Help headphone whine with ICS

[Thom]

It is critical before you root your Bionic that you acknowledge that you are assuming total responsibility for whatever happens. If you aren't prepared to replace your Bionic at full retail from your own pocket then you should not root.

Please post all messages requiring root in ... Bionic - All Things Root - Android Forums.

... Thom

 

[Glock23]

For what it's worth, I've had my Bionic since April... never rooted, no leaks loaded, and I never had audio issues until the OTA update to ICS yesterday.. now I've got the high pitched whine, and the overall audio quality sounds a bit more tinny as well.

Otherwise, it's like a brand new phone.

 

[SLEEVO]

For what it's worth, I've had my Bionic since April... never rooted, no leaks loaded, and I never had audio issues until the OTA update to ICS yesterday.. now I've got the high pitched whine, and the overall audio quality sounds a bit more tinny as well.

Otherwise, it's like a brand new phone.

I am having the same issues. After the update yesterday I had my phone hooked up to my car aux port and notice the quality of my music has gone down a ton. I didn't even think of linking it to the ICS update. But it is really bad, almost unbareable to listen to now. If there isn't a fix for this soon I will be asking for a replacement phone because I listen to music every day(in my car/ running/ at home)

As far as the data drop, its pretty much gone away for me which was a huge plus. But I've lost one problem and now have gained another.

 

[Thom]

Did you do a Factory Data Reset?

... Thom

 

[Glock23]

No, but I'm willing to try. What information will I lose by doing so? And what should be backed up (and how)?

Forgive the ignorance, I've just never done it, and would prefer it to be as painless as possible lol.

 

[YaMoBeThere]

For those of you with audio quality issues go to settings > sound > wired stereo devices and uncheck 'Enable audio effects'. This doesn't fix the whine problem but it might help when listening to music in the car.

 

[Glock23]

Ok, just did a factory data reset, and the whine is still there.

Lovely....

 

[YaMoBeThere]

Ok, just did a factory data reset, and the whine is still there.

Lovely....

Thanks for testing that out, looks like we are stuck until the next update.

 

[Satires]

It is critical before you root your Bionic that you acknowledge that you are assuming total responsibility for whatever happens. If you aren't prepared to replace your Bionic at full retail from your own pocket then you should not root.

Please post all messages requiring root in ... Bionic - All Things Root - Android Forums.

... Thom

Most excellent point. I wasn't going to root my upgraded phone, but... Before I rooted I did a check on the root checker in stock recovery and it indicated that my phone is currently rooted when it wasn't! ! It read 1/1. This, after I fxz'd back to unrooted stock and took the upgrade and had not yet rooted it. So, I figured I had nothing to lose anyways.

 

[dave1812]

For those of you with audio quality issues go to settings > sound > wired stereo devices and uncheck 'Enable audio effects'. This doesn't fix the whine problem but it might help when listening to music in the car.

I already did that. didn't help AT ALL.

 

[Thom]

Most excellent point. I wasn't going to root my upgraded phone, but... Before I rooted I did a check on the root checker in stock recovery and it indicated that my phone is currently rooted when it wasn't! ! It read 1/1. This, after I fxz'd back to unrooted stock and took the upgrade and had not yet rooted it. So, I figured I had nothing to lose anyways.

As reported in another thread and in other forums. The 0/0 1/1 1/0 seems to be unique to Razr(s). My never been root-ed Bionic reports 1/1.

... Thom

 

[dave1812]

UPDATE. just realized the Maxx was shipped out yesterday. i suspect I'll not be posting here much longer, which I'm sure will please many of you. eventually I should be migrating from the maxx to a samsung and will be asking questions in the correct forum but I know it wont be for headphone whine.

EDIT: got the maxx, activated it (what a hassle) and the first call I made was to Verizon to recover a password. the speaker phone is awful on the maxx (probably defective) so I told them to reactivate the bionic for now. what a bummer for me. i like the size and screen of the Maxx, but I need a phone that is listenable. guess for my upcoming trip I'll transfer a ton of music to my tablet and use that on the plane instead of the bionic.

