Any way to reduce the echo?

[djc]

I don't use Dell Voice that much since I still have my cell plan but only figured this out more as I use Dell voice. I'm using Google Nexus S with the dell app installed. I called an LG optimus prime using dell app. When talking, I hear an echo of my voice and the caller also has an echo which I hear on my end. Is there a way to reduce the echo?

I thought maybe it is because the mic and speaker are close together but then I remembered that I couldn't use bluetooth without being near my phone anyway. (See bluetooth headset thread).

It would be nice to have less of an echo or to have it completely removed. Other than echo, the voice quality is quite clear. There is a lag, but not noticeable if far away and you don't hear the other person actually speaking.

[Hobbes]

I have the same issue with an LG Optimus one. For me, it appears the phone defaults to the speaker phone and I can't get it to turn off. If I turn the volume way down the echo problem improves for the recipient but I can hardly hear them. Waiting for a fix.

[dibsmft]

Does touching the speaker button on the app once and the again help at all? It seems to work on my tablet.

[djc]

I never thought about speaker phone when I did my testing. I guess I always had it against my ears so as long as I heard it I didn't think twice about it. Anyway, I tested it again. I tested with 3 phones, Samsung Nexus S, Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and LG Optimus Chic. All three didn't go on speaker but still had the echo. It's actually pretty bad sometimes that it's not even usable. I'd like to say I can rely on Dell Voice, but that's far from the case. I only use it when I need to and my parents don't even use it even though I helped them set it up. I know my sister uses it but she said many times her friends can't understand her that she had to waste her daytime minutes recalling them.

My dad used it once and says it sucks. No one can hear anything. I know Dell is free, and hope that it'll get better, but these negative experiences will throw people off from using it. It's especially deceiving when a lot of the "reviews" says it's great quality and what we're experience is far from that.

Anyway, here's hoping it gets better sooner than later.

[dibsmft]

I just did some tests using my tablet and the echo does not seem to be asscociated with the Dellvoice service itself. All the echo that I observed was due to local problems...
1. Having using speakers and microphone at the receiving end rather than a handset or head set or not muting the local microphone (on the local computer sound set up).
2. There is something not quite right about the Android app running on my Le Pan II that does not control the speakers/mic correctly and that seems to umute speakers/mic when a call is started so there is lots of feedback. This is cured by switching the speakers on and then off using the app button.
3. Echo supression seems (?) to be used at both ends and when there is a little feedback echo this causes huge distortion of the sound at both ends.
4. Having the sound volume too high at ether end will cause feed back through some phone/head sets.
5. ...and, of course calling oneself for testing with open speakers/mic will cause really bad echo.

I have not yet used Dellvoice widely to call others (other than testing )because it will not send my real caller ID (not from Fongo as they do not supply local numbers for St. John's but send my Fongo Montreal number) and I prefer to test for a longish time before using voip to call others as it can give voip a bad name. When voip is working correctly the sound should be near perfect and usually better than using the old PSTN service especially for long distance or international calls.

[djc]

Echo happens when I use dell voice my phone, a Samsung Nexus S with android ICS 4.0.4 to call a cell phone. When I speak, I can hear my own voice as well as the recipient caller has echo I can hear as well. The recipient can also hear their voice echo as well as my voice echo.

With my Nexus S, I don't have speaker on, but if I did turn speaker on/off, it doesn't change the echo. Turning down volume doesn't get rid of the echo but you can hear things less but that's due to a lower volume. If volume is turned down to low, you can't hear the ehco but you also can't hear anything.

I haven't called using dell voice to a pc, so my echo problems aren't because of the speaker/mic being too close.
It also doesn't seem to be the speakers switching on, nor does turning it on or off work to solve the problem of really bad echo.
I don't see any option of echo suppression on any of the android phones I've used this on. Samsung Nexus S, LG Optimus Chic, nor Sony Experia Arc.
If I do testing, it's with another person on the other line and in different rooms/areas. Speakers aren't on, and they just go through the cell phone.

Calling dell voice on a cell phone to another dell voice number on another cell phone is even worse for echo.

I've told many people about dell voice, as I believe there's a use for it such as saving minutes or using it out of the country to call someone in Canada or even for them to call you while out of the country. However, almost everyone I told said the echo is so bad that they can't understand anything to the point where they don't even like using it. They'd rather use their precious cell phone minutes to call rather than save and use either 3G or wifi.

For those who have this echo problem, how are you minimizing or fixing it? Most times I used it myself I always hear the echo but it was still somewhat understandable, although quite annoying. There were a few times where conversations where just downright impossible to make so I understand why people I told don't like dell voice.

[dibsmft]

As I said before there are a multitude of reasons for echo to develop in phone calls especially voip calls. I have tinitus so like to have the sound a little louder than is perhaps normal and many people today seem have diminished hearing and also expect to use the phone in noisy surroundings so also use a fairly high volume. Unlike landline phones where the phones were standardised to a fixed standard specification, there are now a multitude of different phone designs many of which have the microphone placed much closer to the speaker than was the case in the old style phone and all of this can lead to echo. Electronic echo supression can help to diminish echo and but can also lead to distorted sound when the feedback is serious.
Using my tablet with an earphone if I call my desk phone (Yealink) via DellVOice the sound is near perfect but if I remove the earphone and use the open tablet sound I immediately get echo becasue of the closeness of the microphone and speakers on the tablet so in that case it is clear where the echo comes from. It would be nice to know if DellVoice Android uses echo supression and perhaps someone from Fongo could clarify that. I do have the echo supression active on my desk phone.
Calling my cell phone (old Nokia non-smart) the story is about the same with the echo arising from the the microphone and speaker on the tablet. Amdroid CSipSimple does have echo supression and the tablet has it turned on and it seems to help but not enough to make much difference, occasionally cutting off the sound altogether.

[Amour Spirit]

I have noticed on my Google Nexus that same echo issue. If I use a wired ear piece then it works fine. If I use the dell voice app without this wired piece then the quality is unbearable.

I am wondering if anyone has tried this service with another app such as Bria on the Android. Of course you will need to purchase your sip code information before you can use a third party app. If other apps worked well I would consider purchasing the Sip codes and using others.

[orb2k]

any fixes or response from DV/Fongo?