In October 2018 I faced a weird problem with the call volume on my Google Pixel: when I try to adjust the volume in the ear speaker the volume slider moves up and down but the volume itself doesn’t change at all.
In this article I will explain what you can do to fix the problem and I will tell you how I resolved the issue on my Google Pixel 2016.
Explanation
If I activate the loudspeaker the volume works just fine – I can make the sound quieter and louder. But when I use the ear speaker the volume bar moves up and down but doesn’t affect the volume:
I had no bluetooth speakers/headsets paired with my phone. Neither rebooting, nor clearing data/cache for the Phone app haven’t made the slider affect the volume.
How I Managed to Solve the Problem with Broken Call Volume Slider
I have done a ton of steps but nothing helped. Finally I decided to try the radical measures. Here is my experience:
- I reset my Pixel phone to the factory defaults (like explained here);
- when the phone booted I logged into my Google account and made a call. The call volume worked fine – I mean, the volume rocker was able to change the volume in the earpiece again;
- after that I allowed all pre-installed apps to update. Then I checked again – the volume rocker was working. So, we can conclude that one of the third-party apps was the culprit;
- the next thing I did, I installed the most important part of my third-party apps, but the call volume still works fine. If I manage to find the exact reason I will write about it on this web page.
That’s it. The nuclear option did the trick. Describe your cases in the comments.
Adam Swift Adam is a real tech maniac. He likes to spend time testing phones, tablets, laptops, as well as any other technical devices, and write practical manuals on their functions. He often sleeps all day, but always works at night.
Adam bought his first computer in 1999, being an absolute beginner who never held a computer mouse in his hands. He began to study Windows, constantly experimented and often crashed the operating system. But six months later, he was able to reinstall Windows 98 from a scratch on his own, fix almost any software problem on a PC, he also did hardware upgrades and realized that computers, operating systems and programs are now his biggest passion.
In addition, Adam has always been a big lover of phones. With the advent of smartphones with Android OS, he began to pick at them much more than in computers.
Now Adam loves to study privacy issues in instant messengers, blocking unwanted calls and other nuances related to privacy and security on the network. You can follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tunecomp
View Comments
I have the same problem with my Pixel 3XL, as so many others are also dealing with as I am learning. This is an obvious but that needs to be worked out.
Yes, factory reset does work, but that is not a viable option when it keeps happening every week or so. I have had to reboot my phone 5 times since I got it. It has only been about 2 months.
I have read dozens of threads with people all describing the same issue, so I doubt that it is a particular 3rd party app causing the problem.
Please fix this Google!!
Have the same issue on a recently purchased 3a xl. Factory reset fixed the problem but then it started happening again.
I know it sounds weird, but here's what fixed it for me. Go into the settings on the Phone App and then go to Accessibility -> Hearing Aids. Toggle Hearing Aid Compatibility ON and then OFF again (it should be off by default). After I do this, the functionality of adjusting the call volume returns immediately. I can even do this during a call and fix it on the fly. The good news it's an easy fix for me, but the bad news is that I find I have to do this regularly. I guess I'll learn to deal with it and hope it eventually is addressed. I hope this works for others.