Comment 1 Andre Klapper 2009-11-16 17:06:26 UTC

I'd really like to see a second person confirming this issue here.

updating to fw 42-11 made no difference. since none is reporting similar
issues, i'm inclined to believe the issue might be hardware related. in which
case it's worth noting that the device has been handled with tenderness by
yours truly. 

since my device is one of the 300 loaners, would anyone have a suggestion about
what to do about a possible ear speaker failure? i could not find any
information in the product loan agreement about what to do in case of hardware
issues.

On my N900 outgoing skype calls work fine, but for incoming calls I get no
sound (no internal / no speaker) while the other side can hear me just fine.

The phone's WiFi connection is excellent.
Speakers work otherwise.

Perhaps this is related.

I also have problems with incoming skype calls.  When an incoming skype call
occurs, I do not hear the caller, but they can hear me.

When I make an outgoing call, everything is OK.

A have a similar problem with google talk, but both incoming and outgoing has
no sound on my phone.

*** This bug has been confirmed by popular vote. ***

I have the same problems with incoming skype calls. Never with cellular calls.
The person in the other end can hear me but i cannot hear him/her. Sometimes
the the problem gets fixed if i wait a minute or so with the call active.
Usually not though. The problem occurs with high quality WIFI as well as 3g.

Actually, I have just this problem (whith cellular calls, don't have a Skype
account).

I'm pretty confident that it's a hardware issue. At least I have the feeling
that when I press it hard against my ear (!), it get's better (and no, it's not
just me misplacing it against my ear :P)

But the funny thing is that it seems to be better the first call or two after a
reboot. But I'm pretty sure it's hardware (altough mine has also been treated
"tenderly". I'll try try a master reset and then we'll see :)

I have the same issue as the original reporter
will do some investigations asap

sometimes when I hear nothing playing with volume buttons brings audio back
into the ear

Actually, I did a complete reflash using the instructions at
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=32993&page=4 and my issue was fixed (!).
Before, maybe 9 of 10 calls were just some inaudible mumbling. Now it's good as
new.

I have absolutely no explanation on this, but very happy that it wasn't a
hardware defect which I was so sure of :)

some progress.... I can hear nothing, it's not SOME calls. all of these.
Is there any way to check if it's hardware or software issue? pretty annoying

flashed the same firmware and still no joy
unless there is a hidden setting that was not affected by reflashing ...
seems I have to bug nokia service

as for me, I confirm and insist it's a software bug. I've paired and connected
bluetooth headset today. After I've switched off the bluetooth the audio came
back to normal. So I am convinced it is a mixer/pulseaudio issue.

When i receive a call and i hear nothing i can put it on speakers and it works
okay. For some reason i have this issue way less when connected to a bluetooth
headset. Also receiving calls seem to give me less problems then outgoing
calls. I have not tried an actual reflash. Did you guys use the vanilla or the
mmc ?

Thanks in advance,

Jeffrey

I have the same problem as well... putting the call onto speaker and then
switch off the speaker will fix the issue for that call. also moving the phone
around the ear sometimes will also fix the issue.

could this be somehow linked to the proximity sensor as well?

with the new 51-1 i am still having this issue, i totally reflashed my device
but this did not solve the issue. when the call does not return sound i can get
it back in 3 ways.

1. speaker on/off until sound returns
2. play with the hardware volume buttons until i hear something
3. press the device together on the screen (hardware problem?).

i thinl the priority/severity should be raised to blocker as the main function
of this telephone is to make a phonecall. and exactly this is having problems.

is there any way i can post relevant logs of my device ? i am a bit clueless
how to start solving this issue. any directions would be great.

I also have the same problem. I think it started when I upgraded to version
2.2009.51-1.

I haven't flashed it since then yet..

i will try to see if i can record a call and see if it will record the incoming
voice. If so it seems to be a firmware bug, right? If it does not record the
call perhaps there is no incoming signal at all. Hopefully we can pinpoint the
bug a bit better.

I gave up on this issue and sent the device to nokia service. There is no
pattern I could discover on when it works and it doesn't. Sometimes bt headset
on/off. sometimes speaker. sometimes volume button. sometimes reboot. 
Since nobody here can give any indication on how to debug alsa/pulse I'll just
wait a new unit hopefully to be lucky enough.
btw, flashing whatever firmware (including user partition) doesn't help at all.

