I got my note 4 dev edition on Tuesday. I like to listen to podcast via pocketcasts and music through amazon prime music app, pandora and spotify. I notice at low levels there is an annoying hiss/ white noise that constantly is audible. I use these same apps on my iphone 6 plus and have never experienced this. I usually use yurbuds that direct the sound directly into the ears but it occurs with my old samsung earphones as well. (Verizon to cheap to allow them to include the earphones).
Is anyone else experiencing this? I tried to go into the play music app and use the equalizer but this had little affect. Is is an issue in 4.4.4 or could I have a bad phone or bad DAC??
I get the same problem as well with a Canadian Note 4 (N910W8). It's very annoying trying to listen to audiobooks or podcasts. Did not have this problem with the same audiobooks on Nexus 4. It seems like the hissing / static does not get louder by raising the volume so it's always present if volume is not muted and is very noticeable with spoken voice. Tried several players and it happens with all so it's not just Samsung Music with SoundAlive. I hope this is something that can be eventually improved and not "by design".
Are you plugged into a USB charger when you are listening?
mithusingh32 said:
Are you plugged into a USB charger when you are listening?
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I thought that might have been the problem as well but it sounds exactly the same when plugged in or not. It sounds like hissing and a bit of crackling after spoken words or pauses between sentences, very noticeable even at only 1 volume step from muted. Probably happens to music, videos and games as well but may not be as noticeable.
I've tried stock, custom roms, volume mods and Viper4Android and tried different players that I know use different playback methods.
I don't think there's a quick fix for this problem and we'll probably all have to live with it. Here's hoping Samsung's Lollipop update brings improvements.
Weird. I dont get a hiss at all unless its plugged into a USB charger.
Might be a hardware issue.
Turns out that it's affecting all 3 of my Sennheiser headphones but not the stock headphones. Never had a problem with these headphones on any device I had within the last 7 years.
It has to do with the low impedance of my headphones and the fact that the Note does not provide enough power to drive the headphones correctly. I went and purchased a 36ohm impedance adapter on eBay (from awaudio) and it got rid of my problem! My remote control on the headphones no longer work with the adapter but the microphone does. I've also got a 14ohm adapter in the mail that I've yet to try so I cannot currently comment on using more or less than the 36ohm I've got now.
I found the idea to try this reading through long threads in the Galaxy S3 forums so this isn't a new problem to Samsung. Many people have exchanged their S3s to correct the problem to no avail. The good news is that the problem was eventually fixed in a firmware update so I guess it's possible for the Note 4 as well but I'm not holding my breath for that.
I believe that the sound may not be quite as strong with the adapter but the ROM I'm using has the sound boost mod and is more than loud enough so I cannot complain. There may not be an easy way to fix this on a Verizon device if you need the volume as loud as with the stock headphones.
Night and day difference when listening to audiobooks or podcasts with low impedance headphones.
Power might be the issue, but I know a lot of others dealt with this and replacing ended up working. I think on the n2 the headphone Jacks were a bit loose but don't remember
Not sure if it had anything to do with the update, but I have been power cycling my phone a lot lately...
Headphones: My headphones don't seem to be registering that they're in, so the sound comes through the speakers--but the headphones work when plugged into other devices. (I have picked up a pair of bluetooth headphones until I figure it out, which work fine.) After power cycling the headphones work again for a while somehow, but will randomly stop again, so it must be a software issue. It could have to do with being unplugged while audio is going?? Not sure
In-call: I can't hear the other person, but they can hear me. If I switch to speaker phone, I can hear them (not sure if they can hear me while on speakers, they usually hang up by the time I realize they are really there but I can't hear them...) It's so weird. I have to say, "I can't hear you, I'll reset my phone and call you back in a minute".
Anybody else with this problem???
I've been struggling with the same problem on 3 different Fire Phones. All phones are running Fire OS 4.6.3. I discovered this problem after plugging into my car stereo via the 1/8" audio jack. If not immediately, shortly after disconnecting the cable I would be unable to hear the party on the other end during a phone calls, though they could hear me. I also found that the jack would no longer switch from Speaker to Wired audio and vice versa when I plugged a cable into and out of the 1/8" audio jack.
