POLL: Does your phone have a popping noise after KK upgrade?

[iBolski]

First off, please read the poll questions carefully. I'm trying to assess if this is an issue with all XT926 phones or just some, and whether the common thread is that only people with unlocked bootloaders (non-dev editions that is) or locked and unlocked bootloaders experience it?

Here is a description of the issue at hand. Please read it through and then vote in the poll, choosing the answer that best fists your scenario:

There is an annoying "pop" or "click" sound that occurs every time a notification sound occurs, or when I start typing (I use Swiftkey and have key-click sound turned on), or when I lock or unlock the screen. This doesn't happen under JB. It only occurs with the KK OTA.

I have an unlocked bootloader and I was part of the soak test. When I received the soak OTA and applied the update, I noticed the sound behavior.

I have since used an FXZ to flash back to stock JB (9.30.1) and applied the official OTA this time around and the popping/clicking noise is still there.

I know this is supposedly the final update to this phone, but this annoying popping noise needs to be fixed. I'm not the only one that experienced it during the soak as well as with the official OTA.

I've done everything that was asked which is the following:

1. Turned off sound on key press setting - didn't help.
2. Turned off Touch Sounds and Vibrate on Touch - didn't help.

I don't know if people fully understand what I'm saying. I know that you can have click noises turned on when you do keypresses and such. Those work fine and I know what they are. The sound I'm talking about sounds like an electrical pop, like there is a short in the phone somewhere. It only occurs on the first keypress when I'm typing in something. If that area I'm typing in loses focus (such as the Google search bar) and then I go back to it and start typing again, the pop noise happens on the first keypress but any further typing in it doesn't make the popping noise, just the normal key clicks unless it loses focus and I come back to it again.

Same goes with notification sounds. When the first one comes up, the popping noise occurs right before or with the notification noise. If I keep the screen on and another notification sound/alert comes up, it happens again.

Or, when I unlock the screen, it gives off the popping noise right before the unlock sound. When I lock the screen, it happens right with or just right after the unlock sound occurs, at least that's what it seems to do.

All of these are repeatable issues.

I really hope a fix can be found for this as it is kind of annoying. Otherwise, the KK update seems to be pretty stable.

Thanks!

 

[killrhythm09]

I'm running 183.46.10 with an unlocked bootloader and I haven't run into this issue.

Not sure if the exact phone type is relevant, but mine is a RAZR HD Maxx.

 

[iBolski]

I'm running 183.46.10 with an unlocked bootloader and I haven't run into this issue.

Not sure if the exact phone type is relevant, but mine is a RAZR HD Maxx.

It may or may not, but I'm going to see how this all fleshes out. Maybe it's a small number of phones, but I do know people on the Moto forums during the soak had reported this same issue.

If it has to do with either the bootloader being unlocked (or I just have a phone that is "bad", but I don't see how Kit Kat would make the popping noise but JB doesn't), then I'm going to live with it. I definitely do not want to trade this phone in and get one that can't be unlocked. That, or they replace it with something else, of course, they may not do that since it's unlocked when it wasn't meant to be.

Actually, just as I was typing this, I heard two pops while the screen was off. No sounds, but when I looked, I had a notification from Google Play stating that there were two updates to apps on my phone. I believe that was why it popped. The phone was set to vibrate, but it still made the popping noise.

 

[kabaldan]

There are lots of reports of the same issue by xt907 users who updated to Moto 4.4.2.

I had to deal with something similar when I was working on the branch of 3.4 caf audio code backports to 3.0 razrqcom/cm kernel for cm-10.2/cm-11.0.
If I remember correctly (it's already quite some time ago), I had to make this revert to fix this issue: https://github.com/CyanogenMod/andr...mmit/1212f2e043341016cacd6b0d93435380750bd78e

In any case, it sounds like an issue that needs to be fixed in kernel.

 

[iBolski]

There are lots of reports of the same issue by xt907 users who updated to Moto 4.4.2.

I had to deal with something similar when I was working on the branch of 3.4 caf audio code backports to 3.0 razrqcom/cm kernel for cm-10.2/cm-11.0.
If I remember correctly (it's already quite some time ago), I had to make this revert to fix this issue: https://github.com/CyanogenMod/andr...mmit/1212f2e043341016cacd6b0d93435380750bd78e

In any case, it sounds like an issue that needs to be fixed in kernel.

