7 ms·

Nexus 4 Unusable for VoIP Calls

123 points by cdoxsey 14y ago

epoxyhockey 14y ago
EDIT: please disregard.. I have been getting complaints, but they may not be related to this issue. This would seem to explain all of the 'echoing' complaints I've been getting when using google voice on my N4.
- ryanhuff 14y ago
  I thought Google voice didn't use VoIP.
  - tadfisher 14y ago
    It doesn't. The parent may be using GrooveIP or another GV-SIP gateway?
dewiz 14y ago
I know it is probably unrelated, but this made me think about the power Google has and could use to affect third party sw...cough...skype....cough... Anyway, I have a Nexus 4, looks like a good suggestion never to rush with upgrades... if it works dont touch it?
- TestingYourShit 14y ago
  iPhone users learned this a long time ago. Last time I updated, it removed apps I paid for because they had been removed from the App Store.
shakeel_mohamed 14y ago
Well, maybe I'll hold off on buying one for a little while. Yikes.
- 3825 14y ago
  If you are holding out more than a few months, might as well wait for the next one.
  - shakeel_mohamed 14y ago
    If they're really planning on the "Nexus 5" having 256gb of internal storage at $299... I'm definitely waiting! Thanks for the advice
    - smith7018 14y ago
      How is that even possible? 256GB SSDs just came down to less than a dollar per gig. I'm sure flash chips are priced separately but even 64 gb USB 3.0 flash cards can't be had for less than $40, it seems.
      - shakeel_mohamed 14y ago
        It probably isn't, I got that number from a rumor blog.
        3825 14y ago
        I wouldn't pay much attention to the rumor blogs at this time. I like mine, even with a shattered back.
    - xur17 14y ago
      I highly doubt that. They are trying to get people to use the "cloud" more for storage, and have been decreasing / removing external sd card slots in their phones.
- snaky 14y ago
  You better buy now, Nexus 5 will contain even more bugs considering the process of dealing with them at Google.
xur17 14y ago
In addition to the echo, background noise is really bad during VoIP calls. This comment has some interesting details: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=41626#c20 https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=41626#c20
georgemcbay 14y ago
I have a Nexus 4. I don't use the OS native sip functionality on it, but I do use GrooveIP and I have run into this issue. With GrooveIP you can work around it by fiddling with the various echo cancellation options GrooveIP supports at the cost of introducing a voice latency on your outgoing voice that is just long enough to be annoying (but usable once you acclimate to it), in my experience. There are generally a lot of audio related issues with this phone with various users unable to get loud-enough volume from the device either on calls, from the speaker or via the headphones Seems to be a software bug as many people report if you root the phone and run alsamixer you can boost the audio up to decent levels, but this isn't a great fix because any time an app adjusts the volume at the SDK level the problem returns. https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=41042 https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=41042 Google's stellar customer support consists of no-questions-asked replacing your device (which is great) with one that has exactly the same problems out of the box (which is not so great). Haven't seen any kind of official acknowledgement of this as an issue despite it being very commonly reported online (google: "nexus 4 volume too low") An otherwise great phone hampered by a pretty serious fundamental issue.
- general_failure 14y ago
  I have no audio issues with my nexus 4 whatsoever for normal calls. It's quite great actually audio wise. But yes, GrooveIP is unusable. I bought it for 4 bucks or something and hardly use it since the voice quality is terrible.
  - modulusprime 14y ago
    I get GSM quality calls on my Nexus 4 (at minimum) via cSIPsimple, pbxes.org, and Google Voice, usually over a mediocre repeated WiFi connection. If there's interest, I'll write it up. Mild configuration hassle but reliable. Helps to move Google Voice to an account where where you never IM.
    - jasonparekh 14y ago
      I'm interested, please write it up
Zigurd 14y ago
I have not paid much attention to SIP recently but aren't the implementations of theAEC and other components up to the OEM to create or license, as much as, say, baseband firmware, graphics drivers, etc. are the OEM's responsibility? If Google actually had their own unencumbered implementations, wouldn't they be in the AOSP source tree?
rdtsc 14y ago
