Database Users

[MOD] Speaker hole enlargement

Hey all, watching some flash videos today made me notice how poorly the N1 puts sound out the back speaker, even compared to my old G1. I remember back in my Blackberry days that people used to mod the backs to "let more sound get out", and so I started looking into this...
First off, the speaker is GINORMOUS in relation to the slit. If you look inside the back where the speaker is, you can see a little internal grille, and the small slit for sound to escape. There's also a TON more room where that grille isnt attached to the back (same shape as the slit, only about 5x the size) that could be milled out pretty easily, and still retain the "keep crap out of the back" feature of the grille.
So, this leaves me with a few questions:
Where can I get a replacement back, in case my mill catches a bit more than I anticipate?
Anyone else interested? I figure if I set up to do one, I might as well bang a few others out instead of setting up multiple times.
Once I get a second back, I will be going at this with pics and hopefully notable improvement in projecting sound into my hand, and back toward my face!
I might not be a software hacker, but when it comes to this sort of thing, I figure its the best way I can give back to the community!

Give HTC support a call and tell them your cover doesn't line up properly(I don't think any of them do) they'll send you out a replacement. If they don't they can sell you one for ten bucks I think.
Hope to hear good results from your mod, might do it myself.

I actually think the small slit does something to amplify the sound..
Take the back off, play music, put it on. Notice it gets louder when you place it back on..
I don't know though, but I'll be following this thread!

Wisefire said:
I actually think the small slit does something to amplify the sound..
Take the back off, play music, put it on. Notice it gets louder when you place it back on..
I don't know though, but I'll be following this thread!
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Yea, I think the OP should test and see if there's even a noticeable difference without the back cover. I would think not...

Try removing the cover, sounds WAY worse.

Yes, I completely realize the back sounds bad off, its acting as a resonator, or isolating front from back waves of the speaker, which causes phase cancellation. Thus why im not removing the cover, just making the one hole bigger. It SHOULD not lose the "low end" that it has with the back on (if you want to call it that.
Either way, Im hacking at least one up, Ill post results!

Do it. (poor phone!)

I would suggest to replace the speaker with a Desire one, some people who have both phones pretend it's way louder on Desire, and yes it's the same form factor and size so it should fit

It is quite a bit louder without the cover but sounds bad due to the lack of resonance.
Shouldnt be too bad with just an enlargement, make sure you put something to block out dust. Let us know how it goes.

I've found that attaching one of these to the back quite useful...

or try a vuvuzela

I think the engineer who designed that whole was well aware of resonance qualities. If you make that whole and turns out better, you should apply to HTC job hehe...

@Hummeroid
Good idea ...
What about drilling mini-holes arround the "slit" ?
Instead of making ONE BIG hole ...

Very Interesting mod idea...I think the small drilled holes would be an effective test.

Or just cup your left hand around the back of the phone.

I looking for the out come of this.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

mrbkkt1 said:
Or just cup your left hand around the back of the phone.
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hah, I've never seen anyone else do it, but I do this all the time if I'm showing people a video or am in a noisy setting (ie. party)

clickwir said:
hah, I've never seen anyone else do it, but I do this all the time if I'm showing people a video or am in a noisy setting (ie. party)
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Nah, everyone does it.. I mostly do it when I want to listen to something quiet, I can turn it down and redirect the sound towards me.

I actually have a really good pair of earphones. I prefer that the main speaker is in the back, instead of in the earpiece like some phones. Prevents earspeaker blowout and call quality is damn good with this phone so far.

mrbkkt1 said:
Or just cup your left hand around the back of the phone.
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I try to put it up against a wall. Your hand can work to absorb sound waves, thus deadening sound and lowering overall quality; but drywall bounces the sound waves back nearly impeccably. Desks, etc, any hard surface should do the trick.

Evo Speaker Fails.

So I'm on my second Evo. The first one's speaker blew out within the first two weeks I had it, I went to Best Buy and they exchanged my black Evo for a white one, no questions asked. Now I have my white Evo, and guess what, the speaker blew out. It happens very incrementally. And what's worse is I switched from Best Buy's insurance to Sprints, and I've been told that Sprint won't replace your Evo if its speaker is blown out. Pretty lame.
So what gives? Why are these speakers going out so fast? I've seen a few reports of blown out speakers here. It's kinda' sad that such an awesome phone possesses such a bunk speaker. I'd rather have my old G1's speaker than this pathetic sack of cat ****. Lol
This is a sort of rant/question hybrid. Wasn't sure where to put it. Sorry.