Awesome. That is the first plausible explanation I've heard so far. Everything else has been guesses (turn off this, turn off that, hey what about key press clicks in your keyboard, etc, etc, etc), even though I explain it happens on the first key press but no others as long as the input box keeps focus.

I doubt Motorola will issue a patch for this, but I wonder why it affects some phones and not others?

 

[iBolski]

With the official FXZ out, I decided to reflash my phone with it and the popping noise persists.

Sigh.

 

[DireWolfZero]

I just had this problem last night with whatsapp and thought of this thread. it made a poping noise when I sent a message even though my device was muted.

Another app was doing it as well, I just forgot the name of it cause I was seriously really, really tired ha.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

 

[iBolski]

I just had this problem last night with whatsapp and thought of this thread. it made a poping noise when I sent a message even though my device was muted.

Another app was doing it as well, I just forgot the name of it cause I was seriously really, really tired ha.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

Well, someone on the Motorola forum stated they spoke with a Motorola rep and the rep said an update is forthcoming in the next few weeks to address issues people found after the update, but it was mainly for text messaging issues. Let's hope it addresses this popping noise, but I doubt it.

What sucks is, some of this stuff was found during the soak test and yet, they still released it. Shame.

 

[kabaldan]

For unlocked bootloader only!

Boot images for XT926 and XT907 stock kitkat:
XT926: http://d-h.st/vre
XT907: http://d-h.st/KXA

Both boot images contain the recompiled stock kitkat kernel with increased sleep time after lineout PA enable, as in this commit: https://github.com/CyanogenMod/andr...mmit/1212f2e043341016cacd6b0d93435380750bd78e

To be flashed via fastboot:

fastboot flash boot bootXT926speakerfix.img

or

fastboot flash boot bootXT907speakerfix.img

Please note that I don't own xt926 nor xt907, so I can't verify that the boot images boot at all, nor that they actually fix the issue.
(xt897 haven't got an official kitkat update yet, and it's possible that it won't happen for Photon Q at all.)
Be prepared to flash the stock kitkat boot.img in case of a failure if you're going to test this. You've been warned.

Please let me know how it works for you, thanks.

EDIT: links updated to correctly re-packed boot images. xt926 image confirmed to be booting and fixing the issue by iBolski.

 

[iBolski]

For unlocked bootloader only!

Boot images for XT926 and XT907 stock kitkat:
XT926: http://d-h.st/FV2
XT907: http://d-h.st/Ka4

Both boot images contain the recompiled stock kitkat kernel with increased sleep time after lineout PA enable, as in this commit: https://github.com/CyanogenMod/andr...mmit/1212f2e043341016cacd6b0d93435380750bd78e

To be flashed via fastboot:

fastboot flash boot bootXT926speakerfix.img

or

fastboot flash boot bootXT907speakerfix.img

Please note that I don't own xt926 nor xt907, so I can't verify that the boot images boot at all, nor that they actually fix the issue.
(xt897 haven't got an official kitkat update yet, and it's possible that it won't happen for Photon Q at all.)
Be prepared to flash the stock kitkat boot.img in case of a failure if you're going to test this. You've been warned.

Please let me know how it works for you, thanks.

Thanks for creating this. I tried flashing it and it hung at the Motorola logo. I couldn't get into recovery at all to try and clear cache and dalvik.

When I flashed the original KK boot image, it booted back up.

Not sure if I have to wipe data as well, but I'm going to hold off on that at this time.

Thanks!

 

[kabaldan]

Thanks for creating this. I tried flashing it and it hung at the Motorola logo. I couldn't get into recovery at all to try and clear cache and dalvik.

When I flashed the original KK boot image, it booted back up.

Not sure if I have to wipe data as well, but I'm going to hold off on that at this time.

Thanks!

Thanks for the feedback.
It's a simple little change in kernel space, no involved userspace actions as dalvik cache or data wipes should be needed for this. If it doesn't boot then it means something has derped in the process of zImage replacement inside of boot.img...

 

[kabaldan]

@iBolski could you please test http://d-h.st/vre ? Thanks.

 

[iBolski]

@iBolski could you please test http://d-h.st/vre ? Thanks.

Wow! So far, so good. Popping noise has disappeared and this booted up just fine.

Of course, might have to go through this again if/when the update to the OTA comes out. Supposedly, per a Moto rep, there is another one forthcoming to fix issues with text messaging. Makes me wonder if either the popping noise comes back or is fixed?

In any case, thank you. I'll keep testing and let you know if I run into other issues, but so far, this seems to be working just great!

