# Should my cell phone be full duplex all the time? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 16, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-my-cell-phone-be-full-duplex-all-the-time/582091 "2011-05-16T15:10:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-my-cell-phone-be-full-duplex-all-the-time/582091/1 "2011-05-16T15:10:39Z")
Cuz it sure isn’t. I have an iPhone 4, and every once in a while, I get full duplex. Most of the time, only one person can speak at a time. It’s driving me nuts. I live in the middle of nowhere, and I’m on AT&T. We just got 3G here, and I was hoping it’d fix things, but so far, nope. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-my-cell-phone-be-full-duplex-all-the-time/582091/2 "2011-05-16T23:19:58Z")
I don’t deal with the radio protocols that handle audio at all, but I’ve rarely experienced half-duplex audio on any of the phones I’ve used or made. Sometimes, cell configuration can cause problems like that - you could try reporting it to your carrier. -D/a ---
**Author:** ![Khendrask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@Khendrask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khendrask)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-my-cell-phone-be-full-duplex-all-the-time/582091/3 "2011-05-17T16:55:49Z")
Speakerphone or handset mode? Handset is always full duplex, speakerphone/handsfree generally isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-my-cell-phone-be-full-duplex-all-the-time/582091/4 "2011-05-17T17:20:16Z")
> [@Khendrask](#): > > Speakerphone or handset mode? > Handset is always full duplex, speakerphone/handsfree generally isn’t. Seems like everything is half duplex. But I’ll have to check - I do use a bluetooth thingamajig, maybe that’s my issue. ---
**Author:** ![Mongox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Mongox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mongox)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-my-cell-phone-be-full-duplex-all-the-time/582091/5 "2016-02-29T22:02:43Z")
The only full-duplex cell phone speakerphone I’m aware of is the old Samsung BlackJack II. I’ve used it exclusively for years and it works great. Be sure you’re aware of what full-duplex really means… ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-my-cell-phone-be-full-duplex-all-the-time/582091/6 "2016-02-29T22:11:41Z")
Bah. I hate that about cell phones. It’s like a walkie talkie. Over and out - enipla. ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-my-cell-phone-be-full-duplex-all-the-time/582091/7 "2016-02-29T22:42:17Z")
I just had a lengthy call using bluetooth headphones. It sure seemed like incoming sound was suppressed while I was talking. Could be the result of “phone noise cancellation”, which is a setting buried under accessibility. I’ve turned it off, let’s see if that makes a difference.