Nexus 7 buzzing speaker unusual fix

Konpon96 · Dec 27, 2012

It's rather common that Nexus 7's speaker membrane pops out and starts producing buzzy sound. After 2 days of being owner of this tablet, I noticed it, because notification sound was extraordinarily buzzy. I tried listening to my music and sound was horrible - when volume was over 40%, it was almost impossible to listen to anything. I've read here on xda that removing back cover and pushing speaker membrane back in place fixes that problem (there is even guide on iFixit). Because I'm lazy and don't want to disassemble my N7, I fixed it another way - by blowing air into the right and left part of speaker hole. It sounds ridiculous but, surprisingly, it really works.

Sound is normal now, even at 100% volume, whatever it's notification or music. I decided to write about it, because I haven't seen any aftermarket speakers for N7 on eBay (I'm waiting for them, because it's tilting at windmills - membrane often pop out again), returning it back under warranty doesn't seem to fix it, and most of fix guides tell to disassemble the device.

CharliesTheMan · Dec 27, 2012

Konpon96 said:
It's rather common that Nexus 7's speaker membrane pops out and starts producing buzzy sound. After 2 days of being owner of this tablet, I noticed it, because notification sound was extraordinarily buzzy. I tried listening to my music and sound was horrible - when volume was over 40%, it was almost impossible to listen to anything. I've read here on xda that removing back cover and pushing speaker membrane back in place fixes that problem (there is even guide on iFixit). Because I'm lazy and don't want to disassemble my N7, I fixed it another way - by blowing air into the right and left part of speaker hole. It sounds ridiculous but, surprisingly, it really works. Sound is normal now, even at 100% volume, whatever it's notification or music. I decided to write about it, because I haven't seen any aftermarket speakers for N7 on eBay (I'm waiting for them, because it's tilting at windmills - membrane often pop out again), returning it back under warranty doesn't seem to fix it, and most of fix guides tell to disassemble the device.

Did your speaker sound like it was blown at any level? Like if it was barely loud enough to hear with the naked ear, did the low bass type tones sound like a badly blown speaker?

I tried the membrane trick but I have one speaker that didn't feel like the other one and didn't pop in place and it sounds like garbage for anything besides high treble tweeter type notifications.

I'm trying to decide if its actually blown or if others have seen this issue and fixed it.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

Konpon96 · Dec 27, 2012

CharliesTheMan said:
Did your speaker sound like it was blown at any level? Like if it was barely loud enough to hear with the naked ear, did the low bass type tones sound like a badly blown speaker?

I tried the membrane trick but I have one speaker that didn't feel like the other one and didn't pop in place and it sounds like garbage for anything besides high treble tweeter type notifications.

I'm trying to decide if its actually blown or if others have seen this issue and fixed it.

Before "fix" it was just little quieter than normal, but it was buzzing terribly, especially at loud and piercing sounds (like opera mezzosoprano singing long note, or clarinet). Little buzz was audible at every frequency, with exception of very low volume(<40%).

xfrancis14 · Dec 27, 2012

I had the same problem so I hit the back of my tablet a few times and it fixed it

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

ron917 · Jan 5, 2013

I have the buzzing speaker problem on my Nexus 7. It's the right speaker only. Frank Sinatra singing "Theme from New York, New York" seems to really get it buzzing, more than just about anything else I've tried.

Pro Tip: search YouTube for "left right speaker test". The video alternates playing through each side - great for troubleshooting any type of audio system.

Tried the OPs method of blowing into the speaker hole, it fixed it for a few seconds.

So I popped off the back, and pushed on the diaphragm of the right speaker. It was obviously popped out compared to the left, and I popped it back in. Played Frank Sinatra again, it was fine for a few seconds then started buzzing again :crying:.

If I hold the diaphragm down with light finger pressure, it's fine. Maybe I can stick a piece of foam in there and it will stay in place. I don't have anything suitable in the house at the moment, so that is an experiment for another time.

The right thing to do is send it in for repair under warranty, but I don't want to be without my Nexus 7.

xfrancis14 · Jan 5, 2013

ron917 said:
I have the buzzing speaker problem on my Nexus 7. It's the right speaker only. Frank Sinatra singing "Theme from New York, New York" seems to really get it buzzing, more than just about anything else I've tried.