BTW, what exactly was the fix and what was the cause of this popping noise? Why did it affect only certain phones and not all?

Also, per Android Authority, the upcoming 4.4.3 for other devices fixes an issue with popping noises when playing flac audio: http://www.androidauthority.com/android-4-4-3-bug-fixes-389036/

Wonder if this was the same issue?

 

[kabaldan]

Wow! So far, so good. Popping noise has disappeared and this booted up just fine.

Of course, might have to go through this again if/when the update to the OTA comes out. Supposedly, per a Moto rep, there is another one forthcoming to fix issues with text messaging. Makes me wonder if either the popping noise comes back or is fixed?

In any case, thank you. I'll keep testing and let you know if I run into other issues, but so far, this seems to be working just great!

BTW, what exactly was the fix and what was the cause of this popping noise? Why did it affect only certain phones and not all?

Also, per Android Authority, the upcoming 4.4.3 for other devices fixes an issue with popping noises when playing flac audio: http://www.androidauthority.com/android-4-4-3-bug-fixes-389036/

Wonder if this was the same issue?

As I've said in this thread before, I've encountered the same popping noise when I was working on CyanogenMod moto_msm8960 kernel, during the backporting of caf 3.4 kernel sound related code to our 3.0 kernel.

The commit that fixes it (I've already linked it twice in this thread) is this:
https://github.com/CyanogenMod/andr...mmit/1212f2e043341016cacd6b0d93435380750bd78e
(Now I've noticed that I actually pushed it during my birthday. Do you see the dedication? )

The popping noise may not be too apparent on some devices. Every component has some tolerance, e.g. capacitors of the same nominal value don't have the exact same capacity. So the popping noise may be very subtle on some devices, while it can be rather prominent on other ones. Also, some people are less sensitive to particular sounds.

This case has nothing to do with 4.4.3 flac fixes.
It's specific to WCD9310 audio codec and the speaker amplifier used by moto_msm8960 device family.

 

[-magnum-]

@iBolski could you please test http://d-h.st/vre ? Thanks.

this worked for me, thanks!

 

[GBerg2119]

I have the speaker pop issue as well. How exactly do I flash this through Fastboot? I don't flash it through normal recovery?

 

[DireWolfZero]

I have the speaker pop issue as well. How exactly do I flash this through Fastboot? I don't flash it through normal recovery?

Do you have an unlocked bootloader? If not you can't flash it.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

 

[Jaysp656]

I tried the XT926 one but it seems to either loop at the boot animation or occasionally it will come to the homescreen but say something like "com.android.phone has stopped working" in a pop up that wont go away


Edit: should add my phone is on Dhacker's CM11

(bootloader was unlocked yesterday \(^o^)/ )

Edit again:
I restored the stock ROM and flashed it again. Works fine. Not with CM11 though

 

[kabaldan]

I tried the XT926 one but it seems to either loop at the boot animation or occasionally it will come to the homescreen but say something like "com.android.phone has stopped working" in a pop up that wont go away


Edit: should add my phone is on Dhacker's CM11

(bootloader was unlocked yesterday \(^o^)/ )

Edit again:
I restored the stock ROM and flashed it again. Works fine. Not with CM11 though

Indeed. The boot images linked in this thread are meant only for the stock 4.4 ROM.

The fix will be included in CM11 in the future, but it can't merged right away as it is, at this point.
The msm8960dt-common kernel used by CM11 for KK bootloader is now shared by many Motorola devices (as Moto X, Droid Ultra/Maxx, in addition to newly included support for original moto_msm8960 line).

As this patch increases the audio latency, we will have to figure out the way how to make it optional first.
Not even every xt926/xt907 device needs it...

I will talk about it with David later, but I'm currently busy working on 3.4 kernel based CM11 for Photon Q which is stuck on JB bootloader as the KitKat update for Photon Q has been unfortunately canceled by Motorola. Once I'm done with Q (I need to finish it before we switch to supporting KK bootloader only by the official CM moto_msm8960 builds), I'll get back to this.

 

[nmathisen]

Thank You!!!!

So glad I found this thread - this popping noise has been killing me ever since the upgrade. BL was unlocked because I had missed my window to unlock before getting the patch, but that has now since been fixed with the news of the exploit re-appearing.

This fix appears to have worked for me - I was always able to tell that split second before my phone was going to make a sound because of that damn pop. Much appreciated!