Comment 20 Andre Klapper 2010-01-25 14:53:16 UTC

Thanks for the comments. Bumping version, already confirmed (NEW status).

Indeed. My statement in comment #10 is false. It worked for several days after
the reflash, which was weird. But eventually it came back. I've sent mine to
Nokia as well.

Hi all,

I can confirm a similar issue. The call volume fluctuates massively and the
call often becomes inaudible. 

There are some extra details on http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=42227
but basically if you apply (or unapply) pressure to the phone it appears to
make a difference to the volume (proximity sensor issue maybe?)

It seems a number of people have the issue so I can't imagine its a HW fault...
I certainly hope not.

Loud speaker, Bluetooth and ear phones appear unaffected.

Also I'd agree with post #16 and raising the priority/severity of the issue.

If anyone could suggest a fix that would be great. Like wise, if anyone could
suggest a way I could help pin point the issue I'd be happy to help!

I did not have this bug before january firmware update, but now it influences
about 50% of my phone calls. 
I've found out that when my surroundings are silent, phone calls work well. But
when there is lots of noise around me, the volume switches around a lot during
the actual phone call.

This is a really big problem.

I am also experiencing the issue with dropping sound levels during a phone
call.  While holding the phone next to my ear during a call the sound level
intermittently drops to inaudible levels.  This is extremely annoying and
simply makes it impossible for me to use my N900 as a phone.  I will have to
sell mine if the issue isn't fixed within the next several weeks.  I absolutely
love the N900, but can't afford to use it just for awesome web browsing!!!

Why is priority and severity so low? I'd consider this a big issue. Why don't
people care?

(In reply to comment #25)
> Why is priority and severity so low? I'd consider this a big issue. Why don't
> people care?
> 

I second this!  This is a serious issue that needs to be taken care of ASAP!

Comment 27 Andre Klapper 2010-02-02 12:47:51 UTC

Tommi, Gene K: This is a bug tracker, not a forum. Please don't add unhelpful
comments that create mail that has to be read. Vote instead.

This issue did not happen in 42-11 but 51-1 for me.

I was calling the same person, on the N900 can barely hear them around 11pm on
a quiet night. I did a test and switched the simcard to the N97 and their voice
was loud and clear. (On the N900 the volume was maxed out)

Is there a way to 'hack' the volume up?

my unit came back from nokia lab
"mechanical repair" is all I can read on the recipe.
almost one week of stable audio now

I can confirm this with PR 1.1 and PR 1.1.1. It never occured before these.
Since 1.1 updated the GSM firmware blob, maybe this is related?

(In reply to comment #30)
> I can confirm this with PR 1.1 and PR 1.1.1. It never occured before these.

I can also confirm on PR 1.1.1. Updated yesterday evening, now this morning
having two calls with almost inaudible audio. Physically operating volume
slider did not help. However, reboot of the phone corrected the volume to
normal level.

I can also confirm this bug on PR 1.1.1  Did not have this really annoying
issue originally.  First noticed after PR 1.1 update.  Thinking of sending the
phone to Nokia service center.

i confirm this bug... or probably hardware prob.

I kinda hit the speaker area and it comes back ok...probably loose
connection...

(In reply to comment #33)
> i confirm this bug... or probably hardware prob.
> I kinda hit the speaker area and it comes back ok...probably loose
> connection...

I too can confirm this bug/hardware prob.
I have had it for almost a month now. I even had it with earphones hooked up to
my phone. I have it on all calls I make and like others said, shaking it a bit
or pressing my ear harder against the phone, fixes the problem or starts the
problem.

I kinda think its a hardware issue, but I dont know.

Someone needs to change the severity/priority higher on this. We have to get an
official mention on what Nokia thinks about this.

Can someone please make this a more serious issue? i'm experiencing this bug on
almost half of my calls and i have reflashed the firmware several times without
any help at all.

most of the time, after a reflash it will work fine for awhile and then this
bug will start again.

I have also this bug. Volume call drops very low frequently. It comes up both
gsm and 3G and incoming and outgoing calls. 
Very nasty and annoying bug.

I have installed the latest version PR 1.1.1

I have the same problem with the sound, the audibility goes up and down, from
total silence to perfect clear voice.

