Thanks all for taking the time to read. I have a Verizon Galaxy Note 3, 4.4.2 NC2, Rooted with stock rom. The earpiece sound is playing however, and I know this sounds strange, the sounds is playing mostly opposite to the front side of the phone. It is much louder on the back side. It is as if the normal front firing side of a speaker has been reversed to fire sound in the opposite direction. The sound is neither garbled, nor distorted, it is however to low for me to hear properly from the front which has two effects, the 1st being that calls without headphones plugged in are useless, 2nd and vastly more important, is that I am unable to convince onlookers that I am not entirely retarded as they watch me hold the back side of the phone to my face while the shiny bright screen illuminates, and thereby alerts all in the vicinity to snap photos. Under normal circumstances I would be embarrassed, but 3-5 times a week a few good souls walk by and drop money near me or offer kinds words of encouragement like "Limitations only go so far son, you keep trying" or "You keep playing the hand your dealt, one day you will think the game was worth the while" or my personal favorite " Good job buddy, there are no disabilities, only people with other abilities"
Things have tried so far:
Factory reset - No help
Changed Rom - No help
Changed speaker module - No help
If anyone has any suggestions I would be most appreciative.
What are you using to play your media? Stock player? There is an equalizer and also adaptive sound to change your listening pleasure. There are also various other apps, with better equalizers, you can download and use. I'm not sure what else you can do. My note 5 and Droid RAZR have better sound quality externally than my note3, but my note 3, using the headphone jack, never let's me down.
Careful with the photo stalking. Gl!
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
Thanks Dravekx,
I am sure that I wrote was I was trying to say in a very confusing manor. What I was trying to say was that the earpiece itself (the one you listen through when on a call) is low in volume from the front but mostly normal sounding coming inexplicably out of the back of the phone, inexplicable because there is of course no speaker on the opposite backside of the phones front earpiece speaker. It's just the weirdest thing ever. I do appreciate your suggestions though!
Cheers
Dravekx said:
What are you using to play your media? Stock player? There is an equalizer and also adaptive sound to change your listening pleasure. There are also various other apps, with better equalizers, you can download and use. I'm not sure what else you can do. My note 5 and Droid RAZR have better sound quality externally than my note3, but my note 3, using the headphone jack, never let's me down.
Careful with the photo stalking. Gl!
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
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Related
Everyone here is probably familiar with the DHD speaker volume issue.
The GSM Hero also suffers from a similar problem except that hardly anyone complains because the battery cover acts as a passive diaphragm which amplifies the audio from the tiny speaker. Removing the cover makes the Hero sound just like the DHD.
That got me thinking... a properly designed or modified case may be able to do the same for the DHD that the battery cover does for the Hero.
I'd be interested to hear feedback especially if someone has a DHD case that they think would make a good candidate. Mods might include patching the speaker hole and etching a speaker port.
if you have the design and wanted to make it happen. Why don't you try kickstarter? I am sure there are a lot of DHD owner will support you (if your case really works)
I've experimented with several materials but am unable to reproduce the effect seen on the HTC Hero. My best guess is that the Hero's plastic body transmits speaker vibrations efficiently to the large battery cover diaphragm whereas the DHD's solid unibody construction dampens vibrations needed to produce sound from a case.
Another solution may be to build a larger case with a thin film speaker via the headphone jack. A juice pack and kick stand might be cool too.
Has anyone noticed it is twice as loud when laid on its back on a hard surface, like a table? Probably the same idea of reflected sound that Bose engineers dine out on.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
It's made to be placed screen down when using the speaker, for music anyway.
I use Tasker to turn off the notification sounds at night when phone plugged in (so I can sleep).
I too have very low/bad speaker sound but noticed something weird yesterday and today, if I remove the power (therefore automatically reverting notification volume to 100%) BEFORE dismissing the alarm then the alarm temporarily got very much louder (for maybe a second).
This makes me think the issue is actually software/firmware, particularly as some people seem to think the speak volume is OK. I've tried turning off pocket mode etc, so far no good
Yes, I too observed the same. if i start any game, the initial sound for may be 2 secs is very louder and then fades away to usual self. It might be a firmware issue, but no one from HTC seems to be acknowledging this or trying to provide a fix.
This hasn't got anything to do with the 'make my phone louder when it's in my pocket ' setting has it? Perhaps it knows its on your desk so doesn't crank up the volume?
