r/mildlyinfuriating • u/NeighborhoodJust1197 • 8h ago

Missing Peace The speakerphone paradox

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I was at the pool today when a woman started having a conversation on her phone using the speaker.

I politely asked her if she could not use the speaker and pointed to my headphones.
She said, “I don’t have headphones.”
So I said, “You can just hold the phone next to your ear.”

She looked at me with a completely blank expression and said, “I’m on speakerphone.”
I said, “Well… that’s the problem.”

Apparently, we had reached the limits of modern technology.

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u/DieHardAmerican95 8h ago

I’m convinced that a lot of people don’t even realize that holding the phone up to your ear is an option any more.

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u/SirDomiku 7h ago

But like, it's an *extra step* to engage speakerphone. You make a call or answer a call, and it defaults to the earpiece.

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u/wallybinbaz RED 6h ago

I definitely find it more comfortable not having a hot phone on my ear, especially for work where I can have two hands for notes or typing. That said, I work from home. Alone. So I'm not bothering anyone.

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u/SousVideDiaper 4h ago

If your phone gets hot, there is something wrong with your phone

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u/elecow 26m ago

Or it's just a very hot day. My phone will just shut down some functions when I'm driving my car 😅

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u/brainparts 6h ago

I don’t like holding an iPhone to my ear because it’s flat and not actually phone-shaped but I can’t stand the way speakerphone sounds (also, it’s rude af). I just keep wired earbuds and airpods in my bag and use one of those if I’m on the phone for more than a minute.

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u/Naud1993 1h ago

Phones shouldn't get hot unless you're playing games or using the camera.

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u/Xerothor 10m ago

You know you don't actually have to press it to your ear right? Speakers are loud enough that close is enough

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u/ElPared 5h ago

You can actually set your phone to default to speaker iirc. Granted that is also an extra step, but it’s an extra step that precludes you from having to turn on speaker manually every call.

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u/Noughmad 32m ago

Only if you use the actual "phone" app. Most others, like WhatsApp, often default to the speaker.

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u/Ifailmostofthetime 6h ago edited 4h ago

My phones mic is actually broken :( I have to put it on speaker for people to hear me

Edit: also its like 180 usd to replace the bottom mic. Board alone is 40 bucks. Feel free to send me the cash and I'll get it fixed with receipt if it bugs you guys so much

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u/plug-and-pause 5h ago

Speaker changes the output... that's why it's called a speaker. Unless your phone has multiple microphones for some reason, and uses a different one in speaker mode for some reason, then none of that makes any sense.

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u/thefranchise23 4h ago

Speaker probably uses a different mic. It picks up your voice much farther away from the phone than when you are doing a normal call without speakerphone

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u/Ifailmostofthetime 4h ago

My phones has 3 mics. Bottom for calls, top one for speaker, rear one for camera. Most phones have multiple mics. Iphones have between 3 and 4 mics.

Edit i have an s21 5g. Look up the phone specs.

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u/plug-and-pause 3h ago

TIL. I'll take your word for it, and it honestly makes total sense. Recording audio from an inch away vs a few feet away probably can't be done (with good results) with the same hardware.

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u/Ifailmostofthetime 3h ago

I thought i maybe the mic hole was clogged so I tried cleaning it with 91% alcohol or maybe I just had bad signal but it only works on speaker. Next year I'll buy a new (refurbished) phone

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u/SuperBuffCherry 2h ago

Unless your phone has multiple microphones for some reason

Literally every single smartphone made in the last 10 years has 3, or at the very least 2 microphones.

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u/ElPared 5h ago

Bullshit. If that were true speaker wouldn’t work either.

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u/Old-Rhubarb-97 4h ago

I can confirm this can happen. I have a relative who was driving me crazy with this for months.

I thought surely it was something they were doing wrong, nope. 

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u/Ifailmostofthetime 4h ago

I have an s21 5G. Has 3 mics. The bottom one next to the usb doesn't work. The rear camera one and top one (used by the speaker phone) does work. Thats also why I almost never answer my phone and just text. I also have like 300 unread texts at a time though

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u/aitch-zed 47m ago

You can use headset/earphones with a mic

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u/AvsFan777 7h ago

I like when they use speakerphone but put their mouth super close to the phone so it distorts their voice so the other party says they can’t understand so the user talks louder and makes it worse. Speakerphone is set up to have the phone a few foot away, if you want to have your mouth close to the phone just use it in regular mode lol.

