Cell phone connection / sound cutting out

June 29, 2021 1:26 PM

Whose phone is the source of sound cutting out?

I have a landline in addition to a cell phone. When I talk to one of my friends and they are on their cell and I am on my landline, the sound often cuts out, so I only get choppy versions of what they are saying. They say that they can hear me just fine and there is no cutting out on their end when I talk.

This cutting out problem only happens when I talk to them. They insist that the source of the problem is my phone, not theirs. How can they tell this?

posted by SageTrail to Technology (6 answers total)

It sure sounds like the problem is their phone, not yours. I would try to call them on a different cell phone and see if it's still their fault. Then, maybe try calling yourself on a different landline and see if it cuts out.

Pretty classic case of "replace each thing until the problem goes away, then try to replicate the problem" situation. Just like when my laptop won't plug into my monitor - try my laptop into another monitor, try a different laptop with my monitor. Whichever device the problem follows is the problem!
posted by bbqturtle at 1:29 PM on June 29, 2021 [3 favorites]

I have the same problem but only with one friend. She lives two hours away from me, and both of us live in areas that can be spotty cell service. We didn't have an issue when we both had landlines, but she got rid of hers. I prefer mine because I'm forever hitting buttons on my cell when I try talking on it. The other day however, we were BOTH on our cells, and I was actually able to hear her without continuously asking her "What? What? Can you say that again?"

I'm so glad you asked this...It's been driving me nuts too. Hoping for a definitive answer.
posted by annieb at 3:45 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

Is your land line an actual phone company line, or is it provided by your cable company, which is really Voice-over-IP (VOIP) which is a different communications situation entirely. Land lines are more affected by voltage or problems with the wiring outside _or_ in your house; VOIP is affected by things like other IP traffic in your house and/or neighborhood, routers and such just like your browser use.

All of that said - if you had no problem on your cell phone, but you had a problem on your land line, seems like it might be an issue on your end.
posted by TimHare at 10:10 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

I have a friend with a specific model of iPhone, maybe an 8, and if she gets her finger exactly in the right place between speaker and mic while it's on speakerphone (or in my case facetime), I get choppy sound with silences. If she moves it, I don't.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 11:24 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

If you have a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone line, trouble shooting this issue can be a little more complicated to determine if it's your phone, your friend's cell phone, or their cell phone network. Here are steps to trouble shoot VoIP if it is indeed a problem on your end (hard to tell without more info.) These steps can be a little involved especially if you're not a tech expert. If you'd like a simpler solution, I would just try having your friend and you both use an app like FaceTime, Google Duo, Skype, WhatsApp, or Signal to have phone conversations.
posted by mundo at 7:16 AM on June 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

This cutting out problem only happens when I talk to them

If you don't ever have this cutting out issue when you talk to anyone else, I think it's more likely that it could be an issue with their cell phone or their cell phone network. If they're insisting it's not their phone and you'd like a simple solution, I would just use an app like FaceTime or Google Duo over WiFi to talk to them. You could turn off the video in these apps and just use the audio only.
posted by mundo at 8:39 AM on June 30, 2021 [1 favorite]