Just a thought ......
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
I actually places the speaker on the table to bounce the volume up. It works somehow.
Just thought I'd add that I've been watching videos in bed lately. I prop it up by making a dip in the covers, which bounces the sound back. The sound, especially in dolby, goes from being awful to being really good. In fact I find it better than putting it on a hard surface...
MisterBuggie said:
Just thought I'd add that I've been watching videos in bed lately. I prop it up by making a dip in the covers, which bounces the sound back. The sound, especially in dolby, goes from being awful to being really good. In fact I find it better than putting it on a hard surface...
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Any picture?
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
just use a custom rom they have increase the volume...
or wait for offical GB that will maybe increase too.
i think 1.84... has an boost?
Why Samsung? Why? speaker on the back? I love the note 4 the only really negative thing I have to say is why the speaker on the back of the device and not on the bottom like my note 3 ? I'm already finding myself laying the phone face down on the beautiful screen to hear any type of music, potentially scratching the screen. Sorry just ranting
Poor you... I wish I had your problems. Nevermind that a cellphone speaker sounds like complete garbage no matter where it's positioned. Maybe you should return the Note 4 and get a boombox instead.
cds36 said:
Why Samsung? Why? speaker on the back? I love the note 4 the only really negative thing I have to say is why the speaker on the back of the device and not on the bottom like my note 3 ? I'm already finding myself laying the phone face down on the beautiful screen to hear any type of music, potentially scratching the screen. Sorry just ranting
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You can edit the mixer_paths.xml and boost you speaker if you are rooted. I know it isnt really fix for the speaker but since you cant physically move the speaker to a new position , its all you really got . For me personally it doesnt make a difference but Im not coming from the Note 3 , Im coming from the GS5 which has the same speaker position.
HTC is the only company that got it right.
siraltus said:
Poor you... I wish I had your problems. Nevermind that a cellphone speaker sounds like complete garbage no matter where it's positioned. Maybe you should return the Note 4 and get a boombox instead.
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Sorry im not a audiophile I guess like yourself, sounds doesn't sound that bad to me the speaker placement was a horrible choice should've just left it on the bottom like the note3 would of been way better than where its at now. Im wondering if they did that because of the finger print scanner.
Maduro78 said:
HTC is the only company that got it right.
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and lets not forget the moto x and nexus 6
probably so we wont scratch that 20 inch camera on the back! I mean, why is it even poking out like that?!?!!??! its begging to be scratched, get broken if its continuously place on the back /rant
We will see those things on the note 5 lol
cds36 said:
and lets not forget the moto x and nexus 6
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Not having stereo on the X was disappointing but then again not really a big deal on a device that's so small. We'll see how the 6 fairs
the note 4 isnt geared towards sound hence, why samsung doesnt waste R&D on speakers that most people rarely use. I rarely use my speakers on my notes. If im not bluetoothed or streaming, its on silent. lol
The speaker on the Note 4 is clearer and louder than that on the Note 3. Fact.
http://youtu.be/_UYwfonN2hM
When at work, I lay my phone face up on a pack of sticky notes.
cds36 said:
Why Samsung? Why? speaker on the back? I love the note 4 the only really negative thing I have to say is why the speaker on the back of the device and not on the bottom like my note 3 ? I'm already finding myself laying the phone face down on the beautiful screen to hear any type of music, potentially scratching the screen. Sorry just ranting
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You won't scratch the screen from putting it screen down on a table. Gorilla glass is amazing man! I do agree that speakers on the rear suck though.
knarfies said:
the note 4 isnt geared towards sound hence, why samsung doesnt waste R&D on speakers that most people rarely use. I rarely use my speakers on my notes. If im not bluetoothed or streaming, its on silent. lol
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I have to agree there, I feel if i need to blast music they would be attach to some form of speaker lol. other wise, the sound is being stream through my bluetooth...or being stream to my tv lol
I hear there is a patent that stops them from putting it on the front.... Not 100% sure but I guess it's possible. I agree it's stupid being on the back but this Note 4 is a beast. I came from a Galaxy S5.
For me the speakers are perfect since I hold my phone with one hand and two i usually have a finger in the bottom holding the phone up and it used to cover the bottom speakers on my note 3, I sounds good and clear what do you expect surround sound.
cds36 said:
and lets not forget the moto x and nexus 6
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Moto g 2014 also.
