Changing the volume through the engineering menu
To change microphone settings, you can use the engineering menu. You will need a special code specifically for your smartphone model. You can find it in the instructions for the device or on the manufacturer’s website. It looks like *#*#******#*#*, where the asterisks are the code for your smartphone.
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To enter the engineering menu, go to the call menu and enter your code in the field for entering the subscriber number. Press the call button. A list of system settings will appear on the smartphone screen.
We need the “Audio” item. Depending on the smartphone model and Android version, the menu may contain different items. From the general ones we highlight:
- Normal Mode – standard speaker sound, without a connected headset.
- Headset – sound level in headphones.
- Headset Loud Speaker – sound level during a conversation through a headset.
- Debug Info – button to reset settings to factory defaults.
- Loud Speaker – sound level during speakerphone.
Opposite each line you will see two columns of numbers - with the current value and the maximum. You can increase each parameter to its maximum value. To adjust the numbers, press the Set key.
Reasons for the microphone not working on the phone and how to fix it
The reasons for the breakdown may be different. Most often, a microphone may break due to mechanical damage or software failure. Also, the speaker may malfunction when running a certain application - Skype, Viber, Vk or any other that uses a microphone. Let's look at all the possible reasons in more detail.
Ingress of dust and dirt
When using the phone for a long time, dust and dirt can get into the small holes in its body. Gradually accumulating, they create mud plugs. A speaker that is dirty in this way may not transmit sound. To fix the problem, clean the device or entrust it to professionals.
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The cable comes off (poor contact)
Another common reason is damage to the cable connecting the microphone to the motherboard. You can fix it yourself, using a soldering iron, if you have experience working with microcircuits. If you do not have such experience, we recommend that you contact a specialist.
Moisture ingress
If you associate the breakdown with your smartphone recently getting into water, try drying it. Disassemble the case and remove the battery, carefully lay it on a moisture-absorbing cloth in a dry room. If the phone gets very wet, dry all parts except the battery with warm air from a hairdryer.
If the back cover on your smartphone cannot be removed, turn off the device and place it in dry rice. The cereal will absorb excess moisture, drying the device.
Software glitch
Program malfunctions are also often the cause of a broken microphone. First, try simply rebooting your device - this may immediately fix the problem. When rebooting, remove the battery for a few minutes. After starting the smartphone, check the system operation. If the problem remains, we move on.
Check if your device needs an operating system update - downloading and installing a new version can fix many problems.
Connect the device to your computer via a USB cable. Check the operation of the sound driver.
Stealthphone: Protecting your mobile phone microphone from unauthorized activation
The rapid growth in sales of mobile phones in recent years and their enormous influence on almost all areas of modern civilization from politics, military, banking, corporate to private are simply amazing. Another characteristic feature of the development of mobile phones is the release of smartphones (more than one billion had been produced by 2012) with the ability to connect to the Internet. By 2014, 80% of all calls to the World Wide Web will occur from smartphones and tablet computers. Undoubtedly, the intense competitive struggle of mobile phone manufacturers was aimed primarily at making mobile phones cheap, visually attractive and capable of working with numerous applications hosted on the Internet to please consumers and increase demand. There are no miracles in engineering and technology. Ultimately, the struggle for leadership in the production of mobile phones led to a significant decrease in their security when storing and transmitting information. The hackers took advantage of this. According to Symantec, global damage from hackers in 2011 amounted to $400 billion (According to Symantec). Much of this revenue was generated due to the lack of security of mobile phones, especially when they are used in the banking industry. Another reason was that recently, in connection with the global war on terrorism and other crimes related to high technologies, including information, state control over mass communications and, first of all, over mobile communications on the Internet has sharply increased . Intelligence agencies began to use various ways to obtain the information they needed from almost any electronic device. Recently, CIA Director D. Petraeus called the new technologies that are widely spreading among ordinary citizens “transformational”, having a huge impact on the work of intelligence officers. He said the new online devices are a treasure trove of data for his department. With the advent of “smart homes” and geo-referenced data (from photos on social networks, smartphones, navigators, etc.), the CIA can receive a lot of useful data in real time: from a person’s location to secret filming with a cell phone or laptop camera. D. Petraeus said that consumer devices are “changing the way we think about privacy, personal information and secrecy.” There is no doubt that such global control of information systems will significantly weaken the information security of citizens who use them. Let me give you an example. The German authorities admitted that they used a special program (the so-called Bundes Trojan) to spy on their citizens. The program was loaded onto the computer of an unsuspecting user and allowed him to download new malware, steal passwords, take images using the built-in camera, or remotely turn on the computer’s built-in microphone. Interestingly, this software was developed by a private German company. After the scandal, the German government decided in the future to carry out such developments only at state-owned enterprises. But who can now guarantee that this Bundes Trojan did not fall into the hands of hackers? One can cite many similar examples and draw the sad conclusion that government services in many countries, expanding control over the information of their citizens, are forced to open “loopholes” in the information protection of citizens’ communication systems. Sooner or later, hackers, who are currently armed with technical means of almost the same level as those of some intelligence services, can take advantage of this. The fact that hackers and terrorists are armed with special means for capturing and intercepting information is also explained by the fact that many dictatorial regimes purchase the most modern interception and control systems from the world's best manufacturers. And then, as a result of numerous “Arab” and other similar revolutions, a significant part of these funds falls into the hands of terrorists and hackers. It is not for nothing that US President George W. Bush said in his statement to Congress that terrorists can tap any of our phones and intercept electronic correspondence. Therefore, today no one doubts the fact that none of the traditional methods can guarantee the security of personal information when using the Internet. This was recognized by the creators of the worldwide information network, Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf. In particular, in one of his interviews, Bob Kann said: “I should pay more attention to issues of identification and authenticity - where the email came from, what device I am currently in contact with. These things play the most important role.” In his opinion, today it is no longer possible to make the Internet secure and it is necessary to create a completely new information exchange network.
