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According to several complaints posted on the official support forums for Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones, the devices seem to be experiencing some serious microphone-related issues. While in some cases users are apparently getting no audio input at all, many others are reporting that the audio works only when using the camera app to record video, but not while calling. The largest and by far the most comprehensive thread dealing with this issue on Google’s product forum has received over 800 posts from dozens of users detailing the problems they’ve been facing with the devices’ microphones. Each Google Pixel or Pixel XL handset is said to have three microphones: a primary one for the actual sound input and two others to catch the ambient sound.
Replying to customers about their grievance, official Google rep, Mr. Brian Rakowski, confirmed the worst fears of many Pixel and Pixel XL users. According to him, the problems are the result of a hardware failure, which means a software update won’t be able to rectify it. The issue is believed to be with one or more of the three microphones and, may be caused due to a hairline crack in the solder of the hardware audio codec. Some of the other problems, according to him, are apparently because of the microphones themselves being faulty. In his capacity as the official support rep, Mr. Rakowsi has suggested that users facing any issues with the microphones on either of the two Pixel devices should get a free replacement either from Google or from the third-party retailer the device was originally purchased from.
All Pixel phones come with a 1-year warranty, and having been launched late last year, all of them are still well within the warranty period, so replacing them hopefully should not be an issue. Curiously, however, some people are also complaining that even their replacement units are having problems with their audio input. According to Mr. Rakowski, that’s because some replacement phones were not properly qualified as Google had not yet got to the bottom of the issue at that stage. He, however, claims that the search giant is now taking additional steps to make sure that the replacement phones from now on will be free from any further microphone-related troubles.