[HARDWARE MOD] [EXTERNAL SPEAKER] Increase your Xperia Z external speaker volume Mod* - Xperia Z General

Hi All
Yesterday while playing with my phone and after becoming a victim of the low speaker volume post dipping in water, I just found out that the external speaker's volume can be increased* on par with other competitor manufacturer phone by this method.
*Note: You WILL lose the waterproofness feature of the phone by doing this. Do this only if you're sure that you're not going to dunk your phone in the water the next time you want to show off. You have been warned.
So for this mod, all you need is a tiny sharp pin, gentle hands and patience.
I do not have any pictures to post at the moment but I guess this is a fairly simple task and anyone can perform it.
Using the sharp pin, pry out the shiny plastic frame just at the end of the external speaker. Only pry out the length of the speaker and not any longer because it's unnecessary. Then, you can find a tiny strip of micro porous membrane. This is what protects the phone from water ingress at the speaker output. Carefully peel out the membrane ensuring that it's not being damaged while you do this.
Just to confirm that this mod actually does help, you can perform your own test. Play your favourite song in Walkman, and peel and unpeel the membrane and notice the difference in sound output.
This mod will also help people who have very low volume after dipping the phone in water. Just peel the membrane a bit and then reattach it properly ensuring its properly sealed. This should solve your low volume problem. Press the frame material by applying force at the speaker area to seal the frame properly.
There you have it, it's not that the speaker is crap or the volume is too low in this phone. Things have been kept to a maintain a balance between durability and function.
Please do let me know if you like this mod and if it has helped you, hit the thanks button.

Has anyone tried this yet?

Does going too loud not damage the internals against which it was designed for? Not to mention the waterproofing being gone now.

iDroid8 said:
Does going too loud not damage the internals against which it was designed for? Not to mention the waterproofing being gone now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No iDroid8, the internals are not damaged by doing this mod, you're just opening up the more obstructed sound caused due to the waterproof flaps that are present in the Xperia Z.
This mod does not do anything to the speaker itself, the speaker works as stock but the sound is improved due to the much better opening created.
And Yes, as mentioned in the mod itself, this makes you lose the waterproof feature but this mod is for people who really want a louder phone and can live without the waterproofness feature.

you sure that's not just a dust filter?
There was a post some time ago from someone who'd dismantled their XZ and found a small piece of polycarb protecting the speaker that affected the volume.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=45115265&postcount=9
Possibly easier to link to the complete thread, http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z/general/xperia-z-damn-loud-mods-t2419635

fards said:
you sure that's not just a dust filter?
There was a post some time ago from someone who'd dismantled their XZ and found a small piece of polycarb protecting the speaker that affected the volume.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=45115265&postcount=9
Possibly easier to link to the complete thread, http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z/general/xperia-z-damn-loud-mods-t2419635
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure about what's mentioned in that thread. There the backplate itself was removed. It could as well be the similar thing but I just accessed the mesh filter that we can see from outside near the speaker area. It might as well be a dust filter but then where's the water being stopped? Does it go into the mesh and then stop somewhere inside?

Related

Speaker problem (internal back speaker)

Hi,
My kaiser's having problems with the internal speaker on the back,
the sound quality is very poor, the speaker have to be broken.
If i suck the speaker a little with my mouth, the sound becomes perfect.
Does anyone know any place where i could buy a new speaker or anything?
Could this one fit: http://cnn.cn/shop/atom-speaker-p-691.html ?
Fixed.
Tore the speaker part apart (just one screw near the speaker) and there was lots of metal dust inside the speaker.
Grabbed the metal from the speaker with a STRONG magnet and works perfectly!
just out of curosity ... how did the metal dust get there?
And how did you discover you you could get it to work by sucking it with you mouth?
No clue how it got there... maybe the magnet in the speaker sucked it inside.
I was playing around with it a bit, as you know, when you use your mouth to create a better sound when you cover the speaker with your mouth. Then accidentally sucked it a bit and discovered this.
Did some further investigation and saw the metal dust there and fixed it.
Im having the same problem, speaker sounds ike crap, but does work like normal if you suck in on it (weird, i know). Anyone know where to get a replacement one?
Hi,
Sorry for late reply (i'm using raphael nowadays).
Just take the speaker out, use a strong magnet or weak to medium adhesive tape and carefully take the metal dust away from the speaker cone pulling it towards the magnet of the speaker (that's why it works when you suck it)

speaker mod?