Argh, this smells like the audio latency issue. An issue with 500 comments pleading Google to do something about it for 4 years. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you issue #3434: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3434 https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3434 There has been some improvement lately but it is hard to find devices that support the "special" low latency mode. This sounds like a similar thing. Just pointing out the level or response and engagement you'd expect from Google (hint: almost none).
- rogerbinns 14y ago
  I have a Nexus 10. It crashes about once a week restarting the gui (adb restore backup does so too). Playing audio via Bluetooth is choppy if the device hasn't been rebooted for a few days. It feels like several years ago when I had a Blackberry (no data service though) and a poll question was "which app do you use to daily reboot your phone?" I'm on the verge of writing one for Android.
- illicium 14y ago
  This is one of the issues keeping Android from being an excellent platform for music applications. Coupled with the general hackability of Android devices (Accessory Development Kit, etc.), it could be an amazing platform for digital audio workstations, synthesizers, samplers, and audio effects processing. iOS is better in this regard, but still not perfect. Audio routing between applications is a dicey affair (done through a 3rd party app that runs in the background), and it's not possible to charge while using USB accessories, like audio interfaces or MIDI keyboards.
  - rdtsc 14y ago
    Yup this basically led us to abandoning Android and switched to iOS and Windows tablets.
  - alexbell 14y ago
    Yep. Say what you will about Apple products, but it's no coincidence that professional audio applications are so much more prevalent on Apple products. Core Audio is a fantastic base for developers to work with.
keda 14y ago
As someone in the google thread point out, latest csipsimple nightly is worth a shot http://nightlies.csipsimple.com/trunk/ http://nightlies.csipsimple.com/trunk/ if you are experiencing this issue.
swah 14y ago
I was sincerely thinking that buying an "official" phone mean't zero problems (currently having a very bad experience with my LG O2X, where I'm still running CM7 - announced as the "world's first dual core smartphone" or something).
- eli 14y ago
  I bought a Nexus One and the only problems I never had the any unexpected problems with it. (The extremely limited memory for app storage seriously hampered its usefulness, but that was a design limitation that I knew going in.)
- joseph_cooney 14y ago
  Normal calls work fine, of course. Zero problems is a pretty high bar. Audio manipulation that 3rd party apps require doesn't seem to be exposed by the device.
- epoxyhockey 14y ago
  I had a Nexus S and it was really perfect in every way. I handed it off to another family member and, for a 2 year old phone, it still feels very "current."
fakeer 14y ago
I've a Galaxy Nexus and the cellular operator's 3G usage pop-ups in screen make my life hell. It just keeps on receiving them. Whenever there's a background transaction of data, even a kilobyte. That means if my phone is kept for 30 minutes and I get a call, I need to click through those 10-20 accumulated pop-up windows on my Android screen to receive the call or do anything on my phone. On mornings when there's no Wi-Fi I usually get some 70-100 such pop-ups. I counted. Sometimes I better switch off and then switch on the phone to avoid clicking through those pop-ups. The cellular operator (Airtel India) says it's a feature and argues that every operator has it and that iPhone, BlackBerry and Windows (etc) users don't have this problem. True. Samsung support says - this is Google feature and then is quick to add - but we never sold Galaxy Nexus in India. No support there. Sorry, bye-bye. I go to raise a Google-code issue just like this. Well, there's one already logged - years old. Of course without a fix or response from Google! I'm an Android developer(day job) with a laaarge OEM but I doubt an Android is going to be my next phone. I am not comfortable with paying for anything very expansive then being on my own. This is how Google provides support. They don't.
- hahainternet 14y ago
  > This is how Google provides support. They don't. This is a completely unrelated issue caused by your carrier. Why are you posting it here?
  - fakeer 14y ago
    >>completely unrelated issue Technically, yes. One deals with AG, RIL and call app another deals with Notification management. >>caused by your carrier No, it's not. The carrier has to send the updates. It's upto OS on how to handle it and they ought to handle it the way other mobile OS do. >>Why are you posting it here? Because the nature of issue is same and so is the reason/origin. Left by google. OP's issue is old. Used to crop up in Galaxy Nexus too. I worked on an OEM work around for Europe model and it was there in S3 too.
    - divtxt 14y ago
