has anyone taken apart their ion to fix the mic problem? i've found like 2 threads where they took apart the phone but no real guide of how to do so. like one thread shows how to take off the back plate and the other thread shows what to look for to fix the mic problem. the pictures helped alot for me to take off the back plate but being told to just keep tearing down to get to the mic is a really vague description.
please help. im tired of always scrambling to find my headset to talk or using speaker phone that barely picks up my voice when yelling at the bottom mic.
marine417 said:
has anyone taken apart their ion to fix the mic problem? i've found like 2 threads where they took apart the phone but no real guide of how to do so. like one thread shows how to take off the back plate and the other thread shows what to look for to fix the mic problem. the pictures helped alot for me to take off the back plate but being told to just keep tearing down to get to the mic is a really vague description.
please help. im tired of always scrambling to find my headset to talk or using speaker phone that barely picks up my voice when yelling at the bottom mic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you remember what did you do before the mic is broken?
You can reference one of my experience:
My mic was broken because of the AC!D Sound Mod not compatible with other mods. Try to reflash the original firmware or do a restore via cwm.
NoobTW said:
Do you remember what did you do before the mic is broken?
You can reference one of my experience:
My mic was broken because of the AC!D Sound Mod not compatible with other mods. Try to reflash the original firmware or do a restore via cwm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i didn't notice it until i stopped using my headset. thinking back on it, i do remember my phone being hotter than usual because i've been playing music all the time since i got the smart wired headset. then my wife called me and she couldn't hear me, my wife's iphone 4 has the tendency of not picking up the other caller but fixed by recalling. she recalled twice and she barely could hear me but by this time i was literally yelling in the car at the phone using the speakerphone.
i got home and put on the headset and she could hear me perfectly. i thought that was weird and next day was had a demonstration in class which i recorded but when i played it back, the volume was so slow that i had to turn up the volume level to max just to barely hear it. so i ran into the service menu, *#*#7378423#*#*, and tested the microphones. the primary mic received and played back at like 10% volume while the secondary mic received and played back at 100% volume.
my phone is completely stock. i haven't come across a need to root unlike other android phones i've had.
There is a thread, somewhere buried in the forum merge, that showed someone fixing the gasket around the mic assembly. Apparently it can slip off and cover the sound hole. I'd search for this. I do remember it required breaking down the phone a little bit to get to the mic.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=32843854
Also please post questions in the question section
Sent from my LT28at using xda app-developers app
Contact Sony and send in for repair. Pretend you don't know anything and don't know what happen I screw up mine and sent it in for repair. Sony was very easy to deal with...(I bought mine on Craigslist not from Sony or AT&T)
*grumble*
Why do you want to take it apart when it's still under warranty? Just send it in to Sony. I know it can be an inconvenience but it's not worth the risk of ripping a ribbon cable and making your phone useless. You should only disassemble the phone if it's not under warranty...
Here is a video of the dis-assembly if you need it. Proceed at your own risk.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFR6vhUEZyc
johnbyebye said:
*grumble*
Why do you want to take it apart when it's still under warranty? Just send it in to Sony. I know it can be an inconvenience but it's not worth the risk of ripping a ribbon cable and making your phone useless. You should only disassemble the phone if it's not under warranty...
Here is a video of the dis-assembly if you need it. Proceed at your own risk.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFR6vhUEZyc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah its still under warranty but i don't have a back up phone. so if i send it in, i won't have a phone for a minimum of 3 weeks. i almost died the with my first ion when the battery took a dump and did the wait to drain then charge for 2 days and troubleshoot both online and in store for another 3 days. they said i would have to send it in for repairs but i was lucky because i was still within the in store return/exchange policy so they just gave me a new phone. this one lasted probably 2 months before this microphone issue came up and none of my local cell phone repair stores service the ion and they charge like $60 just to find out what is wrong with it without a guarantee they can fix the problem because they don't have the parts for a repair.
so its either, go to a local store and pay $60 for something they can't fix or pay shipping to send it in to sony for repair which could take up to a month without a phone or pay nothing and did it myself when all i have to do is probably remove that gasket covering the microphone hole and can be done within an hour. which one would you pick?