It looks to be an OS issue as the problem is remedied by a restart. I am really curious if I happened to get 3 lemons or if anyone else experiences this. If this is an issue with Fire OS, have so few people used the audio jack? I am tempted to install Cyanogenmod to see if this remedies the problem, though I would expect this sort of issue to occur with Cyanogenmod as opposed to the stock FireOS install.
Thanks for letting me know there is someone else out there with the same issue. I hate thinking I'm the only one!
BTW alexandergrig did you get a warranty replacement for them or you just bought 3 when they were on sale or something?? I am thinking of trying to replace it on warranty, since the issue is new-- it just started a couple of weeks ago, and I didn't experience the headphone/call "mute" issue throughout most of the life of the phone. The other thing that I don't get is why it won't let me take a video--it stops after 1 second (also a recent issue).
The phones were not on warranty replacement but rather purchased new. How long had you been using your phone without issue? What version of FireOS are you currently on? Have you side loaded Google Play?
Today, for example, I had no issue with plugging headphones in and removing them. I later plugged the phone to my car stereo via mini-jack and had no issues playing music or placing and receiving calls (using the speakerphone) while it was plugged in. When I unplugged it, I was able to make calls. Later when I plugged the phone into my car stereo again, I had the same problem. Basically all the audio was being routed to the speaker and not the audio jack. No matter how many times I plugged and unplugged the cable, no audio was being sent through the audio jack.
I also happened to try the Soundabout app on the Google Play store, thinking that perhaps the audio was not being routed properly. Unfortunately, when I forced the output to the "wired" audio jack, at best I would hear some popping noises. All this gets resolved with a restart, however inconvenient that may be.
I find it hard to believe that the 3 phones I have worked on all happen to be lemons, though I guess it's possible. I wish I could get some feedback from others to determine if they are having any such issues. Like I said before, this is something that you might expect from a custom ROM not a stock OS install. I'm not sure how much of a pain making an Amazon warranty claim would be. If you opt for this, I would appreciate it if you could let me know how this goes and if the replacement unit works properly. Part of me wonders if a Cyanogenmod install would remedy this issue. If not, then it's got to be something more complicated beyond my ability to troubleshoot. I am very tempted to try.
I got the phone in February, and it has worked fine until about two weeks ago. My headphones (the ones that come with the phone) started malfunctioning, and there was an OTA update around that time, so I am suspecting it could have been either thing. I side loaded Google's apps during my first week with the phone, and my current OS is 4.6.3 (463001620) [but I don't know why is says "Installed Tuesday, February 18, 2014" since it has definitely been updated since then...]
I'lll let you know how the warranty stuff goes. Maybe they'll give me a replacement that works...
All 3 phones were on 4.6.3 while having this problem. They had immediately been updated to 4.6.3 after purchase. I did test this prior to installing all the Google Play services, but there was no difference. I have not tested this on any other version of FireOS.
Today I made a point to test this more thoroughly. Phone works properly while connected to car stereo via audio jack. I can call out via Speakerphone without issue. However 5 times today when I disconnected the mini jack from the phone, I could no longer router audio through the jack when plugged in again and I experienced the issue where I could not hear the person on the other end of the call but they could hear me.
Plugging in headphones also would not work. This evening, I tested it with a pair of stock apple iPhone earbuds and it has not been behaving in the manner described above. I listened to music for 15-20 minutes, unplugged it and then I'm able to hear the music through the phone's speaker. After plugging it in again, the audio is properly routed to the headphones again. I was able to do this about 10 times without issue. Then at some point the same issue occurred.
I'd like to say that it's an issue with 4.6.3 or perhaps some sort of service that is not handling the audio routing properly and needs to be restarted via a reboot. I kind of wish that I would have tested this issue on another version of FireOS. Despite everyone's disdain with FireOS and my own past inclination to play around with stuff, I really wanted to stick with the stock FireOS, but this lack of proper functionality is bothering me so much I might be inclined to try CM11.
I don't know if this will help you but there's an app called SoundAbout that will force audio through the headphone interface whether the phone thinks a headphone is plugged in or not. You'd have to get a copy of the apk and sideload it on fireOS though. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.woodslink.android.wiredheadphoneroutingfix
I had SoundAbout installed a few days ago but that didn't seem to solve the problem. When I force switched it to the audio jack, I got nothing or some pops. It just seems something gets corrupted or quirky until one restarts the device.
danielnealclark, today I was trying to shoot some video with the Fire phone and ran into the same problem that you had by the way. I'll start another thread on this issue to see if anyone else has experienced this.
