How to fix low audio on calls on Galaxy S10 | sound is low during calls

Calling issues are often some of the most common problems on all phones. In today’s post, we show you how to fix low audio on calls on Galaxy S10. Find out below what you must do in order to figure out the cause of your problem.

Problem: Low audio on calls. I am on my second replacement for this issue. All of sudden my audio is so low on calls even with volume on max I cant even hear the ringing when waiting on someone to answer. I can barely hear when they do answer. I have to use speakerphone to hear on calls. I think it is software related because it will be working fine then boom I’m forced to upgrade and here comes audio issue. I’m currently on android 9 because I’m scared that when I upgrade to 10 I will have to replace this phone. My last phone had android 10 and it had to be replaced for same issue. I have no screen protector, Bluetooth is not on, volume is on max and speaker is not obstructed.

How to fix low audio on calls on Galaxy S10 | sound is low during calls

Based on your problem description, the issue does appear to be software-related. If you’ve already checked the basics like making sure that the volume is up, speaker is clear, Bluetooth is not engaged, among other things, then you need to focus on the possible software aspects of the problem. Below are the troubleshooting steps that you want to do.

Low audio on calls fix #1: Verify notifications are set to max

Volume of notifications may sometimes change due to updates or other apps. Try checking the notifications on your device to see if the volume has been set way too low to allow you hear during calls. Under Settings > Sounds and vibration, there are many things that you must check in order to ensure that audio setup of your S10 is up to your standard. As a general rule, start by checking the very first option which is Sound mode. Work your way down until you change the ones you want. One of the options at the bottom should say Answering and ending calls. Change the default set up if you think that one of the options may be interfering with how you want phone notifications to occur.

Low audio on calls fix #2: Force close Phone app

If you are unable to make or receive calls because your S10 keeps saying Phone has stopped, the first thing that you want to do is restart the said app. If you’re lucky and the bug is temporary, this one will most probably help. There’s a number of factors that can cause Phone app to stop working properly. To see if restarting it will help, here’s what you can do:

1. On your screen, tap the Recent Apps soft key (the one with three vertical lines on the left of the Home button).
2. Once the Recent Apps screen is shown, swipe left or right to look for the Settings app. It should be here if you managed to run it previously. Then, swipe up on the app to close it. This should force close it. If it’s not there, simply tap the Close All app to also restart all apps.

Another way to force close an app is this:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap Apps.
3. Tap the More settings icon (three-dot icon, upper right).
4. Tap Show system apps.
5. Find and tap Settings app.
6. Tap Force Stop.

Low audio on calls fix #3: Force restart before calling

Should the problem return after rebooting the app itself, the next thing that you want to do is perform a soft reset. This should clear the system and possibly get rid of the bug as well. To do that, simply press and hold the Power and Volume Down buttons for about 10 seconds. Once the phone has restarted, release the buttons. This is usually effective in clearing bugs that developed when a system is left running for some time. We suggest that you restart your S10 using this method at least once a week to lessen the chances of bugs.

For some Galaxy S10, there may be a slightly different way to arrive at the same method. Here’s how:

1. Press and hold the Power + Volume Down buttons for approximately 10 seconds or until the device power cycles. Allow several seconds for the Maintenance Boot Mode screen to appear.
2. From the Maintenance Boot Mode screen, select Normal Boot. You can use the volume buttons to cycle through the available options and the lower left button (below the volume buttons) to select. Wait for up to 90 seconds for the reset to complete.

Low audio on calls fix #4: Clear Phone app cache

Clearing the cache of a problem app is another basic troubleshooting step that you can do in this situation. Learn how to do it below.

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap Apps.
3. Tap the More settings icon (three-dot icon, upper right).
4. Tap Show system apps.
5. Find and tap Phone app.
6. Tap Storage.
7. Tap Clear cache button.
8. Restart the phone and check for the problem.

Low audio on calls fix #5: Reset Phone app

If Phone has stopped bug remains, you must follow the previous step through with clearing the app’s data. This will reset the app to its defaults. Here’s how:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap Apps.
3. Tap the More settings icon (three-dot icon, upper right).
4. Tap Show system apps.
5. Find and tap Phone app.
6. Tap Storage.
7. Tap Clear data button.
8. Restart the phone and check for the problem.

Although this troubleshooting step will not delete any personal data, we highly recommend that you create a backup of your Contacts and Phone logs if you want to keep them intact.

Low audio on calls fix #6: Reset network settings

Whenever there’s network related issues, one of the basic things to do is to clear the current network configuration. Sometimes, system-wide changes like an update can mess some things up. To see if there’s any network setting that causes the problem, follow these steps:

1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
2. Tap General Management > Reset > Reset network settings.
3. Tap Reset settings.
4. If you have set up a PIN, enter it.
5. Tap Reset settings. Once complete a confirmation window will appear.