 

[dave1812]

Motorola, Please tell me this is a bad joke!!! - Page 3

seems I'm hardly alone with this issue.

Resets haven't fixed it for people on that forum. One person mentioned changing audio settings helped. didn't help me or others on that thread.

I'm sure some of the same people from this forum, posted on that thread.

 

[dave1812]

Fyi . I did a reset because of problems with battery life. It did not fix the whine.I knew it wouldn't

 

[Thom]

Fyi . I did a reset because of problems with battery life. It did not fix the whine.I knew it wouldn't

This is going to seem like an odd question ...

Have you had someone other than you try your headphones on your Bionic?

(I'm thinking back to a person-to-device issue that we worked on a year ago where a user when typing on the keyboard would get extra letters inserted. A different person using the same keyboard and typing the same letters did not get the extra letters. The solution there was to get a non-Bionic.)

... Thom

 

[dave1812]

This is going to seem like an odd question ...

Have you had someone other than you try your headphones on your Bionic?

(I'm thinking back to a person-to-device issue that we worked on a year ago where a user when typing on the keyboard would get extra letters inserted. A different person using the same keyboard and typing the same letters did not get the extra letters. The solution there was to get a non-Bionic.)

... Thom

my wife hears the whine although she isn't quite as bothered by it as she has some hearing issues. not sure of what you are getting at. My hearing is excellent and it is very easy to hear the whine. I have all sorts of devices to listen to headphones on. the whine didn't appear until ICS. The problem is simply that Moto has screwed up something in the update, returning some of us to the headphone whine that was present at launch time last year. Are you not aware of the history of this problem??

 

[Thom]

my wife hears the whine although she isn't quite as bothered by it as she has some hearing issues. not sure of what you are getting at. My hearing is excellent and it is very easy to hear the whine. I have all sorts of devices to listen to headphones on. the whine didn't appear until ICS. The problem is simply that Moto has screwed up something in the update, returning some of us to the headphone whine that was present at launch time last year. Are you not aware of the history of this problem??

I wasn't trying to raise a problem or accuse anyone of anything.

The issue with the touch pad seemed to be some problem with the body chemistry of that user and the Bionic hardware.

I was just curious if this was a factor.

From the testing of you and your wife it apparently isn't.

... Thom

 

[dave1812]

I wasn't trying to raise a problem or accuse anyone of anything.

The issue with the touch pad seemed to be some problem with the body chemistry of that user and the Bionic hardware.

I was just curious if this was a factor.

From the testing of you and your wife it apparently isn't.

... Thom

no problem. i'm just confused about your previous question. Last year, there were tons upon tons of complaints about the whine and many people tried more than 4 phones at various verizon stores to see if all samples had the whine--they all did. However, SOME respondents to this topic said they could never hear the whine (a friend of mine is in that category) on their own Bionics (this is all before the December 2011 update). So one would conclude that 1) it's their hearing, or 2) their headphone sensitivity, or 3) SOME Bionics don't have the defect that was obviously brought out by the initial release of the OS--these three scenarios should be applied (logically) to the issue going on at the moment, with ICS and the Bionic.

 

[Glock23]

It's mostly noticeable when it's quiet, but it's there as long as there is sound being output via the headphone jack.

Also, at least on my phone, it is at a constant volume level...so it doesn't get louder if you turn up the music.

And it's there even if the sound is turned all the way down while listening to music, so it's something that appears when audio to the headphone output is activated. It begins as soon as I press play (noticeable before the music actually starts) and it's there for a second or so after I pause or stop the music.

 

[dave1812]

It's mostly noticeable when it's quiet, but it's there as long as there is sound being output via the headphone jack.

Also, at least on my phone, it is at a constant volume level...so it doesn't get louder if you turn up the music.