i dont know how much of a mod this is or if it is really worth it but i removed the bezel around the speaker hole on the back cover. i think it made the music a tad louder (placebo is possible however the hole for sound to come out is now bigger). i didn't see this posted anywhere else which surprised me as this is kinda a duh mod so i figured i'd post it up and get opinions.
has anyone else done this and if so did you notice any sound improvements (quality or loudness) and did you notice any excess dirt buildup behind the cover?
Remember something like this from back in the day. Can't remember if it was for my HD2, TP2, or my OG EVO. But yes it made a slight difference IMO .
I remember I drilled a few small holes in the rear cover of my blackberry pearl to make a circle and kept going inwards. This made the music noticeably louder.
It seems to me like if you remove the speaker cover that you'll just allow more crap to get into your speaker. Sure there might be a lot of junk behind the cover but just think how much more could get in there. Your also not supposed to discuss different ways to destroy parts of your phone on xda lol.

A Peak Inside the Priv

Just thought you all would like to take a little look under the cover of the Blackberry Priv. Apologies for image quality and lack of complete disassembly, I didn't want to burn my bridges for the warranty just for opening the back cover. If any of you are braver than I and feel like delving deeper, taking the cover is very easy. Just pry the left and right sides away with your fingernails so it is loose. Remove the SD card and SIM card tray. Then very carefully pry the top of the cover away from the device. Then simply slide the slightly tilted cover off the bottom, away from the speakers. From there you can see all the goods! I was just curious if I could find a discernible difference between the Samsung S series antennas and the Priv, for the sake of future MFT compatibility. It seems as though they both have the same antennas so the hardware difference must be chip-level. Bummer. Also you can see why the right side gets so hot with the battery and antennas sitting there.
Pics
What does the front bottom look like? I'm curious how big the speaker is.
Xaiux said:
What does the front bottom look like? I'm curious
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...Giggedy!!
The front bottom is taken up by the speaker assembly, it's relatively large; it fills the entire bottom lip of the back case.
Do you have a US or EU model?
Thanks. I've been waiting for internal shots.
ToniCipriani said:
Do you have a US or EU model?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the US model from AT&T.
I was thinking about opening the back and filling the empty space that plague the non-wireless charging variants of this phone
t_0_0_l said:
The front bottom is taken up by the speaker assembly, it's relatively large; it fills the entire bottom lip of the back case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you test the speaker? Reports online, including my own Priv, only the left works(Mono), but in this picture it shows the Priv having both Left and Right speakers. Can you take a picture of the front of the phone where the speakers are?
I'm confused as to why they would include L & R stereo speakers but only the Left works, is the R disabled? or did we all get Priv's that are defective. I had a feeling the whole bottom was a speaker grill, and this confirms it......
The whole bottom is definitely not a speaker. It's only the left third or so.
dc2000 said:
Can you test the speaker? Reports online, including my own Priv, only the left works(Mono), but in this picture it shows the Priv having both Left and Right speakers. Can you take a picture of the front of the phone where the speakers are?
I'm confused as to why they would include L & R stereo speakers but only the Left works, is the R disabled? or did we all get Priv's that are defective. I had a feeling the whole bottom was a speaker grill, and this confirms it......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also want to know the answer to this. Are units defective? It definitely shows two so why does everyone only hear mono sound from the left?
I don't think there's anything of the sort going on. Based on the pictures, since I'm not confident enough to peel the back off my own Priv, it looks like the thing you see on the right (left in the pic) is the control board for the 3.5mm jack combined with the mic, which presumably exists down there, since there's no other spot at the bottom of the unit where a mic could possibly be. It definitely only has the one speaker, but as far as I'm concerned, it's pretty exceptional for a phone. At least, I have no qualms with the sound from it, certainly much louder than any other phone I've had.
Forgot to add, I'm also confident that there's only one speaker because using Poweramp and toggling the Mono output setting, as well as the balance from Left to Right, everything only sounds like it comes from the one speaker.
Sorry guys, my mistake. I hadn't even tested my speakerphone until today. I based my assumption on the fact there is a baffle material under the span of the case baffle and the "L" and "R" label on the plastic assemblies on the board. I hadn't tried to disassemble it further. There is someone on YouTube that will give a complete teardown in a couple of days so if I don't see it posted I'll crack my phone open again to investigate.
That escalated quickly
gtfo of xda
gof!uckyourself said:
You can all suck my ****, you pricks. Your a bunch of wankers who are living in a basement. Go and get outside into the real world you low life mutant pricks. There's more to life than a spiders cobweb, and your dusty seats, also light exists. Nobody likes basement-dwelling losers who haven't seen a light before, except your screen. Cobwebs sure are nice aren't they? It's what you have for your meals. Now go **** yourselves you nerds, and go and eat some dog ****.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh wow you enlightened me! Thanks!
Great!
I just can't believe the OEM cover already scratches the Priv, I can see where are the pressure point of the plastic in just 2 days....
That is why I hate Hard Cases.
TheGeeZus said:
Great!
I just can't believe the OEM cover already scratches the Priv, I can see where are the pressure point of the plastic in just 2 days....
That is why I hate Hard Cases.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just remove from the case and pull plastic button inserts out. Take a mini philips screwdriver like for eyeglasses and scrape the little piece of plastic out on both sides. There will be 2 on left and 2 on right then use super glue to adhere the plastic buttons directly to where the little plastic pieces were above and below the buttons. It works for me and no indentions.
momulah said:
Just remove from the case and pull plastic button inserts out. Take a mini philips screwdriver like for eyeglasses and scrape the little piece of plastic out on both sides. There will be 2 on left and 2 on right then use super glue to adhere the plastic buttons directly to where the little plastic pieces were above and below the buttons. It works for me and no indentions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should have done that before but I am humanly struggling with my "OCD" and trying to forget about it, but will leave it like that as the damage is already done and I really want to save the hassle with an exchange.
Thanks for the tip anyways
TheGeeZus said:
Should have done that before but I am humanly struggling with my "OCD" and trying to forget about it, but will leave it like that as the damage is already done and I really want to save the hassle with an exchange.
Thanks for the tip anyways
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think they addressed the problem because the rivets on the one I received the other day were flat as heck and did not protrude like photos I've seen. There wasn't anything to cut with an exacto even if I wanted to. It's still a plastic piece of junk though ($40?!) and I decided to just use a pocket pouch...brings me back to the G1 days
BlueEditionE6 said:
oh wow you enlightened me! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What in the name of cobwebs happened here!