marine417 said:
yeah its still under warranty but i don't have a back up phone. so if i send it in, i won't have a phone for a minimum of 3 weeks. i almost died the with my first ion when the battery took a dump and did the wait to drain then charge for 2 days and troubleshoot both online and in store for another 3 days. they said i would have to send it in for repairs but i was lucky because i was still within the in store return/exchange policy so they just gave me a new phone. this one lasted probably 2 months before this microphone issue came up and none of my local cell phone repair stores service the ion and they charge like $60 just to find out what is wrong with it without a guarantee they can fix the problem because they don't have the parts for a repair.
so its either, go to a local store and pay $60 for something they can't fix or pay shipping to send it in to sony for repair which could take up to a month without a phone or pay nothing and did it myself when all i have to do is probably remove that gasket covering the microphone hole and can be done within an hour. which one would you pick?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as you understand the risk, then by all means, take it apart. I have a "dumb" phone that I use for situations like this so my answer would be sending it in to Sony.
johnbyebye said:
As long as you understand the risk, then by all means, take it apart. I have a "dumb" phone that I use for situations like this so my answer would be sending it in to Sony.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup did it. if i was in your position i would send it in as well but that is not my case. this "procedure" didn't involve any unplugging of connectors or moving ribbons, just needed to remove the back plate and i guess the inner support bracket? that is on top of the mainboard and the battery. taking off that bracket exposes the mic array and the mic hole/port is actually on the bottom of that bracket.
took apart the phone once and found that gasket cover like 3/4 of the hole to the mic array (looks like a stack of metal plates at the bottom). removed it fully and put everything back and it worked but it gave off a little echo then remembered that the mic array had like adhesive marks on it the size of the gasket. so i took it apart again and used some of my double sided adhesive that i use for digitizer repair/replace and a precision knife to cut it to form the gasket and put it back into place and now it sounds perfect.
i guess that gasket is used to keep the mic array from moving too much and causing interference. anyways, fixed it in like 45 mins.
thank you for all your help.
marine417 said:
yup did it. if i was in your position i would send it in as well but that is not my case. this "procedure" didn't involve any unplugging of connectors or moving ribbons, just needed to remove the back plate and i guess the inner support bracket? that is on top of the mainboard and the battery. taking off that bracket exposes the mic array and the mic hole/port is actually on the bottom of that bracket.
took apart the phone once and found that gasket cover like 3/4 of the hole to the mic array (looks like a stack of metal plates at the bottom). removed it fully and put everything back and it worked but it gave off a little echo then remembered that the mic array had like adhesive marks on it the size of the gasket. so i took it apart again and used some of my double sided adhesive that i use for digitizer repair/replace and a precision knife to cut it to form the gasket and put it back into place and now it sounds perfect.
i guess that gasket is used to keep the mic array from moving too much and causing interference. anyways, fixed it in like 45 mins.
thank you for all your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good job. Glad you fixed it.
Related
I have a blown rear speaker in my Evo. I am going to be getting it replaced next weekend when my local Sprint store gets some in. I have my phone rooted via Unrevoked and i also have S-off. With the new updates (3.29, Radios, PRIs, Desire rom, MIUI) I have been a little worried about flashing anything new before I take my phone in for repair, because I have heard that either the newest radio or NV will not allow for the S-on tool to work. So what would you recommend? Should I leave my phone rooted and flash away and just install a stock (rooted) rom and uninstall SU before taking my phone in, or should I run a RUU to unroot and leave S-off, or should I go for the whole nine and turn S-on and then run RUU and start over after the speaker is replaced? Any thoughts, suggestions, experiences, or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Are you getting just the speaker replaced or the whole phone? I had to get my screen replaced last week and I was fully rooted running CM6 AOSP. They didnt even ask any questions about it. Replaced screen free of charge along with the bezel around the volume and power buttons which were cracked. Im not telling you what you should do just sharing my experience.
rdub4nd said:
Are you getting just the speaker replaced or the whole phone? I had to get my screen replaced last week and I was fully rooted running CM6 AOSP. They didnt even ask any questions about it. Replaced screen free of charge along with the bezel around the volume and power buttons which were cracked. Im not telling you what you should do just sharing my experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am just getting the speaker replaced. I would rather keep my phone then get a refurb and have to possibly deal with new issues. I am thinking that I can just flash a stock rom but leave S-off just to make things easier. Thanks for sharing this. I have read somewhere that Sprint will do repairs for free even if you are still rooted, but it is possible for them to flag your account that you have a rooted phone and can possibly cause you issues. I hope that this doesn't happen to you.
