Database Users

Very Strange Audio Output problem on the 2.5mm Jack

Hi,
I've noticed an audio output distortion of some frequencies when listening to music, in the sound coming out of the 2.5mm jack.
When the speakers on the device is used, there is no problem.
When I plug the headphone, there is sound output, I hear the music, but some frequencies are lowered so much that I can't hear the singers voice. When I unplug, the speakers work fine and I can hear the singer again.
In additon that, most of the background instruments can be heard as well as the backvocals, if they are female.
It's like the sound is being processed (like an equalizer) when I plug the headphone, some frequencies are lowered, given some echo, reverb etc.
I don't understand how this is possible. I am thinking of a hardware contact problem, but it's hard to believe if this is a hw problem.
I've tried two firmwares (2.16.x, 2.25.11.1) and made hard reset also. No result.
Any ideas?
Note: I can try to actually record the sound tonight if anyone wants to hear.
Best regards,
Fast

maybe try a different headset first?....could be a short in the cable, because what you are describing is a phasing issue with the headset speakers......

Thanks for the response Kiru,
Just tried a different headset plugging it into my HAMA 2.5 --> 3.5 adapter. same result.
I will try the original headphone came with the Wizard. If the source of the problem is the HAMA adaptor, this should resolve it. (i hope it is)
Could you please elaborate on the "phasing issue" ?

fastguy said:
Could you please elaborate on the "phasing issue" ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm....how can I explain.....Let's start with the speaker itself. A speaker has two terminals on it, one postive and one negative. What we want is to have the positve from the source (ie. Amplifier) to the positive terminal of the speaker, and the same for the negative. Since there is a pair of speakers, we want them to be hooked-up correctly. If hook-up correctly then the speakers are in phase with each other, and this is called constructive interference, hence in phase. When ONLY ONE of the speakers is hooked-up backwards, we call this destructive interference, hence being out of phase. Being out of phase causes frequencies to cancel or sound muffled. Hope you kind of get what I mean, but I highly doubt that this is the problem with headphones because heaphones nowadays rarely get manufactured with this problem. This is just the electrical part of phasing. Also, you can have one speaker, and it could sound out of phase because of the distance it is firing from walls or the shape of the room due to the reflections of sound, this is called acustical phasing.
A short in the cable, meaning the positve and negative wire are somewhat touching, can cause a similar effect, and I suspect that this is problem for you. As you now state that you are using an 2.5 to 3.5 adaptor, I would agree with you that most likey you have a faulty adaptor.
Hope this helps! and keep me posted!

Hi again,
Thanks again for the explanation Kiru, I know a bit of electronics so I got the problem.
However, I'm now home and tried to original headset, no result. The same problem is existing.
This makes me believe that I've broken something inside the Wizard which shortcircuits something. I'm very dissapointed.
Maybe the only way is now to buy a stereo bluetooth headset...
Thanks for your help

Any reason that you can't return to orange for repair/replacement?

PROBLEM SOLVED
I got this unit from priceminister second hand. It's origin is not France, I don't have a purchase receipt neither.
By the way, I solved the problem. I disassambled the unit using the info given in one of the posts in the forum. I played a little with the contacts, there was oxidation in the outer solders, i cleared them up etc, it 's working at the moment.
I'll post some pictures afterwards.
and I hope i will be able to reassamble it, I already have a piece of thing which I don't know where to put

I got the same problem. Was working fine for 2 months then all of a sudden the headphone plug is all messed up. Volume is all distorted I can sometimes hear a song but quality is no where near the original. Usually everything sounds echoed. I think something is wrong with the plug

I've had the same problem. The headphone jack on the Wizard is crap. If you have your Wizard in your pocket with an adapter, as you move, the adapter pries back and forth on the jack. This breaks the cheap jack.
If you want to listen to your Wizard as an music player, you should invest in a nice set of bluetooth headphones and only plug the jack in when the wizard won't be moved around a lot, like a home or car stereo.
I recommend Nextlink Spider headphones. They double as a headset and you can navigate through your library with the button on them.