      I have to say that it's (mostly) the carrier's fault. I have the same issue sometimes with Airtel India, and I'm pretty sure this notification was turned off 2 years. [edit or maybe i just had a good data connection then] Also, this issue is not consistent. I'm guessing what happens is: carrier sends usage alert when you "turn off" data + bad connection that keeps dropping => many notifications even though you never turned off data. There are a few apps that convert USSD alerts to notifications - try these - but it would be nice if this was a built-in feature.
fletchowns 14y ago
I don't understand how bug reports can sit around for months with dozens (if not hundreds) of comments on them without a single response from somebody with an @google.com username. I feel like I've seen this happen for all kinds of Google products, not just Android. Or am I missing something here?
- barry-cotter 14y ago
  No. Google's customer service is legendarily bad.
- snaky 14y ago
  Do you think something changed when somebody with an @google.com username involved? Or when the issue is serious enough? https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=18565 https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=18565
- joshmlewis 14y ago
  So how does Google get away with "legendarily bad" customer service while EA cannot? I guess in a way EA charges a good bit for the games and good support is expected, but still. I paid $300 for a Nexus 4, I should get something more than a message board.
  - Lewisham 14y ago
    This is as opposed to the bug reports you can file with other smartphone makers? I'm not trying to be snarky (well, a little bit), but you simply can't file a bug about an iPhone. You can go to the Apple Discussion Forums and see threads that go on for pages and pages with no involvement from anyone from Apple at all. The only difference is that Apple releases one model at a time, so if there's a problem, everyone has it at once and it garners enough media attention to warrant a response. I have no idea how one would file bugs about Windows Phone 8 either. That Google makes their bug tracker visible doesn't mean they're doing any more or less than the other guys.
    - redcircle 14y ago
mik3y 14y ago
Incidentally USB Host is also crippled on Nexus 4 [1]. Surprising to discover another big feature broken on a flagship Android device. [1] https://android.googlesource.com/device/lge/mako/+show/f608db225c5ead1c255fd84fa7f5431c2e3b3a72%5E2 https://android.googlesource.com/device/lge/mako/+show/f608d...
- voltagex_ 14y ago
  Crippled in hardware - there's no +5V line so even when you patch that code you need to use a Y cable.
grumps 14y ago
I have a N4 and I'm not noticing the issue at all. I've been using Vonage and GrooveIP. I would normally pick up on it from the 3 years of VoIP and other real time audio work I did. I didn't get a chance to read everything but as a I recall some of the codecs used could have some serious echo side effects. Did someone mention the codecs being used?
dror 14y ago
I have a Nexus 4. I use it with GrooveIP. I don't experience the issues described in this issue.
xxiao 14y ago
this is not technical, it's intentional I believe, how would google otherwise sell its own google voice etc?
ck2 14y ago
Do they mean unsuitable for speakerphone calls? Because why not a bluetooth headset?
imperialdrive 14y ago
i bet a lot stems from this (forgive if other people already mentioned it) http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=41631 http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=41631 Can't use BT with WIFI at same time!!! all nexus 4, 4.22 OS, just plain sucks
snaky 14y ago
On this reddit thread some solutions like using SIP gateway with echo cancellation were discussed. http://www.reddit.com/r/nexus4/comments/15ip1v/is_voip_just_plain_broken_on_the_nexus_4/ http://www.reddit.com/r/nexus4/comments/15ip1v/is_voip_just_...
- xur17 14y ago
  The problem is that: 1) Software echo cancellation doesn't work as well as hardware echo cancellation. 2) The phone uses a second microphone to cancel out background noise during calls. This isn't used for any voip calls. I'm told it is extremely loud when a car drives by, and a little bit of wind make it sound like I'm in a hurricane. Is there some hardware reason they can't open up access to this chip? Does audio for calls get routed directly to the gsm chip, so we don't have access or something?
andor 14y ago
I guess that just as with the native email client, there's not much development happening on the native SIP dialer. Instead of improving the core Android apps, which would benefit other phone manufacturers as well, Google is mostly working on their web service frontends (Gmail, Google Plus, probably Google Voice as well) nowadays. The result is a platform packed with features that only work half the time. Did you know that the native Email client doesn't even set the In-Reply-To header, i.e. breaks threads?
fiddly_bits 14y ago
Nexus 4 also cannot do wifi-calling, seriously degrading its usefulness in spotty celular zones. http://support.t-mobile.com/thread/38694 http://support.t-mobile.com/thread/38694