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u/LeggoMyLegoLegolas- 5h ago

I've seen more people hold the bottom of their phone to their ear to listen, then move the bottom of the phone to their mouth to talk

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u/AirconGuyUK 1h ago

It's never really clicked how fucking stupid that is, but yes I see it al the time.

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u/Lily346 12m ago

I think they think they look cool rather than stupid.

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u/DieHardAmerican95 5h ago

Yeah, that makes the speakerphone habit even crazier. I’ve seen a lot of people do that too.

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u/FidgitForgotHisL-P 2h ago

So I just mimicked that and realised that’s 100% what I’ve seen people doing without realising why.

Just straight up never realised the speaker at the top outputs sound I guess.

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u/Atmosferd 26m ago

I’ve done this with my older phones because the «regular» way is too low. Can’t hear anything. Tried cleaning the speaker, didn’t help. I can finally hear people on my new phone.

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u/renaissance2k 7h ago

We used to have speaker grilles instead of flat featureless glass voids, so I wouldn't be surprised if this were true.

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u/Ni_Peng_NeeeWom 7h ago

but... where do they think the sound is coming from on speaker???

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u/renaissance2k 7h ago

It's wireless. Or something. I don't know. I don't speak stupid.

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u/greeneggiwegs 6h ago

I know people think they are kinda tacky but pop sockets help with this sooo much. I wish something like that was more common on phones as a built in feature.

Also the other issue is just video. Almost every time I hear someone on speaker phone, I look over and they’re on video. Idk why we have to show people the entire kitchen section at TJ Maxx but we do apparently.

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u/tedsmitts 5h ago

People need to see the deals to believe them

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u/SciFiChickie PURPLE 7h ago

I’ve been convinced for about a decade now that Apple started making it harder or impossible to hear while using the phone against your ear, in order to sell AirPods.

I have never been able to hear from the supposed top speaker on my IPhone. So, I’m always using my earbuds, not purchased from Apple, or speaker phone when at home.

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u/Purple-Wolverine4793 7h ago

are you covering the speaker with the side of your head or something? i’ve never had this issue

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u/Ok-Procedure738 7h ago

Yeah maybe get your hearing checked. Seriously, I have tinnitus and the phone itself is very clear without speaker

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u/SciFiChickie PURPLE 6h ago

I have auditory processing disorder, when it comes to hearing test I pass with flying colors but it’s hard to distinguish what people are saying.

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u/im_juice_lee 2h ago

"Apple is behind a conspiracy to make it impossible to hear to sell you headphones"

"I have an auditory processing disorder"

??

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u/SciFiChickie PURPLE 37m ago

I only mentioned the APD, because it allowed me to show I have had my hearing tested and my hearing isn’t the issue. I have issues understanding what is being said. I do not have issues with hearing the words spoken. However with an IPhone I never hear anything no background noises, no words, just absolutely nothing, through the top speaker.

I personally know 15 people that have had the same issues with IPhones. Most (10) of them have switched to android phones where they don’t have that issue anymore. The rest are ear bud users like me.

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u/ffffllllpppp 4h ago

Tbh, at least on iphone, it works like shit.  Mainly just because it is not obvious, especially if you don’t talk on the phone often (typical of younger generations) where to put the phone.  

I know if sounds dumb, but if you are 1/4" off, the sound is muffled (duh) and there is nothing on the phone helping a user that’s in a rush talking a call to place it correctly in order to hear well. 

Typical landline phones all have shapes so that your hear will just fall into the right spot (and also the « sweet spot » for good sound is much larger on landline phones. 

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u/phlooo 53m ago

Bruh are are you really trying to argue that talking on the phone is difficult and needs a fucking tutorial? What next, using the toilet?

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u/FidgitForgotHisL-P 2h ago

I had my aunt calling my 9 year old the other day, he couldn’t hear her properly and wasn’t sure how to have a conversation, until I realised it wasn’t on speaker and he literally didn’t know you hold it up to your ear.  He’d just genuinely never encountered doing that with a smartphone.  Any calls either people were almost always video calls so he knew to just talk at the screen, even if he couldn’t see my aunt.

Kind of mind blowing how fast that default knowledge of how to use a phone disappeared.

