Help Ticking sound?

[codesplice]

I've noticed a faint ticking sound when I hold my Pixel 2's earpiece up to my ear while the screen is unlocked, and it seems that I'm not alone. It's very quiet - on par with a ticking wristwatch - and seems to occur every half-second or so. I've also found that it only happens while NFC is enabled; disable NFC, and the clicking stops.

My coworker's Pixel 2 doesn't exhibit this behavior, so I've contacted Google Support and received an RMA. I'll probably order that replacement in the next day or two but was wondering if anyone else was experiencing this with their new phone.

 

[lunatic59]

The only mechanical thing I can think of in the phone would be the autofocus being continually on and adjusting. Have you tried covering both cameras and see if it goes away?

I know Google got clever with the one vs. two camera setup. Maybe a little too clever?

 

[codesplice]

The only mechanical thing I can think of in the phone would be the autofocus being continually on and adjusting. Have you tried covering both cameras and see if it goes away?

I know Google got clever with the one vs. two camera setup. Maybe a little too clever?

That was my initial thought upon reading that thread (which, of course, I read before checking for the ticking on my own device), but it doesn't seem to be the case. It's less a "physical" ticking and seems more like brief bursts of interference coming from the speaker itself.

My working theory is that 2Hz may be the polling rate of the NFC radio, and on some devices it is inducing a small current onto the speaker wires to cause the faint ticking. Just my theory though. I did go ahead and order the replacement so maybe that one will work better.

 

[lunatic59]

Maybe you're just holding it wrong.

It could be a shielding problem, of course. Probably the day your phone was made, the guy on the line whose job it was to inspect the foil over the chip forgot his glasses.

 

[codesplice]

Maybe you're just holding it wrong.

Quite possibly - though it took me much less time to get used to the smaller phone than I expected. It only took about ten minutes with the Pixel 2 for my 6P to feel HUGE.

But yeah, I'm thinking a shielding issue.

 

[Hadron]

Mine has it too. As I don't use NFC it's not a big deal, but I've reported it to them. If I don't get a response I'll follow up more assertively when I have a moment.

I'm sure it's shielding since I could also hear interference when downloading 150 apps last night.

Otherwise it's a joy after a 4.5 year-old device (though feels very thin and flat),

 

[codesplice]

I should be receiving my replacement device today. I look forward to seeing whether or not it clicks. (I kind of expect it to, but Google wanted to send me an RMA so who am I to stop them?)

 

[codesplice]

Hey, no ticks with the new phone!

I do hear the high pitched "coil whine" if I press my ear very close to the rear glass, but it's far less noticeable while on a call than the ticking so I think I'll stick with it.

 

[lunatic59]

I do hear the high pitched "coil whine"

I hear that even without a phone!

So, do you think that it's part of an 'early batch' QC problem? or just a random thing?

 

[codesplice]

So, do you think that it's part of an 'early batch' QC problem? or just a random thing?

My personal thought is that it's an early batch QC issue, though it sounds like Google may be starting to push back on RMAs for the ticking (and they insist the faint coil whine is "working as intended" - I understand that some high-pitched electrical noises aren't unexpected, but I don't really feel like the sound is "intended"). Google may be able to work around the ticking with a software patch by disabling NFC while on a phone call (or even just while the proximity sensor is covered while on a call); I tried to work that out with some Tasker wizardry last night but it doesn't look like those controls are exposed anymore.

That Pixel User Community thread is really blowing up, which makes it easy to believe that every device might be affected by these problems. It's good to see that isn't actually the case.