neckface said:
So I'm on my second Evo. The first one's speaker blew out within the first two weeks I had it, I went to Best Buy and they exchanged my black Evo for a white one, no questions asked. Now I have my white Evo, and guess what, the speaker blew out. It happens very incrementally. And what's worse is I switched from Best Buy's insurance to Sprints, and I've been told that Sprint won't replace your Evo if its speaker is blown out. Pretty lame.
So what gives? Why are these speakers going out so fast? I've seen a few reports of blown out speakers here. It's kinda' sad that such an awesome phone possesses such bunk speaker. I'd rather have my old G1's speaker than this pathetic sack of cat ****. Lol
This is a sort of rant/question hybrid. Wasn't sure where to put it. Sorry.
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wtf are you playing on your evo for it to blow it, you sound like the guy that wanted to do that "Class Action Lawsuit" just because he couldnt uninstall Amazon mp3 off his Evo because its "Hardwired in his Phone"
rediculous!!!!!

which speaker?

rdzlyz said:
wtf are you playing on your evo for it to blow it, you sound like the guy that wanted to do that "Class Action Lawsuit" just because he couldnt uninstall Amazon mp3 off his Evo because its "Hardwired in his Phone"
rediculous!!!!!
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To answer your question, I'm playing YouTube videos/listening to music. On a side note, you sir, have issues. Lulz
strung said:
which speaker?
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That'd be the external speaker on the back of the phone.

I've been on YouTube many times, its the spot to be. My speakers are fine!!

I have to chalk this one up as user error to happen twice so fast..I use the back speaker a lot and the only time i have issues where i think its going to blow is while useing Fring.

Mine started sounding like crap and I was really disappointed. I took off the battery cover and found pocket lint on the speaker. badabing - fixed. That speaker is small, so if anything gets on it, it will be distorted.

BrianBaker said:
I have to chalk this one up as user error to happen twice so fast..I use the back speaker a lot and the only time i have issues where i think its going to blow is while useing Fring.
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I agree for the most part, unless it is just completely coincidental that you had to bad speakers in the first place.
The reason I say this is because if you did a pole on here, I would guess that at least 97 - 99% of people have not had issues with the speaker.
But, some people do have bad luck when it comes to electronics, so you may have just gotten 2 defective phones. You should be able to call HTC and get it exchanged as long as it isnt more than 30 days old (or something like that)

DaWhip said:
Mine started sounding like crap and I was really disappointed. I took off the battery cover and found pocket lint on the speaker. badabing - fixed. That speaker is small, so if anything gets on it, it will be distorted.
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Glad that worked for ya', sadly, it hasn't worked for me. That was the first thing I checked when it started happening. My speaker isn't slightly jacked, it sounds like a fly. Like if you try and strum a guitar that still has a pick wedged on the neck between the strings. It's -really- bad.
And as for chalking it up as a user error, you could in fact be right. As I listen to some very loud, very obnoxious music. Dead Moon, Crass, and Gray Matter seem to be what really take a toll on my speaker. If listening to loud music is a crime, I am most definitely guilty.

yah, you might be better off investing is some good headphones or a little speaker dock. I could see some Gray Matter at full blast taking a toll on the evo speaker quickly.

DaWhip said:
yah, you might be better off investing is some good headphones or a little speaker dock. I could see some Gray Matter at full blast taking a toll on the evo speaker quickly.
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Yeah, I'm definitely gonna have to do that. I have those big dj type headphones and they're not very portable, which is why I don't use them often.

neckface said:
Yeah, I'm definitely gonna have to do that. I have those big dj type headphones and they're not very portable, which is why I don't use them often.
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Nobody's going to hassle you if you're walking around with a set of Sennheiser HD800's.

SilverZero said:
Nobody's going to hassle you if you're walking around with a set of Sennheiser HD800's.
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No, not hassle. More like mug me for 'em.

Speaker 101 (all speakers)
Distortion blows speaker, not amplitude. The trouble with that is it is hard to tell recorded distortion from speaker distortion. Add to that, even recorded distortion can fairly easily overheat the coil, resulting in a crappy sounding speaker.
I'd try for another replacement, then use only headphones... good ones.
Sent from my Evo using XDA App

neckface said:
No, not hassle. More like mug me for 'em.
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True.
...

mrsato said:
Speaker 101 (all speakers)
Distortion blows speaker, not amplitude. The trouble with that is it is hard to tell recorded distortion from speaker distortion. Add to that, even recorded distortion can fairly easily overheat the coil, resulting in a crappy sounding speaker.
I'd try for another replacement, then use only headphones... good ones.
Sent from my Evo using XDA App
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O_O You learn something everyday.
Yeah, I've learned my lesson. I'm sticking to headphones from now on. Any suggestions?