HTC U11 Disassembly Teardown Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHKRkTK2wZE
pwrdbykyank said:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No self repair on the screen this time around, it looks like a nightmare to remove...hopefully it's a way to go in from the screen side
ticklemepinks said:
No self repair on the screen this time around, it looks like a nightmare to remove...hopefully it's a way to go in from the screen side
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It wasn't too hard to take apart, only hard part was removing the back glass, took some work and heat. You don't want to rush it so you don't break the glass. Don't think it would be possible to take it apart from the screen side, the cables are all connected to the main board from the rear so you would need to take the back apart regardless to get access to the connectors.
Im impressed by how clean the device is inside, unlike previous devices (10, m8 etc) that all was a PITA to tear down with ribbons going through the mainboard etc.
jmkhenka said:
Im impressed by how clean the device is inside, unlike previous devices (10, m8 etc) that all was a PITA to tear down with ribbons going through the mainboard etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
U Ultra was pretty clean as well, HTC must have learned quite a bit about internal design from being an ODM for the Pixel )
great video as always.
Looking at the mainboard from the front of the phone, what is the little block next to the "selfie cam"? Is that another mic directly under the pinhole on the top of the phone, or is it part of the speaker/subwoofer?
I only ask because I accidentally tried to pop out my SIM tray by putting the needle tool in the wrong hole .. There was resistance, and then there wasn't. All mics seem to be working. Max volume of the phone seems low, but I could be wrong. Did I just destroy the top speaker assembly?
RandomPooka said:
Looking at the mainboard from the front of the phone, what is the little block next to the "selfie cam"? Is that another mic directly under the pinhole on the top of the phone, or is it part of the speaker/subwoofer?
I only ask because I accidentally tried to pop out my SIM tray by putting the needle tool in the wrong hole .. There was resistance, and then there wasn't. All mics seem to be working. Max volume of the phone seems low, but I could be wrong. Did I just destroy the top speaker assembly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe or maybe not. But you certainly ruined the IP67
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
RandomPooka said:
Looking at the mainboard from the front of the phone, what is the little block next to the "selfie cam"? Is that another mic directly under the pinhole on the top of the phone, or is it part of the speaker/subwoofer?
I only ask because I accidentally tried to pop out my SIM tray by putting the needle tool in the wrong hole .. There was resistance, and then there wasn't. All mics seem to be working. Max volume of the phone seems low, but I could be wrong. Did I just destroy the top speaker assembly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's another mic hole (for the video recording audio feature). It has a fine wire mesh going across (slightly recessed under the glass) for extra dust protection. You only just pushed through that so may not be as dust resistant as before.
richteralan said:
Maybe or maybe not. But you certainly ruined the IP67
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
spikeydoo2006 said:
It's another mic hole (for the video recording audio feature). It has a fine wire mesh going across (slightly recessed under the glass) for extra dust protection. You only just pushed through that so may not be as dust resistant as before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you both. I'm not as concerned about the IP67 water and dust resistance, as long as I didn't just skewer the speaker or sever some important wire.
pwrdbykyank said:
It wasn't too hard to take apart, only hard part was removing the back glass, took some work and heat. You don't want to rush it so you don't break the glass. Don't think it would be possible to take it apart from the screen side, the cables are all connected to the main board from the rear so you would need to take the back apart regardless to get access to the connectors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I need to remplace my screen, It's broken but functional, but it isn't in the video. Can you explain me a little more, how to remove it safely? Please
Yes I would love to know if the glass is replaceable from the front without disassembly....... Smaller quote I have gotten is $320aud using htc parts (they won't consider using aftermarket which I can get for $40aud)
The digitiser is fine....... Can you please pm me if this is possible? In theory it should be the same as removing the rear glass and as you are not disconnecting the digitiser from the board.
I'm inexperienced here so please correct me if I'm wrong
---------- Post added at 01:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:03 AM ----------
Or is the screen and digitiser one complete thing
Unfortunately you will have to start from the back if you want to remove the front LCD. The LCD cable is located under the battery so in order to remove the LCD you must do the following:
-remove back glass
-remove protective black panel
-remove speaker on the bottom and lower board
-remove motherboard
-remove motherboard
-remove lcd
I would go for a replacement part that comes with frame rather than the LCD only. You just transfer from old frame the motherboard and the charging port, the earpiece and the speaker and the battery.
Στάλθηκε από το HTC U11 μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
I've just got mine apart to look at doing a screen replacement. What do you need to do to put the back panel back on, glue/tape?
Unfortunately all these teardowns to be found in the net do not mention ot show where the gps receiver is. I have to replace it as it is not working anymore (after several weeks of increasing location deviation.) I would like to replace it, however, I couldn't find any hints regarding the make or any other specifications.
Any advise is very much appreciated
Cheers

