Google Duo

[Sidneylopsides]

Google Duo seems to be unusable on my 1ii and 5ii. I've tested on multiple devices, but only these two have issues. Calls have poor quality, but also 3-4 seconds of lag. Sometimes the video seems to speed up to catch up but it's never down to a decent level of delay. 

It's worse when on WiFi. It gets better after a restart and worse the longer the phone has been on. 

WhatsApp video calling seems to work fine. 

I've tried reinstalling the app, phones are up to date, home WiFi is good (350Mb with a mesh system, no other apps have issues).

Other Xperia devices on the same WiFi and using the same Duo account have no problems, it's something specific to the 1ii and 5ii. 

Anyone else struggling with this?

[LadFromWales]

I use Google Duo daily and am finding that once my phone has been on more than a few hours since starting it, the call quality begins to drop, initially with an occasional pause, but the issue gets worse the longer the phone has been up.  After a longer period of time, around 12 hours, latency of the call increases to around 5 seconds each way.  After less than a day, there are consistent freezes of both audio and video, and major loss of sync.  Combined with the increase in latency holding any conversation becomes useless.

I have tested this with WhatsApp also, and find that it decreases the quality greatly as phone uptime goes on, with an increase in latency, but with less stuttering and freezing.

I have also found that making and receiving calls with WiFi calling enabled can result in the audio breaking up so much I can't hear what the other person is saying.

I have also seen reports of similar issues using the Signal app.

These symptoms are temporarily fixed by restarting the phone, but they reoccur consistently.

[CosmicTomato]

If the Google Duo app is preinstalled, you won't be able to uninstall and reinstall, you can disable the app and clear its cache and data from the settings >> apps and notifications >> find the app >> disable/ storage >> clear it all.

Also notify the app developers of the issue, as well as the Sony support, so it can be worked on from both sides.

[LadFromWales]

This issue occured on the 1ii when I had one back in June.  I tried a couple of different versions of firmware, both network and UK generic, the issue remained.

I factory reset my phone and set it up clean without using cloud restore, the issue remained.

I have tried clearing the data for Google Duo, Google Play Services, and uninstalling updates for these apps, allowing them to auto update in time, the issue remained.

The exact same issue is happening 5 months later on the 5ii.

[Sidneylopsides]

I'm not sure how much this issue is app specific, as the same app, on the same networks on any other device I try, works fine.

I could try my 5ii and find Duo unusable, then pick up my old 5 and it work perfectly calling the same person. 

[najodleglejszy]

@Sidneylopsides it's still an app issue, just specific to a device model. still, Sony can't really do much about how a third party app works, and it needs to be worked out on Google's end.

[LadFromWales]

@najodleglejszy 

I would understand your suggestion that this were an app issue if this were the only affected app.

So far, I have tested video calling with the following apps:

Google Duo

WhatsApp

Facebook Messenger

Signal

All of the above apps exhibit similar issues when video calling, though the way they exhibit them is different between them.

Google Duo freezes and speeds up the other caller in an attempt to catch up, before freezing again.

WhatsApp video and audio quality drop dramatically. 

Latency of multiple seconds for all apps tested.

Reboot the phone and they all work fine for a few hours.  The only common denominator is the phone (1ii and 5ii), as this issue is affecting multiple apps and multiple users.

If I use another phone (OnePlus 7 Pro) to make the call rather than my 5ii, no such issues, and no noticeable latency.

There are also users complaining of this issue on Reddit.

This is a deal breaker to me as I use my phone to Duo my kids daily.

[CosmicTomato]

It could be an issue from both sides, and both sides need to know of it, to do something about it, you need to take the advance and contact both parties, reporting the issue and requesting a solution, in some cases the corporate entities work together to solve a mutual problem. but we have to speak up first.