The funny part at this is if put out the hardware keyboard ich can hear the
person
on the other side as good as it should be.

This problem, is a very very serious problem and shouldn't be set on low

Comment 39 Andre Klapper 2010-02-25 14:19:06 UTC

Resetting priority as it does not mean much here. Bumping severity.

I have had these problems for a month and I think the problem is even more
severe than what people think.
I have found a new possible negative side-effect to this problem.

I make daily phonecalls of about 30-45 min. and because of this problem, I'm
kind of forced to use the speaker to be able to hear the person I'm talking to.
People used to say a lot: "What?", "Say again?", "Can you repeat that?". I have
asked some to describe how I sound at the other end of the line and they say
they can hear me clearly and during the conversation there are times that they
can't hear me anymore. (Its basically the same problem as what I have on my
end...)

I don't have 3G coverage over here, so I'm always in 2.5 (EDGE/GSM) mode. I got
4 bars of coverage, so that's not the problem either.
I'm on software version: 3.2010.02-8.002

I don't know if this problem is related to bug 6063 or wheter it is because I'm
on the speaker and talking about 30 cm away from my mobile phone.
I hope other people having the 6063-problem, can pay close attention to the
calls they make and see if they hear people say: "what..??". If so, ask them to
describe how you sound on the other end. Bug 6063 might be bigger than we
think.

Greetings,
A guy that is gonna buy a 20 dollar phone tomorrow so he can make actual
phonecalls. :)

I can confirm something new now:
When I shake the phone, I don't hear moving parts. I used to hear something
move (asif it was broken), but that happened to be the memorycard slot. I
placed a card in it and now I don't hear anything when shaking my phone. I also
never dropped it. ... I thought in the past that it was a hardware problem, but
now I'm leaning towards a software bug....

I made a reflash like described hear
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=32993&page=4 and everything worked well,
but after one day the problems started again. I thought it could cause by the
extra software but that didn't looks like that anymore.

I dont know if its a hardware or software problem, because now if I press on
the earspeaker the quality changes, before the reflash i could change it by
pressing on the case, that dont do anything after reflash. That pressing
changes looks like hardware issues, but the difference after and before
flashing makes me thining again about software.

I will try the reflash with an older version of meamo, because i hadn't the
problems from beginning.

It's a hardware issue.

I have done some tests for the last few days and I conclude that it's a
hardware issue.

What I did is the following.

I reflashed my Nokia with version 5.0/(1.2009.41) - global. I made sure not to
install any other programs on my phone. I noticed that after the reflash I did
remember my contacts though. Anyway this firmware version did not accept my
Canadian simcard, so I couldn't make any phonecalls, so I upgraded to
5.0/(1.2009.42) OTA (= over the air). This version was also not compatible with
my simcard.
I did another upgrade and finally got the first software version that could
communicate with my simcard: 5.0/(1.2009.44).
Right on the first call I had the fading issues. I did a 30 min call and
basically it's 30% unhearable and 70% good.

I upgraded 2 more times and tried out both version 2.2009.51 and 3.2010.02 and
every version had the same problem.

I couldn't find any firmware that worked. The one that used to work a few
months ago when I bought the phone (1.2009.44) was not working either, so it
has to be a hardware issue.

I also flashed all versions from http://tablets-dev.nokia.com/nokia_N900.php
and I can confirm, that the hardware is responsible for the problems.

If I press the buildin earpiece with a little pressure, all calls works fine,
just becoming bad if the earpiece gets pressed again a little bit hard, for
example by holding it between your shoulder and head if you have no hand free
to hold your handy during a call.

So I think the earpiece is builded in very bad, seems like an really bad
quality in this case.

If you use the side of your index finger to hit the metal rim left to the
screen (where the ear piece is located) a few times the issue may go away.
YMMV.

I have had the same problem as mentioned in original bug report.

I got sound cutting off completely, or lowering down to variable volumes during
both VOIP and normal GSM calls.

I took the phone in for repairs after this and they changed my earpiece.
Problem hasn't been so strong after that, although if the phone moves on my ear
I may hear a crackling and the voice of the other person may be affected.
Sometimes my call starts pretty low volume and quickly jumps to normal volume
again.