MUSIC Speed
I got the same problem here. The SE stereo btooth headset isnt yet in our place.
Anyway, i experienced this one with ROM2.16 Imate. The sound speed or music speed seems to being played faster than normal. But when i tried to plug the 2.3-3.5 adopter and quickly pull it out, the sound is played in normal speed then. strange.....

are you all sure that the wizard has a stereo output ? I thought it was mono.
Anyway you can get earpieces and headphones with a 2.5mm jack so you don't need a 2.5-3.5mm adapter.
Maybe the contacts on your jack are not connecting properly with the internal contacts of your adaptor

[Q] Headphone/Speaker

Does anyone else have this issue where sometimes when you plug in headphones the sound still comes through the speaker? I have the headphones plugged all the way in. I usually have to restart the phone to get it to work properly.
[Edit]: When this happens the sound comes out from the speaker as well as through the headphones.

Mine is more of when I bump the headphone jack it either plays through the speaker or pauses the song. It seems very sensitive

My first Vibrant had a faulty headphone jack, that would short out with even the slightest touch. You guys might be in the same boat.
Overall, yes, I would agree that the headphone jack is 'cheap'. It seems as if it could be easily broken, and having one arrive DOA is not a great sign.
If you're still able to, I'd take your phones in for a swap. You're not going crazy.

Same issue here. It's especially an issue when you're sitting in your quite cube at work about to watch The Bed Intruder video on YouTube and it comes blaring out of the speaker when you thought is was going to come out of your headphones.
I think the third connection point for the video causes the problem since the device has 3 contacts instead of just left and right audio like most devices.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

[Q] Playback through Car aux connection

I play audio podcasts through car's aux in and just plug in the other end to my Focus's headphone jack. I have noticed that many times the podcast suddenly lowers volume to nearly inaudible levels and happens intermittently.
Once the problem shows up if I
- play songs, the volume level is fine
- stop and start playback of podcast, the problem persists.
- unplug and continue playback on Focus' speaker, the volume level is just fine
- unplug and plug it back in and the problem goes away.
- never have this problem when playing back over headphones (when in gym)
I have this problem only with Podcasts and don't get it at all with songs or videos.
Anyone else noticed this?

Audio output sucks on this phone, that is for sure. Major issues. Sorry to hear about yours.

Thresher said:
Audio output sucks on this phone, that is for sure. Major issues. Sorry to hear about yours.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how so? i'm not having any problems at all.

Did any of you notice it's not your standard 35mm jack? The headphones that come with the phone are clearly deeper than the standard jack, and have two bands around it instead of the normal one.
I presume you are using standard cable to connect to car's aux jack....
I would check to see if there is a special samsung accessory to make the proprietary jack into a standard aux output?
Samsung are notorious for using this style of jack on their phones. The Galaxy line of android phones use the same jack.

dead_on_the_floor said:
Did any of you notice it's not your standard 35mm jack? The headphones that come with the phone are clearly deeper than the standard jack, and have two bands around it instead of the normal one.
I presume you are using standard cable to connect to car's aux jack....
I would check to see if there is a special samsung accessory to make the proprietary jack into a standard aux output?
Samsung are notorious for using this style of jack on their phones. The Galaxy line of android phones use the same jack.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is weird. i hook mine up to my car with the same jack i used for my iphone with no problems. in fact i am under the assumption the sound quality is actually better than with the iphone.
maybe this is a canada thing?

The plug is set up to use headsets with the microphone, and may not work well with some older stereo audio cables. However, I have used it with a podcast and found it to work quite well. I suggest trying another cable, cuz the Focus works fine.

The line level output of the 3.5mm jack is approx. 40% less than that of the iphone, or my HTC Tilt2. That is the issue I have and that others have commented on.
For instance, iphone plugged in playing on my car stereo, Panteras Cemetary Gates @ 320kbps MP3 is mind boggling loud at 50% volume on the car and 100% volume on the iphone. With the Focus the car stereo volume needs to be at 90% to be equal to the volume of the iphone.
Also, since the Focus needs to be at 100% and the car stereo nearly 100% you hear the phones whining, hissing and popping and every non-music portion.
Super lame.

There's some volume problems that I've noticed on the Focus, in that it's not consistent through playback sessions and such.
The iPhone 4 uses a Cirrus Logic codec with an integrated headphone amplifier, the Focus seems to use the built-in codec with it's headphone amplifier, which might not have the same amount of oomph.
I've measured a 7-8dB lower volume on the Focus when using a line-out cable to an Audio Precision test machine.

Thanks for reporting that! Great post.

