Why you can’t hear the interlocutor on the Xiaomi phone

The situation when during an important conversation, the voice of the interlocutor becomes barely distinguishable or completely disappears, is familiar to many owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones. This is not just temporary discomfort, but a serious problem that can disrupt business negotiations or interrupt an emotionally significant conversation with loved ones. Often users blame this on poor communication of the operator, but in most cases the root of the evil lies in the software failures of the MIUI or HyperOS shell, or in the banal physical locking of speakers.

Understanding the nature of the problem is the first step to fixing it: the audio-track of a modern smartphone is a complex system that includes microphones, amplifiers, software filters and speakers themselves. Failure at any stage of the signal's passage leads to distortion or complete disappearance of sound. In the Chinese brand devices, the situation is aggravated by an aggressive noise-cancellation system that sometimes "cuts" not only background noise, but also the voice of the speaker.

Before you carry the device to the service center, you should conduct a self-diagnosis. In 80% of cases, the problem can be solved by software methods or simple cleaning without opening the case. Below we will discuss in detail all possible reasons why it is difficult to hear in the tube, and provide step-by-step instructions for restoring the normal operation of the audio system of your gadget.

Software settings and noise reduction functions

The most common cause of silent sound is not malfunction, but rather the peculiarities of software algorithms. MIUI and its successors are actively using digital signal processing to improve communication quality. Noise reduction is designed to cut out foreign sounds, but in incorrect calibration or in high winds, it can perceive the voice of the interlocutor as noise and silence it.

Also, it's worth checking the basic volume settings. Many users forget that the sound level for media and for conversation is adjusted separately. If you turned the volume on the buttons during the call, but the sound remained quiet, maybe the Pocket mode was activated or a third-party application intercepted the audio control.

⚠️ Warning: Don't rush to drop your phone to factory settings. First, check to see if Do Not Disturb or Silence mode is on, which can visually show the call but block the audible alert and the sound in the handset.

You should also look at the Sound Improvement feature or similar settings in the feature menu, and sometimes activating these options on cheap models can backfire, making the sound deaf and indistinct.

Physical pollution and protective accessories

Physical obstructions are the second most common cause of hearing problems. The speaker grid at the top of the screen has microscopic holes, and over time they get clogged with skin fat, dust, pocket pile and makeup, and the resulting traffic jam physically keeps the sound wave from going through.

And don't ignore the power of protective glass. Cheap or mispatched screen treads can block the speaker's opening. Even millimeter-shifting glass can significantly reduce volume, making it almost impossible to talk without turning on the speakerphone.

To clean, it is recommended to use a soft toothbrush or a special sticky tape. It is strictly forbidden to use sharp objects such as needles or toothpicks, as they can easily damage the speaker membrane or push dirt deeper into the body.

If you carry your phone in dusty conditions or in the workplace, the pollution is faster, and in such cases, preventive cleaning should be done every two weeks to avoid a critical volume drop.

Problems with Bluetooth headsets and connection

Sometimes users mistakenly assume that the sound is quiet in the phone itself, even though the audio (output) is redirected to an external device. If there is a previously conjugated Bluetooth headset, speaker or car system in the visual range, the smartphone could automatically connect to them, in which case you will hear the interlocutor through the speaker of the headphones lying in the bag, rather than through the phone.

In addition, problems can occur when using wired headphones: oxidation of contacts in the 3.5 mm or USB-C connector, as well as incompatibility of the headset impedance with the smartphone audio chip lead to a quiet and hoarse sound.

To rule out this factor, try to completely disable the Bluetooth module before calling, and if the sound in the speaker became normal after that, then the problem was the automatic switching of the audio stream.

Hardware malfunctions of the speaker and plume

If the software and cleaning methods didn't work, there's a high probability of hardware failure. A speaker is a consumable. Over time, its membrane loses its elasticity, the magnet demagnetizes, or the coil fails. It's a natural wear-and-tear process, especially if you're often on the phone at maximum volume.

Another common problem is plume drainage, where when you fall or vibrate, the connector connecting the board to the speaker module can move away or oxidize, and in these cases, the sound can disappear completely or only appear when the phone is in a certain position in your hand.

You can diagnose the hardware using the engineering menu. Type ##6484## in the call, select Receiver and listen to the test signal. If the test sound is clear and loud, and the calls are quiet, there is a problem on the network or operator. If the test is also quiet, repair is required.

Impact of system updates and MIUI bugs

Owners of Xiaomi devices often complain about sound problems after updating the firmware. Developers can change the algorithms of audio drivers, which on a particular hardware leads to conflicts, especially for global versions of shells, where localization may have been incorrect.

After a major upgrade (for example, switching from MIUI 13 to 14 or HyperOS), the system takes time to re-index files and optimize. During this period (from 1 to 3 days), various glitches are possible, including quiet sound. If the problem does not disappear by itself after a couple of days, it is worth checking for hot updates, which often come immediately after major releases to fix critical errors.

⚠️ Warning: Be sure to complete the backup before installing beta versions of firmware. Unstable software can lead not only to sound problems, but also to loss of personal data or “bricking” of the device.

Sometimes cleaning the cache of the Phone and Contacts app helps. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find Phone, click Clear, and select Clear Cache. This won’t delete your contacts, but will reset temporary files that may have been corrupted when you upgrade.

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If the sound is gone after the update, try rebooting the phone to Safe Mode, press the off button, and when the off icon appears on the screen, press and hold it, and if there is sound in Safe Mode, it is the third-party app's fault.

Specifics of the work of telecom operators and VoLTE

The external factor, the quality of your carrier’s communications, cannot be excluded: the transition to digital communication standards such as VoLTE (Voice over LTE), provides high sound quality, but requires support from both subscribers and stable 4G coverage. If coverage in your area is unstable, the phone can constantly switch between 2G, 3G and 4G, which causes sound dips.

Also, some operators may artificially restrict bitrate audio to save traffic or because of tower overload, in which case even a serviceable phone will transmit low-quality sound.

Try force-switching network mode. Go to Settings. → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Preferred network type and select "Only" 3G» or "Only" 2G». If the regime 2G The sound will become louder and clearer (albeit monophonic), so the problem lies in the coating. 4G/5G your operator in the area.

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Sound quality depends not only on the phone, but also on the standard of communication, and checking the network mode (2G/3G/4G) helps you understand whether the problem is in the device or in the operator's tower.

Diagnostics with the help of engineering menu and tests

Engineers use codes to make deep diagnostics. Xiaomi phones use a basic tool. CIT-menu (CIT — Customer Integration Test: This allows you to test each component of the device separately from the operating system.

To get into the testing menu, open the Phone app and dial the combination ##6484##. If the code doesn't work, make sure that the settings are in place. SIM-There is no limit to outgoing calls, or try entering code through a standard typer rather than through third-party applications like Truecaller.

In the test menu, you are interested in sections related to audio:

• 🎧 Headset - checking headphones.

Once you've done the tests, you can tell exactly which node is not working properly, and if the dynam test is quiet and the microphone test is that you're not hearing well, the problem is probably complex and requires expert intervention.

So to sum up, the problem of quiet sound in Xiaomi phones is solvable in most cases, from simply cleaning the speaker grid with a toothbrush to flashing the device, you can restore the comfort of communication, and the main thing is to act consistently, eliminating software factors before carrying the phone for repair.