[THINK TANK] Boosting Nexus Audio Even Further - Nexus One Android Development

Ok, we all know about the volume level changes on CodeAurora. I'm trying to take it a step further, as the speaker is still incredibly soft compared to my G1. I'm working on some kernel mods to boost the audio further.
If you look in q6audio.c where (along with board-mahimahi-audio.c) the audio hacks are made. The current mod just raises the values within the current range settings.
However, in q6audio.c at line 1275-1287 it defines the stream volume. There is code there to check if the min/max ranges set earlier in the file and in board-mahimahi-audio.c are within the ranges of the chip as I'm guessing defined by Qualcomm. My idea is to change those values, thus setting a higher range that we can use to set the volume. I've changed the code to set it at 3200 max & -2000 min which matches the original range of 1200 to -4000.
Then I set the values at 2000 & -400 for the speaker in the ealier min/max definitions at the beginning of q6audio.c & board-mahimahi-audio.c and I hear no discernable difference. Why?
When I change the values back to the original 1200 to -4000 and then just set the min/max values lower to see if it gets quieter, there is no difference yet again. I know my kernel is building right, because if I change kernel freqs/voltages it works, and if I change RAM tables it works, why won't the audio changes work?
Any kernel chefs wanna weigh in here? Any ideas to boost audio more? Thanks all, maybe we can finally get decent volume on our Nexii!

From my own experiences, I think modding the audio on my G1 eventually caused the speaker to blow.. So i bought a N1. I've also heard that it's common with HTC phones. With that said i'm very interested to see where this goes.

ComplexMinded said:
From my own experiences, I think modding the audio on my G1 eventually caused the speaker to blow.. So i bought a N1. I've also heard that it's common with HTC phones. With that said i'm very interested to see where this goes.
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Yeah I have no intention of pushing things too far lol. I'll be careful with values & test things on my own before (read: if) I ever release anything.
Still, I have no responsibility if you guys screw up.

Tried again with slightly different settings. Still a no go.
Gunna look at some more code tomorrow night (maybe ADIE tables & some other ****).
One idea that hit me, though its over my head, would be boosting the voltage running to the speaker? Stupid or no? I'm guessing it would be in a GPIO setting somewhere. Board-mahimahi.c? Something in the qdsp6 folder where the q6audio & ADIE files are?
Sorry just kinda rambling here. Trying to spark some brighter minds than my own. Running out of ideas, any help would be appreciated

Did you try the final Desire audio kernel? Reviews showed that Desire has 30% more volume for ringtones...

I think that the loudspeaker on Nexus and Desire is screamy(high freq) it needs more bass, but i dont think its made for that.
It sounds terrible strident.

Some sort of progress
If you push libhtc-acoustic.so from a Desire build to '/system/lib' and restart the media server ("killall mediaserver") it then tries to load a file called 'TPA2018.csv' and when it fails it says something along the lines of "Speaker Amplification Failed". I managed to track this file down and i can get it to successfully load, but then it fails trying to load '/dev/tpa2018d1' and try as i might, i can't find this file anywhere.
I'm not in a position where i can build the source at the moment but if anyone could try building this file (if it's even present in the source) it would be very helpful

Meltus said:
Some sort of progress
If you push libhtc-acoustic.so from a Desire build to '/system/lib' and restart the media server ("killall mediaserver") it then tries to load a file called 'TPA2018.csv' and when it fails it says something along the lines of "Speaker Amplification Failed". I managed to track this file down and i can get it to successfully load, but then it fails trying to load '/dev/tpa2018d1' and try as i might, i can't find this file anywhere.
I'm not in a position where i can build the source at the moment but if anyone could try building this file (if it's even present in the source) it would be very helpful
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The reason its failing is because the Nexus doesn't have that hardware. The TPA2018.c file runs a check to see if your on a CDMA revision device and if you are it enables an extra pin on the chip that amplifies it. That is a dead end since even hardcoding it to try and load that pin will fail since it doesn't exist on UMTS devices.
I did however find some gain settings in a few files that I'm going to try out once I get outta school today though. It should work, but we'll have to wait and see.
Also, interestingly enough it seems as though the CDMA revisions support stereo speakers. The code has support for left/right device speakers in CDMA mode.
It seems those of us that bought GSM/UMTS Nexii are getting continually shafted. Weaker screens, crappy touch sensor on both revisions, worse speaker. Oh well though, I still love my Nexus.

Geniusdog254 said:
The reason its failing is because the Nexus doesn't have that hardware. The TPA2018.c file runs a check to see if your on a CDMA revision device and if you are it enables an extra pin on the chip that amplifies it. That is a dead end since even hardcoding it to try and load that pin will fail since it doesn't exist on UMTS devices.
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Ah that's a shame. Thanks for the info though, it sucks that i've been chasing a dead end with that, it looked so promising too

Meltus said:
Some sort of progress
If you push libhtc-acoustic.so from a Desire build to '/system/lib' and restart the media server ("killall mediaserver") it then tries to load a file called 'TPA2018.csv' and when it fails it says something along the lines of "Speaker Amplification Failed". I managed to track this file down and i can get it to successfully load, but then it fails trying to load '/dev/tpa2018d1' and try as i might, i can't find this file anywhere.
I'm not in a position where i can build the source at the moment but if anyone could try building this file (if it's even present in the source) it would be very helpful
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also, /dev/tpa2018d1 isn't a file, its a link to a hardware device. In this case the speaker amplifier pin. Manufacturer page here @ TI page. Obviously a speaker amplifier chip, I would need to see a Nexus board to see if its present or not, but I have no idea how to go about that. I'd have to talk to a disassembly expert.
Anyways, I did a little more work.
To start with, in pmic.h:
Lines 39-49 have a speaker gain settings table. This is used in files like board-mahimahi-audio.c. The "SPKR_GAIN_PLUS12DB" is already whats defined. So I added a setting for 16DB gain. More on that later.
Next, in board-mahimahi-audio.c:
Lines 71-136 have the speaker enable methods.
Lines 120-121 already used the pmic_spkr_set_gain method as defined in pmic.h. I added those methods to lines 84-85 & 94-95 in the code where it turns on the speaker.
Still a no go. Does anyone else have any clues on this?

So with the Desire kernel being released, is there a chance some progress can be made with this?
http://member.america.htc.com/download/RomCode/Source_and_Binaries/bravo_54b7033a.tar.gz

karnovaran said:
So with the Desire kernel being released, is there a chance some progress can be made with this?
http://member.america.htc.com/download/RomCode/Source_and_Binaries/bravo_54b7033a.tar.gz
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Unfortunately no
We know that the Desire uses the TPA2018 speaker amplification chip, like in the CDMA Nexii. There is a config file for it in the Desire ROMs (not Nexus Desire ROMs, real Desire ROMs). The GSM Nexus doesn't have that chip, so that method won't ever boost audio for us.
The best bet is in either the ADIE tables which we can't figure out, or changing the maximum values in the settings for the Snapdragon audio hardware, then boosting it higher, and in my personal tests I don't notice any difference at all.

