Database Users

Case to "fix" the low speaker volume issue

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?

Front Speaker Sounds Scratchy

Those of you that have gotten your phone, what's your speaker quality like for the front speaker? I noticed that mine is scratchy for higher pitched sounds like a girl talking, but sounds okay for lower pitched sounds. Does anyone else have the same issue? I might try going to the AT&T store tomorrow and seeing if they have any in stock I can exchange mine for.

Well... supposedly going into the store to pick one up might be a longshot, especially on launch day, if it's to be as popular a phone as it appears it will be. As for the scratchiness of the earpiece.... it could be a defect, or it could just be the volume. Hard to say, really.

Didn't engadget say it was that the speaker were really good?

elementaldragon said:
Well... supposedly going into the store to pick one up might be a longshot, especially on launch day, if it's to be as popular a phone as it appears it will be. As for the scratchiness of the earpiece.... it could be a defect, or it could just be the volume. Hard to say, really.
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Yah, I figured it'd be a long shot. If they don't have one perhaps they can order a new one for me. I tried turning the volume down and that only made a difference if it was 1/4 or lower.

Phone mode audio quality and volume.
Well, my Atrix has decent audio on speaker phone mode, but the audio out on the ear piece is a bit scratchy on the highs if turned up to what most would consider a mid volume level. I have to keep the volume down lower than I would like to avoid the scratch.
The phone mic is also very bass heavy. This phone is a great computer, but as a phone it has audio issues, and is bass heavy on TX and RX audio, regardless of EQ settings.
Currently considering if it should go back, as I need a good sounding phone.
Anyone else underwhelmed with the phone audio clarity?
**FIXED**
EDIT: Under settings, Call settings, "Noise suppression" was defaulted to "normal" Turning this to "off" made a massive improvement in all call audio (in a normal non-noisy environment). Now phone has decent call audio.
Hope this helps someone else... This had me concerned.

I had tried changing the option for Noise Suppression to 'Off', but it didn't make any difference for me. I took the phone into ATT and they replaced it without hassle. The new phone sounds much clearer.

I had the exact same problem with my pre-ordered unit. Went into a AT&T store today, and they were reluctant to replace it. After trying to sell accessories, they opened another one, and it sounded the same, so I left.
I went to a larger store and tried their floor model, which was perfect. The rep mentioned that they just received an e-mail about bad speakers, and replaced it without a problem (except trying to push more accessories).
So if you're picking one up, try the speaker first.

Just wanting to clarify, are those with the scratchy audio problem referring to the "earpiece" speaker or the hands free "speaker phone" speaker?
My speaker phone mode sounds great, only had earpiece issues.
And, does anyone know to which speaker the emailed "bad batch" notice was about?

Earpiece speaker

secretlevel said:
Earpiece speaker
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Thanks for that.

I had the same problem. After reading the response, went back to Radioshack and got my phone replaced. Now it sounds good.

I had the same problem with mine as well. Very bad scratchy/rattle sound at high volumes. Had the phone swapped out and the new one is perfect.
Sound quality isn't quite as good as my Samsung Focus; Motorola seems to make things unnecessarily bassy but its clear and usable.

Loudspeaker Quality

As there is no similar topic specially for Loudspeaker I decided to create one.
I like the speakers of the phone sound good and bassy.
Although I had to replace the speakers (repair),
(cuz it got low by it self (hardware defect))
But I noticed the bottom speaker is thinner and more high frequency specialized in the other side the top speaker for low frequency (bass)
Idk if it is hardware fault or it is designed by Sony,
I want to know your thoughts abt the loudspeakers ?