I've got the blown speaker problem too. But it is a rattling problem. I can still hear people fine. I had decided to live with it because I didnt want to risk getting a refurb phone. Do all the sprint stores actually replace the speaker? Also, is the replacement a better quality one? Or would I wind up with another blown one within a couple weeks?
edufur said:
I've got the blown speaker problem too. But it is a rattling problem. I can still hear people fine. I had decided to live with it because I didnt want to risk getting a refurb phone. Do all the sprint stores actually replace the speaker? Also, is the replacement a better quality one? Or would I wind up with another blown one within a couple weeks?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes mine just sound really rattly and poppy, thats how they do when they are blown. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they all do that when they blow. Not all Sprint stores will replace the speaker, just go to sprint.com, click find a store, enter your location, check to see if any of the stores in your area have "repair store" checked, if they do call that store and ask them if they have any speakers in stock. If they do you will likely have to get them to order one and wait about a week and a half for them to receive it, when they get it in go by the store and they will replace it for you in just a few minutes. As of now there is no aftermarket speakers, so you are stuck with HTC's low quality speaker for now. So it is possible for it to blow again soon, just try your hardest not to turn your volume all the way up as much as possible. Also try to keep metal shavings away from the phone. My phone and a co-worker of mine's Incredible blew within 2 days of each other, I think it is because of the metal shavings from drilling while at work. I would say it is a design flaw on HTC's part to have the speakers exposed enough to where the magnet draws metal shaving in.
4 months.... 4 blown speakers... Thankfully the Sprint store in my area seems to keep them in stock... the first phone got swapped for a new one per 30 day return policy... the next two speakers were replaced in store (after the 1 hour mandatory waiting period for a 5 mintue fix)... and the speaker blew again today.
Yes I use speaker phone a lot
Yes I listen to Pandora/Slacker radio
Yes I have custom ringtones/notification sounds
Yes I watch Youtube and Sprint TV
and Yes I have it at 100% volume.... the hardware should exceed the capabilities of anything the end-user could put it through...
I am just so darned frustrated with the whole process at this point that I ordered and paid for replacement speakers...
so the next question would be.... is there a replacement speaker that can handle the intended use of this phone?
If you are concerned about having a rooted phone repaired, you could just fix it yourself. Replacing the speaker is incredibly easy. Just buy a housing assembly at an online store or eBay. Should come with a speaker. Pop it off and swap it with the one in your evo. The entire job, including opening and closing your phone, should not take more than 5 or 10 minutes.
Okay so to start I have a hardware 3 version white HTC evo and it has been recently rooted and is now running sprintlovers ROM.
I don't know if this happened before or after my phone being rooted but now the rear speaker works but frankly doesn't sound so good. I remember some time ago listening to pandora and there being no problem, now listening to music with any sort of depth to it above half volume I hear a distinct hissing/cracking noise that is really kind of annoying. I think this may have been caused by me running GPS while using speakerphone both on loud accidentally. I'm very competent in cellphone/laptop repair and I've looked up how to replace the speaker and where to get the replacement.
Do you guys think that a replacement speaker will fix the problem? I do not have a warranty of any kind.
Phone sounds NORMAL with headphones and in call through the earpiece.
Thanks in advance. - Brandon
Action B said:
Okay so to start I have a hardware 3 version white HTC evo and it has been recently rooted and is now running sprintlovers ROM.
I don't know if this happened before or after my phone being rooted but now the rear speaker works but frankly doesn't sound so good. I remember some time ago listening to pandora and there being no problem, now listening to music with any sort of depth to it above half volume I hear a distinct hissing/cracking noise that is really kind of annoying. I think this may have been caused by me running GPS while using speakerphone both on loud accidentally. I'm very competent in cellphone/laptop repair and I've looked up how to replace the speaker and where to get the replacement.
Do you guys think that a replacement speaker will fix the problem? I do not have a warranty of any kind.
Phone sounds NORMAL with headphones and in call through the earpiece.