Low audio on calls fix #7: Try calling on Safe Mode

If your Galaxy S10 started having low audio on calls after you installed an app, it’s a good idea to see if deleting the app will fix it. If you are not sure, or if you can’t remember what app you may have installed, you can also try to restart the device to safe mode. Other apps may sometimes interfere with Android and with other apps. To check if that’s the case, restart the phone to safe mode. Here’s how to do that:

1. Press and hold the Power button until the Power off window appears then release.
2. Touch and hold Power off until the Safe mode prompt appears then release.
3. To confirm, tap Safe mode.
4. The process may take up to 30 seconds to complete.
5. Upon reboot, “Safe mode” appears in the lower-left of the home screen.

Remember that third-party applications are disabled in this mode so what you can use are pre-installed apps. If the touchscreen issue won’t appear on safe mode, that means that the problem is due to a bad app. Uninstall the app you recently installed and see if that will fix it. If the problem remains, use the process of elimination to identify the rogue app. Here’s how:

1. Boot to safe mode.
2. Check for the problem.
3. Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
4. After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
5. If your S10 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Low audio on calls fix #8: Wipe cache partition

Some apps may be impacted negatively if the system cache is corrupted. Android uses a system cache, which is stored in the cache partition, to load apps quickly. Sometimes, this cache gets corrupted during and after an update, or for some other reasons. While this may sound harmless, a corrupted cache can eventually cause performance issues as well as a bunch of other minor annoyances. To ensure that your phone’s system cache is fresh, you can wipe the cache partition. This will force the phone to delete the current cache and replace it with a new one over time.

To wipe the cache partition on your Galaxy S10:

1. Turn off the device.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
3. When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
5. Press Power button to select.
6. Press the Volume down key until ‘yes’ is highlighted and press the Power button.
7. When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.

Low audio on calls fix #9: Update the software and apps

Although not generally known by many Android users, installing updates sometimes also bring needed fixes for known bugs. Make sure that you don’t delay the installation of any system or app updates. By default, your S10 should notify you of any available updates but in case you turn this mechanism off, it’s high time that you manually check for them.

To check for Android or system update:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap Software update.
3. Tap Download and install.
4. Wait for the device to check for updates.
5. Install the update. If there’s no new update, your phone should tell you so.

For carrier-branded Galaxy S10 devices, or those that were provided by your carrier, there may not be an option to manually check for updates. All you have to do is to simply confirm if there’s a notification for an update and allow update installation.

To check for app updates:

1. Open Play Store app.
2. Tap More settings icon (at the upper left).
3. Tap My apps & games.
4. Tap Update all button.

Low audio on calls fix #10: Factory reset

The final troubleshooting step that you can perform is to wipe the device with factory reset. This helps for troubles that are the result of software or app bugs. Below are the two ways to factory reset your S10:

Method 1: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy S10 via Settings Menu

This is the easiest way to wipe your Galaxy S10. all you have to do is to go under Settings menu and follow the steps below. We recommend this method if you have no trouble going under Settings.

1. Create a backup of your personal data and remove your Google account.
2. Open Settings app.
3. Scroll to and tap General management.
4. Tap Reset.
5. Select Factory data reset from the given options.
6. Read the information then tap Reset to continue.
7. Tap Delete All to confirm action.

Method 2: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy S10 using hardware buttons

If your case is that the phone is not booting up, or it boots but Settings menu is inaccessible, this method can be helpful. First, you need to boot the device to Recovery Mode. Once you successfully access Recovery, that’s the time that you begin proper master reset procedure. It may take some tries for you before you can access Recovery so be patient and simply try again.

1. If possible, create a backup of your personal data ahead of time. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
2. Also, you want to make sure that you remove your Google account. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
3. Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.
4. Press and hold the Volume Up button and the Bixby button at the same time.
5. While still holding the Volume Up and Bixby keys, press and hold the Power button.
6. The Recovery screen menu will now appear. When you see this, release the buttons.
7. Use the Volume Down button until you are highlighting ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
8. Press the Power button to select ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
9. Use Volume Down to highlight Yes.
10. Press the Power button to confirm factory reset.

Low audio on calls fix #11: Contact your network operator

As an end user, there’s only so much that you can do when it comes to fixing problems like low audio on calls. If nothing has changed after a factory reset, you should consider involving your network operator in finding out the cause. This may be a problem with their software or with their service. Either way, they are your only choice at this moment. Talk to them and let them figure out the problem. We suggest that you talk to their technical support team and not their sales or marketing teams in stores. Often, these guys don’t have the technical know how to fix network troubles. Their phone supports though may have. Be sure to ask for the technical team instead of the customer service department.