I don't know about Z3, but in the Z2 the top speaker is more clear than the bottom one. I think it's probably some kind of technology. But in the other side, if you're watching a film in horizontal direction, you can hear that everything is happening on the left side and that's annoying.

if the phone gets wet especially the loudspeaker area the loudspeakers stop making sound and thd sound is emitted from some sort of loudspeakers internal to the phone which appears the be louder from the back of the phone.
i listen music in the shower, so thats how i found out. though it was interesting to share

BrainstormPL said:
I don't know about Z3, but in the Z2 the top speaker is more clear than the bottom one. I think it's probably some kind of technology. But in the other side, if you're watching a film in horizontal direction, you can hear that everything is happening on the left side and that's annoying.
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That's kind of weird, my neighbor have the Z2 and he never had such problem, are you sure it's not hardware fault? If my neighbor find such problems he directly comes to me to ask me what's this etc, but I know he don't have this problem cuz u also use his phone to compare etc, so I guess for you its a hardware fault maybe?
raviboy100 said:
if the phone gets wet especially the loudspeaker area the loudspeakers stop making sound and thd sound is emitted from some sort of loudspeakers internal to the phone which appears the be louder from the back of the phone.
i listen music in the shower, so thats how i found out. though it was interesting to share
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Yeah I also listen to music when I shower and I can confirm that,

oh no dont get me wrong it's not a complaint, im suprised the phone knows when its wet enough to stop the loudspeaker, its a good thing =)

raviboy100 said:
oh no dont get me wrong it's not a complaint, im suprised the phone knows when its wet enough to stop the loudspeaker, its a good thing =)
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Hmm maybe the speakers feel pressure when it gets wet and it shows the volume down / stops the speakers ?

As an audiophile I will say that as a Mobile Loudspeaker it is quite good. Compared to anything else though it is still a low sound quality speaker.
But as a mobile speaker though, it is very good. It is loud, clear and doesn't "break up" that much. It got some bass, but not much.
I think it sounds better with the surround function on. :good:

Its pretty good, but not near the M8. Id say second best of any phone out. I don't get the left/right mismatch many of you have mentioned., I have been through 4 Z3s for cosmetic defects and all sound equal. Maybe its a quality control issue or I have bad ears.

When I go into the service menu and do a test of the speakers, I get the sound coming out of the top/left speaker on both. What's going on there? There is perhaps some sound coming out of the bottom/right but it's tiny in comparison.

A possible fix to low in-call volume

Recently I found my Z3c had a dramatic drop in earpiece volume. I could barely hear the caller's voice when in a quiet surrounding (like office or home), and impossible to follow the talk when outside. This was quite annoying, because it's a phone and making calls is one of its essentials regardless of whatever extra functions added to it. So I did a lot of work trying to bring the volume back. I rooted the phone (eventually), tried some sound mod, and even worked on the mixer_paths.xml directly. None of these gave me any luck. As the problem seemed irrelevant to the software flaw at the stage, I was thinking about possible hardware cause.
The first thing I did was to open the top side flap, which covers the micro SD and USB. Then I made a call to my voicemail and compared the voice I heard from both the flap opening and the top speaker. I could tell immediately that the sound was much louder and clearer from the flap opening, while the sound from the top speaker was distant and isolated. Wait a sec...
From my research on posts, I was told that there is a film lying on the speakers to make the Z3c dust proof. You can see them through the speaker cuts. To allow the sound goes through it, the film has to be perforated. Could those tiny holes be blocked after spending time with dust, water and soap (yes I did wash my Z3c frequently, thanks Sony for the water proof!). A user did mention the volume on both speakers were much gained after removing those films. I don't want to go extreme, but that did give me a hint.
So I used a pair of tweezers, with pointed tips. I slightly scratched them on those films. Immediately the color changed from dark black to lighter gray. I kept scratching them and made the grey evenly, and made another call to the voicemail. Guess what...the earpiece volume was noticeably increased! Then I airbrushed those films and tried again, this time I could not tell the improvement, but the sound was loud enough that I could hear the voice even from a distance. Now the sound coming from the flap opening would also match with that from the top speaker. I would call it a success.
To summarize: what I did was simply cleaning those meshed films on the speakers, by scratching dust off them. These films can be penetrated if you pushed too hard, so please be gentle. And I'm not sure if this trick would work for others, I'm just sharing my experience, with a good wish that this could work for others who are also bothered by the low in-call volume as I was. Still, try those software fix as well, as the cause to the same phenomenon may be different.
Thanks for reading. Let me know your comments/thoughts/tricks and treats (Happy Halloween!)

Thanks for sharing, I have same issue --- did you test its waterproofing if it still works after cleaning the speaker's mesh?

Has anyone issue with the lower speaker? I actually tried to touch it, its very hollow --- are all units like this? Thank you.

