[Q] Terrible hissing / white noise coming out from loudspeaker - Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No one with exynos version can check this for me? :/ Please!

ongbac said:
No one with exynos version can check this for me? :/ Please!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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

Related

The Galaxy S6 is MUCH LOUDER than the S5 (VIDEO)

So happy about this! The Galaxy S5 speaker was not very loud at all even at full volume
http://youtu.be/258qh9CidKA
smooth4lyfe said:
So happy about this! The Galaxy S5 speaker was not very loud at all even at full volume
http://youtu.be/258qh9CidKA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man his reaction was priceless hahahhah. The S6 is such a winner
it's already confirmed by samsung that it will be louder, but unless you're semi-deaf, louder isn't better if it still sounds like a tin-can like all the rest of the galaxy phones.. i have always been perfectly fine with the loudness of all the galaxies i've own, S3,4 and 5, i keep my ears pretty clean, would rather have better lows and mid sound than a phone that sounds like a screeching siren.
also the video is rather dumb as the S5 is laying flat on its speaker, so it's obvious which would be louder in that scenario.
tft said:
it's already confirmed by samsung that it will be louder, but unless you're semi-deaf, louder isn't better if it still sounds like a tin-can like all the rest of the galaxy phones.. i have always been perfectly fine with the loudness of all the galaxies i've own, S3,4 and 5, i keep my ears pretty clean, would rather have better lows and mid sound than a phone that sounds like a screeching siren.
also the video is rather dumb as the S5 is laying flat on its speaker, so it's obvious which would be louder in that scenario.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My S5 speaker was not as loud as the S4 when I had it. Especially when the phone was flat down.
As for the video, they flipped the phone around towards the end
They said they S6 will have better Bass as well, we will see when it comes out
The iPhone 6 speaker is pretty good, hopefully its like that if not better
hopefully one day samsung will learn a thing or two from HTC with dual stereo speakers and put those damn upper and lower bezels to use rather than bloating it with a bunch of useless sensors...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0n8ssUJrfk
tft said:
hopefully one day samsung will learn a thing or two from HTC with dual stereo speakers and put those damn upper and lower bezels to use rather than bloating it with a bunch of useless sensors...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0n8ssUJrfk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Atleast this I can agree on
I don't ever listen to music or movies without headphones, so I am happy with no front speakers taking up space.
I do, however, want a louder speaker for hearing the ringer and notifications in noisy areas.
A louder speakerphone than the S5 would be nice too. Even if tinny.
tft said:
also the video is rather dumb as the S5 is laying flat on its speaker, so it's obvious which would be louder in that scenario.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the end, they turn the s5 around so the speaker is facing up. They comment how that does not really make any difference to the volume level.
And I tried that with my girlfriends s5, as long as it is laying on a hard surface, there is little to no difference in volume level regardless of the speaker facing up or down.
smooth4lyfe said:
My S5 speaker was not as loud as the S4 when I had it. Especially when the phone was flat down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Waterproofing tends to do that.
lopri said:
Waterproofing tends to do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not true. the Z3 is pretty damn loud, sounds great (almost comparable to HTC boom sound) and it's water resistant. again, it just all boils down to samsung using cheap speakers (at least in past devices) can't speak for the S6 yet as i haven't heard it in person.
tft said:
not true. the Z3 is pretty damn loud, sounds great (almost comparable to HTC boom sound) and it's water resistant. again, it just all boils down to samsung using cheap speakers (at least in past devices) can't speak for the S6 yet as i haven't heard it in person.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol not even close.. Mr fanboy.
Tron666 said:
Lol not even close.. Mr fanboy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for the record i own NEITHER phones., but heard them both in person.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmy-lZjlz6M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwgYJh2zGVs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2Z_vp9NMB0
and if that isn't enough there are plenty more comparisons you can use the internet to find them..
tft said:
for the record i own NEITHER phones., but heard them both in person.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmy-lZjlz6M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwgYJh2zGVs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2Z_vp9NMB0
and if that isn't enough there are plenty more comparisons you can use the internet to find them..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did listen to the first two (didn't bother with the third but if you say there is a convincing proof in that clip I will watch it) and the HTC speakers sound fuller and more dynamic, and does not help proving your thesis?
I do have a Z Ultra and waterproofing does have negative impact on speaker quality. I think 3.5mm headphone jack volume suffers slightly, too.
tbh Speaker quality is not at the top of my list in selecting a smartphone, which is why I do not care about Z Ultra's speaker sound. But I do agree that there are situational benefit and that can vary significantly per individual usage pattern.
I know someone who has Z and, when I listened I thought the same, waterproofing has a bad impact on the quality
This sounds reasonable when I imagine that they need to prevent the inside from water and it means to give more limitation on the speaker.
David_freestyle said:
I know someone who has Z and, when I listened I thought the same, waterproofing has a bad impact on the quality
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
David_freestyle said:
I know someone who has Z and, when I listened I thought the same, waterproofing has a bad impact on the quality
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
could be dirty ears. funny because if you go in the Z3 forum you'd hardly find anyone complaining about sound.
regardless, the Z3 sounds better than any past samsung phone. any type of effect waterproofing has on sound is minor unless you're some anal audiophile.
Yes, I suppose it'll be fixed with time
I hope the S6 will be loud enough with BT earphones too, the good thing with my M8 is the loud volume output with earphones and BT earphones, I use the HTC stereoclip BT to 3.5mm adapter in my car too, so it's very important for me.
I am pretty much convinced to switch to S6 Edge instead of M9 for the camera and now the sound looks loud enough too :fingers-crossed:
vegetaleb said:
I hope the S6 will be loud enough with BT earphones too, the good thing with my M8 is the loud volume output with earphones and BT earphones, I use the HTC stereoclip BT to 3.5mm adapter in my car too, so it's very important for me.
I am pretty much convinced to switch to S6 Edge instead of M9 for the camera and now the sound looks loud enough too :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In one of the Samsung Official hands on videos, they show the S6 playing music and a message about an "enhanced amplifier" is also shown. They could have possibly solved the low volume output through the use of this new amplifier and since the S6 should be using a Wolfram DAC, audio output should turn out to be pretty good.
http://youtu.be/LgeU-GjHMOk
Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk

Strange earpiece sound issue

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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Speaker quality?

Hi I previously had a Galaxy Note 3 and went to this now I am trying to get used to the speakers. Is it normal for it to have a slightly..monoish sound like am radio compared to the note 3?they both have one speaker so idk why
Maybe it's due to the waterproofing ?
It's the waterproofing. Still, its slightly better than the Note 7 speaker.
Well, I would expect mono sound from a mono sound system. And it's a phone speaker, I never understood when reviewers complained they the phone speaker didn't sound great, what exactly they expected to hear. If you can have a phone conversation through it, it's doing its job

Anyone else think earpiece is too quiet?

Maybe my nexus 6 was just that good but it feels like the v20's earpiece speaker isnt very clear or loud....I can live with lower quality but the sound level is kind of low (hard to hear people in noisy places)
bob2300nx said:
Maybe my nexus 6 was just that good but it feels like the v20's earpiece speaker isnt very clear or loud....I can live with lower quality but the sound level is kind of low (hard to hear people in noisy places)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah its low (with my over the ear cans), went all in on a descent amp that can usb of my pc and/or directly off my phone. Like my cans to rattle sometimes. With my IEMs though it gets loud after 50-60. Id make sure you have enabled Hi-Fi sound on the phone first and found this app to be very useful in adding some punch and volume to my tracks. ----> Equalizer (by Smart Android Apps)
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
JkdJedi said:
Yeah its low (with my over the ear cans), went all in on a descent amp that can usb of my pc and/or directly off my phone. Like my cans to rattle sometimes. With my IEMs though it gets loud after 50-60. Id make sure you have enabled Hi-Fi sound on the phone first and found this app to be very useful in adding some punch and volume to my tracks. ----> Equalizer (by Smart Android Apps)
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im talking about in call volume through the speaker that you hold up to your ear.
bob2300nx said:
Im talking about in call volume through the speaker that you hold up to your ear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol!! Oh. No not at all, that's way better than the last phone I had the lgg3.
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
Check your phone call settings. There may be an option in there that was enabled by accident.
And/or tell your correspondence to speak up. Lol.
yeah idk, my s7 sounded like crap for phone calls. could never understand the person on the other line. but my V20 sounds amazing. clear, loud etc. kills the s7
Sent from my LG-US996 using Tapatalk
I'm experiencing the same. Extremely clear, no issues whatsoever.
Speaking of the Nexus 6. That phone was hands down the best Android phone ever made. If they re-released it with a fingerprint sensor, I would buy it again. Best speakers and sound of any phone. It could have used a better camera, but other than that, 9 out of 10.
As for the speaker sound in the V20. I think it could be a a bit louder. Clarity isn't an issue for me. But it's def not very loud.
On the T-Mobile variant this thing is loud and clear. If I turn it all the way up I can hold it away from my ear in front of me and still hear the other person clear enough to understand them. definitely no issues so far involving that
Lgv20user said:
Check your phone call settings. There may be an option in there that was enabled by accident.
And/or tell your correspondence to speak up. Lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What settings are you talking about?
And people calling me didnt magically decide to speak quietly just because I bought a new phone.
Mikekelso421 said:
Speaking of the Nexus 6. That phone was hands down the best Android phone ever made. If they re-released it with a fingerprint sensor, I would buy it again. Best speakers and sound of any phone. It could have used a better camera, but other than that, 9 out of 10.
As for the speaker sound in the V20. I think it could be a a bit louder. Clarity isn't an issue for me. But it's def not very loud.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes loudness is the issue. Its too quiet if you are anywhere with noise like the grocery store.
Nexus 6 was a good phone but had issues (guess all phones do). The camera was pretty bad and buggy at times. Speakers were great but if you had lower battery they would automatically decrease the volume like 50% (even at max volume) that was insanely annoying. And lastly it throttled speed pretty badly when battery got low. Oh and it was pretty big, alittle smaller screen with the v20 but much smaller in the hand.
bob2300nx said:
What settings are you talking about?
And people calling me didnt magically decide to speak quietly just because I bought a new phone.
Yes loudness is the issue. Its too quiet if you are anywhere with noise like the grocery store.
Nexus 6 was a good phone but had issues (guess all phones do). The camera was pretty bad and buggy at times. Speakers were great but if you had lower battery they would automatically decrease the volume like 50% (even at max volume) that was insanely annoying. And lastly it throttled speed pretty badly when battery got low. Oh and it was pretty big, alittle smaller screen with the v20 but much smaller in the hand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pull up your phone app. Make sure it's on the dial menu and hit the 3 vertical dots in the upper right hand corner. Go to call settings. The last option should be one that reads "more" . Peruse that and see what may help. Good luck.
bob2300nx said:
What settings are you talking about?
And people calling me didnt magically decide to speak quietly just because I bought a new phone.
Yes loudness is the issue. Its too quiet if you are anywhere with noise like the grocery store.
Nexus 6 was a good phone but had issues (guess all phones do). The camera was pretty bad and buggy at times. Speakers were great but if you had lower battery they would automatically decrease the volume like 50% (even at max volume) that was insanely annoying. And lastly it throttled speed pretty badly when battery got low. Oh and it was pretty big, alittle smaller screen with the v20 but much smaller in the hand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only thing I can think of would be to try turning on hearing aid compatibility or maybe messing with the call clarity and noise suppression options and see if that affects anything for ya.
I have both voice clarity and noise suppression turned on and have no problems with low volume at all. I remember reading somewhere on a different phone e that the hearing aid option made it noticeably louder on that specific phone so you could try that and see if it works for this phone.
bob2300nx said:
Maybe my nexus 6 was just that good but it feels like the v20's earpiece speaker isnt very clear or loud....I can live with lower quality but the sound level is kind of low (hard to hear people in noisy places)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Am finding the same too, this time i have the voice clarity option enabled, lets see if it makes a difference. I find it soft in a quiet room, no idea how this will work out on the street. Might be forced to get a headset in that case.
Which would be a pity becaue this phone is all about audio. My speakers are perfectly fine. Why does the earpiece have to be so quiet

