Person on the other end can't hear me...trying this before Ghostbusters

[averagemember]

I am have been having a consistent, if not worsening, issue for the last few months where callers on the other end of my phone calls will suddenly stop being able to hear me.  Specifically, when I am talking to someone on my iPhone XS during a regular phone call (i.e., not FaceTime, WhatsApp, or Zoom call), at some point the caller on the other end will no longer be able to hear me even though I can hear them normally.  Sometimes the problem occurs within 10 seconds of starting a call, sometimes it occurs after 10 minutes.

Before getting to what fixes I've already tried, I will note a few other confounding issues.  The problem also happens with my wife's iPhone XR (we are on the same Verizon plan) as well as my work iPhone 13 Pro Max (also a Verizon plan through my employer).  The problem happens consistently on each of our phones whether or not (a) we have WiFi disabled, (b) we have WiFi enabled but WiFi calling disabled, or (c) we have WiFi and WiFi calling enabled.  The problem also happens consistently whether or not we use the regular microphone, speakerphone, or Bluetooth.  However, the problem does not occur at all once we leave our house and are outside of WiFi signal range of our house (i.e., I can walk around the block and make phone calls just fine).  The problem also does not occur if we call over FaceTime, WhatsApp, Zoom, etc.  And I think I've figured out that the problem does not occur if I make or receive a phone call via my iPad Air (which is using my iPhone XS to actually make the call if I understand how that works).  Finally, when other people are at our house that do not have Verizon, they do not experience the same issues.

As for potential fixes, here's what I've tried:  all of the phone's microphones work fine (voice recordings okay, regular/speaker/bluetooth all work, and phones work just fine for other methods of calls); I have restarted each phone, reset network settings on each phone, and done full reset on each phone; I had my ISP come to our house to look at our cable connections to ensure there were no issues--none were found; I replaced both my modem and router for my home WiFi network--no change to the call issues; I have tried calling on all floors of my house with no difference in the problem.

Near as I can tell, the issue is not hardware related (it would seem a crazy coincidence for the matter to occur simultaneously for two phones that are 3.5 years old and one phone that is 6 months old).  It seems to either be an issue with my house--poltergeists?--or with Verizon.  I figured I would start here before calling the Ghostbusters.   I would appreciate any help Verizon or this community can provide (but please no "you should go to the Verizon store" responses).

[vzw_customer_support]

averagemember, thank you for the helpful details you provided. I rely on my phone calls to work, so I know how inconvenient it is for you to have issues with your calls. We will be pleased to help. Are the issues only happening inside of your home? What software does your iPhone have? Settings > General > Software Update?  

-Jacob

[averagemember]

The issues are only inside or just outside the home (i.e., within WiFi range).  All of our iPhones are currently running iOS 15.4 (and we keep them updated).

[vzw_customer_support]

We appreciate those details. It sounds like you've already covered most of the bases. Which Verizon signal are you picking up in the home, and how strong is it? LTE? Bars/dB? Also, do you have your WiFi assist turned on in your devices? Settings > Cellular; down near bottom.

- Henry

[averagemember]

We get LTE, usually one to three bars depending on where we are in the house—the cellular signal isn’t very good here.

We currently have WiFi assist turned on.

[vzw_customer_support]

We appreciate that information averagemember. The details you have provided have been very helpful indeed. We know you mentioned this beginning about a few months ago, do you recall anything out of the ordinary happening during this same time? This would include anything from storms in the area or updates via the phone like the software.

-Candice

[averagemember]

If I recall correctly, we had a few large storms where the power surged, and a large electric explosion due to a power line arc around that time which killed the power to the neighborhood.

[vzw_customer_support]

Thank you for that information. Can they hear you if you turn on the speaker or connect to a Bluetooth headset?

~Aaron

[averagemember]

No.  As I said in my original message, the issue is the same no matter what method I use to listen/speak (regular phone, speaker phone, or Bluetooth).