Related

BlueAnt X5 A2DP Stereo Headphones

Ok...
I haven't found anyone else that would admit to trying these headphones with my phone (Dopod 838 Pro).
The headphones themselves are pretty cool. They fit pretty well, don't look toooo dorky, and the buttons click nicely etc. I haven't had them go flat on me yet. They could have come with a protective case though, and you have to take the microphone off to charge them, and I'm always afraid I will lose it.
When I first got them, they sounded crap. AM radio crap. I updated them to the latest firmware from the BlueAnt website (what a drama).
Tested, and they worked ok with the dongle - not exactly hifi sound, but the quality was ok to listen to.
Next I called BlueAnt HQ here in Australia, and after getting put through to a tech support guy he told me "They should work fine, I tried them with an iMate JasJam - no problems. Do a reset and try re-pairing them" (Duh).
Then I called the Dopod support line in Australia. During business hours. It goes through to an answering machine that doesn't even have an introduction message. Left a message. No reply.
Just as I was about to return them, I found the A2DP software tweak/patch on the wiki. First let me just say:
AAARRRGHHHH! What they hell are Microsoft thinking? Why have a registry setting \HKLM\StereoMusic\MakeMyMusicSoundLikeCrap=1 setting in the first place, and THEN why ship all phones with that enabled as the default? How many people have returned perfectly functioning Bluetooth headsets because of that? STUPID. I reckon Microsoft/HTC owe BlueAnt (and others) a truck load of money.
Secondly, that helps. Music is now stereo. I've been using them every day for a few weeks now. The bad news:
1) The quality is still very poor. There is a metallic hissing/sizzling/sibilance sound, especially noticeable on female vocals, which sounds (to me) exactly like a poor bitrate encoding error. The quality is much worse than when I pair it to the dongle it came with. I suspect it is the phone (or the MS BT stack) at fault not the headset. I would really like to be able to fix this.
2) With Wifi enabled, the music cuts out every few seconds. Unlistenable.
3) With Wifi disabled, I get the occasional glitch. I can live with that (if I must)
4) Using the headset profile during a phonecall, the sound I hear isn't too bad (a little muffled) but people tell me I sound really distant and hard to hear.
5) The AVRCP support is dodgy. Most of the time it works. Often when I first hit Play, it plays for a few seconds and then stops. I have to hit Play/Pause again and it starts. Track seek and volume up/down seem to work well. Answering a phone seemed hit and miss at first, but seems to mostly be working now. Not sure if this is the phone or the headset.
The iMate JasJam listed in the compatitabilty section of the BlueAnt website, but the Dopod 838 Pro is not. I emailed BlueAnt with my findings, and suggested they add the A2DP hack to their FAQ for other users. Hasn't appeared yet.
So, my questions:
1) Has anyone tried these headphones on a Hermes device? Does your experience mirror mine? Or is one of my devices faulty? Is the voice quality on the headset profile ok?
2) Is there a Widcomm (?) stack that works on the Hermes that may fix the problem, or...is it likely to be any better with WM6?
3) Does anyone have an A2DP headset of any brand working on a Hermes with "Crystal clear CD quality sound" like it says on the box the headphones came in. If so, what brand? If it is possible to get a good sound out of the MS BT stack, it might be worth pushing BlueAnt to release a new firmware to fix the issues.
4) Would a Bluetooth 2.0 headset give a better result? (Is it a bandwidth issue?)
Any replies would be helpful.
Thanks guys,
Zilch.
Yep I have an X5 unit connected to my Imate Jasjam and have not updated the firmware.
Yes it did skip when I first tried it but after a bit of experimenting, discovered turning off WiFi fixed it.
Yes it was mono till I did the reg hack to make it stereo.
No I don't get any hiss and think the quality is great (I know this is subjective but I tested female vocals as you suggested and they were great -Croncrete Blond, Eurythmics, Dyvinals, and even Chris Issac)
You may want to go here http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsmobile/default.aspx to realise the complications/dificulties the Ms WM guys are up against. I am sure they had a good reason to set the default to mono (maybe some devices didn't work at all with it set to stereo)
I would have to suggest there are other issues with your setup that are compromising the playback quality. I honsetly am impressed.
I don't use it as a phone headset as I use the X3 model to connect to two phones (I like Blue Ant stuff), so I can't comment on the mic quality.
When you consider that most people are having a nightmare with their stereo headsets (read the Widicom thread, if you have a lifetime to spare), then I am totally impressed with Blue Ant.
Sorry to have to disagree with you.
esseff said:
Yep I have an X5 unit connected to my Imate Jasjam and have not updated the firmware.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply!
Yes it did skip when I first tried it but after a bit of experimenting, discovered turning off WiFi fixed it.
Yes it was mono till I did the reg hack to make it stereo.
No I don't get any hiss and think the quality is great (I know this is subjective but I tested female vocals as you suggested and they were great -Croncrete Blond, Eurythmics, Dyvinals, and even Chris Issac)
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Hmm...ok. Are you saying that the quality from your JasJam is the same as if you used the supplied Bluetooth Dongle that comes with the X5? (That's my goal currently)
If so, maybe there is some sort of configuration difference between the JasJam and the Dopod. (The JasJam is on the compatibility list, and the support guy did say he had used it ok)
I'm not just being an anal hifi buff here. The sound quality is obviously poor, and quite noticeable. You probably don't have it, but if you listen to the track 'Lithum' by 'Evanescense' it makes you cringe when the vocals come in (the piano sounds relatively normal. It's noticable in all tracks, but specifically in tracks like that.
Did you use this utility to tweak the A2DP sound settings? Or edit the registry manually (if so, can you tell me what settings you used?)
You may want to go here http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsmobile/default.aspx to realise the complications/dificulties the Ms WM guys are up against. I am sure they had a good reason to set the default to mono (maybe some devices didn't work at all with it set to stereo)
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Click to collapse
I don't really accept that as a valid reason. Sure they have problems. The least they could do is make a user tweakable UI to change that setting. It's not acceptable to have a protocol designed for stereo music set to mono and no way for a user to change it.
I would have to suggest there are other issues with your setup that are compromising the playback quality. I honsetly am impressed.
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Ok, good to know. I haven't given up yet!
Sorry to have to disagree with you.
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Not at all! Thanks again for the reply.
Edit: If you get a chance, can you do me a favour and check if yours is the H1 or the H4 model? (First two digits of the serial number, under the battery of the left headphone).
Zilch.
esseff said:
Yep I have an X5 unit connected to my Imate Jasjam and have not updated the firmware.
You may want to go here http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsmobile/default.aspx to realise the complications/dificulties the Ms WM guys are up against. I am sure they had a good reason to set the default to mono (maybe some devices didn't work at all with it set to stereo).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ehh... they could pay up and get a proper BT-stack from Widcomm....
Zilch said:
Thanks for the reply!
Hmm...ok. Are you saying that the quality from your JasJam is the same as if you used the supplied Bluetooth Dongle that comes with the X5? (That's my goal currently)
If so, maybe there is some sort of configuration difference between the JasJam and the Dopod. (The JasJam is on the compatibility list, and the support guy did say he had used it ok)
I'm not just being an anal hifi buff here. The sound quality is obviously poor, and quite noticeable. You probably don't have it, but if you listen to the track 'Lithum' by 'Evanescense' it makes you cringe when the vocals come in (the piano sounds relatively normal. It's noticable in all tracks, but specifically in tracks like that.
Did you use this utility to tweak the A2DP sound settings? Or edit the registry manually (if so, can you tell me what settings you used?)
I don't really accept that as a valid reason. Sure they have problems. The least they could do is make a user tweakable UI to change that setting. It's not acceptable to have a protocol designed for stereo music set to mono and no way for a user to change it.