Shizuwi said:
Thanks for sharing, I have same issue --- did you test its waterproofing if it still works after cleaning the speaker's mesh?
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Had it showered once, nothing wrong so far.

today-g said:
Had it showered once, nothing wrong so far.
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done, so far great improvement with sound, i can hear the other person on the phone better --- but not sure about my bottom speaker, its very hollow.

This was one of the reasons why I'd sent in my phone. I thought the speaker was broken. Seems they've just cleaned or replaced that mesh because the volume works well on the returned phone.

Thanks for sharing :good::good:

I push chewing gum in to the grills and mic to clean them out.
Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

wow.. it realy works... thanks a lot bro ... !!!

Thx for sharing I'll try it

How does such a thin layer of perforated material manage to block so much sound?

You're my hero!!!!!
I was about to send it back cause of the awfully low earpiece volume. Now that I have cleaned it it's even too loud!
Thanks mate I really appreciated it
Cheers:good:

Great tip bro. Immediate improvement to volume level. However I guess I pushed it further that the sound is now cracking at high volume when the phone rings.
But am still happy that I can hear the other party.
Good job man.

Those of you who are claiming this works, could you please go into your service menu (*#*#service#*#*) from your dialer and run the stereo speaker test? Do both speakers have the same volume output or is one significantly louder than the other?
Sent from the only flagship phone that actually fits in my hand... The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact

So, I'm almost embarrassed to report that I had no issues with my earpiece, but thought I'd give this method of "cleaning" it out a try. I used a piece of chewing gum to remove any dirt from the screen and almost immediately noticed a drastic DECREASE in output from that speaker. Now, calls sound hollow and tinny, and the stereo speaker affect is nearly gone because the top speaker is so much quieter.
I'm afraid that I somehow caused my top speaker to produce less sound by trying this method. I've tried to wipe away any sticky residue caused by the gum, but nothing seems to help. I can't send my phone back to Sony because it's been rooted and they wont honor the warranty. I can't believe that thin piece of speaker grill would actually be able to block sound. What now?

I managed to get higher volume by cleaning the upper speaker with a chewing-gum but my operation removed the thin grey layer. Do you think I've lost waterproof?

zar69 said:
I managed to get higher volume by cleaning the upper speaker with a chewing-gum but my operation removed the thin grey layer. Do you think I've lost waterproof?
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No you haven't. Speaker attached to the lcd panel by a plastic staff so water can't goes inside.. I removed the speaker cover too but i admit without that cover phone looks ugly

2russell said:
No you haven't. Speaker attached to the lcd panel by a plastic staff so water can't goes inside.. I removed the speaker cover too but i admit without that cover phone looks ugly
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OK, thanks.

Has anyone tried replacing both speakers with Z3/Z3 dual/Z3+ ones? I was looking at the pictures of spare parts and it might be possible to put some of those in our Z3c, since the sound on Z3c is really low by default, and the ones on Z3 do sound quite louder.

I had same problem, could barely hear a phone call. I scrapped off the black material protecting the speaker now I can hear through the earpiece. I'm guessing now the phone is not water proof..

Whipped Cream in the Speaker RIP my life

So I got whipped cream in my top speaker of my phone and at fist there was like no audio coming from the speaker at all; but after an hour or so the audio came back to roughly 80% of the original volume, but it sounds slightly distorted (or clipping in high volume levels, when the other speaker doesn't). My biggest concern was that I couldn't hear people talking to me over calls, but after the return of some audio I can hear people pretty well again, I just wanted to know if anyone had some ideas or experience with this??
Thanks in advance!

ArminasAnarion said:
So I got whipped cream in my top speaker of my phone and at fist there was like no audio coming from the speaker at all; but after an hour or so the audio came back to roughly 80% of the original volume, but it sounds slightly distorted (or clipping in high volume levels, when the other speaker doesn't). My biggest concern was that I couldn't hear people talking to me over calls, but after the return of some audio I can hear people pretty well again, I just wanted to know if anyone had some ideas or experience with this??
Thanks in advance!
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I'm not even going to begin to ask.
Turn the phone off:
You might try some alcohol into the grill and gently use compressed air to get it out.
May clean the whipped cream residue.
I'm not even going to ask......