Sent from my SM-N910T
Has any phone ever used the front speaker for calls and system/media audio? I would think it would be pretty obvious to move the back speaker to the front and control the volume with software depending on if your in a call or playing music or whatever.
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app
The speaker is really the only thing left in the Note series that could really use some improvement. Everything gets incremental upgrades except for the speaker.
the speaker on the back is lame imo, but it does sound very good-so not sure how much I can really complain. It is very loud using speakerphone speaker and the ringtone/alarm. Certainly better than the Note 2/3 that I owned.
the HTC M* is still the best for media output for youtube or other video playback. I still wish HTC would have made a M8 5.97" phone.
The biggest problem with a rear speaker, is that when the phone is lying on it's back, the sound gets extremely muffled. This is especially true when using a case. Horrible, horrible design choice by Samsung.
Hi there!
My Galaxy Note 4 has quite perceptible hissing / white noise coming out from loudspeaker when something is playing, even if sound level is set to 0.
Has anyone else this problem? Should I ask for repair/replacement? or there is hope that Lollipop update will fix it?
youtube.com/watch?v=bkCsqFlEUuA
Thanks!
I can hear a similar sound on my note 4, but I wouldn't call it terrible.
the noise a Samsung 2A charger makes is far worse.
I have good ears, but I can't hear the sound unless I put the back of my phone to my ear.
thedicemaster said:
I can hear a similar sound on my note 4, but I wouldn't call it terrible.
the noise a Samsung 2A charger makes is far worse.
I have good ears, but I can't hear the sound unless I put the back of my phone to my ear.
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My Note 4 and my friend's Note 4 does same but, doesn't bother me at all.
Tried now my old phones: S2, S3, S4 and they all do some similar noises.
Hi guys, thanks for replied! Note 4 belongs to my wife, she complained me about this. And in fact this hissing is recognizable from 20-30 cm in quiet room. For comparison my Note 3 has almost no sound at all even if you put your ear next to the loudspeaker. So it looks like common deffect for Note 4... this is bad because I spend so much time convincing my wife to switch from iPhone
d.jurin said:
Hi guys, thanks for replied! Note 4 belongs to my wife, she complained me about this. And in fact this hissing is recognizable from 20-30 cm in quiet room. For comparison my Note 3 has almost no sound at all even if you put your ear next to the loudspeaker. So it looks like common deffect for Note 4... this is bad because I spend so much time convincing my wife to switch from iPhone
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Well it's not really a defect, you can hear it only when you listen to something and you put the sound to 0 or after you press on a something, but it's switching off shortly after the playback of the sound (when you click on an icon or key).
It's just the sound the speaker makes when is on, but when you turn up the volume even a little from 0 you will not hear it anymore.
Dean-xXx said:
Well it's not really a defect, you can hear it only when you listen to something and you put the sound to 0 or after you press on a something, but it's switching off shortly after the playback of the sound (when you click on an icon or key).
It's just the sound the speaker makes when is on, but when you turn up the volume even a little from 0 you will not hear it anymore.
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Actually it is not a case with my wife's Note 4. When we set the sound level to 1, hissing changes the pattern, but is still there and almost the same loud this "imperfection" is defect for me, it is like famous hissing in the headphones, it impairs the perception of the sound content. There is no excuses to have it in the modern devices. It is minus to Galaxy Note 4. If I would review this phone I would definitely pay attention to it.
What do you think is is hardware or software issue?
d.jurin said:
Actually it is not a case with my wife's Note 4. When we set the sound level to 1, hissing changes the pattern, but is still there and almost the same loud this "imperfection" is defect for me, it is like famous hissing in the headphones, it impairs the perception of the sound content. There is no excuses to have it in the modern devices. It is minus to Galaxy Note 4. If I would review this phone I would definitely pay attention to it.
What do you think is is hardware or software issue?
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I guess it's hardware, probably the speakers they used on the Note 4 just makes that noise I tried 2x Note 4 and the noise is identical.
Dean-xXx said:
I guess it's hardware, probably the speakers they used on the Note 4 just makes that noise I tried 2x Note 4 and the noise is identical.
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Well, if this is hardware problem then it is not fixable. This is bad. Nevertheless thanks for reply! Actually I have one more question, do you have this kind of hissing / white noise when you record video? Because I have, every time I film something on Note 4 even in an absolutely quite room I always have strong background hissing / white noise! Do you have it?
