How to fix Galaxy Note8 that has loud crackling sound in the background during calls

There are many variations of calling issues across many devices. In this post, we want to address the issue on the #GalaxyNote8 that makes loud crackling noise when on calls. Many users have experienced the same issue on other devices so this is definitely not just happening on the Note8. Our solutions can therefore be applied to other Android devices, even on non-Samsung ones. We also try to explain what may be causing No Service error on a Note8 so make sure to read everything.

Problem #1: Why network unlock is needed to fix Galaxy Note8 No Service error?

Hi. I recently bought Samsung Galaxy Note 8 dual SIM card. My sim card is not working with samsung note 8, my simcard 4G coverage is nothing wrong, because I put my sim card in another mob is working. And Samsung Note 8 show not servive unknow.I tried to contact my carrier.to fix this problem.they still not answer. It has been 2 months.only they said phone is unlock.I want to ask you how to fix it,I m very happy if you can help me,thank you. — Lily rocher

Solution: Hi Lily. Your No Service error issue can be due to a number of things so let’s discuss each of the possible reasons and how to go about them.

Network unlock

There’s a few causes that we can think of concerning your case but the most likely one is the possibility that your Note8 may need to be unlocked first. By unlocking, we mean modification to the phone’s software so that it can communicate with your network’s system. Unlocking in this sense does not necessarily mean changing the entire software landscape. On the contrary, unlocking only refers to some software changes that affects the network settings on your phone. So, for example, if your Note8 was originally built for another carrier, it’s software it’s network settings are also locked to recognize the signals from that same carrier and it won’t be able to communicate with the carrier you have at this time. In order for it to work with the current network you’re on, its software needs to slightly modified. This modification can only be done by the original carrier because it’s illegal in many countries to unlock a phone without the knowledge of the original carrier it was supposed to work on. Carriers impose conditions before a network unlock request can be performed on a device. For example, a user can’t let his/her carrier do a network unlock unless the phone or its attached subscription has been fully paid for. These conditions vary by network but generally, any outstanding balance must be settled by the requesting party first in order for network unlock to be done. So, if you purchased your Note8 as a pre-owned unit, you need to talk to the original owner to see if the device has been network unlocked properly. If that’s not done, you won’t be able to use this device on your current network.

Mobile must not be blacklisted or reported stolen

Another common reason why some pre-owned devices won’t be unable to work in any network is the fact that it may be reported as stolen by the previous owner, or that it’s been blacklisted by the original carrier for some reason. Again, it’s important for you to know the history of your device before you decide to buy it. A lot of users usually end up having an expensive phone that can’t connect to a network because of this situation.

If you got this Note8 as a brand new device, simply ignore this and proceed to the next possible cause.

Phone hardware incompatibility

While network unlock only addresses the possibility of a software incompatibility, there’s another aspect on your phone that you have to consider — its hardware. Not all Note8 devices can work on all networks. Majority of Samsung devices are catered to the needs of carriers. This means not every Note8 out there can be used in just every network in the world. Because every carrier has its network specifications like the radio frequency they operate on, not every phone can connect across networks. A Note8 built for carrier A may not be able to work with carrier B because its radio cannot receive and transmit in carrier B’s network. Ask your carrier’s technical support team for their operating frequency and compare that to your Note8’s frequencies. If they don’t match, then you’re out of luck. A phone’s operating frequency can’t be changed because it’s determined by the device’s hardware. You can’t change the hardware either without rendering the entire system totally unusable. In other words, if your Note8’s hardware is the reason for the No Service error you’re getting, you’re out of luck. You can either switch carriers, or accept the fact that your Note8 can never be used for cellular communication at all.

To determine what frequencies your Note8 operates, try to find its exact model number under Settings, and Google what the radio frequencies are for that particular model.

Problem #2: Galaxy Note8 has loud crackling sound in the background during calls

Hi. When making a phone call, I start getting a very loud crackling noise in the background. I won’t be able to hear the other person on the phone and they can’t hear me. This only started happening a few weeks ago. What can I do to fix this issue? I have a home-based business and rely on my phone for taking orders and talking to my customers. Not sure what Android version I have. Hope you can help. Thanks in advance. Kind regards. — Saskia Saskia

Solution: Hi Saskia. This can be either be caused by a fault in your phone or by a network-related issue. To see where the issue lies, these are the troubleshooting steps that you can do.

Verify if problem only occurs for one contact or all of them

This should be the first thing that you must do. Sometimes, network problems outside your own can make it appear as if there’s an issue with your device. Remember, there are four important components involved during calls — your own phone, the phone of the person you’re talking to, his network, and your own network. All of these components can have problems which may affect the performance of voice calls. If your issue only occurs when you’re talking to one contact and disappears when talking to others, the problem is most probably on another network or with contact’s phone. If the voice calling issue occurs in all your calls, it may have something to do with your network or your Note8.

Record your voice and listen to it

If you think you have a phone issue or a network problem, the next best thing to do is to record yourself talking so you can listen to the recording afterwards. This is an excellent way to know if you have a microphone and/or speaker issue on your device.

To record yourself:

  1. Open Voice Recorder app. This is a default Samsung app so if you have a Samsung folder for your apps, it’s probably in there.
  2. Tap the red button to start recording.
  3. Record your self talking for up to a minute.
  4. Once you’re done talking, tap the Stop button.
  5. Name the file to whatever you want and tap Save.
  6. To listen to the recording, just tap on it.

Remember, your goal here is to determine if both microphone and speaker — the components that allow you to hear from and speak to the other party during calls — are working. If your recording sounds faint when you play it back, that means you may have a speaker issue. If you hear crackling during playback it may either be a microphone or speaker issue or both.

Try calling while phone is running on Safe Mode

There’s a chance that one of your apps may be causing the problem. Sometimes, bad or poorly coded apps may interfere with Android or other apps. To check, try running your phone to safe mode and see what happens.

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
  3. When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.

Remember, safe mode blocks all third party apps and services. If your voice calls are working normally (no crackling sounds), that means one of the added apps is to blame.

To know which app is causing a problem, follow these steps:

  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 device still continues to show the same voice calling problem, repeat steps 1-4.

Reset network settings

Many voice calling issues are fixed by doing a simple solution of resetting all network settings. If you haven’t done this yet, make sure that you do. Here’s how:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap General management.
  3. Tap Reset.
  4. Tap Reset network settings.
  5. Tap RESET SETTINGS button.
  6. Restart your device and check for the problem.

Factory reset

We don’t know the history of your device but if your calling issue remains unresolved after doing the steps above, you should not hesitate to wipe it clean and start over again. Factory reset only covers possible software bug that may have developed after some time. If the problem is way deeper, say, due to bad hardware, operating system coding glitch, or network issue, the same problem may return afterwards.

To factory reset your S9:

  1. Create a backup of your personal data.
  2. Turn off the device.
  3. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  4. 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).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
  6. Press Power button to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  9. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Contact your operator

This last suggestion is meant to address a possible issue on your network’s side. After doing all the suggestions above, you should have known that there’s no problem with your phone whatsoever so don’t hesitate to report the problem to your carrier so they can figure it out for you.


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