Thanks in advance. - Brandon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup sounds like your speaker has taken a $h!t. If you've done cell phone repairs before then it should be a no brainer replacing. Ebay probably sells them cheap. Best bet if you dont have TEP. Might want to contact HTC first to see if they will replace it. Wouldnt hurt.
blakeboys said:
yup sounds like your speaker has taken a $h!t. If you've done cell phone repairs before then it should be a no brainer replacing. Ebay probably sells them cheap. Best bet if you dont have TEP. Might want to contact HTC first to see if they will replace it. Wouldnt hurt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey thanks for getting back to me quickly.
Okay, what is a "TEP" I'm guessing its some acronym for warranty. When you say contact HTC do you mean to send in for repair, or to have them possibly send me a speaker? Sending in for a repair for something so easy is a pain. Its not worth the 10 bucks or 30 minutes to mail the phone, be without a phone and wait for it.
Action B said:
Hey thanks for getting back to me quickly.
Okay, what is a "TEP" I'm guessing its some acronym for warranty. When you say contact HTC do you mean to send in for repair, or to have them possibly send me a speaker? Sending in for a repair for something so easy is a pain. Its not worth the 10 bucks or 30 minutes to mail the phone, be without a phone and wait for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes TEP=Total Equipment Protection , it cost $7/month from sprint. Well HTC probably wont send you a speaker since if you open your phone you technical "void" your warranty but yeah the repair is a cake walk. If you have techy know how and no warranty plan than I'd repair it myself. Shouldn't be difficult at all.
HERE is a complete guide on how to do it. SO SIMPLE!!!
blakeboys said:
Yes TEP=Total Equipment Protection , it cost $7/month from sprint. Well HTC probably wont send you a speaker since if you open your phone you technical "void" your warranty but yeah the repair is a cake walk. If you have techy know how and no warranty plan than I'd repair it myself. Shouldn't be difficult at all.
HERE is a complete guide on how to do it. SO SIMPLE!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perfect. I've never really had an extended warranty with anything. I usually don't have any serious issues and I'm great at repairing stuff (probably because I never have a warranty). I actually do circuit board repair as a second job in my spare time. Usually on RC cars but I do the occasional computer.
I will respond back with the results of the new speaker transplant.
The replacement speaker from ebay made my phone sound great again. Took about 15 minutes to change but a little tip for anyone that purchases a replacement:
You may need to take the foam off of the old speaker and transplant it onto the new one. The foam on the new one was too thin and at first didn't make good contact with the board. Pry off the plastic clear piece with the foam from each and swap to do this.
Also, the tutorial above, the guy is holding the prying tool in what I consider the wrong way. At least it seemed a lot more effortless after turning it around for me.
So still running a froyo based Rom and whenever I make a phone call it always defaults with speaker phone on. Just started doing this a couple days ago. Tried rebooting, cleared cache and still the same. Any suggestions?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
If its caused by the car dock mode I think I found a fix.
I turned my phone off, cleaned out the USB port on my phone and bridged all the connections in the charging port with a piece of aluminum foil then removed the aluminum foil and rebooted it.
It happened after buying a charger from five and below. I'm thinking its caused by poor insulation allowing static charges on pins that aren't supposed to have a charge on them, however, I am not sure what causes it...
Either way, cleaning didn't work but the crumbled up piece of aluminum foil did the trick. Give it a try and let me know if it helps so I can chalk it up to actual fix or random chance.
Action B said:
If its caused by the car dock mode I think I found a fix.
I turned my phone off, cleaned out the USB port on my phone and bridged all the connections in the charging port with a piece of aluminum foil then removed the aluminum foil and rebooted it.
It happened after buying a charger from five and below. I'm thinking its caused by poor insulation allowing static charges on pins that aren't supposed to have a charge on them, however, I am not sure what causes it...
Either way, cleaning didn't work but the crumbled up piece of aluminum foil did the trick. Give it a try and let me know if it helps so I can chalk it up to actual fix or random chance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the car panel app starts up when I reboot the phone so I unchecked the automatic start and the app don't open anymore. So I basically just take the foil and shove up in the port then plug the charger in?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
I had the same problem just a few days ago. I took my phone in after having putting it back to stock (Stock Rom and S-ON). They ran the diagnostics and then replaced my phone for $35 under the 1yr warranty. Their first suspicion is water damage but if your water markers are in perfect condition and your phone looks like its in good shape then they might replace it. My 1yr launch day phone looked like the day i got it so they replaced it without any questions. Good Luck!