I've been experiencing the same issues.  I didn't have any volume problem until
I updated to 1.1.1 recently.  Immediately after the update I notice the volume
level suddenly dropping to almost inaudible levels during calls.  Volume button
doesn't make a difference on the volume and it happens on both 2.5G and 3G
calls.  When this happens I can use the volume rocker to drop the volume level
but it won't allow me to raise the volume any higher than the reduced volume. 
I'm just guessing here but about 25% of the calls return to the normal volume
within a minute but for most I am forced to hangup and call the party back. 
Squeezing/twisting/shaking/tapping the unit doesn't do anything.  I hope this
helps to track down the bug and hopefully get it fixed.  Thanks.

Hello,
I noticed the volume on my phone was very low until another phone rang next to
me, at which point the volume got much higher.
Hope that helps.

Also a note to Andre Klapper:

in comment 27 of the bug 6063, you rightly stated that this bugzilla is not a
forum and that people should vote to express the importance of an issue.
Yet, i do not consider the number of votes to be the sole factor that should
orient developpers into solving one issue over another.

I, and many others, can not use our expensive phones because of this issue.

This might affect a small number of people, i do not know. Yet for these
people, the issue is blocking: we might as well have a brick. This is not like
a widget malfunction or other little detail. 

Hence I believe this type of matter should be dealt, regardless of the
percentage of the people affected, with a high priority level, as other people
have asked for.

Sincerely,

Cem Sencil

In my case this definitely is a hardware issue.
I had been experiencing this problem for two weeks after I bought the phone.
Then I unscrewed the front part (one with display) from the body (one with
keyboard) and reattached the ribbon cable properly. After assembling device
back everything was ok. Sound was good, no volume drops or any other problems.
But now, two weeks later, they seem to be gradually returning. Volume is low in
the beginning of each call and gets to normal level only after some finger
pressing on the back panel.
My assumption is that ribbon cable gets disconnected little by little when
opening/closing keyboard. Perhaps I need to find a way to fix it in place.

from what i have read in different websites, there are two issues:

1) nearly silent calls that can be fixed by opening the phone case and moving
internal cables: this first issue is an hardware issue

2) nearly silent call occuring only with incomming calls. There is no problem
when you make the call, only when you receive a call: this second issue is a
software, hence a different issue.

In my case I face the software issue. I never have a nearly silent calls when i
do call people, but almost always when people call me. 
You are facing the hardware issue I guess.

My experience tells me this is a hardware-related issue. See:
http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=577174&postcount=90 

After well over two weeks since my N900 came back from service (internal
speaker replacement) - it didn't misbehave even once.

@Lorenz

And what about your software and profile settings? Are these all the same?

(In reply to comment #52)
> @Lorenz
> 
> And what about your software and profile settings? Are these all the same?

Yes.

Comment 54 Eero Tamminen 2010-04-09 13:40:32 UTC

(In reply to comment #43)
> I couldn't find any firmware that worked. The one that used to work a few
> months ago when I bought the phone (1.2009.44) was not working either, so it
> has to be a hardware issue.

If the issue is in CMT side (in which case it should concern only phone calls,
not VOIP ones), this may be incorrect conclusion because (AFAIK) CMT SW cannot
be downgraded.


(In reply to comment #50)
> from what i have read in different websites, there are two issues:
...
> 2) nearly silent call occuring only with incomming calls. There is no problem
> when you make the call, only when you receive a call: this second issue is a
> software, hence a different issue.
> 
> In my case I face the software issue. I never have a nearly silent calls
> when i do call people, but almost always when people call me. 

I may have just bumped into issue similar to that, but it can be "fixed" by
increasing the volume using the volume button.  Does that work for you or
others hitting the same issue?  (could help in pinpointing the issue)

re 54

I Flashed my N900 eventually 4 times, because I had also contracted the
frequent boot bug 32wd.
Since then I did not reinstate the lot of the user-dev software increasing the
number of dec installs each time, until I found that Powatool corrupted MY
Settings/screen Calibration (each time I touched thecalibration screen - the
screen would disappear.
At the same time I seemed to remember some how(but cannot replicate the tool
used) that I used a switch to have alarms sounds set to ascending to slowly
increase the intensity of their sound tracks. (It can be that I remembered this
from the Nokia N2730, a 'phone I installed at the same time to overcome the
RSAP (car phone) deficiency in the N900 for German Cars (VAG + Mercedes).

