Intl. Galaxy S3: Intermittent distortion in Audio played via stock music player

[rafian]

On my international Galaxy S3 (stock everything), while playing music over headphones (tried several brands), I hear intermittent distortion, it's like a buzzzz or spark or crackle. If you're a casual listener you could miss it. The duration of buzz/spark is for a fraction of a second. It occurs at least 2-3 times in every song. When I go back and play the part again, where the distortion occurred, I am not able to hear it. Oh well, I know the recording is clean.

I am not sure if it's got to do with the CPU cranking to cater to a different process. I tried keeping Wifi, bluetooth, data, ... all off. I also removed all processes via the task manager + cleared RAM.

Please help. I can't live with this issue since I am so much into music and very picky when it comes to audio quality.

Thanks a bunch.

 

[davoid]

Couple of questions:

Which firmware version are you on?

Does this happen when the screen is on or off?

The reason I ask is because there was an audio problem reported when the phone went into a sleep, but this issue was fixed with the update to LG6 firmware.

 

[rafian]

Couple of questions:

Which firmware version are you on?

Does this happen when the screen is on or off?

The reason I ask is because there was an audio problem reported when the phone went into a sleep, but this issue was fixed with the update to LG6 firmware.

Thanks for your quick response.

Baseband version on my phone is: I9300DDLF3 (that's firmware right?)

Hmm! Interesting. I never checked if the issue occurs only when the screen is off. Let me tell you, it definitely happens when the screen is off. Because I've been listening to music while going to bed with the phone screen off.

Fyi: I am using Kies and it hasn't prompted me for the LG6 upgrade yet.

 

[davoid]

If I were you I would upgrade manually to the latest firmware (I think it's LG8 right now).

You can get hold of the firmware and flash it yourself instead of waiting for an upgrade. The instructions for how to do it are very easy to follow as they provide screenshots.

Download the firmware here (you want the I9300XXBLG8):

[Stock Official Firmwares] I9300XXBLG8 (4.0.4) - United Kingdom (BTU) [27-07-12] - xda-developers

You then need to download windows software called Odin (unfortunately not available for mac) and use it to flash the firmware onto the phone via USB cable.

You can download Odin from here:

[Guide+ROMS]Odin Flash+Root Guide & Stock Firmwares LE4/6/8/9/F/D, LF1/2 - xda-developers

If you have Kies installed you should already have the drivers that you need for the process. The instructions are on that same webpage, just below the Odin download link.

Starting at the Flashing Firmware with Odin simply follow steps 1 to 8.

Your audio problem should disappear.

 

[rafian]

Davoid, Thanks a ton. I'll look into this today and hopefully upgrade my phone to LG8.

Just read that there's a new firmware for the Galaxy S3 modem released that fixes the battery drain problem.
Modem update Galaxy S III fix battery drain | SamMobile

Can I apply the model update on top of LG8?

Thanks!

 

[davoid]

Yes you can flash the modem over the LG8 firmware.

 

[rafian]

Davoid,
Do I need to change the CSC of my phone?

The CSC that corresponds to the firmware you pointed to is: OXABLG8

My phone is:
PDA: I9300XXBLFB
Modem: I9300DDLF3
CSC: I9300 ODDBLF3

Changing CSC will wipe my phone.

Thanks.

 

[davoid]

Yes, that's true, changing the CSC will wipe your phone.

Where is your geographical location?

It should be possible to get an up-to-date firmware with the CSC specifically for your region.

Although really you could probably even leave the CSC and it wouldn't affect much. One thing it will prevent is Kies recognizing your phone as compatible, and you won't be able to use Kies to install further updates without the correct CSC. But as you are fed up waiting for official updates anyway and are prepared to flash it yourself it shouldn't be a problem for you. You would probably also have to manually input your APN and MMS settings for your carrier's network - which you should be able to obtain online somewhere.

Anyway, let me know your region and we'll try to find your ideal firmware.

 

[rafian]

Davoid,
I am in India. The phone was purchased in India. The country code I reckon is DD.
Thanks.

 

[davoid]

It looks like your firmware is the most recent that has been released in India.

If you look on Sammobile.com and compare your firmware details with the latest UK firmware that I linked to earlier, you see that they both appear to support the same regions - neither of them India!

GT-I9300 - India
PDA: I9300XXBLFB
CSC: I9300ODDBLF3
Version: 4.0.4
Date: 2012-06-27
Regions: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom

AND...

GT-I9300 - United Kingdom
PDA: I9300XXBLG8
CSC: I9300OXABLG8
Version: 4.0.4
Date: 2012-08-06
Regions: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom

Unless that is an informational error on sammobile's part, I guess I would say, you might as well install the UK firmware...

It will definitely work. You will just likely have the inconvenience of manually configuring your APN and MMS settings - but maybe not.

 

[rafian]

Davoid,
I was planning to update my S3's firmware this weekend.
Guess what? My phone detected a firmware update this afternoon. I just clicked "ok" and it successfully updated my firmware.
Now my version reads:
PDA: I9300XXBLH1
Modem: I9300DDLH1
CSC: I9300 ODDBLG2

Do you think this is as latest as LG8?
I am yet to check the sound quality of the stock music player.

 

[davoid]

Davoid,
I was planning to update my S3's firmware this weekend.
Guess what? My phone detected a firmware update this afternoon. I just clicked "ok" and it successfully updated my firmware.
Now my version reads:
PDA: I9300XXBLH1
Modem: I9300DDLH1
CSC: I9300 ODDBLG2

Do you think this is as latest as LG8?
I am yet to check the sound quality of the stock music player.

The PDA and the modem are both H1 which is an August release, so later than G8 which is a July release, so you should be good to go.

Let us know if it's fixed the audio problem.

EDIT: Oh, and you don't have to flash the modem over it now, as you have the latest modem.

 

[rafian]

Davoid,
Just spent 5 mins listening to a track. I didn't hear any distortion. Will listen to more music tonight and report back.
Thanks a bunch for contributing to this thread very-promptly all along.
Also thanks for letting me know that I don't have to flash the modem update.

I thank Samsung for releasing firmware updates to help resolve most of the issues with the S3. It's soooo easy to update the firmware straight from the phone itself - No need to connect the phone to the computer.

Off-topic:
Next, I hope Samsung will release an update that will increase the volume of S3. It's way too low. The cheapest Nokia phone actually feels too loud (and clear as well) - you've to literally lower the volume. Wonder why Samsung could not do that on S3.

EDIT: Listened to more music. Can't hear that intermittent distortion. I feel there's a tiny bit more hiss than before. Doesn't bother me. Sound is clear. Bluetooth sounds louder - I was talking to a friend over bluetooth and he kept saying lower the volume, you're too loud. Also, there seems to be little bit more memory free than before. Can't quote the figures, I am going by that horizontal bar that you see via the Task manager.