Mrsato hit the nail on the head , if you hear distortion you should turn down to keep from hurting them.
Sent from my netarchy_toast, froyo beast of a machine evo!

DaWhip said:
yah, you might be better off investing is some good headphones or a little speaker dock. I could see some Gray Matter at full blast taking a toll on the evo speaker quickly.
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+1 to this. Speaker dock or some good wired headphones coupled with an E5 amplifier. You will never listen to the speaker on the back again.

I'm on my second speaker and it just started crackling again so back to get a 3rd one put in!

user error? Seriously, how would that even be possible. Speakers aren't supposed to blow themselves out on a PHONE.
My rear one went out after 2 weeks too. What was i doing? Nothing, i barely use my rear speaker at all.

Cannot hear ringing with phone facing upp

Aria has the ringer/speaker behind the phone.
Because of that, if I have my phone face up speaker is completely blocked and I can barely hear it ringing.
Anyone else experience this problem? any bright idea to solve this problem other than just putting the phone upside down?
I'm thinking this probably is design defect..

That might be for speaker on back.
Solution I use is leave phone face down.
Sent from my Liberty using Tapatalk

Yeah, it's definitely a poor design. I usually place my phone on top of my wallet in a way so that the speaker isn't covered.

I'm finding it sound much louder if the phone is slightly lifted from the surface.
It doesn't have to be much. Just lifted 1/16" and it was enough to make it much louder.
May be I will apply some sort of spacer to make some room for sound to escape.

First time poster, long time lurker here.
I use the gel case HTC makes for the Aria. Since it has a cut out for the speaker and camera, the sound isn't muffled when resting speaker down on a table.

Just get a type of case that makes the aria body a little bit bulky that way you have somewhat of a lift and your speaker isn't full face down.
Signatures are fancy.

Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
First time poster, long time lurker here.
I use the gel case HTC makes for the Aria. Since it has a cut out for the speaker and camera, the sound isn't muffled when resting speaker down on a table.
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You are talking about smoke color case. Right?
I actually use the same case.
It still muffles speaker. I also have silicone case, which does the same.
I just folded paper and stick it just below the speaker, so the case bulges out little bit. That seems to do the trick.

A couple of questions here, so humor me.
What volume is your ringer set at?
Are you using a custom ringtone?
I'm asking these questions because with the gel case on the phone I have no problem hearing my ringtones. However, I use custom-made ringtones that have been amplified using Audacity, and have the volume set to near maximum.

I have a gel case with a hole for the speaker, and i find if i sit the phone face up, but with one side resting a few millimetres on a surface (usually a headphone cable or sumtin on my desk), with a hard surface behind it, it reflects the sound out the gap pretty well, so if you face the gap towards yourself it kinda amplifies the ring volume, as the surfaces all bounce the sound waves towards you. But yeh leaving it face down gives the best volume.

Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
A couple of questions here, so humor me.
What volume is your ringer set at?
Are you using a custom ringtone?
I'm asking these questions because with the gel case on the phone I have no problem hearing my ringtones. However, I use custom-made ringtones that have been amplified using Audacity, and have the volume set to near maximum.
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Volume is set one step lower from maximum. Putting it at maximum makes it too loud when the phone is not placed on flat surface.
I am using custom ringtone with quiet large volume.

What I don't like about Galaxy Note

To be fair to all those considering Note, after all praising (I still do think it's best phone in the world right now), there are definitely drawbacks.
Here is one for example:
The regular phone speaker above the screen (not the loud one on the back) is not pointing sound into one direction. You can even speak on the phone with back side of Galaxy Note put to you ear, you will still be able to hear everything clearly, even on low volume.
On top volume, it is comparable to speaker phone on some other phones, so if you pick up a phone while surrounded by other people (unless you are in very loud place) they will hear the other person.
While in the office, I noticed myself turning volume down a lot when I pick up the phone.

I dont have this kind of problem , my old Nokia phone does.
Sure someone can hear some of the content near the phone you are talking in a dead silent arwa, it's inevitable.
I feel Gnote already perform quite well compare to the other phones, like HTCs in this area
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA App

to be honest id rather it was loud and have the ability to turn the volume down than it be too quiet and unable to turn the volume up
as my mum used to say,if its cold its better to have a coat and be able to take it off if you get hot than be cold and need a coat and not have one

Richy99 said:
to be honest id rather it was loud and have the ability to turn the volume down than it be too quiet and unable to turn the volume up
as my mum used to say,if its cold its better to have a coat and be able to take it off if you get hot than be cold and need a coat and not have one
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It's not a question of whether badly working phone is better than no phone. It's a question of best phone being of high quality. In this case its potential privacy concern.
I switched from iPhones, where it was not an issue. If you put it tight to your ear in silent room, none else hears the person on the other end. Even on loud.
Like I've said above, on Note in silent room regular speaker (not the loud speaker) is comparable to loud speaker on some other phones. You can hear through the phone! Test yourself, make a call with screen side out, battery cover side to your ear, you might be surprised, that it's practically no difference what side you hold it to the ear, even on lowest in-call volume you can still comfortably speak with wrong side of the phone touching your ear.
I have not tried other Notes than mine, but I seriously doubt that it is one time occurrence, seems to me like an engineering issue, not enough sound insulation behind the speaker, just few thin layers of plastic.