Ok, good to know. I haven't given up yet!
Not at all! Thanks again for the reply.
Edit: If you get a chance, can you do me a favour and check if yours is the H1 or the H4 model? (First two digits of the serial number, under the battery of the left headphone).
Zilch.
Click to expand...
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I haven't used the dongle for a long time but when I did it was thru my HiFi playing CDs not MP3 so there may have been a difference in quality but never bothered to compare as I never had a problem with the playback quality from my Imate.
I did a manual reg fix using the wiki recommendations of 48 and 0.
I have model H1.
You may be right that the Imate is configured a little differently but I also run it very clean.
I have so few problems compared to what I read that I feel embarressed that I'm so lucky. As an IT consultant I just luv it as my work phone - I use VPN, Terminal Services, WiFi, Push Email, internet access, etc... and it's a phone! Constantly impressed.
Rant>
Can't believe the way people on this forum butcher their devices and end up with something that is full of broken things... oh but I'm sooooo cool because I have WMXL .20.1 with radio rom 6.47.803 - don't care that nothing works anymore. Juss wanna be soooo cool.
esseff said:
I did a manual reg fix using the wiki recommendations of 48 and 0.
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Did you set a bitrate?
I have model H1.
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I wonder if this is the difference. Mine is an H4 version.
You may be right that the Imate is configured a little differently but I also run it very clean.
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Just for the record, I got the headphones a few days after I got the phone. The only thing I had done was put my SIM card in, copy a few MP3s and change the default theme (since the Dopod one is grey).
There were no mods/hacks/cooked ROMS/tweaks etc. Just the ROM it came with which is also the latest version on the Dopod website. My phone is supplied to me by work, so I need it to be as reliable as possible - I can't afford to mess around with it. (Which is one of the reasons I resent having to edit the registry to get some stereo headphones to play in stereo)
Note: Today I have a few apps installed. An RSS reader, train timetable, TomTom etc. Only hack is the registry change for A2DP, and a util which sets the soft input to Block Recognition mode on startup. None of these seem to have affected the quality of the A2DP stream in any way though.
Unless I can try my headphones with someone's JasJam, or another Dopod I'm not sure I'm going to be able to narrow down the issue. I think it has to be a difference in the X4 hardware/firmware or an issue with the Dopod ROM (compared to the JasJam one)
I have so few problems compared to what I read that I feel embarressed that I'm so lucky. As an IT consultant I just luv it as my work phone - I use VPN, Terminal Services, WiFi, Push Email, internet access, etc... and it's a phone! Constantly impressed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have it as a work phone too - and work in IT. I haven't had any issues with it except Windows Media Player losing the tracks on the storage card, and the device locking up from time to time (this is always when I am not using it - it is turned off and does not turn back on). Overall it's a great phone!
Rant>
Can't believe the way people on this forum butcher their devices and end up with something that is full of broken things... oh but I'm sooooo cool because I have WMXL .20.1 with radio rom 6.47.803 - don't care that nothing works anymore. Juss wanna be soooo cool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude. You are hanging around the xda-developers forum. Each to their own. Tweaking is fun for these guys. It's like mechanics cars. You and I are in a different position as our phones are a work tools and have to be reliable. I'm more than happy to benefit from people experiences hacking theirs though
Zilch.
esseff said:
I don't use it as a phone headset as I use the X3 model to connect to two phones (I like Blue Ant stuff), so I can't comment on the mic quality.
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Click to collapse
I was actually considering getting an X3 as well (they look cool), but I will wait until I have worked out the issues with my X5.
Just thinking about this. How does it work? You are bopping along to your perfect A2DP sound, and you somehow hear the phone ringing, so you take off the stereo headphones, get your X3 out of your pocket, insert it in your ear, and answer the phone!?
Zilch.
Zilch said:
I was actually considering getting an X3 as well (they look cool), but I will wait until I have worked out the issues with my X5.
Just thinking about this. How does it work? You are bopping along to your perfect A2DP sound, and you somehow hear the phone ringing, so you take off the stereo headphones, get your X3 out of your pocket, insert it in your ear, and answer the phone!?
Zilch.
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Click to collapse
Don't use X5 at work, but when I'm relaxing at the beach or around the pool. Use X3 connected to my Imate and my private phone at work. AT the time it was the only headset that would connect to more than one device and works great.
>
Dude. You are hanging around the xda-developers forum. Each to their own. Tweaking is fun for these guys. It's like mechanics cars. You and I are in a different position as our phones are a work tools and have to be reliable. I'm more than happy to benefit from people experiences hacking theirs though
Zilch.
>
... but i shake my head in disbelief when I read some of the things ppl do.
Kupur was applauding an admitted newbie who, after 1 hr of owning his device decided it wasn't right and flashed it with some cooked rom, upgraded the radio, and SIM/CID unlocked it!!
How can this guy have any point of referance? How can he know he has made an improvement if he never bothered to use it properly in it's std state? And he will no doubt curse and abuse Ms and HTC for producing crap hardware and software.
As you say each to their own but it's hard for me to understand some ppls mentality.
esseff said:
>
... but i shake my head in disbelief when I read some of the things ppl do.
Kupur was applauding an admitted newbie who, after 1 hr of owning his device decided it wasn't right and flashed it with some cooked rom, upgraded the radio, and SIM/CID unlocked it!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I was tempted to do that, right after getting it is probably when I would do it. Reloading all your stuff sucks. Plus if he needed it SIM unlocked to use it that could be why.
Plus, what a better way to learn than bricking a $900 brand new phone?
Zilch.
Zilch said:
So, my questions:
1) Has anyone tried these headphones on a Hermes device? Does your experience mirror mine? Or is one of my devices faulty? Is the voice quality on the headset profile ok?
...
3) Does anyone have an A2DP headset of any brand working on a Hermes with "Crystal clear CD quality sound" like it says on the box the headphones came in. If so, what brand? If it is possible to get a good sound out of the MS BT stack, it might be worth pushing BlueAnt to release a new firmware to fix the issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To answer my own question in case anyone else is having this issue...it's all fixed with the official WM6 ROM. Works perfectly. (Except for the dropouts when WiFi is enabled)
yeah I have them and have had for quite some time now ... first used them with my Eten G00 then the G500+, then I changed phones to a nokia n73 and things didn't seem so good. anymore I lost the remote functions and even though I like the new phone I missed some things like nav and others so i went back tot he g00+. I have now updated to the HTC Tytn II I think sim to your hermes ....
I find nothing wrong the x5 controls a re great and quality is exceptable... I have no issues with Wifi.. I have the updated firmeware on my x5 and the stock firmware on my tytn II..
I also have a hs850 paired to the device the only thing I deslike on the hole issue is that everytime I use the x6 I have to fiddle around getting them to resume the pairing.
where as my hs-850 I just turn on blue tooth and turn on the headset... and off we go...
I have the x5 set as default headset and default stereo headset... the hs850 is just another device listed and pairs up soon as its turned on.
Can someone post me the headset firmware and how to use it?
SunnyRio said:
Can someone post me the headset firmware and how to use it?
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I got it from blueant.com I think. (Was some time ago). It was updating the phone that fixed the issues though.
Zilch said:
I got it from blueant.com I think. (Was some time ago). It was updating the phone that fixed the issues though.
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I can't seem to find it. can you upload it somewhere? Or give me a link?