==My Original Thread about this same issue==
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=14400365
MattC74 said:
Well the car panel app starts up when I reboot the phone so I unchecked the automatic start and the app don't open anymore. So I basically just take the foil and shove up in the port then plug the charger in?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, let me post very clear instructions on what I did. If your car dock comes on when you turn the phone on , this is the exact same problem I had.
DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK, I DO NOT GUARANTEE THIS WILL WORK AND I AM NO RESPONSIBLE IF YOU DAMAGE YOUR PHONE. Below is exactly how my phone was fixed once and for all.
Here are very specific instructions on how I fixed mine:
1. Power off phone
2. Remove battery entirely
3. Get toothpick, CAREFULLY and GENTLY clean all debris in the port, I pulled out a ton of dust.
4. If you have compressed air, use it and clean it out with that as well
5. Take a piece of aluminum foil, crumple it up a bit and carefully stick it in your charging port and bridge all the tiny pins together, BE GENTLE but kinda move it around and make sure all the pins get touched by the aluminum foil at the same time.
6. Remove aluminum foil from charging port and discard.
7. Put battery back into phone
8. Power on and hope your phone doesn't have its speaker on next time you make a call.
Good luck.
Well apparently my phone must be f'd up. Tried the fix posted above a few times with no luck tried 3 different chargers with no luck. So I guess maybe I should unroot and maybe get the 3d. Thanks for the suggestions guys.
Thanks for this post, I was about to post the same thing. Ended up doing the tin foil trick (took some from the hat I wear on my head). No more answering on speaker phone
So the strangest thing happened. Made a call before lunch and phone went straight to speaker as usual..went to lunch and left phone in the car, car was hot when I came back went to make another call and no speaker lol. Plugged in headphones and was able to control volume. And so far made couple more calls and all is good. Seems it took a week for it to work itself out idk.
Its def the charging port causing the issue. Had the same thing happen to mine last week on my Launch Day evo (Hardware 0002).
The link to that thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=14397719#post14397719
-If you dont feel like reading that thread then ill give the short version.
I tried cleaning it out with electronics cleaner and it didnt help. Heck, i used a bit to much on my last attempt (of 4) and it got under the screen. The phone still worked like a champ but i hated that water look. So i claimed Ins on it and paid the 100 on it.
I should have been smart and had unrooted and taken it to the sprint store and paid 35 for the warranty.
Live n learn.
Sonjiin said:
Its def the charging port causing the issue. Had the same thing happen to mine last week on my Launch Day evo (Hardware 0002).
The link to that thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=14397719#post14397719
-If you dont feel like reading that thread then ill give the short version.
I tried cleaning it out with electronics cleaner and it didnt help. Heck, i used a bit to much on my last attempt (of 4) and it got under the screen. The phone still worked like a champ but i hated that water look. So i claimed Ins on it and paid the 100 on it.
I should have been smart and had unrooted and taken it to the sprint store and paid 35 for the warranty.
Live n learn.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info..I spoke to soon yesterday as the problem returned. So I guess I unroot and get the EVO 3d on the 24th.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Hard reset worked for me
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
had same issue, will try tinfoil trick.
In the mean time i found the app NoDock, loads a kernel module to disable dock entirely--works to stop dock and speakerphone nonsense.
Read more here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=15199350&postcount=18
slackard said:
had same issue, will try tinfoil trick.
In the mean time i found the app NoDock, loads a kernel module to disable dock entirely--works to stop dock and speakerphone nonsense.
Read more here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=15199350&postcount=18
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll second the NoDock. I bought the paid app and it was the only one of a few I found that worked reliably. No issues for me anymore. I'm not bothering with replacing my phone at Sprint as I plan to leave them as soon as Galaxy S2 comes out anyway.
This was a bug caused apparently by Skype for me, in fact almost all the bugs on my EVO 3D are coming from Skype.
No Skype running or logged out, no problem.
onyx00 said:
I'll second the NoDock. I bought the paid app and it was the only one of a few I found that worked reliably.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ThanK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
kaeXo said:
ThanK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That app worked for me, But its caused by a broken charging port, I unrooted my phone and s-on took it sprint showed them the car dock problem and the speaker on straight into calls and they replaced my evo.
