Microphone not always working

[Pentagen]

I say, "OK Google," and my Xperia XZ Premium does nothing.

Well, sometimes it takes me to Google Assistant, and sometimes it does nothing. Sometimes telling Google Assistant picks up what I say and sometimes it doesn't; sometimes it starts picking up my voice and stops. Even when it does pick up my voice, it doesn't always convert it into the correct text.

This is not limited to Google Assistant. My microphone has been inconsistent in all apps that I have tried. (Those apps are Google Assistant, Google app, Google voice typing, Amazon Underground, Bing, Cortana and OneNote.)

This first happened a few weeks ago. I had been using the microphone in the Cortana app and then said, "OK Google," with no result. I thought that it might have been Cortana holding onto control of the microphone, so I restarted my phone and the microphone worked properly again.

Today, the problem occurred again. Far worse than the last time. Restarting my phone made no difference. The microphone remained as inconsistent as it was before restarting the phone.

My guess is that this is either a faulty microphone or some app taking control of the microphone when it should not. Whatever the reason, I would like to hear potential solutions to this problem that I hope do not involve sending my phone to a repair center.

[Pentagen · Accepted solution]

It appears that the problem was Cortana. I removed Cortana from my phone and the microphone has been acting properly since.

I suggest that Sony Mobile engineers look into this and, if necessary, work with Cortana developer Microsoft to fix this issue.

[najodleglejszy]

you could try contacting Microsoft about the issue. scroll down on the Play Store entry for Cortana and choose "send email". describe the problem that you've experienced and mention your phone's model and Android version.

[Lord_viridis]

You have, it seems, a self created issue.

You have two apps both fighting for control of microphone during normal off-app use waiting for voice commands.

Ok Google and hey cortana won't mix well as in android only one app has access to microphone at any one time. Having both command listening in background will always end in a few missed phrases.

[Pentagen]

It's not supposed to be doing this. About a year-and-a-half ago, Microsoft removed the option to access Cortana from anywhere on an Android device by saying "Hey Cortana" because the option was causing microphone-related tasks to fail.

Just why Cortana is apparently doing this now even though it should only be listening when Cortana is the frontmost app is a mystery to me. I hope that Sony Mobile and/or Microsoft can fix whatever is causing this.

[Lord_viridis]

I honestly don't think sony mobile will have any say or inclination to fix Microsofts app tbh.

[Pentagen]

I'm not fully convinced that this is entirely Microsoft's fault. (I'm mostly convinced, but not entirely.)

[najodleglejszy]

again, you could try contacting Microsoft and let them know about the issue. it's much more likely that they'll fix it rather than Sony, as it's Microsoft's app after all.