I have a galaxy note 4 and listened to all my music on this phone via leads and BT. I can confirm there is now an issue with this sound which in my case has come about only recently when I upgraded to Lollipop. Until then the sound was fantastic - now it has a kind of whirring background noise which starts when any playback is started and stops a couple of seconds after stopping. This noise was definitely not apparent before. I still have my old galaxy S3 which I have compared this with - the old S3 does have a very low continual hiss but this is constant and also inaudible when playing music at any volume. The Note 4 used to be like this but is now appalling and I cannot listen to it!
OP - Can I confirm you are running Lollipop Android?
Dropped phone, solved problem!
Horrible hissing sound! Unbearable especially when ran through an amplified system like car audio. I have tried multiple headphones and sound systems, I even swapped the device at my carrier and sent it to Samsung TWICE! Samsung swapped components to no avail both times. Also broke and fixed my s-pen on a random side note lol.
All of that aside I fixed problem! DO NOT TRY THIS SOLUTION!!!
After simply just living with the hissing problem for a few months to the point where I just pulled an old HTC Ruby out of storage to use as my all around MP3 player I accidentally fixed the problem.
SOLUTION: I dropped my phone flat on its back from standing texting position onto a hard laminate floor that covers a concrete foundation and it works perfactly now lol! Case: UAG.
That having been said it looks like a confirmed hardware problem and does not sound like a permanent fix... :crying:
Hello, I recently bought the Note 4 snapdragon variant (910F) and the rear speaker had a terrible hissing and static pop after audio being played. I returned the phone because of it, it was unacceptable. I really liked the phone so I heard that the Exynos variant has a different sound DAC.
Can some Exynos variant owner check for me if the speaker is hissing too? Like lock your phone (it should make a lock sound) then immediately put the rear speaker right next to your ear and listen if you can hear some static noise and then "click".
Thank you!
ongbac said:
Hello, I recently bought the Note 4 snapdragon variant (910F) and the rear speaker had a terrible hissing and static pop after audio being played. I returned the phone because of it, it was unacceptable. I really liked the phone so I heard that the Exynos variant has a different sound DAC.
Can some Exynos variant owner check for me if the speaker is hissing too? Like lock your phone (it should make a lock sound) then immediately put the rear speaker right next to your ear and listen if you can hear some static noise and then "click".
Thank you!
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No one with exynos version can check this for me? :/ Please!
ongbac said:
No one with exynos version can check this for me? :/ Please!
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I have the exynos variant of the samsung A5 2016 and after updating to marshmallow or rooting it(somewhere between those two processes) I noticed my phone made this static noise when I turn off the screen.
While in a call and my screen is off I hear the noise again
Also when I plug my earphones and I pause the music the sound is still there.
But when I turn the screen on the sound stops...
Don't know the reason for this and I hope it can be fixed somehow.
PS. sorry for bad english
I am using a ZE551KL while waiting on my ZE551ML to return from RMA. The ZE551KL is a decent phone but it does not measure up to the ZE551ML, but I am sticking with it while Asus takes their merry time on repairing my phone.
Anyway, has anyone had any success in increasing the volume levels of the back speaker? The loudness of the ringtones and notifications leaves much to be desired, at least for me. I have everything maxed and the Audio Wizard is on and set to Smart but I seldom catch my email notification and I carry my phone in my shirt's chest pocket. These are the same tones I used on my ZE551ML so they are recorded/saved loud enough.
Any help would be appreciated as I will passing this phone down to a family member once I get mine back from Asus... whatever year that occurs.
Yeah it's pretty pathetic. When i try to listen to a podcast out of the back speaker while I'm washing my face or doing other things where I can't have headphones in, I can't hear it over the sound of the water running.
I put it on "voice" and turn on "dialouge enhancement" and turn up all frequencies to the max and it makes it maybe a third louder, but it still leaves a lot to be desired. I guess you have to cut some corners with a 200 dollar phone. Skimping on the engineering and materials it would take to make an impressively loud compact speaker seems to be one of the places they tried to save money.
I wondered about buying an after market speaker replacement. And swapping it out.
Sent from my A1R using XDA-Developers mobile app
this is a software issue with the Asus stock ROM.
Flash the Cyanogenmod ROM, and the sound output from both the external speaker and the headphone port is way, WAY better.
nujaxx said:
I wondered about buying an after market speaker replacement. And swapping it out.