If it is such a privacy concern, why not use a bluetooth headset or earbuds? Why not leave the room instead of taking the call in the room?
I mean there are more options that just sitting there letting everyone else hear your conversation if you feel that you have something to hide. But then again, your talking so they naturally are going to hear at least 1 part of the conversation no matter what. So I fail to see how you can really be concerned with privacy when they hear everything you say anyways, right?
If you were that worried about privacy you would send texts, emails or use an IM program to send messages so that no one knew what was being said or talked about. But since you are willing to sit in the room and let them listen to what at least you are saying, then you are not overly concerned with them at least hearing part of the conversation.
When I get a call that I dont want anyone else to hear I either leave the room, put on my earbuds or tell the person I will call them back when I can talk. So really it isnt about privacy concerns at all, it is just an inconvience for you to know that the speaker is loud. Louder than you are used to at least.

Fuuny that you mention this because i never thought i'll use those bt headsets until i own the Note. Each time i put it in my ear, my worry is not the volume but the number of heads turning towards me and the the sheepish grin that follows.
--- --- --- ---
A damn proud Galaxy Note owner.

Maybe try turn down the volume and using a case.
I wonder how those HTC phones perform because they all have ear speakers that are wide across the width of the phone itself.

eksasol said:
Maybe try turn down the volume and using a case.
I wonder how those HTC phones perform because they all have ear speakers that are wide across the width of the phone itself.
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Lol..the speaker grill on HTC phone what we call it, is just a gimmick. If we see inside, the speaker none the less is only small portion on the middle side
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA App

Astrum said:
While in the office, I noticed myself turning volume down a lot when I pick up the phone.
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That's a really good point. Something else to improve in the Note2 along with moving power button!
Sent from my Amiga GT-N7000 using XDA Premium.

[Q] For those with their Nexus 4, is the earpiece making a screeching noise?

If I place my Nexus 4 against my ear, I can hear high pitched screeching and some popping coming from the earpiece, even when a call is not taking place. At first I thought it was a heat issue, maybe some capacitors or something getting a bit hot and whistling, so I turned the phone off and the noises stopped instantly.
This is pretty annoying and surely shouldn't be happening

Yes, mine too
losimagic said:
If I place my Nexus 4 against my ear, I can hear high pitched screeching and some popping coming from the earpiece, even when a call is not taking place. At first I thought it was a heat issue, maybe some capacitors or something getting a bit hot and whistling, so I turned the phone off and the noises stopped instantly.
This is pretty annoying and surely shouldn't be happening
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I'm glad you posted that, mine does it too - and I thought I had a faulty phone.
According to support I'm the first to report such a problem, have you called support about it? - 0800 328 6081.
The more of us that call, the better the chance it's sorted (if it's possible).
I can't live with that noise, it's too loud for me as I have sensitive hearing on interference like that.
So it looks like I'm sending mine back for a refund and go buy a S3
It does sound like poor build quality in suppressing electrical interference to the ear speaker, as you say capacitors or even a processor is leaking noise to that speaker in the same way cell/mobile radio causes to external speakers when brought close to them.

WOW so many problems already with this thing!!! I don't know about this phone right now

rshea said:
I'm glad you posted that, mine does it too - and I thought I had a faulty phone.
According to support I'm the first to report such a problem, have you called support about it? - 0800 328 6081.
The more of us that call, the better the chance it's sorted (if it's possible).
I can't live with that noise, it's too loud for me as I have sensitive hearing on interference like that.
So it looks like I'm sending mine back for a refund and go buy a S3
It does sound like poor build quality in suppressing electrical interference to the ear speaker, as you say capacitors or even a processor is leaking noise to that speaker in the same way cell/mobile radio causes to external speakers when brought close to them.
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I returned it to the store for a refund - they refused to swap it for another as they couldn't hear it . I've ordered another which I should get tomorrow, and if that has the same issue I'm not sure what to do - it doesn't really sound like something that can be fixed through software, does it?
I asked on another forum and one person replied saying that there's was ok, but maybe they're ears just aren't as sensitive as ours.
I remember as a kid, I could hear CRT TVs from a long way off (no sound was coming through the speakers) and nobody else could.