Pro Tip: search YouTube for "left right speaker test". The video alternates playing through each side - great for troubleshooting any type of audio system.

Tried the OPs method of blowing into the speaker hole, it fixed it for a few seconds. So I popped off the back, and pushed on the diaphragm of the right speaker. It was obviously popped out compared to the left, and I popped it back in. Played Frank Sinatra again, it was fine for a few seconds then started buzzing again :crying:.

If I hold the diaphragm down with light finger pressure, it's fine. Maybe I can stick a piece of foam in there and it will stay in place. I don't have anything suitable in the house at the moment, so that is an experiment for another time.

The right thing to do is send it in for repair under warranty, but I don't want to be without my Nexus 7.

Mines broken again and this time it's both speakers and they don't even play music it's like all crackling noises so I'm getting it rma

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

chefudvikler · Mar 1, 2013

is it broken?

xfrancis14 said:
Mines broken again and this time it's both speakers and they don't even play music it's like all crackling noises so I'm getting it rma

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

Hi I encountered bad speaker sound at very low volumes - but both times it happend a reboot fixed the issue?!

I tried one of the left-right speaker tests at YouTube - and everything is fine. I'm wondering - could it only be a software problem?
It happens while my daughter is playing games on the N7 - and when it's gone bad all other apps suffers from broken/bad sound, until a reboot - (tried it twice now)

/Bo

xfrancis14 · Mar 1, 2013

chefudvikler said:
Hi I encountered bad speaker sound at very low volumes - but both times it happend a reboot fixed the issue?!

I tried one of the left-right speaker tests at YouTube - and everything is fine. I'm wondering - could it only be a software problem?
It happens while my daughter is playing games on the N7 - and when it's gone bad all other apps suffers from broken/bad sound, until a reboot - (tried it twice now)

/Bo

Try a factory reset and see what happens

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

khaytsus · Mar 1, 2013

chefudvikler said:
Hi I encountered bad speaker sound at very low volumes - but both times it happend a reboot fixed the issue?!

I tried one of the left-right speaker tests at YouTube - and everything is fine. I'm wondering - could it only be a software problem?
It happens while my daughter is playing games on the N7 - and when it's gone bad all other apps suffers from broken/bad sound, until a reboot - (tried it twice now)

/Bo

Different or similar problem, most folks with this issue it persists until the speaker membrane is poked back into place.

chefudvikler · Mar 1, 2013

xfrancis14 said:
Try a factory reset and see what happens

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

Don't think my kid will allow all of her progress in the games to be lost ..

. But I will try it if the problems persists.

What difference would a complete factory reset do compared to just rebooting a part from erasing all user data.

/Bo

---------- Post added at 11:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:25 PM ----------

khaytsus said:
Different or similar problem, most folks with this issue it persists until the speaker membrane is poked back into place.

Hmm I thought of that too... I'll try opening the case next time it happens - if it happens again. I just can figure out how a soft reboot then fixed it?

Thanks for the reply.

Konpon96 · Mar 1, 2013

chefudvikler said:
Don't think my kid will allow all of her progress in the games to be lost ... But I will try it if the problems persists.

What difference would a complete factory reset do compared to just rebooting a part from erasing all user data.

/Bo

Factory reset wipes /data and /cache partitions and deletes .android_secure directiory in emmc (according to CWM Recovery wipe). If problem persists, try unlocking bootloader, performing complete reflashing to stock and relocking bootloader back. Here is nice tutorial to start with: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1907796.

Buzzing was driving me crazy - it was coming back, no matter what I tried. What's more, when I took out my Nexus out from case (Nillkin one), screen cracked and upper part of the screen stopped responding to touch. It was too much for me, so I backed it up, restored stock, locked bootloader and sent it for repair under warranty. After 2 weeks (love you, Asus support), I've got it back - they replaced display and speaker. For over a month speaker is working flawlessly - clear sound, no buzz, even during listening to opera arias and playing Castor notification.

chefudvikler · Mar 3, 2013

Konpon96 said:
Factory reset wipes /data and /cache partitions and deletes .android_secure directiory in emmc (according to CWM Recovery wipe). If problem persists, try unlocking bootloader, performing complete reflashing to stock and relocking bootloader back. Here is nice tutorial to start with: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1907796.