123 points by cdoxsey 14y ago

EDIT: please disregard.. I have been getting complaints, but they may not be related to this issue. This would seem to explain all of the 'echoing' complaints I've been getting when using google voice on my N4.

ryanhuff 14y ago
I thought Google voice didn't use VoIP.
- tadfisher 14y ago
  It doesn't. The parent may be using GrooveIP or another GV-SIP gateway?

dewiz 14y ago

I know it is probably unrelated, but this made me think about the power Google has and could use to affect third party sw...cough...skype....cough... Anyway, I have a Nexus 4, looks like a good suggestion never to rush with upgrades... if it works dont touch it?

TestingYourShit 14y ago
iPhone users learned this a long time ago. Last time I updated, it removed apps I paid for because they had been removed from the App Store.

shakeel_mohamed 14y ago

Well, maybe I'll hold off on buying one for a little while. Yikes.

3825 14y ago
If you are holding out more than a few months, might as well wait for the next one.
- shakeel_mohamed 14y ago
  If they're really planning on the "Nexus 5" having 256gb of internal storage at $299... I'm definitely waiting! Thanks for the advice
  - smith7018 14y ago
    How is that even possible? 256GB SSDs just came down to less than a dollar per gig. I'm sure flash chips are priced separately but even 64 gb USB 3.0 flash cards can't be had for less than $40, it seems.
    - shakeel_mohamed 14y ago
      It probably isn't, I got that number from a rumor blog.
      - 3825 14y ago
        I wouldn't pay much attention to the rumor blogs at this time. I like mine, even with a shattered back.
  - xur17 14y ago
    I highly doubt that. They are trying to get people to use the "cloud" more for storage, and have been decreasing / removing external sd card slots in their phones.
snaky 14y ago
You better buy now, Nexus 5 will contain even more bugs considering the process of dealing with them at Google.

xur17 14y ago

In addition to the echo, background noise is really bad during VoIP calls. This comment has some interesting details: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=41626#c20 https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=41626#c20

georgemcbay 14y ago

I have a Nexus 4. I don't use the OS native sip functionality on it, but I do use GrooveIP and I have run into this issue. With GrooveIP you can work around it by fiddling with the various echo cancellation options GrooveIP supports at the cost of introducing a voice latency on your outgoing voice that is just long enough to be annoying (but usable once you acclimate to it), in my experience. There are generally a lot of audio related issues with this phone with various users unable to get loud-enough volume from the device either on calls, from the speaker or via the headphones Seems to be a software bug as many people report if you root the phone and run alsamixer you can boost the audio up to decent levels, but this isn't a great fix because any time an app adjusts the volume at the SDK level the problem returns. https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=41042 https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=41042 Google's stellar customer support consists of no-questions-asked replacing your device (which is great) with one that has exactly the same problems out of the box (which is not so great). Haven't seen any kind of official acknowledgement of this as an issue despite it being very commonly reported online (google: "nexus 4 volume too low") An otherwise great phone hampered by a pretty serious fundamental issue.

general_failure 14y ago
I have no audio issues with my nexus 4 whatsoever for normal calls. It's quite great actually audio wise. But yes, GrooveIP is unusable. I bought it for 4 bucks or something and hardly use it since the voice quality is terrible.
- modulusprime 14y ago
  I get GSM quality calls on my Nexus 4 (at minimum) via cSIPsimple, pbxes.org, and Google Voice, usually over a mediocre repeated WiFi connection. If there's interest, I'll write it up. Mild configuration hassle but reliable. Helps to move Google Voice to an account where where you never IM.
  - jasonparekh 14y ago
    I'm interested, please write it up

Zigurd 14y ago

I have not paid much attention to SIP recently but aren't the implementations of theAEC and other components up to the OEM to create or license, as much as, say, baseband firmware, graphics drivers, etc. are the OEM's responsibility? If Google actually had their own unencumbered implementations, wouldn't they be in the AOSP source tree?

rdtsc 14y ago

Argh, this smells like the audio latency issue. An issue with 500 comments pleading Google to do something about it for 4 years. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you issue #3434: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3434 https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3434 There has been some improvement lately but it is hard to find devices that support the "special" low latency mode. This sounds like a similar thing. Just pointing out the level or response and engagement you'd expect from Google (hint: almost none).

