Skype - Speaker volume?

[gerryex]

Hi ALL,

The latest version of Skype seems to be working well on my A500 for both audio and video. I just bought a headset with mic and it works well with that also, but I noticed that the speaker volume seemed to be very loud and the A500 rocker volume control had no effect. I then exited Skype and went into a media player and played a file and here the A500 rocker volume DID correctly control the headset's volume. I then went back to Skype and pulled the headset out to go back to the internal speakers and mic, and while it still worked well I tried to adjust the speaker volume with the rocker control and it had no effect. In fact going all the way to to the left, which should be mute or almost mute, the speakers were still at full volume. I then went into the Skype settings hoping to see a volume control but couldn't fine one.

So it seems that the latest version of Skype now works but the speaker is at full volume, does not respond to the A500's rocker volume control and there is no control within Skype itself. So there is no way to lower the volume!

Have I missed something?

Thanks,
Gerry

 

[Icebike]

Haven't had time to try this with skype yet, but...

First, switching headset to internal while in some apps is very hit or miss. I use a SIP client, and it works fine if you select headset/internal ahead of time, but sometimes while in a call, switching fails.

Second, try tapping the volume rocker once, (the only way to get the on-screen volume slider to show), and then in the on-screen volume slider, tap the little slider icons at the left edge. This will show additional volume sliders. Maybe, (no promises) this will allow you to set the volume properly.

Note that the number and content of these additional sliders varies according to what is plugged in and what is using the sound system.

 

[gerryex]

Haven't had time to try this with skype yet, but...

First, switching headset to internal while in some apps is very hit or miss. I use a SIP client, and it works fine if you select headset/internal ahead of time, but sometimes while in a call, switching fails.

Second, try tapping the volume rocker once, (the only way to get the on-screen volume slider to show), and then in the on-screen volume slider, tap the little slider icons at the left edge. This will show additional volume sliders. Maybe, (no promises) this will allow you to set the volume properly.

Note that the number and content of these additional sliders varies according to what is plugged in and what is using the sound system.

Hi Icebike,

Thanks for replying so quickly!!

First off I'm not having any problem switching between the internal speakers/mic and the headset/mic. I don't switch during a call and only switch when nothing is happening.

That being said, I tried what you suggested (I didn't know tapping the on screen volume indicator brought up other sliders!) but that didn't help! While nothing was running, the additional sliders shows an "i" in a balloon, which I assume is for notifications volume, and an alarm clock which I assume is for alarms. Then I brought up Mobo player but when you use the rocker it brings up its own volume indicator which doesn't have any other sliders. Then I brought up a game and it had the same sliders as when nothing was running (master, notifications and alarms) and its volume was affected by adjusting the master only.

The above were to just get a feel of how the additional sliders work. Then I brought up Skype without the headset and made the test call. As the call was running I used the rocker to bring up the volume and the only additional sliders that came up were the same as before: master, notifications and alarms. None of the sliders affected the speaker volume. In fact if you tap the speaker it gets a slash through it which did mute the speakers in the game. But in Skype the speakers are still at full volume even when they should have been muted!!

Then after I finished the test call I switched to the headset/mic and it did the same thing as with the internal speakers/mic! When using the internal speakers/mic, while the speaker volume cannot be lowered its not that bad but when using the headset it sound VERY loud and could be a problem during a real conversation.

Anyway, if you have a chance if you could try this out it would be interesting to see if you get the same thing. Meanwhile I'm going to go to Skype's web site and see it they have a way to report problems and see what they say!

Thanks again for you help,
Gerry

 

[gerryex]

Anyway, if you have a chance if you could try this out it would be interesting to see if you get the same thing. Meanwhile I'm going to go to Skype's web site and see it they have a way to report problems and see what they say!

Hi Icebike,

Give it a try anyway, but I just got back from the Skype support and it seems that this may be known problem. I posted in their user forum to make sure its known and if so when a fix may be expected.

Apparently there are a WHOLE bunch of bugs in this version! Microsoft just closed on the purchase of Skype a day or two ago so now its officially part of MS. I wonder if that will be good or bad for the Android community!!

Gerry

P. S. That $2 headset/mic I bought was a piece of junk!! While it did work the speakers were quite low and not much bass output and the mic was also quite low and not much better, if not worse, then the internal mic. I just bought another pair made by Samsung (I think its an OEM for a certain kind of phone) and it only cost about $8. This one is much better with great bass output and the mic works much better than the other headset and the internal mic. Now if Skype would fix the volume control this all would work our very nicely!

 

[mikejm]

Hi Gerry, I had exactly the same loud volume problem and reported it to Skype on October 10 and they responded: Thank you for contacting Skype Customer Service. We understand that the sound system on your Acer A500 Tablet is too loud and can't be adjusted. We'll do our best to resolve this for you. Hopefully, they'll come through with a solution.

 

[gerryex]

Hi Gerry, I had exactly the same loud volume problem and reported it to Skype on October 10 and they responded: Thank you for contacting Skype Customer Service. We understand that the sound system on your Acer A500 Tablet is too loud and can't be adjusted. We'll do our best to resolve this for you. Hopefully, they'll come through with a solution.

Hi mikejm,

I posted on their community forum, and others have noted the same problem. There is a Skype person that replies to the posts but he has not yet responded to my post. Its a shame as the video and audio calls seem to work quite nicely on the A500 now but the sound with a headset is way too loud!

Gerry

 

[badstue]

Hi Gerryex,

Have you found a solution to the loud sound problem with skype on your tablet? I have the exact same problem.. so it might seem to be unsolved?

Warm regards,
Rasmus

 

[gerryex]

Hi Gerryex,

Have you found a solution to the loud sound problem with skype on your tablet? I have the exact same problem.. so it might seem to be unsolved?

Warm regards,
Rasmus

Well, my solution was to buy a new tablet!! Actually I wanted to upgrade anyway and ended up buying a Sammy Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 with Kit Kat android OS. The new hardware is MUCH better than the A500 and the latest version of android works much smoother than the one on the A500.

While I realize there is no guarantee Sammy will update the OS forever I did feel that Acer stopped updates for the A500 too soon. That leaves an older version of android in the A500 and its possible that newer updates of apps, like Skype, may never work properly with an older version of the OS.

Good luck,
Gerry