BUT
What I did do was to set the Settings/Profile/system sounds to: level 2.

I have had no more re-boots, no more problems with calibration and NO MORE
problems with incoming calls being inaudible.

My Uptime now is 6d 19h 54m.

my 2p!

> BUT
> What I did do was to set the Settings/Profile/system sounds to: level 2.
> 
> I have had no more re-boots, no more problems with calibration and NO MORE
> problems with incoming calls being inaudible.
> 

I have had this audio problem too. Now changed system sounds to level 2 and
disabled the portrait mode for web viewing (this caused the volume buttons work
the opposite way they should).

Now I've got about six calls so far and audio has been clear on every call.
Although my friend has the same problem with his n900 and this trick didn't
work for him.

(In reply to comment #56)
> > BUT
> > What I did do was to set the Settings/Profile/system sounds to: level 2.
> > 
> > I have had no more re-boots, no more problems with calibration and NO MORE
> > problems with incoming calls being inaudible.
> > 
> 
> I have had this audio problem too. Now changed system sounds to level 2 and
> disabled the portrait mode for web viewing (this caused the volume buttons work
> the opposite way they should).
> 
> Now I've got about six calls so far and audio has been clear on every call.
> Although my friend has the same problem with his n900 and this trick didn't
> work for him.
> 

I have always had my system sounds at level 2, before and after repairs done to
device.

I believe I'm suffering from a physical problem and not a software bug, as
pressing lightly or shifting the phone slightly on my ear affects the incoming
sound.

Comment 58 Eero Tamminen 2010-04-14 10:35:10 UTC

(In reply to comment #57)
> I believe I'm suffering from a physical problem and not a software bug, as
> pressing lightly or shifting the phone slightly on my ear affects the incoming
> sound.

You may be keeping the phone in too high position. I think you can quite easily
almost completely muffle the sound by placing the speaker hole against the skin
of your ear instead of keeping it in a position where the the speaker sound can
travel freely to your ear canal.

(In reply to comment #58)

> You may be keeping the phone in too high position. I think you can quite easily
> almost completely muffle the sound by placing the speaker hole against the skin
> of your ear instead of keeping it in a position where the the speaker sound can
> travel freely to your ear canal.
> 

Already discussed and dismissed.

I am fairly sure I have had the same issue using a headset, speakers, and the
built-in earpiece.  Low or non-existent sound, sometimes randomly coming up to
full sound.

This leaves me some hope that this is a firmware resolvable bug.  Though given
the amount of physical solutions people have found over at tmo, I suspect there
may be more than one issue that produces the same general outcome.

What we need is some way of diagnosing the problem at a software level so it
can be eliminated.

Comment 60 Eero Tamminen 2010-04-14 17:27:08 UTC

(In reply to comment #59)
> What we need is some way of diagnosing the problem at a software level so it
> can be eliminated.

Getting fully reproducible test-case is best way.  If developers have something
they can reproduce, they can find what causes it and verify that whatever fix
they'll do, actually fixes the issue.

It's not a software bug.

I already posted before that it's not a software bug for the following reason:
When I got my phone, it used to work fine for the first 8 weeks or so. In that
timeframe, I have updated my phone several times to the newest firmware.
After those 8 weeks, I started having these issues.
Now here is the best part: I downgraded my firmware and have actually tried out
all available firmwares. After changing the firmware I have made 1 hour test
calls, and there was no firmware that passed this test.
No matter what firmware I used, I was having this 6063-issue.

It must be a hardware issue, I don't see what else it could be.

(In reply to comment #60)
> (In reply to comment #59)
> > What we need is some way of diagnosing the problem at a software level so it
> > can be eliminated.
> 
> Getting fully reproducible test-case is best way.  If developers have something
> they can reproduce, they can find what causes it and verify that whatever fix
> they'll do, actually fixes the issue.
> 

Oh definitely.  The problem with isolating this issue is its intermittant
nature.  Even during the course of a call it can vary. 

So it isn't all that reproducible - not in any consistant way.  So I guess I
was alluding to something that can monitor inputs and outputs from pulseaudio
for example.  Or see what load it is pulling, or monitor the dsp.  Something
that can be left running, and observe and record what is going on.