[Solved] Help - Loca (UV) glue in earpiece... How to get it out?

So, I took the plunge after watching several videos on "how to apply a tempered glass screen protector using Loca glue", and tried it myself. I have about 7 small bubbles, but I think I can live with them?? (we'll find out).
I only used about 1.5cc, but that was way too much and it oozed out. I thought I wiped it off of everything before I cured it (with a UV light).....Shortly afterwards, I received a call and couldn't hear anything out of my earpiece? I figured I got glue down in it, so I used alcohol, a toothpick, a Q-tip and a can of air... I eventually got the sound louder, but it's still muffled and distorted. I even tried a sewing needle and poked it in all the holes, but it's too big to go in the fine holes (I pushed too hard on one, and now have a bigger hole in the earpiece - may have just killed my water protection?).
Is there anything else I can do? I'm literally sick to my stomach now.......I've only had this phone 5 weeks and already messed it up
Hopefully someone had some advice on how to fix it/get the glue out of the earpiece?
UPDATE:
Fixed, the best I can do.....
I work in a medical office, with medical supplies. I took a very small needle and poked it through every hole in the grill and it now seems about 99% better. It still doesn't sound as good as before, but that could also be a placebo effect too (because I'm upset with myself)?
I did find out the grill is a very soft metal (aluminium?)... I noticed that I dented/deformed the grill slightly, last night, while trying to clean it (as well as poked a hole in it/busted out two holes into one hole).
As stated above, I'm not sure now how water proof my phone is now??
Oh well, I know now:
1) To put tape over the speaker grill next time (maybe the buttons too?).
2) Use a smaller amount of Loca glue
3) Put the glue on as a fat strip, right in the center, instead of a 4 thinner strips that crossed over each other a few times (this is why I have bubbles)
4) Buy a better screen protector, this one isn't full coverage.
Having the same problem. What gauge needle did you use? Any chance you could look at the packaging at work and let us know?
CWayne121 said:
Having the same problem. What gauge needle did you use? Any chance you could look at the packaging at work and let us know?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well.... I actually used the taper needle on the end of a disposable 5/0 suture. The pointed tip was sharp enough to go in the hole, but the shaft was too wide to go any further.
I was using a 29g (insulin syringe) needle at first, and that worked as well, but I bent it too many times and switched to the more sturdy suture needle.
I was also experienced the same issue, while applying the uv screen protector from a localised store, I'm telling them that please ensure may earpiece will damage, they told nothing will happen, after completion of installation process, uv light also used, before leaving out I thought I would like to call, unfortunately my earpiece not working, I mean very less sound.i thought I would have go to OnePlus service center for repairing. however after I went back to home, I just applied some alcohol based sanitizer, and I thoroughly used hard toothbrush and clean it, with in 10 minutes of duration, everything got cleaned. Now it it is working properly .

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