losimagic said:
I returned it to the store for a refund - they refused to swap it for another as they couldn't hear it . I've ordered another which I should get tomorrow, and if that has the same issue I'm not sure what to do - it doesn't really sound like something that can be fixed through software, does it?
I asked on another forum and one person replied saying that there's was ok, but maybe they're ears just aren't as sensitive as ours.
I remember as a kid, I could hear CRT TVs from a long way off (no sound was coming through the speakers) and nobody else could.
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I think you're right, I too always heard a CRT working (I still can when I see one working!)
Maybe we're hearing interference the average user is not going to hear.
If anyone else is reading this and owns a Nexus 4, try calling your voicemail (which I assume would be free for you) - during the call wait for a few seconds and listen carefully, it's more obvious when you're not talking and in a call.
The noise is almost like having a small fly trapped between the phone and your ear at times, it also reminds me of the noise a hard drive makes at times and most of us know what that sounds like.

rshea said:
I think you're right, I too always heard a CRT working (I still can when I see one working!)
Maybe we're hearing interference the average user is not going to hear.
If anyone else is reading this and owns a Nexus 4, try calling your voicemail (which I assume would be free for you) - during the call wait for a few seconds and listen carefully, it's more obvious when you're not talking and in a call.
The noise is almost like having a small fly trapped between the phone and your ear at times, it also reminds me of the noise a hard drive makes at times and most of us know what that sounds like.
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I got it even when I wasn't on a call - a few seconds after powering up the phone and it was there

You guys are nerds
No, I can feel your pain! Hopefully you guys can sort this out and this is in general not a common problem with the N4.

i don't have this issue

It seems to be an issue with the electromagnetic shielding. I get this problem when I am next to my sound system and amplifier. Those things arent shielded. Now in school where theres basically nothing else here my earpiece is completely clean. Not even a hiss.

does it also emit a sound when it is swithced on, but the screen is off? i remember i had sth. like this (high-pitched sound) on my first google nexus s, but it was clearly coming from the screen rather than the earpiece.

Received a replacement today - it's A LOT better. There's still a very feint buzz, but it's barely noticeable.

Hallucinogen775 said:
does it also emit a sound when it is swithced on, but the screen is off? i remember i had sth. like this (high-pitched sound) on my first google nexus s, but it was clearly coming from the screen rather than the earpiece.
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Yes, even did it without a simcard inside. Definitely coming from the earpiece, if I moved my ear down the phone it was quieter/silent.

What about in airplane mode?

jacklebott said:
What about in airplane mode?
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Didn't test the previous one in airplane mode, but just tried this one and it's the same.

Definitely getting the same issue with my N4; screen on or off. Can't imagine this being fixed by firmware, sounds like a bad hardware design.
I'm also once of these people who gets irritated by the sound of DVD Players/VCR/TV etc. But two other people I have shown seem to think its an issue too.

It's good to read a replacement was better, that's made my day.
The problem is certainly a electromagnetic shielding issue with the earpiece, I can stand in a middle of a field and it has that sound you often get from PC or Hi-Fi speakers when you stand close to them.
But with the earpiece you can't move it of course - so clearly a design flaw, and hopefully only on a batch?
That said, it does seem to be an intermittent fault, I've also noticed it doesn't happen within the first 10-30 seconds of a call. I wonder if the phone stops all background processes during the start of a call, but then later kicks in which causes those noises.

losimagic said:
I remember as a kid, I could hear CRT TVs from a long way off (no sound was coming through the speakers) and nobody else could.
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I can hear the high pitched noise from a CRT from, like, 100'. Can a lot of other people really not hear them? Also, deer/dog/insect deterrents that people use in their homes and yard give me an instant headache from the sound. Great. This does not bode well. Oh well, I'll cross that bridge if/when I get to it.

Same here

estallings15 said:
I can hear the high pitched noise from a CRT from, like, 100'. Can a lot of other people really not hear them? Also, deer/dog/insect deterrents that people use in their homes and yard give me an instant headache from the sound. Great. This does not bode well. Oh well, I'll cross that bridge if/when I get to it.
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Exactly that, those who can't hear those audible repellents for pets, or not hear the Apps available which also emit very annoying high pitch sounds - then would not be bothered by the noise we mention here.
I'm certain if I took my N4 into a shop, the typical response from staff would be "we can't hear it"

I have this issue with my phone as well. Screen on or off. Charging or not. Noise is still present.