Some people have it worse than myself, so could perhaps reproduce every time. 
But how would a developer then be able to take that and reproduce it elsewhere
so they can figure it out?  Is the suggestion to send a problematic handset to
a developer rather than a repair centre?

(In reply to comment #61)
> It's not a software bug.

> After those 8 weeks, I started having these issues.
> Now here is the best part: I downgraded my firmware and have actually tried out
> all available firmwares. After changing the firmware I have made 1 hour test
> calls, and there was no firmware that passed this test.
> No matter what firmware I used, I was having this 6063-issue.
> 
> It must be a hardware issue, I don't see what else it could be.
> 

Yours is a single handset, and certainly sounds like hardware.  But it doesn't
exclude that other issues with other handsets with similar but not exactly the
same symptoms could not be firmware related.

I have experienced this issue on speakers, headphones and the in-built
speakers.  Perhaps there is a single physical path that connects all of these
that is only used during phone calls but it seems unlikely.

I confirm that there is a software issue. I used to have this is voice call
issue last month, played with the system sound level settings two weeks ago,
and now the issue is gone for me too. I do not know exactly all the steps I
took but the issue comes from the sounds settings. 

Does the firmware change remove all settings? This is not obvious to me...

And to those who talk about their hardware problems: please try to understand
that maybe everybody is not facing the same causes as you are...

(In reply to comment #64)
> I confirm that there is a software issue. I used to have this is voice call
> issue last month, played with the system sound level settings two weeks ago,
> and now the issue is gone for me too. I do not know exactly all the steps I
> took but the issue comes from the sounds settings. 

I have similar experience: I have not this problem for several weeks now AND I
have not adjusted the sound volume at all. I am afraid that if I begin to use
sound volume adjustment, the problem will re-occur. And for me it seems like a
SW issue, as a re-boot resolved the issue (but not fiddling with sound volume
button).

Comment 66 Eero Tamminen 2010-04-15 12:48:58 UTC

(In reply to comment #64)
> Does the firmware change remove all settings? This is not obvious to me...

Depends whether you flash the device or use SSU update.

Flashing will overwrite the rootfs and system settings, but you should take a
backup before that, you can then restore it after flashing.

I think we should little by little accept the fact that the phone experience in
this regard discussed in this bug report isn't ideal.

Be it me moving the phone too high on my ear, be it bad wiring or a software
problem, I think everyone is suffering from a little bit of all of these. I
think it's simply design flaws in the N900 that constitutes quite significantly
to all of these problems.

If we can't determine when the software is acting up and when it's simply the
component or wiring, should we think of creating an app that forces the
incoming call volume to be louder. Can this be done? Fix the problem by giving
more levels to the volume bar so once the sound fades, we can force it louder
at least a little bit.

I was really thinking on buying the n900, till i read this. I won't take the
chance.
It also isn't clear, if this is a bug for maemo or bug for nokia.

one more thing, I read it here
http://www.stochasticgeometry.ie/2010/05/10/10-things-about-the-nokia-n90/ as
the first from 10 things the author hates about the Nokia N900

Comment 70 Andre Klapper 2010-05-12 20:42:34 UTC

Mariano: Bugzilla is not a forum. Your comments don't add any value in helping
to fix this. Please either silently click "Vote for this bug" (which does not
create bugmail for everybody), or go to talk.maemo.org instead. Thanks a lot!

I gave up and sent my cellphone back to the store, which in their turn sent it
to Nokia.

After a few weeks they gave me my cellphone back and a letter said that the
firmware was upgraded (it was already the latest version (rolleyes)) and THAT
THE SPEAKER WAS REPLACED.

The chassis (the outside part of my cellphone) still had the same scratches as
I had before, so they didn't just give me a new cellphone, but really replaced
my speaker.

It works fine now, so I'm really convinced its a hardware bug.

> After a few weeks they gave me my cellphone back and a letter said that the
> firmware was upgraded [...[ and THAT
> THE SPEAKER WAS REPLACED.
> 
> [...]
> 
> It works fine now, so I'm really convinced its a hardware bug.
> 

Yes, I've done this once now and it has temporarily fixed the problem. Now my
phone is in need of taking it into service again. I also am very sure that this
is a hardware problem.