Unofficial CDMA-only "hacked" fix for audio skip/lag issue

Greetings, fellow CDMA Raphael and Diamond users!
Those of you who use third party audio players are, I'm sure, well aware of the infamous audio lag on our devices.
A few weeks ago, HTC released a fix for this issue, but it did not work on CDMA devices -- in fact, it screws your device is you install it.
Well, I spent way too much time reverse engineering the fix to see if I could find a way to adapt the fix to the CDMA version of OEM_Misc.dll (the file that is installed in the fix). Initially, I met with failure. But recently, I revisited the idea and, unbelievably (at least to me), I have managed to produce a version of OEM_Misc.dll compatible with CDMA devices that does not have the audio skip problem!
Okay, before installing, please be advised that there is still a possibility that this fix may mess up your device, requiring a hard reset. I've only tested this on one phone (mine) so I don't exactly have a large test pool yet. lol. Also, I'm not responsible if your phone crashes, bricks, blows up, or anything else.
Now that all of that is out of the way, onto the fix!
I whipped up a cab which will replace the ROM OEM_Misc.dll with the version I hacked to get it fixed. Before you install the cab, you must install the sdkcerts.cab first because all drivers MUST be signed and that is the XDA de-facto standard for signing DLLs.
Okay, to reiterate!
1. DO NOT INSTALL THIS FIX IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A CDMA PHONE!
2. YOU MUST INSTALL SDKCERTS FIRST!
Enjoy! And please report your experiences.
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I might try this out. I'm not sure if it will work though because i have 9 gigs of music on my 16 gig storage card. I think that is the reason that it goes slow sometimes. Also, I am running a custom rom....would this file have to be renamed in order to work? I know that sometimes chefs change the names of stuff.
codydavis22 said:
I might try this out. I'm not sure if it will work though because i have 9 gigs of music on my 16 gig storage card. I think that is the reason that it goes slow sometimes. Also, I am running a custom rom....would this file have to be renamed in order to work? I know that sometimes chefs change the names of stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I doubt it has been renamed. OEM_Misc.dll is a system driver that, among other things, handles charging your phone, updating registry state for various phone properties, etc. I don't know the full scope of what it does because it's hard to tell what something is doing in assembly language, but that's what I discovered. The bug that was fixed was setting a certain timed event that happens every five minutes to a lower thread priority, so the audio driver doesn't skip.
The attached file will ONLY fix the "five minute skip" bug -- nothing else. For example, HTC Audio Manager has been reported having problems playing certain high-bit MP3s sometimes. This won't fix that. It also won't fix slow storage cards leading to buffer lags.
Also, on CDMA systems (at least stock ROMs), the HTC Audio Manager (music TF3D tab) has a special work-around where it plays at a higher priority than the five minute timer, so it doesn't skip. This is only intended if you use third party audio players (like Pocket Player) which don't have that capability.
I installed this patch with success on my Telus Diamond, I held my breath, and got past the boot screen
music plays, not sure about any skips as of yet as I'm at work and can't test it out, but.... since the HTC patch messed up my phone, I tried MightyROM 4.7 and don't think I noticed a skip since then
Has anyone else tested this with success? I guess I would like to know what exactly the DLL change does?
TheDempster said:
Has anyone else tested this with success? I guess I would like to know what exactly the DLL change does?
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Click to collapse
Not to be an ass, but follow the links in the top post. It explains all.
And yea, it works. Of course, I created it, so obviously I'd say that. ;-)
Did not mean to insult you thx1200. Thanks for all the effort, I read the links, and obviously you put some time into this. You folks that have development skills amaze me.
I am going to give this a whirl. I use core player, and it skips, as you mentioned, every 5 min.
Appreciate the effort
TheDempster said:
Did not mean to insult you thx1200. Thanks for all the effort, I read the links, and obviously you put some time into this. You folks that have development skills amaze me.
I am going to give this a whirl. I use core player, and it skips, as you mentioned, every 5 min.
Appreciate the effort
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No hard feelings dude!! It's just that's a very common (over asked) question on posts here at xda! :-D
I hope it works for you! Let me know how it works out!
How'd I miss this? I'll cook it into my ROM and see if WMP still skips.
Thanks!
thx1200 said:
No hard feelings dude!! It's just that's a very common (over asked) question on posts here at xda! :-D
I hope it works for you! Let me know how it works out!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Over asking things??? At XDA?!?!?! Are you nuts???
I no longer have a Herman, but I will post this in my guide when I see more feedback on this fix. Good job!!!!
I'm going to try it because I have the issue with the music sucking because of the skipping. I have never had this problem with my Touch Pro until recently.
I am going to try it also because I have another problem in Windows Media Player: when streaming radio stations, it only goes for about 3 or 4 minutes and then stops. I used to stream on my phones for hours. On this one too. But now for the past month or so I have this problem of it stopping.
Thanks, but I tried and it didn't stop the skipping. I downloaded both cabs and after the second, the device restarted. I then tried playing mp3 file in WMP and skipping just as bad. Try and try again.
I meant to reply last week, but forgot, anyhow....
I recently loaded Juicy 8 on my diamond, as well as Kinoma Play (I don't use wmp). I had the skipping problem, badly. At least every minute of playback would have some kind of skip.
I applied the patch and no more skipping. I must have heard about 10 hours of playback since the patch.
phreaq said:
I meant to reply last week, but forgot, anyhow....
I recently loaded Juicy 8 on my diamond, as well as Kinoma Play (I don't use wmp). I had the skipping problem, badly. At least every minute of playback would have some kind of skip.
I applied the patch and no more skipping. I must have heard about 10 hours of playback since the patch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad! Is Juicy 8 a WM 6.1 or WM 6.5 ROM? I'm curious because I haven't heard if it works (or is even needed) on a 6.5 ROM yet. I recently started running MightyROM6 (WM6.5 based), which doesn't seem to have the skip issue and as far as I know it doesn't use my hack. Maybe WM 6.5's architecture is more realtime reliable? (speculating)
Anyway, let me know.
You know, its funny, you read lag issues with playing music
I think, I just got this phone, I don't think it lags. I was using the stock music player built in. I downloaded Nitrogen music player, went to work on the bus with those awesome quality headphones the phone comes with and was listening to metallica, and to my suprise, it sounded like the worse ever downloaded mp3 I'd ever heard. skips, bleeps etc. like someone had a scrached cd when they encoded it or something.
Then I remember there was a fix for it, but only GSM phones, and then I sorta remembered about a fix for cdma phones... I get home and search for it and wow. I found the page.
Thank you. I am already *****y about the phone's inability to recieve txt picture messages (telus) and this fix makes me content for now.
And I have been listening to metallica for about 10 min, I havn't heard any lag issues.
Thanks again!
Anybody wanna hazard a guess as to whether this would work on my Verizon Ozone?
sixbennetts said:
Anybody wanna hazard a guess as to whether this would work on my Verizon Ozone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon is CDMA. That's what this was designed for. I'd be a little surprised if it works on a WM Standard device, but hey! It's worth a shot! Just be prepared to have to hard reset, in case it doesn't work...
EDIT: Also, I am not an expert and I am not responsible for bricking your phone, etc. Usual disclaimer.
Thnx, thx! Not quite brave enough to try it now, maybe after my next reset.
I'll post results when.
*Edit*
Nope, no luck. tried it before a hard reset, wouldn't restart past the HTC screen. Same for after the reset.
:-(
Thanks anyways.

