How to fix Galaxy S9 calling issue: 10-second delay during calls (no sound)

Today’s troubleshooting article talks about an issue on Galaxy S9 during calls. What’s happening is that there exists a 10-second delay after a call has connected, making it impossible to hear any sound during this period. Learn the troubleshooting steps that you can do about this problem below.

Problem: Galaxy S9 no sound during calls

I have the Samsung Galaxy S9. I have recently started experiencing an issue when making and receiving phone calls. What happens is when I answer or call and the person picks up there is about a 10 second dead time when nothing is heard. I say hello like 3 times before I eventually hear the other person. They dont hear me during this time either.

Also, when making a call i hear a tone like a ring after making the call that is separate than the actual ring of the call. Almost like someone else is being notified I’m making a call and gives them time to pick up. Very strange. Any assistance would be helpful! When I checked my version it says Android 8.0.0.

Solution: Has there always been a delay when making or receiving a call ever since you got the phone or when you used the current voice services of your network? While a 10-second delay may not be normal for most calls in other networks, it may perfectly be fine for yours. Before you do anything drastic on your device, we recommend that you check our questions above to avoid wasting your time in troubleshooting. There may be unique factors that causes the problem, which may not necessarily mean there’s something bad going on.

If the situation is not unique to your carrier and they’ll say that it’s definitely not normal, then that’s the time the you want to consider troubleshooting your device. Below are the steps that you can try.

Clear the cache partition

Android may encounter problems if its system cache is corrupted. To ensure that the system cache on your Galaxy S9 is on great shape, we suggest that you clear the cache partition before doing the rest of the troubleshooting below. Follow these steps on how to clear the cache partition:

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
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).
Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘yes’ is highlighted and press the Power button.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

Forced reboot

Plenty of issues are due to temporary bugs. These types of bugs may develop if a device is left to run for extended periods. In case you haven’t done it yet, we recommend that you try simulating the effects of a “battery pull” to clear any temporary bug that may be causing the problem. Here’s how to do that:

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.
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.

Install updates

One of the ways to lessen the chances of bugs from developing as well as fixing known, reported ones is by installing updates. Making sure that apps and Android are running their latest version does not require much effort since your Note9 is set to download app updates. For Android updates, as long as you’re in your home network any carrier or Android updates are also convenient as you’ll receive notifications for them whenever they become available. All you have to do is to tap on a few buttons to confirm the download of app and system updates.

Google Play Store app is set to automatically download app updates. If you changed this behavior in the past, you should manually check for app updates from time to time.

Clear Phone app cache

If you’ve been using the same Phone app since you noticed the issue, it’s possible that there might be a problem with it. The first thing that you want to do about the app is to see if it has a cache problem. Follow these steps to clear its cache:

From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
Tap Settings.
Tap Apps.
Tap the 3 dots icon (at the upper right)
Tap Show system apps to display preinstalled apps.
Find and tap appropriate app.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear cache.
Tap OK.
Restart the device and check for the problem.

Clear Phone app data

Should there be no positive effect once the Phone app cache is cleared, the next thing that you want is make sure that the app’s data is cleared too. This will revert the app into its factory version. It will also delete all call logs or history.

From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
Tap Settings.
Tap Apps.
Tap the 3 dots icon (at the upper right)
Tap Show system apps to display preinstalled apps.
Find and tap appropriate app.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear data.
Tap OK.
Restart the device and check for the problem.

Make a call on safe mode

In case there’s a third party app that interferes with Android and directly affects your calls, the next step for you is to restart the device to safe mode. In this mode, all apps that you downloaded after setting up the phone, also referred to as third party apps in this article, will be suspended. This means that they won’t be allowed to run. With only pre-installed apps running on this mode, you can then try to make calls and make your observations. If the problems you’re raising here won’t exists on safe mode, that’s an indication that one of your third party apps is causing it. These are the steps on how to restart the device to safe mode:

Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.
Try to check if the problem returns by making several calls.

If the problem is absent on safe mode, try to restart back to normal mode (by restarting the device again) and see if the problem returns. If it does, then that means an app is behind this trouble. To identify which of your apps is causing the trouble, you should boot the phone back to safe mode and follow these steps:

Boot to safe mode.
Check for the problem.
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.
After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
If your S9 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Reset app preferences

Resetting app preferences is oftentimes overlooked in many Android troubleshooting articles but when it comes to an issue like yours, it might help a lot. It’s possible that one or some of your default apps may not be set correctly, causing this glitch to occur. Because there’s no way to know if this guess is true, what you need to do is to simply ensure that all default apps are turned on. Here’s how to do that:

Open Settings app.
Tap Apps.
Tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
Select Reset app preferences.
Restart your S9 and check for the problem.

Reset network settings

This is an expected troubleshooting step for any networking issue. There may be a configuration error on your device. To clear it or any other potential network bugs, try to do the steps below.

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

Try a new voice calling app

In case the problem is due to app coding inefficiency, you must try using a different voice calling app to check. There are many voice calling app alternatives that you can download and install from the Play Store. We suggest that you try one of them and use it to make calls.

Factory reset

If the cause of the problem is software-related, wiping the device with factory reset might help. Learn how to factory reset your S9 by doing these steps:

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

Contact carrier

Last but not the least, you want to ensure that you let your carrier know about the problem. Make sure to call them back and tell them that you’ve already exhausted every possible troubleshooting that can be done on your device.