However, I would still suggest that this problem be at least lessened by
boosting the volume of the earpiece as it flails in volume more than cuts it
off entirely. This way at least we would get a little more time before having
to take it in for repairs.

Comment 73 Eero Tamminen 2010-05-17 09:31:05 UTC

(In reply to comment #72)
> Yes, I've done this once now and it has temporarily fixed the problem.
> Now my phone is in need of taking it into service again.

Do you have some software that uses ALSA directly[1] for audio output?

Anything doing things like that bypasses the speaker protection algorithms in
pulseaudio.

(The audio algorithms in pulseaudio for boosting sound volume, protecting the
speaker etc are pretty heavy so they eat some CPU.  Because of this somebody
may have temptation to bypass pulseaudio.)


[1] This should tell if something links alsa, but not pulse, but it of course
misses things where one links pulse, but still uses ALSA API directly:
------------
cd /proc;
for i in $(grep -l asound */maps); do
        grep -q -v pulse $i; 
        if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
                echo "WARNING: process ${i%/maps} uses ALSA directly!";
        fi
done
------------

Hi All,

I also got my speaker replaced... They changed the touchscreen while they were
at it on the basis of it compressing the speaker springs/contacts. 

This seems to have resolved my problem.

Very poor effort from Nokia though. No replies to my emails and no announcement
on here. At least they have a couple of good Repair Centres knocking around
though!

Dan

(In reply to comment #73)
> (In reply to comment #72)
> > Yes, I've done this once now and it has temporarily fixed the problem.
> > Now my phone is in need of taking it into service again.
> 
> Do you have some software that uses ALSA directly[1] for audio output?
> 
> Anything doing things like that bypasses the speaker protection algorithms in
> pulseaudio.
> 
> (The audio algorithms in pulseaudio for boosting sound volume, protecting the
> speaker etc are pretty heavy so they eat some CPU.  Because of this somebody
> may have temptation to bypass pulseaudio.)
> 
> 
> [1] This should tell if something links alsa, but not pulse, but it of course
> misses things where one links pulse, but still uses ALSA API directly:
> ------------
> cd /proc;
> for i in $(grep -l asound */maps); do
>         grep -q -v pulse $i; 
>         if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
>                 echo "WARNING: process ${i%/maps} uses ALSA directly!";
>         fi
> done
> ------------
> 

To my knowledge I haven't installed any software that should in any way "use
ALSA directly". What kind of software for example could do something like this?

Is that last bit something I should put into the Terminal to check what's up
with my Alsas and Pulses? Is it a script?

I'm really sorry, I don't quite follow what you talk about in your reply. Can
anyone else clarify / answer questions posed here?

Comment 76 Eero Tamminen 2010-05-21 18:29:19 UTC

(In reply to comment #74)
> no announcement on here.

This is a Maemo community issue tracker (sponsored by Nokia), not a Nokia
communication channel.  Maemo is SW for the Nokia devices (and MeeGo will
extend the scope outside of them), so HW issues are by definition out of scope
for bugs.maemo.org.


> To my knowledge I haven't installed any software that should in any way "use
> ALSA directly". What kind of software for example could do something like this?

Well, it's kind of a long shot.

Anything using e.g. gstreamer or libSDL audio APIs should be automatically
using pulseaudio, which should cover most of the 3rd party programs' audio
needs. But in theory anything outputting sound (3rd party music players using
something else than gstreamer, non-SDL-mixer games etc) could potentially be
using ALSA directly.  

Another unlikely explanation could also be a 3rd party program that just messes
ALSA volume settings while call is going on.  I've understood that there are
complex[1] audio policies to handle audio redirecting, volume mixing etc which
should prevent this kind of stuff, but I could imagine that it's possible for
there to be some hole which can be (accidentally) "exploited" by 3rd party
program.

[1] Much more complex than on desktop.  Both in pulseaudio and in the ohmd
policy daemon (latter includes prolog engine to handle the rules...).