Does anyone have this problem?
Ok, I have a mp3 car adaptor that I used with my Tilt and Tilt2 without any problems. Rich sound and bass. I plugged in my Focus (just got it last night) and music only comes out one speaker.

In my '95 M3, I run an Alpine HU (9814 IIRC) with a Line in Adaptor, I run very HD (thick) gold plated lines and a Splitter (all from Monoprice.com, one goes to my portable Sirius, other pops up by my center console sunglass cubby, split happens under the passeger seat) and I usually have my 120Gb Zune attached to it, but I tried with the Phone the other day and it worked great. Played a Tool concert and it sounded as good as the Zune. Like the Zune I set the volume to about 80%, still had plenty of head room for serious volume in the Alpine. (only way to listen to Tool is LOUD!) I do run an old school Pioneer Amp, Pioneer Kevlar Components, 2 JL Audio Stealth Boxes (each is an 8" Sub).

I want to escalate this issue but I need you guys to quickly reply on the MS forums so that it gets taken seriously. Please hit the "I need an answer too" button and give some sort of descriptive reply.
http://social.answers.microsoft.com...7/thread/9c92dad9-5e12-465d-a0fb-b9465179b436
I hope that his is a software side optimization since we are able to make the volume higher with the diagnostic codes.

I added my vote there.

Raptor550 said:
I have a second complaint. When I stick a headphone jack in the mic turns off, it probably is expecting an inline mic with the headphones. My problem is when I then go to pull out my headphones the phone doesn't notice and will continue to not hear. It takes two or three times reinserting and pulling out the headphones to remidy this. Is anyone else haveing this issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same problem here. But is worst, I connect the Focus to my Car Auxiliary jack to use it as a mega speaker, I mean, when someone calls I can hear them, but they can not hear me. The microphone is dead when I plug it in. Someone knows a fix for this?

jaraya13 said:
Same problem here. But is worst, I connect the Focus to my Car Auxiliary jack to use it as a mega speaker, I mean, when someone calls I can hear them, but they can not hear me. The microphone is dead when I plug it in. Someone knows a fix for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't say that I have a fix for it, but it may be the connection your cable is making with the jack in the phone. I do the same thing, have the phone mounted in a jack around the same height as my head unit and people hear me fine when I speak during a call. I am currently using a cable from radioshack designed for recessed headphone jacks. Can't think of the brand off the top of my head however.

rswilson411 said:
Can't say that I have a fix for it, but it may be the connection your cable is making with the jack in the phone. I do the same thing, have the phone mounted in a jack around the same height as my head unit and people hear me fine when I speak during a call. I am currently using a cable from radioshack designed for recessed headphone jacks. Can't think of the brand off the top of my head however.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi pal, thanks for the reply, but I couldn't understand very well your explanation. What is a recessed headphone jack? What is the head unit?
Thanks in advance!

I have not noticed this problem however the microphone shutting off is very annoying and funny since at&t says texting while driving is unsafe yet i have to unplug my phone while driving to turn on speaker and talk. they need to fix that ASAP

[Q] Galaxy Note 3 Headphones Issue

I used some really old iPhone headphones on my Note 3 the first day I had it, last week. I haven't had an iPhone since 2010, so I am talking super old and beaten to death. They worked fine.
I only mention this because I've read that some older headsets are not compatible with the S4 and Note 3.
Then I paired them with a pair of ARCTIC P253BT Bluetooth Stereo Headphones. The pairing worked, in theory. The phone and headphones seemed to think they were connected.
But all I got for audio was beeps from the headphones when it connected and the phone would play at the normal, holding-to-ear volume -- even when I clicked the button for headphones and jacked up the volume in Bluetooth Settings. This did not shock me because they are cheap headphones.
Later, I tried to use the Aux jack in my car -- no dice. Phone just acted like it didn't have headphones in.
Tried the old iPhone headphones again, phone acted like it did not have headphones in. I figured I at least had those.
Restarted -- same issue.
I realize this is a very low-level question for this forum. I have yet to ROM the phone and will probably wait until TouchWiz finally beats me down.
Part of the problem is that I had been rolling with a Nexus 4 on CM 10.2, I've been running CM for a year over multiple devices and I've never had a Samsung device.
So I just feel like I don't know how to solve anything. I realize asking for TouchWiz advice is like Yankees ownership asking Red Sox fans for advice, but I am taking a shot.
Any thoughts?