And it's there even if the sound is turned all the way down while listening to music, so it's something that appears when audio to the headphone output is activated. It begins as soon as I press play (noticeable before the music actually starts) and it's there for a second or so after I pause or stop the music.

You just described the whine exactly. and because I don't like to blast out my eardrums, I don't play music too loudly; hence the whine is annoying as hell.

 

[Spiritus Mundi]

The VZW store that I purchased the phone from blew me off for a third time. I was finally able to get through to customer support. I dealt with a fellow Bionic user that was experiencing many of the same issues as me (headphone hiss, increased battery drain, and inconsistent charging). After 5 mins of looking for a replacement she offered me the Nexus, was unable to locate one and ended up offering me a white S3. It shipped this morning and, Sandy permitting, should be here Tuesday.

 

[Thom]

You just described the whine exactly. and because I don't like to blast out my eardrums, I don't play music too loudly; hence the whine is annoying as hell.

You were dumping the Bionic and getting a Razr Maxx. It apparently arrived and you apparently could not tolerate the speakers and sent it back.


You have a friend who has never experienced the problem ...

• Have you tried listening on his Bionic? Did you hear it when he didn't?
• Did he try listening on your Bionic? Did you hear it when he didn't?

Have you tried an iPnone? Did it have a problem?

You could consider buying a Bionic on Eba with 5.9.905 installed and never upgrade to ICS.

I wear hearing aids (both ears) and when I listen on a wired headset I remove them both . I have never heard the whining. I am not a good subject.


... Thom

 

[dave1812]

You were dumping the Bionic and getting a Razr Maxx. It apparently arrived and you apparently could not tolerate the speakers and sent it back.


You have a friend who has never experienced the problem ...

• Have you tried listening on his Bionic? Did you hear it when he didn't?
• Did he try listening on your Bionic? Did you hear it when he didn't?

Have you tried an iPnone? Did it have a problem?

You could consider buying a Bionic on Eba with 5.9.905 installed and never upgrade to ICS.

I wear hearing aids (both ears) and when I listen on a wired headset I remove them both . I have never heard the whining. I am not a good subject.


... Thom

he is at the opposite end of the country. I would LOVE to hear a non-whiny Bionic with ICS. I'll be within a few hundred miles of him this weekend, but that's still not close enough to hook up.

 

[wildkitten]

he is at the opposite end of the country. I would LOVE to hear a non-whiny Bionic with ICS. I'll be within a few hundred miles of him this weekend, but that's still not close enough to hook up.

If you really think the whine is either the fault of the Bionic and/or ICS, then I am curious as to why you were looking forward to a Razr Maxx. Since you didn't say it was the HD model, I can only assume you meant the original Razr Maxx and you do realize that the Razr/Razr Maxx's are merely Bionics with an AMOLED screen. So with your thinking it's either the Bionic's fault or ICS's fault or a combination thereof, you would have to expect to have the whine on the Razr Maxx as well.

 

[Thom]

What you learn when you have a hearing loss (and you learn it reluctantly) ...

My hearing aids are digital. Each one has 15 amplifiers that amplify a specific frequency range. So picture the audio spectrum broken into 15 slices.

What happens over time is that people loose the ability to hear specific frequency ranges. The most common loss is the higher frequencies that allow people to easily distinguish words in a conversation.

The solution is to measure each of the 15 ranges and set the volume on each of the 15 to bring the total into a usable end.

Every person who is measured is different.

Here's a guess ... it is only a guess ... there are a small number of people (you included) who hear a specific frequency range BETTER than the rest of us. The whine is always there. It is only heard by a small number of people.

You working with someone who doesn't hear it when you do and using the exact same equipment would go a long way in proving this theory.

My guess is that the only long term solution will be for you to try a number of different devices until you find one that doesn't whine and stick with it. It is obviously critical to you. You should expect that the results will vary from one software release to another on the same device.

... Thom