Generic problem with the loudspeaker?

Hello, I have come to tell you one thing to see if it happens to any of you, I am very disappointed.
The cell phone is NEW has 2 days.
The loudspeaker to have the volume at the top is sometimes heard as saturated speaker, as if you almost cover, that vibration ... for example with the Skyline tone, it is like you do not finish listening to clean, bring the phone to the ear about 20 cm and put it to the top to see if the same thing happens to you, it's like it does not end up being clean and you hear a slight vibration ...
Now comes the curious .... I have tried 1 galaxy 8 from a friend does the same, 2 note 8 and 2 galaxy 8 from different stores and also do the same ... And for example in a S7 of a friend the same tone sounds totally clean, without that slight saturation or vibration or I do not know how to define it, it is similar to as if you covered the speaker and it is felt as a vibration ...
I do not know if it will be for the protection of the water that is like a mayita and half it covers and it sounds like that or that the 6 devices that I have tried were defective ...
Hey. Yeah, the sound is muddy, like it's coming from the sewers ? I was really dissapointed too, and I wonder why this wasn't mentioned in ANY review. Oh okay, I know why - money. Or people are just deff ? S7 had great speakers. LGV10, my previous phone, had this warm, clean sound too.
S8 speakers are the weakest part of the phone. I'm happy though that earphones sounds great!
jonny908 said:
Hey. Yeah, the sound is muddy, like it's coming from the sewers I was really dissapointed too, and I wonder why this wasn't mentioned in ANY review. Oh okay, I know why - money. Or people are just deff S7 had great speakers. LGV10, my previous phone, had this warm, clean sound too.
S8 speakers are the weakest part of the phone. I'm happy though that earphones sounds great!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the sound also have a slight vibration as if the loudspeaker were blocked?
With the melody Sparkle it shows a lot in the first second...
It's the waterproofing. No way around that, really...
se1988 said:
It's the waterproofing. No way around that, really...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And because a galaxy s7 does not do it if it is also water resistant?
Is a vibration heard as if you were covering the speaker ... is it because the protection grid and the power of the speaker make that vibration?
I'm so happy though that earphones sounds I think this great sound, but may be S8 has low quality speaker but for me great.

Categories

Resources