Sounds like you have a bad headphone jack or something wrong with the port connector in the motherboard. I would submit a warranty claim and get a new one.
Btw I've used Bluetooth headphones and the aux port in my car it works perfect.
sent from my ROOT powerd Note3

metalsnakebite said:
Sounds like you have a bad headphone jack or something wrong with the port connector in the motherboard. I would submit a warranty claim and get a new one.
Btw I've used Bluetooth headphones and the aux port in my car it works perfect.
sent from my ROOT powerd Note3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, seriously? I did not expect it to be that extreme. Whatever went wrong happened some time after I initially used the first set of ear buds.
So maybe I did it? I have been treating the thing like gold, though.

You say that it does nothing when you plug in a headphone right? Like there is nothing connected?
sent from my ROOT powerd Note3

Similar issue solved after powering phone off/on
metalsnakebite said:
You say that it does nothing when you plug in a headphone right? Like there is nothing connected?
sent from my ROOT powerd Note3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been having the same issue and it seems to correct itself if power my phone off/on, but I'm not happy about the headphone jack being so unreliable on a brand new phone. I've plugged in headphones and an aux out headphone cord and experienced this problem. When the issue arises, the phone will pause for a second as if it's going to send audio to the headphones or aux out device, the unit states "headphones connected" in the notification tray, and then within a second of doing so the audio continues to come from the Note 3 speakers instead of the headphones or external speakers.

metalsnakebite said:
You say that it does nothing when you plug in a headphone right? Like there is nothing connected?
sent from my ROOT powerd Note3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It works for one second then either gets really dim or starts playing at the normal call volume (not speaker volume). I took it to the store today and They had no idea. They thought they were very clever when they first got it and I told them all the setting they were planning to try had already been confirmed. They went through the motions. No dice.
They think it is a hardware issue.

If it is a hardware and that is what it sounds like then, you can submit a manufacturer warranty claim with Verizon Wireless.
sent from my ROOT powerd Note3

metalsnakebite said:
If it is a hardware and that is what it sounds like then, you can submit a manufacturer warranty claim with Verizon Wireless.
sent from my ROOT powerd Note3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did that and got a new one. Same issue. Insane. Must be something in my settings.

Solution
bmcs9119 said:
I did that and got a new one. Same issue. Insane. Must be something in my settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My solution to this behavior (YMMV, but I had the exact same behavior)
The issue ended up being the case. It was generating enough of a standoff that the AUX cable wasn't making complete connection. I think the Note is configured to only recognize a headphone output if both channels are making connection (which is slightly atypical behavior).
TL;DR: If you're having a similar problem, try taking off your case.

Car aux input does not work
GirlMeetsGym said:
I've been having the same issue and it seems to correct itself if power my phone off/on, but I'm not happy about the headphone jack being so unreliable on a brand new phone. I've plugged in headphones and an aux out headphone cord and experienced this problem. When the issue arises, the phone will pause for a second as if it's going to send audio to the headphones or aux out device, the unit states "headphones connected" in the notification tray, and then within a second of doing so the audio continues to come from the Note 3 speakers instead of the headphones or external speakers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to add my voice to the chorus. Almost identical problem. Works perfectly on all other devices but not 2007 Saab aux. Worked with former Note 2. I tried 3 different cables. Plays fine for a little while then audio directed to phone speaker when notification sounds. I have no case. Pretty sure it's not cabling. Heard it was low impedance headphones. My carrier has not heard of this. I belive it's a compatibility issue with the aux port. Trying bluetooth alternative. I dislike the Hassel but at a loss for now. Maybe Kitkat?

I am having the same issue on a phone that is less than a week old. Headphones work, then later they don't. It shows them connected, briefly sends audio to earphone, then to phone speaker. Reboot fixes it.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

Had the same issue im sure this was tried but make sure your headphones or anything else is plugged in all the way the connection on these things is shotty at best anything you use must be all the way in or it wont work

jolly_roger_hook said:
Had the same issue im sure this was tried but make sure your headphones or anything else is plugged in all the way the connection on these things is shotty at best anything you use must be all the way in or it wont work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think this is a hardware issue as the behaviour doesn't really make sense. I suspect it has to do with the service that detects whether headphones are connected or not.
I have this issue from time to time with multiple pairs of headphones.
A restart usually fixes it, but not straight away. I usually have to wait a minute or two after the gui is loaded before the headphones will be detected again.