Sent from my A1R using XDA-Developers mobile app
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That might be possible, actually. I had to replace the screen on my ZE551KL and unlike the models with Intel hardware, the speaker unit seems to be connected by what looks like a miniature version of a 3.5 mm headphone plug. Seems like the vibration motor and speaker might be housed in the same rubber unit, though. I did a successful screen replacement, but I wasn't always certain exactly what I was looking at. :silly:
There's ZERO documentation or videos about the internals of the ZE551KL available online, but you can get a good luck at the audio plug leading into the speaker just by removing the 8 to 12 tiny screws that secure the backplate of the phone on. Keep in mind that will void your warranty though.
The speaker itself would be an easy switch. I've replaced some before and it was relatively easy. Can't see the Asus being different. It's nearly identical to the lgg3 in placement, interestingly enough.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00TD using XDA-Developers mobile app
argblah said:
Yeah it's pretty pathetic. When i try to listen to a podcast out of the back speaker while I'm washing my face or doing other things where I can't have headphones in, I can't hear it over the sound of the water running.
I put it on "voice" and turn on "dialouge enhancement" and turn up all frequencies to the max and it makes it maybe a third louder, but it still leaves a lot to be desired. I guess you have to cut some corners with a 200 dollar phone. Skimping on the engineering and materials it would take to make an impressively loud compact speaker seems to be one of the places they tried to save money.
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Seems to have made a big difference. Much appreciated, mate.
Install custom audio mods such as viper4android, dolby atmos, or biohazard sound mod
Yes, I have V4A installed, but it doesn't seem to do much volumewise.
Even if there was, I don't think it would help much. The 10j update helped make mine a little clearer but the sad matter of the fact is the speaker is lame. Can't niece LG brought the A game to the headphone jack but could t make a better external speaker. What is even sadder is that it isn't waterproof which usually bring speaker quality down in some way or another. I'm guessing we are going to have to live with it. For shame for shame.
@rbiter said:
Even if there was, I don't think it would help much. The 10j update helped make mine a little clearer but the sad matter of the fact is the speaker is lame. Can't niece LG brought the A game to the headphone jack but could t make a better external speaker. What is even sadder is that it isn't waterproof which usually bring speaker quality down in some way or another. I'm guessing we are going to have to live with it. For shame for shame.
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So dramatic
joewoo said:
So dramatic
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Not really.. The non-stereo single speaker sounds awful when comparing it to any phone, even my old S5 Active just because it had 2 speakers. And that phone only cost me $200 out right.
But yeah besides using v4a, WETA offers the most audio mods as far as ROMs go.
I noticed if Im playing music, and then record a video with snapchat while the music is playing, once it goes into playback mode, my speaker audio jumps to double the loudness, even after i close snapchat.
You can mess with the media_profile.xml files
Keep a look out for my post, I'm putting it in the Guides, News, and Discussion section. It's a small hardware mod for the speaker. Nothing major, but it helps.
Yeah I can understand the frustration it makes no sense that the G4 speaker is better than the current models. The g4 speaker sucked but in comparison to the v20 it's louder and doesn't sound like its going to blow.
I don't depend on the external speaker at all (I use a clip on felt speaker that is 10x better) but it does suck that LG skims on the external speaker when audio is a big feature of the phone.
Sent from my LG-H918 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
I can guide anyone with a rooted V20 to make the audio output through wired headphones be so loud it hurts. Using myself as an example, Ive loved LOUD music my whole life. I have never been able to find a portable music device that was as loud as I wanted it to go, and the battle to be loud without distortion was constant. I am sure in those 25 years doing that I have a bit of hearing damage, so what I have now is even more impressive. Today, with this V20 I have, and the hacks/tweaks I put together on it, I cannot listen to music through ear buds over ~70& volume for more than a few songs before a migraine comes, and I have to spend the rest of the day half deaf because of the ringing in my ears.
But as far as sound through the built in speaker inside the phone, I would never expect to use it for anything but regular random sounds like youtube clips or podcasts. The speaker is the size of two dimes stacked together, and there isnt any sort of chamber or cabinet like bigger music speakers use, which is maybe most important.
If you want to play music without headphones, I would suggest getting a portable bluetooth speaker or something like that. They are impressively good these days and arent very expensive