I get a call from.

All other functions on the phone (texting, apps, etc) work fine.

So does this behavior indicate a problem with the phone or with the cell carrier? (Supposedly Straight Talk Wireless uses Verizon towers. Or perhaps there's a phone setting that I need to adjust?

Any help with this is appreciated.

 

[BrianBaughn]

If you're just talking about phone calls on the iPhone itself (no headset involved)…and multiple calls to different people…then I'd lean toward the provider.

Does the echo happen all the time? No matter where you are? Are you using wifi assist?

Just looking for clues.

 

[max2]

Provider most likely.

 

[Newbert]

Thanks for your replies, guys. To answer some of your questions:

These phone calls are on the iPhone itself - no headset.

It happens on calls to different people.

The echo happens no matter the location.

Not sure whether or not I'm using WiFi Assist.....but under Settings>Cellular, WiFi Calling is OFF. If I should be checking somewhere else, please be specific in letting me know where.

Thanks again!

 

[Newbert]

No headset to try it with, but recording my voice to test is an excellent suggestion. Thanks!

 

[Newbert]

As suggested, I recorded a few voice memos as a test and there was NO echo or feedback. So, I guess that indicates that the problem is with my cell service carrier, right?

 

[jetsam]

As suggested, I recorded a few voice memos as a test and there was NO echo or feedback. So, I guess that indicates that the problem is with my cell service carrier, right?

Not necessarily. It's the phone's responsibility to bleed back a little of your own voice into the earpiece. This is known as side tone.The echo could be caused by faulty side tone during phone calls. This is the phone's fault.

You wouldn't be able to test side tone with a recording.

You didn't say which SE you have. If it's the 2 or 3, you could try another carrier (like T-Mobile, who have a 30 day free trial) with the eSIM, and see if the echo continues. That would rule out your carrier.