[S/W Bug or H/W Bug] Headphone jack - Earphones issue.

Moto X Style - XT1572 - India
Since last week whenever I'm plugging in earphones/headphones, the phone starts acting as though the earphones are plugged out - plugged in in a loop, like for one second it acts as though its plugged in and at the other plugged out. I tried cleaning the headphone jack with school level painting brush, tried catching if there's anything inside using toothpick and so. But that didnt solve the issue.
Next, 2 days ago, I plugged in the headphones again to check and the issue was still there. However, when I long pressed the button on the headphone, the headset icon in the status bar changed from headset with mic to headset without mic. I tried using Google Assistant by speaking to the headphone mic and it does work even when the icon is that of headset only. This solves the issue for the time until I remove the headphones again and plug them back in manually. So right now, that's the workaround which has helped me to solve this. But the button on the headphone doesnt work when I try to change tracks using it. Seems like it goes inactive after doing its work.
I'm confused if this is anything related to software or this is a hardware problem with the headphone jack. If I remember, this started happening after I updated to the August security patch. Any help regarding the same would be appreciated.
Representative Image
Edit: The headset icon with mic is now shown even when the headphones are not plugged in. This has happened earlier in mid July for 4-5 days but got solved on its own. The phone pretends as though headphones are been plugged in and thus disables media output via the speakers.

EDIT 1: Visited a service center located at Ghatkopar, Mumbai. They said it will cost minimum 3500Rs; that too without a guarantee of working n if it doesn't, I'll have to change the motherboard which will cost 15000Rs.

Did you try another headset? Sounds like the cable for the headset is shorting out or going open.

acejavelin said:
Did you try another headset? Sounds like the cable for the headset is shorting out or going open.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I did try multi headsets. Right now the phone feels headset is being plugged in when they are not and carries out all media output accordingly. When I plug headphones with a button/mic+button, immediately, the phone opens the google assistant pop. It feels I long pressed the button on the headphones asking to open google assistant.

AsquareX said:
Yes I did try multi headsets. Right now the phone feels headset is being plugged in when they are not and carries out all media output accordingly. When I plug headphones with a button/mic+button, immediately, the phone opens the google assistant pop. It feels I long pressed the button on the headphones asking to open google assistant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gotcha... So the headphone jack in the phone needs to be replaced. Definitely a job for a service center.

acejavelin said:
Gotcha... So the headphone jack in the phone needs to be replaced. Definitely a job for a service center.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. And service center asked $54 to fix it. They are not sure if that will fix the issue or not.

Fix it yourself, it's not hard to disassemble this device. I replaced my battery without issues. The headphone jack is not soldered to the mainboard. Check eBay for spares.

I started having this issue recently. Looks like Headphone jack inside the phone is not working like it should. Same headset works fine on other phones and laptop, but when plugged into this x, it sounds like it is loosely connected.
anyone in NA experience this issue?

ipulaski said:
I started having this issue recently. Looks like Headphone jack inside the phone is not working like it should. Same headset works fine on other phones and laptop, but when plugged into this x, it sounds like it is loosely connected.
anyone in NA experience this issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found out that my problem is (I'm still facing it) related to the IC on motherboard and not related to the headphone jack basically. I will update the main post accordingly.

AsquareX said:
I found out that my problem is (I'm still facing it) related to the IC on motherboard and not related to the headphone jack basically. I will update the main post accordingly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Turns out this is from lint.
I fixed my issue by cleaning out the lint that got accumulated in the headphone jack. Use the tiniest drill bit and spin it gently in the direction of drill bit curves/groves, might take few tries, but this fixed it perfectly.

ipulaski said:
Turns out this is from lint.
I fixed my issue by cleaning out the lint that got accumulated in the headphone jack. Use the tiniest drill bit and spin it gently in the direction of drill bit curves/groves, might take few tries, but this fixed it perfectly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used my phone without headphone jack - physically removed from the phone for a week but still faced the issue.

I changed the jack on my moto x pure. I bought a new jack on ebay and installed it.. I STILL had the very same problem!! Just on loop connecting and disconnecting... Maybe a motherboard failure.. I will check later... but I'm just regreting the 20 bucks spent on the new jack plus shipping :'(