Edible Apple

As with any new iPhone release, there are a number of frustrating bugs users are contending with, chief among them being unusually low battery life. But now another bug plaguing some iPhone 4S users is starting to garner more attention.

Recently, a growing number of iPhone 4S users have complained of audio issues that vary from not being able to hear audio when placing outgoing calls and echoey sound effects when audio is present.

BGR reported earlier last week:

“When using the Apple hands free headset with the phone during a call, I get an echo problem,” one iPhone 4S owner wrote in a thread on Apple’s support forum. “It does not occur immediately. It can vary from 30 seconds into a call and as far up to 9 mins in before it begins the annoying echo. If I unplug the headset it goes away but will return when I plug the headset back in.”

Multiple readers have contacted BGR via email complaining of the issue as well, which we then tested and confirmed. During our independent testing, we typically found that an echo developed between one and four minutes after starting a call, though some users report that voice calls remain echo-free for up to 12 minutes. We also found that the bug occurs while using Apple-branded wired headsets and third-party headsets alike.

Some users have had success alleviating the issue by toggling the handset’s speakerphone during a call in the midst of a conversation where an echo effect is heard.

Now MacRumors highlights some other audio issues iPhone 4S users are experiencing such as calls with a lot of static/crackling noise. One particular thread on the topic on Apple’s discussion board has expanded out into a 19-page issue. The issue does not appear to be carrier specific.

Apple last week released the second beta of iOS 5.0.1 to developers, a build which aims to fix the aforementioned battery issues. MacRumors, however, says that one developer it’s been in touch with says that the developer build doesn’t seem to address any of the audio issues surrounding the iPhone 4S.