rogerbinns 14y ago
I have a Nexus 10. It crashes about once a week restarting the gui (adb restore backup does so too). Playing audio via Bluetooth is choppy if the device hasn't been rebooted for a few days. It feels like several years ago when I had a Blackberry (no data service though) and a poll question was "which app do you use to daily reboot your phone?" I'm on the verge of writing one for Android.
illicium 14y ago
This is one of the issues keeping Android from being an excellent platform for music applications. Coupled with the general hackability of Android devices (Accessory Development Kit, etc.), it could be an amazing platform for digital audio workstations, synthesizers, samplers, and audio effects processing. iOS is better in this regard, but still not perfect. Audio routing between applications is a dicey affair (done through a 3rd party app that runs in the background), and it's not possible to charge while using USB accessories, like audio interfaces or MIDI keyboards.
- rdtsc 14y ago
  Yup this basically led us to abandoning Android and switched to iOS and Windows tablets.
- alexbell 14y ago
  Yep. Say what you will about Apple products, but it's no coincidence that professional audio applications are so much more prevalent on Apple products. Core Audio is a fantastic base for developers to work with.

keda 14y ago

As someone in the google thread point out, latest csipsimple nightly is worth a shot http://nightlies.csipsimple.com/trunk/ http://nightlies.csipsimple.com/trunk/ if you are experiencing this issue.

swah 14y ago

I was sincerely thinking that buying an "official" phone mean't zero problems (currently having a very bad experience with my LG O2X, where I'm still running CM7 - announced as the "world's first dual core smartphone" or something).

eli 14y ago
I bought a Nexus One and the only problems I never had the any unexpected problems with it. (The extremely limited memory for app storage seriously hampered its usefulness, but that was a design limitation that I knew going in.)
joseph_cooney 14y ago
Normal calls work fine, of course. Zero problems is a pretty high bar. Audio manipulation that 3rd party apps require doesn't seem to be exposed by the device.
epoxyhockey 14y ago
I had a Nexus S and it was really perfect in every way. I handed it off to another family member and, for a 2 year old phone, it still feels very "current."

fakeer 14y ago

I've a Galaxy Nexus and the cellular operator's 3G usage pop-ups in screen make my life hell. It just keeps on receiving them. Whenever there's a background transaction of data, even a kilobyte. That means if my phone is kept for 30 minutes and I get a call, I need to click through those 10-20 accumulated pop-up windows on my Android screen to receive the call or do anything on my phone. On mornings when there's no Wi-Fi I usually get some 70-100 such pop-ups. I counted. Sometimes I better switch off and then switch on the phone to avoid clicking through those pop-ups. The cellular operator (Airtel India) says it's a feature and argues that every operator has it and that iPhone, BlackBerry and Windows (etc) users don't have this problem. True. Samsung support says - this is Google feature and then is quick to add - but we never sold Galaxy Nexus in India. No support there. Sorry, bye-bye. I go to raise a Google-code issue just like this. Well, there's one already logged - years old. Of course without a fix or response from Google! I'm an Android developer(day job) with a laaarge OEM but I doubt an Android is going to be my next phone. I am not comfortable with paying for anything very expansive then being on my own. This is how Google provides support. They don't.

hahainternet 14y ago
> This is how Google provides support. They don't. This is a completely unrelated issue caused by your carrier. Why are you posting it here?
- fakeer 14y ago
  >>completely unrelated issue Technically, yes. One deals with AG, RIL and call app another deals with Notification management. >>caused by your carrier No, it's not. The carrier has to send the updates. It's upto OS on how to handle it and they ought to handle it the way other mobile OS do. >>Why are you posting it here? Because the nature of issue is same and so is the reason/origin. Left by google. OP's issue is old. Used to crop up in Galaxy Nexus too. I worked on an OEM work around for Europe model and it was there in S3 too.
  - divtxt 14y ago
    I have to say that it's (mostly) the carrier's fault. I have the same issue sometimes with Airtel India, and I'm pretty sure this notification was turned off 2 years. [edit or maybe i just had a good data connection then] Also, this issue is not consistent. I'm guessing what happens is: carrier sends usage alert when you "turn off" data + bad connection that keeps dropping => many notifications even though you never turned off data. There are a few apps that convert USSD alerts to notifications - try these - but it would be nice if this was a built-in feature.