Desperate to Increase In Call Volume

hey everybody! i've been looking around everywhere and TRUST ME i've tried so many things so i finally decided to make a post and pray that someone can seriously help me out
I LOVE MY HD2 but the in call volume is HORRIBLE!!! i adjusted my settings from a site i found
which involved:
HKCU\ControlPanel\SoundCategories\Attenuation:
Value 0: DWORD, Value data: 0
Value 1: DWORD, Value data: 1
Value 2: DWORD, Value data: 1
Value 3: DWORD, Value data: 1
Value 4: DWORD, Value data: 1
Value 5: DWORD, Value data: 1
i even put the value up to 7 but i dont believe there is any difference
even this one:
HKCU\ControlPanel\SoundCategories\Ring:
Value AttenuationCategory: DWORD, Value data: 4
Value DefaultSound: Leave alone, default
Value Directory: Leave alone, default
Value InitVol: DWORD, Value data: 5
Value Speaker: DWORD, Value data: 1
but i believe that was for the ring tone?
please tell me you guys can help me out the incall volume is so horrible
Either you are very hard of hearing or there is something not quite right about your HD2.
I do not hear well and I have to turn my HD2 down in calls as it is way too loud and boy that's saying something with my ears!
I presume you do realise there is a touch control during the call to turn up the volume? (which is how I turned mine down).
are you talking about the volume control buttons on the side? thats what im adjusting and its on the very top... and trust me its pretty low compared to my previous G1... the HD2 is perfect when im at home but out in public the volume is horrible
and i need support to fix this problem not someones opinon on if i have a hard time hearing and how they're hearing is so amazing they need to turn down their volume
RowinnDinosaur said:
are you talking about the volume control buttons on the side? thats what im adjusting and its on the very top... and trust me its pretty low compared to my previous G1... the HD2 is perfect when im at home but out in public the volume is horrible
and i need support to fix this problem not someones opinon on if i have a hard time hearing and how they're hearing is so amazing they need to turn down their volume
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you search around, there are a lot of posts in regards to the HD2 being too loud during calls.
Asking for help and then saying you don't want to hear what they have to say won't win you any friends.
As far as I'm concerned, you may well have a broken HD2, as mine is *really* loud for calls.
rp-x1 said:
If you search around, there are a lot of posts in regards to the HD2 being too loud during calls.
Asking for help and then saying you don't want to hear what they have to say won't win you any friends.
As far as I'm concerned, you may well have a broken HD2, as mine is *really* loud for calls.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've just got a HTC HD2 about 3 weeks ago and the call volume in low , I've read a lot of forum which also said the HD2 was to loud , which now i thing that HTC have changed the spec on the phone due to the number of complains of the phone calls being to loud , I hope there is a fix to turn it up a little
have you tried to increase the volume "during" the call?...this is different setting from that during regular use
pakure said:
have you tried to increase the volume "during" the call?...this is different setting from that during regular use
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are talking about the up & down buttons on the side , yes I have , if there are other settings please tell me where
try this:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ControlPanel\Phone]"Vol"=65535
Valori da 65536 a 70000 (the max value)
rp-x1 said:
If you search around, there are a lot of posts in regards to the HD2 being too loud during calls.
Asking for help and then saying you don't want to hear what they have to say won't win you any friends.
As far as I'm concerned, you may well have a broken HD2, as mine is *really* loud for calls.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i wasnt trying to sound rude and as i stated earlier i have been looking around everrywhere i even put evidence of registry files that i've changed...
im just looking for more of a opinons for a solution than someone else telling me how loud their phone is... like... do i really need to know that your phone is louder than mine? that doesnt help me right?
and jacks5000 member seems to be having the same problem as me (not to put you on the spot) but im glad im not alone
and i really appreciate it juston80 for something new i can try... im giving it a shot right now and mixing it up with other registry keys hopefully something can work
i never had any probs volume wise, until i tried the 2.12.50 radio, when it was easily only half as loud, and practically unuseable for calls outdoors, no matter what reg tweaks i tried. 2.11.50 was better, but still not nearly as loud as 2.07.50
Have you tried changing the radio and see if it makes a difference for you?
(Why the radio should have such an effect on volume is beyond me, but hey)
samsamuel said:
i never had any probs volume wise, until i tried the 2.12.50 radio, when it was easily only half as loud, and practically unuseable for calls outdoors, no matter what reg tweaks i tried. 2.11.50 was better, but still not nearly as loud as 2.07.50
Have you tried changing the radio and see if it makes a difference for you?
(Why the radio should have such an effect on volume is beyond me, but hey)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sounds good bro im definatly gonna give this a try... it seems registry tweaks arent having any effect but im still desperate to try anything hahaha... im just a little lost on what do you mean by 2.11.50 over 2.07.50?
also what do you mean by radio? i looked around my HD2 but you dont mean "slacker radio" do you?
use the forum search. you would find:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=611787
RowinnDinosaur said:
sounds good bro im definatly gonna give this a try... it seems registry tweaks arent having any effect but im still desperate to try anything hahaha... im just a little lost on what do you mean by 2.11.50 over 2.07.50?
also what do you mean by radio? i looked around my HD2 but you dont mean "slacker radio" do you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
see the link posted by faelok
Radios flash just like roms, and you can ignore the bit in the link above about rillphone.dll, you dont need to worry about that.
samsamuel said:
see the link posted by faelok
Radios flash just like roms, and you can ignore the bit in the link above about rillphone.dll, you dont need to worry about that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i really appreciate the help guys
i just downloaded Leo_RADIO_2.11.50.26
and i read the part about installing... so do i need HardSPL first? before i install these radio roms?
then im a little confused about this part "Rename the extracted file to "RUU_Signed.nbh" and flash with the CustomRUU"
sorry when its real simple drag and drop and open i can handle it but when theres files all over the place i just need a little hand holding
get and run hspl3, choose 2.08.hspl, that means you can now flash roms and radios (and splash screens)
no need to rename anything, just put the radio.nbh file in same folder as customruu and rightclick customruu and choose run as administrator.
samsamuel said:
i never had any probs volume wise, until i tried the 2.12.50 radio, when it was easily only half as loud, and practically unuseable for calls outdoors, no matter what reg tweaks i tried. 2.11.50 was better, but still not nearly as loud as 2.07.50
Have you tried changing the radio and see if it makes a difference for you?
(Why the radio should have such an effect on volume is beyond me, but hey)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've just changed the radio from 2.12.50 to 2.11.50 and I will see how it goes after a few days
hi. i have the same problem too. low in call volume. any updates?
weird i usually have to turn my volume down sometimes
same, sometimes when I'm outside it's difficult to hear. Plus the hd2 speaker is awkwardly designed to press against your ear. Personally I use headphones when outside, the sound quality is crystal clear and my ear doesn't hurt
I am also looking for a solution to low volume on the HD2, especially when in public, and am shocked by those here insisting it is too loud (Why then have I found so many discussions on low volume?). Yes, I have the in-call volume turned all the way up by pressing the up volume key while in a call. No it's not a hardware problem with my phone, unless I managed to buy 2 T-Mobile HD2s and a Telstra HD2 that all have the same problem. Yes, I have read the thread linked to in a previous post, earlier in its entirety, and just now searched for the term "volume" which only found references to using the volume down key for entering boot mode. Yes, I've tried all radios from 2.10 up. No, I'm not hard of hearing, a recent detailed hearing test confirmed my hearing is very good, only slight loss at upper frequencies. As others, I have tried tweaking some registry values without success. I have found that the phone must be positioned precisely over my ear for maximum volume and that moving it even slightly results in barely being able to hear it even in a quiet room. Still hoping to find a solution.

Gsm testers!