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u/whistling-wonderer 2h ago

I have an old ass phone and the speakers are broken in such a way that unless I have it on speakerphone, even with the volume all the way up, I straight up cannot hear someone talking to me on the phone. Plus I suck at auditory processing so even on speakerphone I’m holding it right up to my ear like “what? sorry, what did you say?” Thank fuck for headphones bc at least I can hear well enough through those. Usually I just don’t bother answering the phone anymore lol

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u/charmredux 1h ago

My boomer aunt asked my mother to FaceTime her on the bus. I very clearly told her ‘no we are not doing that on public transport’. I had to gently parent my elderly mother, my god.

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u/4est5pirit 15m ago

My grandma was in her 90s and was using Airpods. My mom refuses to learn how to use use them. I just keep thinking, doesn't she recall that brief bit of time from the 50s-2010s when she held phones up to her ear? Pretend it's the 90s!!

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u/Infiniteh 11m ago

I've had someone reply to me after asking them to turn off speakerphone: "but my shoulder gets tired". Wtf

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u/Indecisive-Gamer 8m ago

Some people really are monkeys that just copy what they see others do without using their brain. Monkey see.

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u/Iselkractokidz 7m ago

No cure for stupid.

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u/Efficient_Market1234 7h ago

I can hardly hear the phone if I hold it up to my ear. It'd have to be a really quiet environment.

I don't usually have headphones on me.

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u/DieHardAmerican95 5h ago

Turn up the volume.

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u/Formal_Owl_400 4h ago

Phones have gotten so big and unhandworthy (but apparently not big enough for a headphone port), and people have been so overwhelmed by everything, that they no longer care,

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u/Shiny_Mewtwo 1h ago

I straight up can't hear or understand people unless they're on speaker, which is why I do something downright frightening when I get a call in public.....I take it to a more private location 😱 unthinkable, I know

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u/Handle-Proof 7h ago edited 2h ago

And I see that most of the people doesn’t realize that holding a cell phone up to your ear is not safe for health especially if it’s a really long period of time.

Even iPhone instructions clearly mention this. But somehow you still want to continue to hold it near your “brain”…

You can find this information on any iPhone. To reach the manual go to:
SETTINGS > General > Legal & Regulatory > RF EXPOSURE

Copy paste from the instructions:

To reduce exposure to RF energy, use a hands-free option, such as the built-in speakerphone, headphones, or other similar accessories.

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u/Mugstotheceiling 7h ago

I lost brain cells reading this comment

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u/Handle-Proof 6h ago

Most likely you didn’t, because there was none… so don’t worry

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u/Mugstotheceiling 6h ago

That’s a relief

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u/DieHardAmerican95 7h ago

That may have been the case with early cell phones, but that issue was resolved a long time ago. Now you’re just rudely defending shitty behavior.

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u/Handle-Proof 2h ago

That may have been the case with early cell phones - ? :)

You do sound silly. Do you understand what you're talking about at all? The only thing that changed in new models is that they have even more RF radiation... ))))

Explore the topic before posting something in the internet....

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u/Handle-Proof 6h ago

I’m not defending anything. You’re defending something clearly.

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u/DieHardAmerican95 5h ago

Sure, bud.

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u/pixeladdie 7h ago

Source?

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u/Handle-Proof 2h ago

Don’t forget to thank me.

You can find this information on any iPhone. To reach the manual go to:
SETTINGS > General > Legal & Regulatory > RF EXPOSURE

Copy paste from the instructions:

To reduce exposure to RF energy, use a hands-free option, such as the built-in speakerphone, headphones, or other similar accessories.

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u/Handle-Proof 6h ago

Google? You’re grown up? Since you’re on Reddit you’d should know how to use internet.

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u/Historical_Body6255 5h ago

I too can just pull stuff out of my ass and then get mad people don't want to confirm my bullshit for me lmao

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u/Handle-Proof 2h ago

Don’t forget to thank me.

You can find this information on any iPhone. To reach the manual go to:
SETTINGS > General > Legal & Regulatory > RF EXPOSURE

Copy paste from the instructions:

To reduce exposure to RF energy, use a hands-free option, such as the built-in speakerphone, headphones, or other similar accessories.

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u/MargoPriceIsRight 6h ago

Maybe for people who work in call center but, no. 

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u/Sennten 5h ago

I mean... I'm not sure if you've tried it recently but practically speaking it is not. Phones are not built for it anymore and it works really fucking badly.

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u/Historical_Body6255 5h ago

Wym?

99% of my conversation are in "regular mode" and i have not noticed anything different.

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u/DieHardAmerican95 5h ago

I “tried it” on Friday, carried on an entire conversation with my building inspector. I think that’s recent enough for me to have an informed opinion.