I only add this because it's getting to the point where I am very tempted to install CM11. If the sound issue persists (though I'm sure other issues might crop up then, lack of mute during a call being one as I understand it...) then I'll have to give up and come to the conclusion that it is some intermittent hardware issue on some of these units.
Let me know how CyanogenMod works if you try it. It prob has it's own issues too. I am going to try to get a new phone through the limited 1 year warranty. I'll keep you posted about the process
Got a replacement phone, and it worked fine until today...
I thought that a certain pair of headphones were the culprit, and I never should have plugged them in to my replacement phone (they are official amazon fire phone headphones BTW). This pair of headphones went bad and were only working in one ear when in the fire phone (but they work fine in both ears on my computer, which I don't understand) and it was around the same time my last phone had the headphone issue described at the beginning of the thread, so I thought the issues may be related. I tried them today, and oops, they messed up another phone!
From the other posts on this thread, there is an issue with certain headphone jacks--not sure why. But if a certain headphone jack gets plugged in, the phone will forever think (until power cycling) that there are headphones in during a call, and never think headphones are if you try to plug in headphones for music/games.
I guess I still have it under warranty since it is a replacement through Amazon. I'm gonna try to do some resets, troubleshooting, etc...
So pissed right now
I've been having this issue as well. It is very annoying!
I have the same problem, as I previously posted. Unfortunately nothing I did remedied the problem nor was I able to find out any more information.
Daniel, did you end up getting Amazon to replace your phone previously, as you had mentioned?
I honestly think that this is not a problem particular to only a few models. I don't feel that a replacement would help because sooner or later it arises again it seems. It could very well be a jack problem, but I really feel this is some low level quirky OS issue. Originally I had mentioned that I might switch to CM. I've decided that this would lead to additional quirks going this route, so I will continue to keep my phone stock. The true test is if someone with CM experiences this issue or if switching to CM remedied the problem. Unfortunately, I've had so many frustrations with technology as of late and so little time, I don't have it in me to fiddle around anymore. I'm not sure if we can expect Amazon updates to remedy this, and all we can do is hope some day we get an update.
My main problem was that I use my Fire phone to connect to my stereo via Aux input. So I was constantly having issues. I ended up simply purchasing a USB bluetooth adapter for my car stereo and going wireless with the Fire phone and it's worked well. I must admit my Fire phone is not my go to phone for listening to music with headphones because of this, but I always found that the Amazon earbuds were less likely to cause this problem than other ear buds in my case.
After a long listening session, the only thing that helped me was simply rebooting the phone. A really crappy solution, but definitely more productive for me than continuing to tinker with this issue for me. Or going bluetooth. For those experiencing this issue, please keep us updated if you find a long lasting solution or if you have experienced any remedy with CM. Or, if our farfetched dream of an Amazon update were to become a reality...
All the best in the New Year folks!
danielnealclark said:
I thought that a certain pair of headphones were the culprit, and I never should have plugged them in to my replacement phone (they are official amazon fire phone headphones BTW). This pair of headphones went bad and were only working in one ear when in the fire phone (but they work fine in both ears on my computer, which I don't understand) and it was around the same time my last phone had the headphone issue described at the beginning of the thread, so I thought the issues may be related. I tried them today, and oops, they messed up another phone!
From the other posts on this thread, there is an issue with certain headphone jacks--not sure why. But if a certain headphone jack gets plugged in, the phone will forever think (until power cycling) that there are headphones in during a call, and never think headphones are if you try to plug in headphones for music/games.
I guess I still have it under warranty since it is a replacement through Amazon. I'm gonna try to do some resets, troubleshooting, etc...
So pissed right now
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alexandergrig said:
For those experiencing this issue, please keep us updated if you find a long lasting solution or if you have experienced any remedy with CM.