fletchowns 14y ago

I don't understand how bug reports can sit around for months with dozens (if not hundreds) of comments on them without a single response from somebody with an @google.com username. I feel like I've seen this happen for all kinds of Google products, not just Android. Or am I missing something here?

barry-cotter 14y ago
No. Google's customer service is legendarily bad.
snaky 14y ago
Do you think something changed when somebody with an @google.com username involved? Or when the issue is serious enough? https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=18565 https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=18565
joshmlewis 14y ago
So how does Google get away with "legendarily bad" customer service while EA cannot? I guess in a way EA charges a good bit for the games and good support is expected, but still. I paid $300 for a Nexus 4, I should get something more than a message board.
- Lewisham 14y ago
  This is as opposed to the bug reports you can file with other smartphone makers? I'm not trying to be snarky (well, a little bit), but you simply can't file a bug about an iPhone. You can go to the Apple Discussion Forums and see threads that go on for pages and pages with no involvement from anyone from Apple at all. The only difference is that Apple releases one model at a time, so if there's a problem, everyone has it at once and it garners enough media attention to warrant a response. I have no idea how one would file bugs about Windows Phone 8 either. That Google makes their bug tracker visible doesn't mean they're doing any more or less than the other guys.
  - redcircle 14y ago

mik3y 14y ago

Incidentally USB Host is also crippled on Nexus 4 [1]. Surprising to discover another big feature broken on a flagship Android device. [1] https://android.googlesource.com/device/lge/mako/+show/f608db225c5ead1c255fd84fa7f5431c2e3b3a72%5E2 https://android.googlesource.com/device/lge/mako/+show/f608d...

voltagex_ 14y ago
Crippled in hardware - there's no +5V line so even when you patch that code you need to use a Y cable.

grumps 14y ago

I have a N4 and I'm not noticing the issue at all. I've been using Vonage and GrooveIP. I would normally pick up on it from the 3 years of VoIP and other real time audio work I did. I didn't get a chance to read everything but as a I recall some of the codecs used could have some serious echo side effects. Did someone mention the codecs being used?

dror 14y ago

I have a Nexus 4. I use it with GrooveIP. I don't experience the issues described in this issue.

xxiao 14y ago

this is not technical, it's intentional I believe, how would google otherwise sell its own google voice etc?

ck2 14y ago

Do they mean unsuitable for speakerphone calls? Because why not a bluetooth headset?

imperialdrive 14y ago

i bet a lot stems from this (forgive if other people already mentioned it) http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=41631 http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=41631 Can't use BT with WIFI at same time!!! all nexus 4, 4.22 OS, just plain sucks

snaky 14y ago

On this reddit thread some solutions like using SIP gateway with echo cancellation were discussed. http://www.reddit.com/r/nexus4/comments/15ip1v/is_voip_just_plain_broken_on_the_nexus_4/ http://www.reddit.com/r/nexus4/comments/15ip1v/is_voip_just_...

xur17 14y ago
The problem is that: 1) Software echo cancellation doesn't work as well as hardware echo cancellation. 2) The phone uses a second microphone to cancel out background noise during calls. This isn't used for any voip calls. I'm told it is extremely loud when a car drives by, and a little bit of wind make it sound like I'm in a hurricane. Is there some hardware reason they can't open up access to this chip? Does audio for calls get routed directly to the gsm chip, so we don't have access or something?

andor 14y ago

I guess that just as with the native email client, there's not much development happening on the native SIP dialer. Instead of improving the core Android apps, which would benefit other phone manufacturers as well, Google is mostly working on their web service frontends (Gmail, Google Plus, probably Google Voice as well) nowadays. The result is a platform packed with features that only work half the time. Did you know that the native Email client doesn't even set the In-Reply-To header, i.e. breaks threads?

fiddly_bits 14y ago

Nexus 4 also cannot do wifi-calling, seriously degrading its usefulness in spotty celular zones. http://support.t-mobile.com/thread/38694 http://support.t-mobile.com/thread/38694