Hands Free Phone Mic - quality / performance / position, is unacceptable.

[tristand]

So how big a job is this? How easy is it to run the new cables in?

It's all pretty easy - i soldered the new cables in but you could crimp them. It would be a definite warranty issue though, you need to cut the loom in three places, including around the ecall unit. I routed them from the roof console down the driver's side A pillar and into the head unit.

 

[tristand]

Do you know where the head unit is ground to and do you have any pictures of the grounding point? I’m wondering if this can be improved rather than reroute the wire from outside the harness.

It has a chassis ground connection directly behind the head unit in the driver's side footwell. Unfortunately the issue isn't poor grounding, it is crosstalk between wires in the loom. At least it was on mine.

 

[Tom D]

It's all pretty easy - i soldered the new cables in but you could crimp them. It would be a definite warranty issue though, you need to cut the loom in three places, including around the ecall unit. I routed them from the roof console down the driver's side A pillar and into the head unit.

Would attaching some of those circular magnets around the cable make a difference?

 

[ryket]

I don't have the guts to do that while the car's under warranty, but great to know there's a fix.

 

[Cheshire cat]

Already posted this on another thread.
Today I removed the panel and fitted some sound deadening and sound absorption materials. Currently, my hands free experience has been mixed. Always easy to understand but sometimes I have complaints concerning quality of the call. I am hoping that reducing resonance around the mic might help. Will update over the coming days.

 

[Skydance]

Already posted this on another thread.
Today I removed the panel and fitted some sound deadening and sound absorption materials. Currently, my hands free experience has been mixed. Always easy to understand but sometimes I have complaints concerning quality of the call. I am hoping that reducing resonance around the mic might help. Will update over the coming days.

I see there is a microphone to the E call? Where is the microphone to the infotainment system located, do you know?

 

[Cheshire cat]

I see there is a microphone to the E call? Where is the microphone to the infotainment system located, do you know?

zoom in on this pic. Halfway down on left hand side.

 

[CRH]

zoom in on this pic. Halfway down on left hand side.

Fingers crossed it helps

 

[Cheshire cat]

Fingers crossed it helps

Zooming in should help

 

[CRH]

Zooming in should help

I couldn't find the mic either way!

 

[Cheshire cat]

I couldn't find the mic either way!

Bottom left of the actual pic (halfway down the panel), a white sticker that says 'Microphone'. Zoom required.

 

[Jiman01]

I couldn't find the mic either way!

Here you go brother

 

[Jiman01]

I might try the sound deadening route just to tinker. Personally my hands free experiences have been good. For example, yesterday I had all the windows/safari open and going @45-50mph having a conversation. Asked if my friend could hear me OK, and he could

Maybe the climair front deflectors help smooth the air around the mic or something, IDK. I also have the seat jacked pretty high and at 6’01”, I’m also much closer to the mic with the seat in that position.

 

[Skydance]

Interesting to see how it goes, although I don’t have an issue with mine. I personally would also insulate the microphone wire with some open foam tape and maybe zip tie some of the harness back so it doesn’t touch the back of the mic. I believe there should be another connection where the wire meets another socket down the line, I would insulate this too.

 

[Cheshire cat]

Having fitted up the sound insulation, my initial phone call feedback has been very positive.

 

[Salty Grenadier]

Appreciate all the suggestions in this thread. I’ll need to try something. Just to add another data point, I have July 2024 build and using iPhone 15 Pro Max with Apple CarPlay. My wife said she could barely hear me and it sounded like I was under water.

 

[retater]

I believe many more owners have this problem than they actually realise. - (Please stick with this to the bottom of this post)
In my case, I can hear who I am talking to on hands free phone perfectly clearly though the car system speakers, but the recipient struggles to hear me most of the time.
I use my phone on hands free frequently and this issue is seriously spoiling my enjoyment of the vehicle.
I received my car in October 2023 in the UK and this was a problem from day one. People who I were talking to initially didn't tell me how bad the reception was for them and the novelty soon wore off. I find my self semi shouting at the overhead panel to make my self heard.
Reported to the dealer many times but Ineos don't give them any fixes or any true acknowledgement that its is a know problem. I have spoken to Ineos Help Line several times direct on the problem and all they have ever done is refer me back to the dealer, who's hands are tied.
After checking with as may people I know well enough, how bad this is whist on the phone with them, it confirmed my theory - try it yourself !....remember it fools you by you herding them perfectly well.
Summary of the problem and my findings

• With the engine running various sound is picked by the microphone whist in use
• Phone microphone is located behind the perforations in the overhead panel
• Microphone position under the panel exposes it to a void up to the roof steel panel and has direct contact to any noise generated by -
  • the engine and powertrain via the body work construction.
    • call recipients can hear the turbo spooling up from low revs, the same noise you can hear with the drivers window down on right hand drive cars from the engine air intake in the right hand wing (fender)
  • wind noise from the safari window next to the overhead panel, which increase with vehicle speed.
• The microphone picks up an electronic interference with the engine off, ignition on and vehicle stationary.

I have suggested to the dealer that -

• a better quality noise canceling microphone is required and possibly repositioning.
• sound insulation material is needed between the overhead panel / microphone and the steel roof body panel and the safari windows side inner sections.

All I am trying to do here is get a fix as for me its ruining a great vehicle

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I have the same problem! Please let all know if you find a fix!

 

[scottandserena]

2025 Quartermaster and the sound quality is good. Way better than the Jeep Gladiator I traded in

 

[Cheshire cat]

My handsfree is on the whole, OK but could be better.
Following my efforts at soundproofing around the mic' area, the jury is still out. will report further once several more phone calls made.

 

[ItalianAmerican]

I had this problem and have solved it, although the solution isn't particularly straightforward. The issue I was having was that there was a large amount of electrical interference causing noise on the microphone signals to the head unit. With the vehicle turned on but engine stopped it was pretty bad, with the engine running it was terrible. There is also an issue with increasing noise as you speed up but that is background noise and is not too problematic. I have a decent amount of knowledge about automotive wiring, ecall system integration etc. which helps.

The core issue for me was down to poor routing of the coaxial cables between the microphones, the ecall system and the head unit. It is tightly bound into a harness carrying high frequency digital bus signals etc. and this was causing crosstalk. There was also a ground loop issue caused by the cable carrying audio from the ecall system to the head unit being grounded at both ends, this issue wasn't too bad so I left it alone.

The system architecture is fairly simple. There are two microphones in the overhead switch panel. Mic 1 is routed straight to the head unit under the steering wheel, on this mic the head unit provides the power supply for the electret microphone. Mic 2 is connected to the ecall unit mounted the the roof above the switch panel, on this mic the ecall unit provides the mic with power. The ecall unit then sends the Mic 2 audio signal down a coax cable to the head unit.

The routing of the cable from Mic 2 to the ecall unit is ok, but the cables from Mic 1 to the head unit and the ecall unit to the head unit were picking up a lot of noise from adjacent cables in the loom.

My solution was to cut the audio input cables to the head unit, the audio output cable from the ecall unit and the cable to Mic 1 and run new coax cables from the roof to the head unit to replace the cables I isolated.

This has made a huge improvement to the audio quality - it is actually usable. There is still background noise / rumbling which is louder at speed but the digital interference noise is gone.

As I said, not a particularly nice fix but it worked for me.

But that's some fix!!! I'm more mechanical than electrical, and would think for what we paid Ineos would do it for us since it's kinda 2025 and this is tablestakes for any vehicle.