Users access the Internet from smartphones based on various operating systems and platforms, which results in the entry of viruses distributed via the Internet into the device. As a rule, in most cases, such viruses are distributed under the guise of useful software applications, the installation of which is confirmed by the user himself.
In particular, according to the results of the study, installing free applications for the Android operating system, so popular in Russia, often poses a serious risk to the security and safety of personal information. Once installed on a smartphone, many mobile applications can perform functions that the user may not even be aware of: tracking location, accessing the user's contact list, secretly initiating SMS messages, turning on a video camera and making a phone call. Juniper Networks experts found that in the case of Android OS, only 1 in 40 (2.64%) free applications requests permission to send text messages without notifying the user, 5.53% of free applications have permission to access the device’s camera, 6 .4% of free applications have permission to secretly make calls (“Free Android apps often secretly make calls, use the camera” according to “The Register” dated November 1, 2012). If the ability to make a secret outgoing call is built into the memory of a mobile phone, the microphone of the mobile device turns into a “bug” used to secretly listen to conversations near the mobile phone. The possibility of a user visually detecting this process without special equipment is excluded, since the device may, for example, be turned off or in standby mode.
The following can be cited as a typical example reflecting the vulnerability of citizens’ personal information when they use a mobile phone.
The American FBI has begun using a new method of spying on suspects by remotely turning on the microphone of a mobile phone and turning it into a portable device to listen to conversations conducted by its owner or people around him. This technology, called the "roving bug", will soon see widespread use, as every newly manufactured phone has a built-in tracking device that can eavesdrop and pinpoint someone's location within a few feet ("The FBI will get it") through a switched off mobile phone” source Utro.ru).
Currently, the fact of wiretapping mobile phones and intercepting SMS is becoming a decisive factor for the court to issue an indictment. Raj Rajaratnam, the founder of the Galleon Group hedge fund, was sentenced to seven years in the United States after being found guilty of illegal stock trading. The Galleon case was the first insider crime investigation in which prosecutors recorded telephone conversations to solve it. “The successful use of Raj Rajaratnam's phone records in court will change the rules of the game on Wall Street. Investigators will now begin to actively use this method against other white-collar criminals, and the company will begin to take protective measures,” lawyer Kenneth Herzinger comments on the situation.
It is not surprising that hackers or criminals can take advantage of a “hole” in the protection of a mobile phone microphone to collect incriminating evidence on the people they need and, first of all, law enforcement officers who are fighting them. Moreover, technically it is not so difficult to carry out such an “event” and is inexpensive.
All of the above facts confirm the need to protect the mobile phone microphone from unauthorized activation.
Technological solutions presented on the market and aimed at ensuring the confidentiality of conversations and protecting against secret recording of information from a mobile phone microphone, little or completely do not comply with information security requirements.
Users are offered hardware solutions that create acoustic interference to hide the information signal. We are talking about acoustic noise generators and acoustic safes for mobile phones.
In the case of using an acoustic noise generator to protect a mobile phone microphone from unauthorized activation, it should be understood that the acoustic noise generator only protects against external voice recorders and cannot protect the mobile phone microphone when the user is speaking into it. That is, the acoustic noise generator can only be used if the phone is not being used for a call. In addition, the noise produced by such generators also does not contribute to the comfort of negotiations, and its incorrect configuration can lead to a violation of confidentiality and, as a result, a hacker obtaining information.
Acoustic safes offered for information security also have serious drawbacks. Their cost is often very high, in addition, they, like acoustic noise generators, can protect their owner only if his mobile phone is in this acoustic safe.
In connection with the above, the use of noise generators and acoustic safes is unacceptable for protection against unauthorized recording of information from the microphone of a mobile phone during a conversation on it.
The method of protecting a mobile phone microphone from unauthorized activation, developed by , is a unique technology that has no analogues in the world.
Unlike acoustic noise generators and acoustic safes, Ancourt specialists have created a solution that guarantees the security of voice information and confidentiality during conversations while using a mobile phone.
The undeniable advantage of the Stealthphone technological solution created by Ancourt is the reliable protection of the mobile phone microphone from unauthorized recording of information when it is in call mode. In addition, the security of the microphone of a mobile phone in standby mode is ensured. The Stealthphone solution is based on the fact that the conversation is carried out through a microphone located directly in the Stealthphone device, which is connected via Bluetooth to the mobile phone. In this case, the mobile phone performs the function of transmitting an encrypted voice signal in the form of a digital signal sequence. In this case, the mobile phone functions as a generator of speech-like interference and an acoustic safe, which can be used as a regular mobile phone case, which allows you to expand the frequency range of the interference generated by the built-in speaker.
Thus, the Stealthphone technological solution allows the user to ensure the safety of the microphone of their mobile phone from unauthorized activation both in standby mode and during a call. In addition, a number of additional features are offered, a description of which can be found on the company’s website www.stealthphone.ru.
