
Nexus 6 - Low in-call speaker volume - jroakes
https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=80817
======
ethanhunt_
I purchased a used Nexus 5 because I got tired of all modifications and
dropped support on my verizon branded phone. I assumed that as a Google
product it would have the best functioning version of Android.

But in the past few weeks it's become readily apparent that Android 5.0 is
beta software. It just has too many major issues like the one in OP. For me,
the most major issue is the memory leak that causes the entire home screen to
be knocked out of memory. Usually a few times a week the leak is so bad that
the currently running app will be closed down while it's in the foreground!

~~~
NovaS1X
The only thing that has consistently frustrated me with Android on Nexus
devices (Can't speak for non-Nexus devices) is the "safety" feature when
plugging anything into the headphone slot.

Seemingly randomly it will cut volume to 50% to protect hearing and you can't
turn up the volume until you agree to a notification warning you about the
potential dangers of high-volume listening.

I use this in my car. I need the volume max -1 click. Plugging in my phone and
then wondering where the music is is infuriating. I don't want to have to pull
over out of traffic just to unlock my phone so I can agree to a notification
and then turn up the volume again. This wouldn't be a problem if it only asked
me once, but it tends to "forget" at random times, usually when I'm in a rush
and don't want to fuck with my phone.

~~~
morsch
You can disable that if you root your phone or install a custom ROM. Just
saying.

~~~
tdkl
No shit.

This should be a disclaimer when buying the phone then.

~~~
dogma1138
Iphone does the same thing when the media volume is set above the "safe"
limit. It's a regulatory requirement not some Android bug.

~~~
mdaniel
From where did you get that regulatory requirement information?

~~~
ethanhunt_
"Now all personal music players sold in the EU after February 2013 are
expected to have a default sound limit of 85dB.

The user can choose to override the limit so that the sound level can be
increased up to maximum 100dB. If the user overrides the limit, warnings about
the risks must be repeated every 20 hours of listening time. "

via
[http://www.bbc.com/news/health-21294537](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-21294537)

The "repeated every 20 hours" would explain why OP was seeing the warning
seemingly randomly.

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alvarosm
OP: did you edit the title? it was "Should The Inability To Hear On A Nexus 6
Be A Small (Low Priority) Issue?" and it looked appropriate enough to me. This
is about Google's neglect more than about the issue itself.

~~~
jroakes
I agree. Not sure why the title was edited. This was my post. It was my
intention to get conversation going around why Google feels it is low priority
for a phone to be able to fulfill its primary function effectively.

~~~
alvarosm
It's shameful that somebody at Yc feels like protecting Google (or anyone) by
switching topic titles.

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alvarosm
Depends on how many video/audio ads Google wants to shove down your throat.
Not many yet, so I guess it's not a high priority yet ;)

Google has the annoying habit of ignoring bugs that don't affect a lot of
users, no matter how critical they are. This has been discussed previously on
HN, not long ago:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8803118](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8803118)

~~~
stcredzero
_Google has the annoying habit of ignoring bugs that don 't affect a lot of
users, no matter how critical they are._

Is there a cultural thing within Google, where people talk about how stupid
and deluded general users are?

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JOnAgain
Nexus phones have had bad bugs at launch since day one.

I had on of the older one's (2? 3?) and it had a bug where it would randomly
restart during a call. Restart -- 3 min of booting before you can call back.
This was an issue for something like 8 months after launch before it was
fixed.

~~~
e40
Or the Nexus 4 bug where notifications wouldn't be seen when the phone went to
sleep when wi-fi was enabled. 4.4.4 fixed it, but the fix was a really long
time coming. If you were rooted, it was a one-line fix to some config file.

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thrillgore
The amount of issues that have emerged with Lollipop on all the Nexus phones
is absolutely unacceptable for a Phone Operating System.

And Google's stewardship is starting to show cracks.

~~~
baddox
_Starting_ to show cracks? It seems to me like it's only getting better.

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saosebastiao
Wow...I've been burned by bad speakers before, and I was holding out for the
Verizon launch on the March 12th. The phone looks amazing, but I'm not willing
to risk it, especially if this issue gets marked as a low priority. Maybe it
is time to get an iphone after all.

~~~
BlakePetersen
For what it's worth, I just recently upgraded from Nexus 5 to Nexus 6 and I
have had absolutely no problems with the device, especially with call volume.
Literally everything is a step up.

I wouldn't let this sour you entirely, if your device has a problem, return it
for a new one. I had an issue with my Play-store-purchased Nexus 4's earphone
jack, prolly my fault, Google replaced it within a few days, paid for shipping
and everything.

There are a lot of business decisions that go into applying resources to
problems, and we can't all assume we know those business decisions and the
circumstances that are involved with making them. This could be a very small
but vocal segment of the nexus 6 user-base, if it is a small problem, it
should be treated as small priority.

Personally, as a type-1 diabetic, it sucks seeing research done specifically
for type-2 diabetes, but, unfortunately there are less of us, so it's seen as
a lower priority.

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Sevzi
Hmm, sounds annoying. I remember the Galaxy Nexus having a painfully low
loudspeaker volume, but never problems with the phone speaker.]

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Sevzi
I've wanted to hear things like podcasts on the private speaker before--would
be nice if they exposed that as part of this fix.