I am experiencing a problem with the speakerphone. The buzzing noise that is known to happen on GSM devises when u r close to speakers, TV's, radios etc is happening when I turn on the speakerphone. Is this a known problem for GSM TP2 devices running android? Is there a fix or will I just have to deal with it till it gets worked out?
EDIT
I have done some testing and lots of reading. Its seems that the "GSM BUZZ" only happens on the 2G network. I will explain exactly what I am experiencing, when I am on the phone if I turn on the speakerphone the speaker starts buzzing, also if I am on the phone and recieve an alert/notification or press a button the same buzz comes through the speaker and to stop it I have to turn the speakerphone on then off. This is a real problem and it is happening on both GSM devices I have access to. I need people with GSM devices to do test so we can see if this is happening on all GSM devices. All I need is for u to make a call with 3G turned off or if u do not have 3G access simply turn the speakerphone on and report what happens. Also make a call and press a key, I belive that if keytones are enabled the buzz will happen and if not it will be buzz free. Somehow sounds are turning on the speaker while on the phone. Lets get this fixed!
You have a giant WinMo6.5 logo in your sig... Why don't you stick to WinMo?
Does it happen in WinMo? I don't have any speakerphone issues, but I'm on CDMA.
I asked for help not a smartass comment. stop being condescending towards people just cause u have a little knowledge. if all ur gonna do is talk down to others than y even post anything? u can go ahead and come back with another post trying to put me down but all it will do is make me laugh. please do not post unless u are willing to help me understand my problem. I know u think ur routine of accusing people off not reading before posting makes u feel like a man but to other u come of as a douche bag.
Now to answer ur question, CDMA devices so not genrerate the buzz through TVs and speakers that GSM devices do. My question was asking y the known buzz comes through the speakerphone. its almost like android thinks the speaketphone is part of another device.
now ur other question, I don't stick to WM for the same reason everyone else doesn't, my device allows me to do things like boot android and Ubuntu so I have the freedom to choose my OS.
porkenhimer said:
I asked for help not a smartass comment. stop being condescending towards people just cause u have a little knowledge. if all ur gonna do is talk down to others than y even post anything? u can go ahead and come back with another post trying to put me down but all it will do is make me laugh. please do not post unless u are willing to help me understand my problem. I know u think ur routine of accusing people off not reading before posting makes u feel like a man but to other u come of as a douche bag.
Now to answer ur question, CDMA devices so not genrerate the buzz through TVs and speakers that GSM devices do. My question was asking y the known buzz comes through the speakerphone. its almost like android thinks the speaketphone is part of another device.
now ur other question, I don't stick to WM for the same reason everyone else doesn't, my device allows me to do things like boot android and Ubuntu so I have the freedom to choose my OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You obviously do not what you're talking about.
Plus, I asked a simple question and you failed to answer it in your long drawn out whining post. Meh.
FYI, CDMA devices produce a similar noise in other devices, not sure why you think that's isolated to GSM. iDEN does the same thing - perhaps the frequency is different, never really looked into it.
Your sig just makes me think you prefer WinMo, and kinda makes me giggle as it is comically large.
Well, I've got a bit of the same problem. But it only occurs when I'm either ending the call or when i have to touch the touchscreen during the call. Then it just goes haywire and give the bzzzz noise..
Running Froyo Red..
arrrghhh said:
You obviously do not what you're talking about.
Plus, I asked a simple question and you failed to answer it in your long drawn out whining post. Meh.
FYI, CDMA devices produce a similar noise in other devices, not sure why you think that's isolated to GSM. iDEN does the same thing - perhaps the frequency is different, never really looked into it.
Your sig just makes me think you prefer WinMo, and kinda makes me giggle as it is comically large.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i do know what i am talkin about. its called "THE GSM BUZZ" cause it happens on gsm devices.
i am so sorry i did not get ur approval before postin my sig. u remind me of one of those kids that feel bad about ther self so they try to insult other to make themselves feel better. u picked the wrong one. i ain't puttin up with ur ****. u may get a pass from other cause u helped a few people but u r constantly being rude to anyone that ask a simple question. ur way is not always right.
i asked for help not for comments on my sig or to be told to stick with a certain OS. this is America and i can like two things at once. yes i love WM but if i wanna use android on my device i will and do not need u to make up my mind for me. if u wanna help me get to the bottom of this buzzing noise fix this problem then cool but i do not need ur condecending remarks.
arrrghhh said:
You obviously do not what you're talking about.
Plus, I asked a simple question and you failed to answer it in your long drawn out whining post. Meh.
FYI, CDMA devices produce a similar noise in other devices, not sure why you think that's isolated to GSM. iDEN does the same thing - perhaps the frequency is different, never really looked into it.
Your sig just makes me think you prefer WinMo, and kinda makes me giggle as it is comically large.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I'd be shocked if a CDMA device actually caused the "GSM buzz" in other devices - Interference maybe, but not the distinctive buzz. It's due to differences in the channel access schemes between CDMA (To be specific, ANY form of CDMA, whether it is Qualcomm CDMA2000 or UMTS) and GSM (iDEN is similar to GSM)
CDMA systems a channel access scheme that has all devices transmitting continuously when active, but using special coding so that the receiver at the cell tower is able to "pick out" the individual handset signals. Since the device is transmitting continuously, the RF power envelope is fairly constant.
2G GSM/EDGE (not UMTS), iDEN, and the long obsolete D-AMPS use a different channel access scheme, time division multiple access. Each handset is assigned a time slot (or slots for EDGE) to transmit in. On a given channel, a set of slots is contained within a frame. Each time a phone's assigned spot in a frame comes up, it transmits. The end result is that the RF envelope pulses on for a short period every frame. Many other devices will rectify and filter the RF (unintentionally) resulting in a signal that follows the RF envelope - a low duty cycle square wave with a frequency equal to the frame repetition rate.
I have no clue why a device would cause such interference to itself in only one OS. It's not an issue anyone else has encountered to my knowledge. Original poster has a pretty poor attitude and atrocious grammar that is difficult to read. (People who can't be bothered to type out the word "you" really bother me for some reason...)
Entropy512 said:
Actually, I'd be shocked if a CDMA device actually caused the "GSM buzz" in other devices - Interference maybe, but not the distinctive buzz. It's due to differences in the channel access schemes between CDMA (To be specific, ANY form of CDMA, whether it is Qualcomm CDMA2000 or UMTS) and GSM (iDEN is similar to GSM)
CDMA systems a channel access scheme that has all devices transmitting continuously when active, but using special coding so that the receiver at the cell tower is able to "pick out" the individual handset signals. Since the device is transmitting continuously, the RF power envelope is fairly constant.
2G GSM/EDGE (not UMTS), iDEN, and the long obsolete D-AMPS use a different channel access scheme, time division multiple access. Each handset is assigned a time slot (or slots for EDGE) to transmit in. On a given channel, a set of slots is contained within a frame. Each time a phone's assigned spot in a frame comes up, it transmits. The end result is that the RF envelope pulses on for a short period every frame. Many other devices will rectify and filter the RF (unintentionally) resulting in a signal that follows the RF envelope - a low duty cycle square wave with a frequency equal to the frame repetition rate.
I have no clue why a device would cause such interference to itself in only one OS. It's not an issue anyone else has encountered to my knowledge. Original poster has a pretty poor attitude and atrocious grammar that is difficult to read. (People who can't be bothered to type out the word "you" really bother me for some reason...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but its not just my device. my friend also has a tilt 2 and she lives in another part of the state and her speakerphone makes the same buzing noise on android. its kinda weird cause i have not seen other people askin about this problem. its just a buzzing noise that makes u not wanna use the speakerphone. also it happens if there is alerts while using the phone and then the only way to stop it is to turn the speakerphone on then off. it has to be affecting others too. it could not just be happening on two devices.
I see exactly the same thing on my rhod100 (de).
I also have another problem which existed for a long time: On some occasions, after booting to android, audio is completely gone. I test it by placing a call and checking if there is any in-call audio. Plus, on such an occasion, media files also do not make any sound, and rebooting the phone is the only solution. Enabling speakerphone does not help, even if I hear the mentioned buzzing sound.
I remember seeing something about audmgr_enable and that the arm9 did not respond to an rpc in the logs. I can post them if that happens again.
I think there are a fair number of known issues with the speakerphone.
I haven't bothered to try it myself, the only speakerphones I have ever used with acceptable audio quality are Polycoms.
edited first post.
well... i have the same problem and i've tried all the android variants out there...
finally someone else that has this problem. it is a big problem for me cause it makes the speakerphone unusable. I wish someone with some knowledge would recognize this is a real problem and try to fix it. I think somehow android thinks the speaker is part of another device.
are ALL the users with this problem ONLY experiencing this issue on Android or WinMo as well?
ryannathans said:
are ALL the users with this problem ONLY experiencing this issue on Android or WinMo as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From his description, it seems to only happen in Android.
I talked to stine briefly, and he hasn't tested it - is there a bug open on it? If you really want dev attention to a problem, and there isn't already a bug, file a bug. If there is a bug, post to it and add some logs - there might be something funny going on that's easily spotted.
Also, you haven't done any triage from what I can tell - does this not happen on a certain combination of rootfs, kernel, or system image? If you can recreate a scenario of where it doesn't happen, that'll help narrow it down. If it's always been happening... it'll be more difficult, but also good to know.
One of our top kernel devs has a GSM device, he's never mentioned this issue. If I talk to him today, I'll mention it to him.
arrrghhh said:
From his description, it seems to only happen in Android.
I talked to stine briefly, and he hasn't tested it - is there a bug open on it? If you really want dev attention to a problem, and there isn't already a bug, file a bug. If there is a bug, post to it and add some logs - there might be something funny going on that's easily spotted.
Also, you haven't done any triage from what I can tell - does this not happen on a certain combination of rootfs, kernel, or system image? If you can recreate a scenario of where it doesn't happen, that'll help narrow it down. If it's always been happening... it'll be more difficult, but also good to know.
One of our top kernel devs has a GSM device, he's never mentioned this issue. If I talk to him today, I'll mention it to him.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it happens no matter what build or combination of parts. it only happens on android anytime the speaker is on and if the speaker isn't on and any kids of alert or noise such as a button press happens the speaker comes on and buzzez till u manually turn the speakerphone on then off. basically the same noise that comes through any audio device when a GSM cell is near is comin through the speaker. i am pretty sure it only happens on 2G cause the "GSM BUZZ" does not happen with a 3G signal. if ur guy test he'll for sure hear it.
I just managed to confirm the issue on a Tilt2 - needed to force 2G.
(I almost never use speakerphone and am almost always in 3G areas so never noticed this before.)
Apparently there are some audio routing patches in the pipeline already that might fix this.
Problem gone in Android 2.3.3... works like a charm
eu0741924381 said:
Problem gone in Android 2.3.3... works like a charm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting - did you ONLY change system.ext2 build, or did you also use a different kernel?
had this problem a few times (froyo) but never occurred in my last call.
I think it may have something to do with a data connection before or during the call? There are a few problems originating from data connections. Perhaps it was latest kernel that fixed it for me? Will have to wait and find out.