Buzzing was driving me crazy - it was coming back, no matter what I tried. What's more, when I took out my Nexus out from case (Nillkin one), screen cracked and upper part of the screen stopped responding to touch. It was too much for me, so I backed it up, restored stock, locked bootloader and sent it for repair under warranty. After 2 weeks (love you, Asus support), I've got it back - they replaced display and speaker. For over a month speaker is working flawlessly - clear sound, no buzz, even during listening to opera arias and playing Castor notification.

Thank you for explaining - I will reflash if the problem persists.
/Bo

khaytsus · Mar 3, 2013

chefudvikler said:
Thank you for explaining - I will reflash if the problem persists.
/Bo

What? Flashing is not going to fix broken speakers... Good grief.

norcal61 · Mar 4, 2013

When I first received my nexus 7 in July of 2012 it had a serious problem with speaker buzz and pop. I was going to send it back and exchange it for another. I also entertained the idea of buying a replacement speaker and doing the repair myself. After I had the tablet for maybe four or five days it just stopped buzzing and hasn't had any audio problems since! The only thing I can think of is that it had a problem with the membrane in the speaker or something along those lines and from it just being moved and/or bumped around it inadvertently corrected itself. Still after that the volume was very low and not very audible even at the highest setting. After the 4.1.2 upgrade it seemed to take care of that problem as the volume is plenty audible and clear now....ill take it!

chefudvikler · Mar 5, 2013

Sv: Nexus 7 buzzing speaker unusual fix

khaytsus said:
What? Flashing is not going to fix broken speakers... Good grief.

I suspect it might be a software problem, since reboot did the trick the two times it happened

Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

Konpon96 · Mar 5, 2013

As khaytsus said, it is unlikely to be a software problem, but it's always worth reflashing full stock - after that you will be sure if it's hardware or software problem, there always could been flash problem during production. If it disappears, you will save 2 weeks of waiting for Asus repair.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

fimfadimpa · Apr 24, 2013

Had the same problem 2 weeks ago. So I restored my N7 to stock and sent to RMA. They replaced speaker (don't know which - if left or right

). 3 days everything was ok, but then I installed AirDroid, open it and heard the same annoying cracking sound

...so what now? I also tried speakers with PowerAMP player, in which I found that left speaker is K.O....so for second time the same problem. I'm really disappointed, because I also had problems with left side of display (problem of first series - display started to detach from case) and now problems with speakers...really bad for oficial Google product

...I will probably return it back and want my money back.

asanderford · Apr 25, 2013

When my N7 speakers started acting up like that, I just found out which speaker was crackling, and then ripped it out. Now I only have one speaker but at least it doesn't crackle.

wireman2161 · Apr 28, 2013

I had speaker problems too. I took the back off the nexus and noticed if u hold lightly on the speaker it would stop distorting so what I did was pull the black cloth cover back about halfway and folded a small peice of paper towel about four times and cut it the same size as the speaker and tucked it between the cloth grill and speaker. Then placed the back cover back on and its been working great. Just dont fold the paper towel too thick because there's not a lot of room between the back cover and speaker It only needs light pressure on the speaker .I hope this will help cause a bad speaker just ruins the whole experience. Its a shame we have to do this sort of thing

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

gsmithwa · May 1, 2013

Finally - real cure to Nexus 7 speaker issues

After trying all the home grown remedies for blown Nexus 7 speakers (including bubble wrap, blowing, sucking, prodding, etc.), I finally have completed a real fix. I replaced the drivers with some Nokia E73 speaker replacement parts purchased on EBay for about $3 ea.

The Nokia speakers are a little larger than the ASUS originals, so a bit of plastic scraping, mashing, soldering and general butchering is needed. (Remove the whole speaker assembly first before making any mods). But the result is good. The Nexus sounds quite a bit louder than originally, and the quality is as good as you could expect from tablet / phone speakers.

Naturally - warranty is voided. But the advantage is if they blow again, it's a $3 and 10 minute fix.

Nexus 7 buzzing speaker unusual fix

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