S7 call screeching sound

[Viv]

Hi, for yr gw last 2 weeks now I am having trouble with making phone calls. I can reach people but after 2 seconds I have horrible screeching sounds a bit alien like. The other person on the line can also hear this and then we have to hang up. 

Any reason why this is happening, i cannot use my phone 4 calls anymore unless I go through an app like whatsapp

[AntS]

Hi @Viv!

Anything changed on your phone just before this started, e.g. a software update or app?

And guessing the sound's otherwise okay on the phone (for music, videos, and WhatsApp calls)? 

[Viv]

Hi, yes sound is working fine and I can make calls from whatsapp no problem. 

I did indeed have a software upgrade recently. And it would fit time wise with when my issue started.

[AntS]

Try rebooting your phone in Recovery mode and wiping the cache partition. That'll clear any bits of old software remaining after the update that may be causing this.

[baxtersaurus]

Hi. I was just about to make a post about this but see I've been beaten to it.

This has happened to me too, about a month ago. Unfortunately, that was around the time I moved from London to Nottingham so it's taken a bit of time to identify what the actual problem is.

The problems is (as the OP says): a voice call turns to alien/screeching noises (some have described it as underwater noises). It may not happen straight away but invariably happens within 90 seconds. This happens regardless of whether I call or have been called. The noise appears at both ends, so it's not just a handset issue. 

Being a good Googler, I have tried many online solutions:
1) turning off various options (going to 2G, turning off WiFi calling)

2) booting up in safe mode

3) factory resets

None have worked. In exasperation, I've tried to find others with the same problem but it seems to be extremely rare... so I've posted about it on androidforums but go no responses.

The phone has been sent off independently to two repair centres (Geek Squad, via Carphone Warehouse, who I bought the phone from) and to Samsung - neither found a fault with the phone and both did complete factory resets with up-to-date software installations.. and still the problem persists.

I am really regretting returning to Samsung mobiles - as this means by new phone (since November) is now rendered useless. I am using my SIM without any issues my older HTC phone so I have ruled out the SIM as being a cause.

However, by chance, I searched for and found a thread on Vodafone (I am on the Vodafone network in the UK) where there seems to be some common factors between me and some other users with the same problem.  The issue seems to be related to the Nougat update!

I don't know how to progress this up but I'm hoping more users will support this problem and get it acknowledged, so I can actually have a fix - and use the phone I've paid for!

Other details:
S7 purchased through Carphone Warehouse last November. Nougat (Android 7) arrived last month. On the Vodafone UK network, monthly contract. Based in Nottingham NG5

[slaphead]

I'll keep my story short as you can read the rest here: http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Android/S7-Edge-garbled-alien-voice-Nougat/td-p/2556773

Phone: S7 Edge

Network: Vodafone

Bought: 28th Feb 2017

Bought from: Carphone Warehouse

Problem: Alien-like noise when making or receiving calls. Can happen after 30 seconds or 30 minutes. Happens most calls

When did it start happening: After phone updated to Nougat

Areas affected: NG5 postcode, probably most of NG

Other details: Went back to CPW this week. Woman who works in shop experiencing the same problem after upgrading to Nougat. Chap in shop reckons he's had 50+ returned over the past 3-4 weeks with the same problem. Few phones sent off for repair - all come back as non-faulty. Vodafone checked for problems in area. None found.

Will also raise this as a separate case to get it recognised more and flagged as a separate issue.

[S7user]

I too am experiencing scrambled fax machine sounds during calls. I bought my phone- samsung galaxy s7 from car phone warehouse in Nottingham on Vodafone and have taken my phone back twice now. The first time they sent it off and replaced the usb flex and updated firmware. This did not work. I then took it back and showed them a you tube clip of this happening to a galaxy s3. They gave me a brand new phone and guess what it still happens. It is defiantly not a SIM issue as I had a loan phone and did not experience any issues. It would appear to be an issue with the nougat update as I didn't experience it when the phone was operating using marshmallow. Please can we have a bug fix for samsung s7 as I'm beginning to regret changing from iPhone! If this isn't resolved soon I will be taking it back and swapping for a more reliable phone make.

[TerryD]

I'm getting the same issue. Also from Nottingham and have experienced the issue in both NG2 and NG9 areas.

I can confirm that the phone was perfectly okay before the Nougat update. 

I can make a call and it gets garbled as soon as the other end pick up. Other times you get 10 seconds before it happens. In some instances it's fine for 5 mins and then it goes garbled.

Fortunately its a personal phone so its just an annoyance. Luckily we dont have Samsungs for our corporate devices because there is no way that we would put up with this kind of service.

[AntS]

Hi @TerryD.

Is your phone with Vodafone too?

(And @Viv: if you're still around, are you with Vodafone, and in or making calls to the Nottingham area?)

[slaphead]

Just an update on my behalf...

At the start of the week (possibly last weekend) my phone said that an update was available, but it never actually installed anything - it wasn't anywhere to be seen. This week, I've made numerous phone calls (10+) from NG11 (including to NG5) and not one of them has dropped or made a garbled noise.

Can anyone else confirm or deny this, this week?