[A] About the Echo and Digital Noise Reduction/Cancellation Problems

The last half year have riddled various forums with the now infamous Samsung HW/SW bug that is most often causing an extremely unpleasant echo in the other end of a conversation. However, this bug appears in many variants due to the multiple causes of many interacting smaller problems.
In my own quest of finding the root of the problem and scanning the web for a potential solution (not involving send my phone off), I decided to share my findings, very well aware of the shortcomings of my limited research. So please let me know of any current (or future) solution to this, or if I have missed anything important.
Internally there are 2 microphones and 2 speakers. Unfortunately the way these are situated, aligned and and isolated, together with the sound transmission throughout the phone chassis and the complicated sound and digital noise reduction (NR) settings, are the cause of these problems.
All this can best be seen in the iFixit's teardown guide:
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung-Galaxy-S-II-Teardown/5861/1
or in the "S2 screen replacement photo tutorial":
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1253969
or in the schematic blow-apart diagram in the official "Samsung-GT-i9100-service-manual". (Google that!)
My Conclusion:
After performing a limited number of tests, on my own, I have concluded that this problem should in ANY case be resolvable by a fix in the phone firmware/software. Obviously the phone is working without a case, and (usually) perfectly when turning off NR (noise reduction) and/or turning down the volume. Others report fiddling with the internal rubber enclosure of the microphones and/or speakers. In either case, it would be very interesting to know the details of your phone's SW and HW configuration as many reports differences in behavior after flashing new/old phone software. It is very likely the problem occurs as a combination of "PHONE/PDA" software, the lower USB charge-port HW and the upper speaker/microphone insulation. In other words the NR algorithm need to be changed or better tuned for various environments. We can only hope Samsung fixes this in their next updates... But very unlikely as they are much more interested in making new phones and selling more of them. And if they did fix it, they probably wouldn't tell anyone since if they ever did admit to any wrong doing, they'd have to replace/repair probably at least tens of thousands of phones!
Problem (Simple Description):
A number of small assembly line variations is causing the internal noise reduction software to misbehave. (Remember the "butterfly effect"!)
Problem (Technical Description):
The problem consists of (at least) 3 smaller problems working together.
1. The lower playback speaker is always on (!) and is causing feedback to the lower microphone when using a protective cover. Thus explaining the greater echo at higher volumes and less external noise, when using a rubber cover.
2. The SGS2 plastic casing transmits sound around the entire phone. Thus both speakers (lower and upper) are transmitting sound to both the lower normal microphone and the upper noise cancelling microphone. These need to be isolated.
So when covering the upper noise reduction microphone you are getting better feedback (more "noise") from both upper AND lower speakers, than from outside and thus (usually) improving call quality by reducing the echo effect, but when there is no case-cover and a noisy environment, you may end up increasing the echo, by covering it up!
3. BUT not all phones have echo, thus there is also a NR settings or algorithm problem that should or may be resolved by a firmware/phone/PDA update. In addition, and making things even more complicated, different phones have slightly different hardware on the PCB of the USB charge-port...
Who to Blame?
1. Samsung Hardware engineers who must have been sleeping in their "Acoustics and Wave Propagation" classes.
2. Samsung (?) Software engineers who never took a course in "Feedback and Control Theory".
3. Samsung HW design director(s) who
a) didn't make (1) and (2) work closely enough together on the SGS-2.
b) never though of putting a rubber case on the phone!​ 4. Samsung Assembly line Quality Control manager(s) who didn't check for minor design flaws.
- check (open up) every 100 or so phones, if problem check ALL previous 100 and estimate problem!
- stop assembly line and talk to the management about solution​ ..
..
oo. The casual SGS2 owner who just wanted to protect his new investment with a rubber/plastic cover.
Some Known Solutions:
Service Center Solutions:
1. Improperly placed internal speaker cushion:
http://androidforums.com/samsung-ga...ice-echo-anyone-else-getting.html#post3000051
2. Replace the UI Board; Part No: GH59-10949A
http://androidforums.com/samsung-ga...ice-echo-anyone-else-getting.html#post3269199
http://www.scribd.com/doc/56542824/5/Cellular-phone-Exploded-View
http://giga-tel.com/item-10095-samsung-i9100-ui-board.html
3. Attach layers of soft electrically and noise insulating tape (e.g. medical-tape) over the back-side of the upper speaker, earphone jack and microphone. On the inside of you phone. See instructions in Hebrew (!) below:
http://iandroid.co.il/forum/topic56552.html
DIY Home Fixes (various success):
4. Put some tape over the top NR hole, which is next to the 3.5mm head-phone jack. (This fix messes up the speakerphone functionality!)
5. Put some tape over the hole just above volume-rocker
6. Lower volume
7. Manually disable NR during call: ("HOME" button)
8. Factory Reset (This will wipe your data/contacts and probably only lasts until next reboot!)
9. Try to flash a different phone ROM/Firmware/Kernel/Baseband etc. (Seem like it's mostly Gingerbread 2.3.4 phones being affected.)
10. Perhaps by changing some settings in the hidden "Service Mode" menus (???)
11. Open your phone and
a) make the bottom small microphone hole in the case bigger and
b) cut some of the rubber from the lower microphone cover.
See: "Fix for low microphone volume":
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1127103
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20022525&postcount=103​12. Attempt the above Service Center operations by yourself!
NOTE: It's highly recommended to do only ONE AT THE TIME!
Currently Recommended Solution:
A) WITH stock phone/firmware AND warranty; ask for a new phone and test it!
B) WITHOUT stock phone/firmware OR WITHOUT warranty; Try 11b!
List of Firmwares WITHOUT echo: (PDA/Phone/CSC)
"Polish Stock ROM"
"Many Indian firmwares don't have DNR (KE8 or KF3) activated"
I9100XWKE7 (2.3.3)
KI4/KI1/KH2 (XEU) Echo with DNR OFF (default) NO ech with DNR ON!
KD6/KE7/KD1 (XEU) 'same'
[ If you have/find other firmware solutions, please add them to this thread! ]
Service Mode Settings
Entering Service Mode: *#197328640# OR *#*#197328640#*#* [dial]
See: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=14692752&postcount=30
These settings are probably ending up in the various audio setting files in: /system/etc/audio (which are only accessible in a rooted phone.)
Potential (Rooted) System Hacks
Tweak/check the files present in: /system/etc/audio
OR perhaps write some Tasker script; see:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=19339706&postcount=125
Some custom ROMs come with NR tweaks that allow you to permanently turn ON/OFF DNR:
VillainROM (VRTweaks)
DarkyROM
Revolution 2.7.1
[Could someone confirm & provide a links to these?]
Apparently there are other ways in which you can directly hack the Phone.apk package, under certain conditions. Thus at least in theory it should be possible to directly toggle NR in memory, which could indeed be useful. Here is one variation of the APK hack:
In the Phone.apk package, find the ../res/values/bools.xml file. Edit and recompile after changing the line: "<bool name="has_in_call_noise_suppression">true</bool>".
See: "[HOWTO] disable NoiseSuppression by default, to enlarge mic volume":
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1251922&highlight=volume
and start reading from this post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=18932990&postcount=107
Some additional info for hacking Phone.apk:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1332137&page=3
Do you have a contribution or solution?
So if you want to contribute to the solution and permanent fix of this (or any other comments), please post the following info, as well.
1. Baseband (aka. "Phone") version
2. Kernel version
3. Build number
4. The USB-charge-port PCB version (if known)
5. Your particulars when it works and when it doesn't
6. Details on how you fixed the problem, if you did!
To find info use these codes on the dial pad:
Firmware Version: *#1234#
Hardware Version: *#2222#
Both Versions: *#8999*8376263#
That way we may hope to find and fix the problem ourselves!
Some of this I already mentioned here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20142257&postcount=99
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20143129&postcount=28
http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-s2-international/357910-voice-echo-anyone-else-getting.html
Also try to search the "Samsung Galaxy S2 Q&A" forum for "Echo Noise Reduction".
http://forum.xda-developers.com/search.php?searchid=104855328&pp=25
Thanks and I hope this helps!
...
UPDATE: 2012-01-30
Apparently there have been many reports of very happy people doing their own SGS2 surgery following the thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1441510
This is essentially equivalent to the solution in number #3 above!
+1 for the effort, about time someone did an all-in-one topic about this rather common issue.
I've had the same problem and noticed it the day I bought my phone, a friend called and immediately complained about the echo. I did a quick Google search and found out that it's a rather common problem and caused by most case types, removing the case or disabling NR did indeed fix my problem.
Anyway, I have tried many fixes, including VillianTweaks/LeoMar's fix, turns out those only remove the ability to turn NR on/off, but it was still turned on by default. This fix however was the only one that actually worked:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1332137