N(In reply to comment #76)
> 
> > To my knowledge I haven't installed any software that should in any way "use
> > ALSA directly". What kind of software for example could do something like this?
> 
> Well, it's kind of a long shot.
> 
> Anything using e.g. gstreamer or libSDL audio APIs should be automatically
> using pulseaudio, which should cover most of the 3rd party programs' audio
> needs. But in theory anything outputting sound (3rd party music players using
> something else than gstreamer, non-SDL-mixer games etc) could potentially be
> using ALSA directly.  
> 
> Another unlikely explanation could also be a 3rd party program that just messes
> ALSA volume settings while call is going on.  I've understood that there are
> complex[1] audio policies to handle audio redirecting, volume mixing etc which
> should prevent this kind of stuff, but I could imagine that it's possible for
> there to be some hole which can be (accidentally) "exploited" by 3rd party
> program.
> 
> [1] Much more complex than on desktop.  Both in pulseaudio and in the ohmd
> policy daemon (latter includes prolog engine to handle the rules...).
> 
Yes, it is a very long shot indeed, and I don't think that's the issue... even
if a program was using ALSA directly (a media player/game/other), it would be
using the speakers, but the problem here is with the earpiece and not the
speakers and I doubt there would be some application using ALSA to output sound
in the earpiece. So I don't think that this is the issue.

I believe it's simply a hardware issue considering how pressing the screen
affects it. I got mine to work for a little while by trying my best not to put
too much pression on the screen when talking.. and it worked! but the sound
issue would happen again if for example I had to hold the phone between my ear
and my shoulder.
This is (in my case anyways) a 100% hardware problem. I've sent the device back
to Nokia repair and waiting for it to get back.

I am experiencing the exact same issue and its been going on for at least 3
weeks.  The problem is intermittent, but you can bet that if I'm on an
important call, its going to fade out, which is erm, embarrasing.  The only
option is to turn on the speaker, which is not very private.

I am also having this problem.

1. I bought my N900 2nd hand, it was about 1 week old. Have receipt.
2. Since my day 1 with it, I am been having this problem.
3. Sound from the call speaker gets muted/unmuted in relation to physical
stress.
4. If I press the phone with my shoulder to my ear ("handsfree kitchen mode")
the speaker gets depressed and stops working, if I remove the pressure 80% of
the times it resolves the problem.
5. Moving the slider also toggles the issue.

It's probably a hardware problem with the speaker contacts.
As I have no warranty anyway, (using the phone in Israel, purchased in usa)
i'll soon open up my phone and try to bend the pins a bit.

i had the same issue, and since i am living in canada nokia said they can not
fix it,i have the phone with no use!

(In reply to comment #80)
> i had the same issue, and since i am living in canada nokia said they can not
> fix it,i have the phone with no use!
> 

I have recently received my phone from Nokia Care. Report says that they have
(now for the second time) changed the earpiece. I no longer suffer from this
problem, further proving (to me at least) that this is a physical fault in the
design. By this I mean that the earpiece seems very prone to malfunction, even
with average careful use.

(In reply to comment #80)
> i had the same issue, and since i am living in canada nokia said they can not
> fix it,i have the phone with no use!
> 

I also live in Canada, I got mine from the UK so I sent it back to the UK for
repair, then replaced the device. I haven't had any problems with the new
device since!
From my tests, it was definitely a hardware issue with the earpiece. If someone
has this problem, send it for repair before the warranty times out.

Any one from NOKIA had any solution for this issue?????

My n900 is with some of the NOKIA TECHNICAL EXPERTS(Really?EXPERTS??with the
experience i had....) now in some factory (delhi,INDIA)again....

Comment 84 Andre Klapper 2010-07-07 12:35:06 UTC

(In reply to comment #83)
> Any one from NOKIA had any solution for this issue?????

S33: Please do not comment on bug repors if it does not provide any technical
information for developers. There is http://talk.maemo.org for this type of
communication, or contact Nokia directly via Nokia Customer Care.
Maemo.org Bugzilla is NOT the place for this. Thanks!

Fixed with PR1.3? I haven't been bugged by this bug for months. Any other
thoughts?

(In reply to comment #85)
> Fixed with PR1.3? I haven't been bugged by this bug for months. Any other
> thoughts?

I no longer have my device, but when I did I also did not experience it after
upgrading to 1.3 .  Marking as no longer affects me.

I've tried to upgrade (and downgrade) to all versions of firmwares available
here
http://wiki.maemo.org/Updating_the_tablet_firmware#Flashing_the_eMMC_in_the_N900
but it did not worked.

The only thing that fixed the problem was following instructions in this post
http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=536756&postcount=38

So, I guess my device had a hardware issue :(