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I second that post! If anyone solves this one, let us know.
alexandergrig: I did get them to send me a new phone, since it was under the 1 year warranty. The phone call took about 45 minutes, with me trying to convince them by plugging in headphones/unplugging headphones to show that it was really broken. Before that call, though, they told me the first thing I had to do was perform a factory reset before they would even consider progressing to a replacement. [BTW the Fire phone has a great native backup tool if you are just migrating from one fire phone to another, it's all cloud based]. The new phone was a refurb.
I think I'll try the bluetooth thing for my car, that's a great idea. I really like my bluetooth headphones for work (as a bonus I found out they connect to my computer super easy too--at the same time as my phone even--so I can run desktop-only music sites)
Curious if anyone was able to fix this. I had this occur on my original Fire Phone. Amazon replaced it in Nov 2015 and my new one just started doing this....
jagernbeer said:
Curious if anyone was able to fix this. I had this occur on my original Fire Phone. Amazon replaced it in Nov 2015 and my new one just started doing this....
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Good luck. I also am on my 2nd Fire, and like you have the same problem back again. The funny thing is, it was caused by the stock headphones, other headphones gave me no problems. So what did I do? I gave up! And now I LOVE LOVE LOVE my bluetooth headphones. They are so easy to use and no more cords. Try it out, you'll never go back (until the batteries die... but they charge pretty quick)
Good luck to you.
I experienced this problem on 3 separate Fire Phones. So either I am very unlucky or this problem is more widespread than we know. Because of this, I doubted that a replacement would help me. I will say that I have used my one 64gig Fire Phone without this problem being an issue for months and so I came to my own conclusion which might not end up being very helpful but...
I was able to experience this constantly when I made it a point to plug and unplug the headphones for testing purposes (both stock Amazon as well as the older Apple earbuds). Ultimately, the way I ended up using my phone's audio output was by streaming audio via bluetooth to a USB bluetooth adapter connected to my car stereo almost daily. Also most every day I would usually go from the Bluetooth audio in the car, to plugging in my headphones for my 3 mile walks, and then unplugging the headphones and reconnecting via Bluetooth in the car to drive home. Doing this for the past many months, I did not encounter one issue with placing calls via the phone itself, speakerphone or even via the mic on the earbuds.
Because of this I am concluding (as I initially believed) that it might not be hardware but rather the Fire phone's low level OS/system software that governs the audio jack that happens to be buggy. It's like there is an issue with the jack status detection routine and it gets "stuck" in one mode. I may be wrong, but there is a good possibility that Fire phone users that do not experience this problem, very well might start if they constantly plugged and unplugged their headphones from the jack, attempting to place and/or receive calls in between. At some point this issue might arise. But in my experience it goes away and corrects itself until the next time, unless anyone else has experienced otherwise.
Due to the lack of significant continued development of the Fire Phone, Amazon will likely not address this problem via an update. My sense is that if not everyone is experiencing it because it is a software issue, then it's prevalence is due to usage patterns. I, like others, in the beginning found this to be a constant problem the more I tested it, especially with plugging and unplugging the headphones and making calls. With my 3 phones, I have a hard time believing it's actual hardware only because it eventually seems to resolve if I change my usage patterns.
Might be totally different for you guys, but I guess this is my final conclusion. I sold one of my 32gig Fire Phones and still plan on using the 64gig, despite picking up a couple of other phones.
A.G.
Hi all,
So for the last 6 months I've been trying to use my brothers old pair of Trittons with the mic removed to listen to audio since they were the best headphones I could use at the time. They worked fine for about a month, until suddenly they weren't being recognised anymore. For the last 6 months I've been trying all the fixes I've seen on Google. Use compressed air to clean the port, wipe the cache partition etc. I no longer use the headphones so it wasn't a major issue until today, when my HyperX Cloud IIs arrived, and again the problem exists.
The phone won't even detect they are plugged in. It just plays music through the speakers. I've tested the headphones in my brothers iPhone as well as my PC and they 100% work, it is literally just a problem with the phone.
Other headphones I've used that work perfectly: Takstar HI2050s, Panasonic in-ear, Sony in-ear, Beyerdynamic Custom Ones. All of these have the common trait of not having a mic built in (3-pin 3.5mm connector as oppose to 4). It must be something in the software rejecting 4 pin and it's beyond annoying now.
Any help would be massively appreciated
Still not found a solution to this, if anyone knows a fix I'd be grateful