I believe the phone repair shop has damaged my phone. It went in for broken glass on the lcd. They broke the frame and replaced that after I refused to accept it, went and got it today, almost 2 months after bring it to them, and the screen looked great! The phone's headset speaker works, but the main speaker for ringing and speaker phone does not.
Anything I can do software to test it?
Anything I can do with this phone to fix it?
Worth anything without an external speaker?
Landmine said:
I believe the phone repair shop has damaged my phone. It went in for broken glass on the lcd. They broke the frame and replaced that after I refused to accept it, went and got it today, almost 2 months after bring it to them, and the screen looked great! The phone's headset speaker works, but the main speaker for ringing and speaker phone does not.
Anything I can do software to test it?
Anything I can do with this phone to fix it?
Worth anything without an external speaker?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to look for a speaker flex cable.
All I see is repair shops ruining peoples One X's, hense I don't want to send mine for repair.
If I could do it all over again I would have sent it to HTC directly. I regret everything.
Any chance it has to do with my custom rom? Worked when I took it into the shop.. Maybe I need to reflash it?
Sorry
I had this problem too, but I did it. Going to open the phone for the well known Wi-Fi issue I've accidentally damaged the speaker going too much deeper with the swiss knife. Ordering a new rear for the phone with of course the speaker included solved my problem. It's around a 25€ damage anyway, not huge amount of money but is definitely something. You should ask for a refund or explane them what possibly happens.
I could use some help!
Here's the issue. The headphone icon is on all the time on my phone. Which in turns causes me not to be able to hear phone calls. For a short term fix I used an app to disable the headset, but the icon is still there.
It thinks there is headphones plugged in all the time, when there isnt. The phone is two weeks old. Hasn't been dropped or abused. I called AT&T and they are seeing if I can get an in store replacement. But I may have to be given a refurb already after two weeks
Anyways. The phone thinks there is headphones plugged in all the time. i tried pulling the battery, power cycling, using different headphone and plugging them in, pulling them out thinking something got stuck. But nothing.... It still thinks there is headphones plugged in. Now when I plug in head phones some google voice thing pops up asking me to speak into the phone, when I hit the back button my music will start playing thru the head phones....
Anyone else have this issue? I have looked down instead the headphone port and there is nothing in there that would be causing a blockage from the hardware detector that I could see (not to say there isn't something causing this)
Please help! AT&T is going to be calling me back and letting me know about a replacement sometime, but if someone knows what's going on I'd rather just fix it then start over with a new phone...
My guess would be that there is still some sort of short. I think you were right to suspect something stuck down in the jack, but it sounds like something inside the casing may be shorting on the terminals. Since you said it opened up the voice command thing, I would suspect that the 4th pole was triggered (or whichever the microphone button would be for a 4-pole headset). As far as I know, the microphone/media button is activated when the jack senses a short on a specific pole. But, it would have to think that you have inserted a 4-pole plug. I don't know for sure, but I assume it does this by checking opposite sides along the plug shaft to see how many distinct conductors are present. If it thought your typical 3-pole plug was a 4-pole, there would probably be another "conductor" present, i.e. the trouble-making short-circuit.
Unfortunately, it sounds to me that you have a hardware problem. If you were adventurous, you could open up the case and inspect for the short. It may be something simple lying across some solder joints or something. However, it is probably safer to simply get the warranty exchanged refurb. I have one myself since my original one had this obnoxious echo that the caller on the other end would complain about. The refurb unit works great!
It's a bummer, but I doubt you'll even know the replacement is a "refurb". Sorry I don't have better news or advice. Good luck!
I had a simile issue a while back...mine was resolved with a couple of swift taps on the table on the corner of my phone closest to the ear phone Jack.....
When the f*ck did we get ice cream??
Thank you.
I figured it was something to do with the little pegs inside. Luckily for me, since it was in the first 30 day period I was able to get a new in store replacement. normally for people its 14 days, but since I have a company account it's 30 days in store replacement. It was replaced with a brand new device.
The guy there was actually a little tech savvy and was saying the same thing. He tried a few things also, even looking inside and poking the pegs with a needle to see if one was lodged. Everything was OK though. Strange.
New device in hand! Works much better. It raises concern over a design defect though. I hate to go thru this again and get a refurb phone in a month because of the same issue.
Guess I will stop using it for a music player hooked to the stereo in my car and just use my old ipod touch for that.