The fix above had a minor drawback though, the first call after reboot always had NR enabled by default. I wanted a set and forget solution to permanently disable NR so I learned a bit about deodexing/decompiling and managed to get rid of it for good, you can check the fix in here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1372718
Wow
E:V:A said:
After performing a limited number of tests, on my own, I have concluded that this problem should in ANY case be resolvable by a fix in the phone firmware/software. Obviously the phone is working without a case, and (usually) perfectly when turning off NR (noise reduction) and/or turning down the volume.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd disagree. I heard a slight echo also without the case (I called from a land phone to hear it myself). Lots of SGS2s work fine with cases, with NR on. Killing NR should not be considered the solution.
I've opened the phone and inserted two thin layers of white medical tape over the ear speaker (much less tape than in that hebrew sample). The original echo gone completely, with and without case. But now the other party hears a very slight echo of me. I don't consider tape a solution either. Perhaps the speaker is not mounted properly (sticks out too much)?
I was wondering about the position of the cushion, don't understand what that guy meant precisely. Mine looked a bit squashed by the case, maybe too firm contact?
> 1. The lower playback speaker is always on (!)
Are you sure? It could be transmission via the case? I guess the add-on cases increase the transmission.
> 3. BUT not all phones have echo, thus there is also a NR settings or algorithm problem that should or may be resolved by a firmware/phone/PDA update.
I'm not sure the NR algorithm can be fixed so that it can work with a faulty phone.
> Service Center Solutions:
Add 4. Replace old SIM card
I'm using stock 2.3.4 I9100XXKI1
2.6.35.7-I9100XWKI4-CL575468
[email protected] #2
FTA HW REV1.5
Baseband: KI4
ROM: MIUI 1.12.2
Kernel: Siyah 2.4.2
Everybody I talked to used to tell me that my voice echoed pretty bad. Then I switched to the KI4 modem and the issue was resolved. Maybe someone with this echo problem could try the KI4 modem and report back.
Sent from my GT-I9100
@bazzag: Thanks for VillainTweaks info, I'll scratch that until further notice.
@_sem_: Essentially I agree that killing NR is not a proper solution, as it is just a remedy for a sickness, which would return in a very noisy environment when NR may be needed. But given that this will probably never get properly fixed, it seem to be the best option we have for now. ALSO:
a) In the 1st § you say you called your own phone and found echo, then in the 2nd § you said: "But now the other party hears a very slight echo of me." these seem the same to me, or did you mean that now you hear echo when using your mobile to call someone else?
b) > 1. The lower playback speaker is always on (!)
Actually I am not sure about this as I live in very noisy environment, but everyone standing next to me, during phone calls, say then can hear everything the other person is saying!
c) > Service Center Solutions: Add 4. Replace old SIM card
Now THIS is a shocker! Why on earth would upgrading the SIM card have anything to do with this? Where did you see and hear about this solution?
d) We have the exact same stock SW/HW!​@iHoneyBadger: Yes! Could someone provide a link for (easy/noob) instructions on: (1) where to find/download the KI4 Baseband files and (2) how to easily install only Baseband?
@E:V:A
> Essentially I agree that killing NR is not a proper solution, as it is just a remedy for a sickness, which would return in a very noisy environment when NR may be needed. But given that this will probably never get properly fixed, it seem to be the best option we have for now.
I think the best option is the service center if you have stock ROM. You may need to convince them first, best by showing another SGS2 that works fine with your case. But that'd take much more time for me than inserting that tape did.
It really isn't difficult. Except that I'd feel a bit better knowing the exact problem better. It may be possible that the change was just due to taking the phone apart and back, not the due to the tape. I'm too lazy to do it five times trying this and that I'd ask the next one who tries this to check if the speaker can perhaps be pushed a fraction of a mm deeper into its seat, so that the speaker would have less or no contact with the (removed) back of the case. I think this could be better than tape.
> a) In the 1st § you say you called your own phone and found echo, then in the 2nd § you said: "But now the other party hears a very slight echo of me." these seem the same to me, or did you mean that now you hear echo when using your mobile to call someone else?
This echo is on the level of the previous echo without case - barely noticable if you're listening carefully, but no longer an issue really. And, those phones that do not have the problem don't have any tape inside
b) > 1. The lower playback speaker is always on (!)
> Actually I am not sure about this as I live in very noisy environment, but everyone standing next to me, during phone calls, say then can hear everything the other person is saying!
I think this could also be caused by the case conducting the sound. It must also be emitting some around. I've also read some folks got improvements by cutting ugly large holes in gel cases at the back - that'd probably decrease conduction.
> c) > Service Center Solutions: Add 4. Replace old SIM card
Now THIS is a shocker! Why on earth would upgrading the SIM card have anything to do with this? Where did you see and hear about this solution?
I think it was a german forum android-hilfe
/samsung-galaxy-s2-i9100-forum/144551-probleme-beim-anrufen-echo.html
/samsung-galaxy-s2-i9100-forum/174469-echo-problem-sgs2.html
@E:V:A
It's in the modem thread in the original development section.
Here's a link to the CWM flashable zip...
http://www.multiupload.com/0FTG1P9MK4
Edit: It's just the modem. Let us know if it helped.
Sent from my GT-i9100
Your modem did NOT work for me :-(
put k14 modem on my phone
so i just added the modem as of now doesnt seem to be any noticeable echos. I will use it for a day with a case and see what happens.
Just tried to install the zip on power up of the phone....it starts but I just get a signature verification failed error. The progress bar hangs and when I go back to the root menu in recovery the error message is present in red.
Am I doing something wrong?
I had also the echo problem and also the other person could not hear me well... After changing my modem firmware to BOKJ1. This is a custom made firmware for Greece Cosmote... My voice is now loud and clear.
But I have also made a change to the stock dialer at KK5 deodexed ROM (Omega v9) so that the phone starts with noise reduction off.. but you can enable it from the menu during call.
Please see my post..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1388058
iHoneyBadger said:
It's in the modem thread in the original development section.
Here's a link to...
Edit: It's just the modem. Let us know if it helped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I will flash a complete new ROM (with a different Modem) in few days, when I get some more time off. I'll get back to you on the results.
talexop said:
...
After changing my modem firmware to BOKJ1. This is a custom made firmware for Greece Cosmote... My voice is now loud and clear.
But I have also made a change to the stock dialer at KK5 deodexed ROM (Omega v9)
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please see my response at:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20306528&postcount=11
This does not seem like stock...
a) Where did your Phone.apk come from?
b) What did you do?
c) How does it compare (diff) to a real stock,lets say the 2.3.4 (XWKI4 / XXKI1)?
Could someone test this?
E:V:A said:
Please see my response at:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20306528&postcount=11
This does not seem like stock...
a) Where did your Phone.apk come from?
b) What did you do?
c) How does it compare (diff) to a real stock,lets say the 2.3.4 (XWKI4 / XXKI1)?
Could someone test this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please see my responce. I hope I made it clear for you. I have tried a patch nobody else did and to tell you the truth I cannot uderstant why they did not! My patch is way to easy and leaves the user choise to reenable noise reduction.
Also all the other patches did not work for me. The one I made worka fine.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=20320415
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
I don't know for u guys but with last KK5 Roms my sound is terrible.
When i speak with people sounds as i call out of the box
Can't find f'in solution....
BuzzFuzz said:
I don't know for u guys but with last KK5 Roms my sound is terrible.
When i speak with people sounds as i call out of the box
Can't find f'in solution....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of you should try to change your modem firmware... This did the best work for me. You should try the one you had before... If that one was ok... Also you can try my dialer which works for KK5..
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Used my phone without my tough mate case and have worried about dropping my phone all day! Really wish i could sort this myself, why can i not install this modem zip?! Echo def gone without case no complaints at all. It doesn't feel right without a case! If someone could help me install this modem id be eternally grateful!
sent from t'internet
Dear all, i was testing the loud speaker (you know, speaking with speaker on) and unfortunately no one can hear me. When i disable it everything is ok. I made a hard reset, but nothing changed. Do you have any alternatives??
Thanx
Hmmmmphh....back to a service centre for my phone then! This is a fundamental flaw with the phone. Problem still occurs without a case if the top of the phone moves too close to my head!

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