[senornathan]

Got my new Passport SE from Amazon yesterday, and was disappointed to find a loud hissing noise coming from the speaker whenever sound - be it music, notifications, etc. - was played. It was very noticeable and sometimes louder than the notification or music. Tried a reset, restore, etc. No dice. Called BlackBerry, recommend a replacement. Called Amazon, replacement sent out.

Just got the replacement today, and while it's not as bad as on the first unit, there's still a faint hissing noise whenever audio is played from the bottom speaker. It lasts for about 5-8 seconds after audio playback finishes.

Has anybody else noticed this, or am I just unlucky with BlackBerry hardware?

[Carl Estes]

Could it be the particular app you are using? some apps are a bit "noisier" than others for lack of a better term. I use Neutron player on my Z30 and my last surviving Playbook...........

Also, just popped into my little bwain, check your notification volume vs master volume, that may be a piece of it.

[AnimalPak200]

The Z30 had this same issue,.. nothing you can do about it.

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[senornathan]

Could it be the particular app you are using? some apps are a bit "noisier" than others for lack of a better term. I use Neutron player on my Z30 and my last surviving Playbook...........

Also, just popped into my little bwain, check your notification volume vs master volume, that may be a piece of it.

Happens regardless of sound or volume (media and notification). Also noticed that it happens when the device boots up. No issues with the earpiece, only the bottom speaker. Music, keyboard clicks from the swipe action, notifications, BBVE tests, all have the same hiss at the same volume, even if the device's volume is higher or lower.

[Carl Estes]

Does it do this even when running the BB Virtual Expert test, for the audio bits?

Open BBVE, and hit the "tests" button on the bottom of that screen.....

On a side note, the unit you purchased, was it described as "new", or factory reconditioned? just trying to find a target...

Disregard the BBVE thingy, you've done that, so, how about the sidenote?

[senornathan]

Does it do this even when running the BB Virtual Expert test, for the audio bits?

Open BBVE, and hit the "tests" button on the bottom of that screen.....

Yea, happens on all audio tests using the bottom speaker.

I've heard about the Z30 issue, but nothing with the Passport. Really disappointing.

Edit: Both units were NIB from Amazon. Not Warehouse deals or from third-party sellers.

[anon(2325196)]

Sounds like you've got some speaker snakes man. Hard to get rid of once they're inside.

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[Bonnie Bonzai]

I have this occasionally, I notice it more when I'm playing a game tho.

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[yyz321]

I've gone through 2 Passport SEs and currently using an original Passport and have yet to see this issue.

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[m3mb3rsh1p]

This is likely the minor software or hardware issue common to a lot of devices that I have used. It also presents in the headphones if you connect them. I've experienced it on smartphones, computers, portable media players, games consoles, TVs...

First, the fact that you can hear it means that you have the volume turned up quite high.

It has to do with input / interference from other electrical sources and how long the device firmware or driver leaves the audio port open after an audio sample has been played. If the audio buffer is empty or padded to fill a required length of data, then the sound hardware will play this "silence / empty" data and it will sound like a hiss / hum / whine / air unless it is actually shut off. That's why it usually presents in short audio files like ringtones because they are often padded with "silence" so that they don't sound odd when played in a loop.

On other platforms you'll probably have experienced the same thing when moving the mouse or when the hard drive is spinning or the CPU is working really hard. It could also happen when the Mic port or line port is recording... Buying a separate sound card was a good solution but I've still experienced this phenomenon on such cards e.g. popping when the driver is loaded at boot...

Think of it as digital audio's equivalent of the vinyl empty track. When the needle is running over an unrecorded surface, you hear a little hiss / pop / scratch which disappears when the music starts.

When a digital audio converter is active, current is flowing and that's what a DAC does: convert electrical energy to sound. Sometimes the electricity is coming from other components, but in this case, the device could actually be "playing nothing" i.e. an empty buffer before it is actually told to "do nothing."

QNX has the potential to handle this much better, but the part of me that dislikes Linux wants to say that the ALSA origins of the audio API could be the cause of this hiss.

Anyway, please don't return your device over this. There's nothing wrong with it. Turn the volume down a bit and it won't bother you after a while as happened with my Z30, Z10 and other devices.

[senornathan]

For the first device, it didn't matter what the volume was - the static was at the same, loud volume, sometimes louder than the notification or music, and persisted after resets and restores. It was even present at boot-up. So that was clearly defective. As for the second device, it certainly doesn't happen on any of my other devices, and it shouldn't happen on a $600 flagship. And I did rule-out interference by testing the devices away from other electronics. So I sent both back for a refund.

I really enjoyed the Passport for the short time I had it, so it's a shame I don't have one in my hands right now. Maybe I'll buy another one from ShopBlackBerry in the near future, despite my dislike for Digital River.

[MGO]

I have an OG and an SE. Neither of mine do this. Please return and get another one. You should receive a flawless device. My first OG had a sticky volume button. It worked but it would stick returned for a new one. Remember, it only gets worse with time.

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[senornathan]

So to update this thread, I ended up ordering from ShopBlackBerry (I know, Digital River, ew). Arrived quickly and works fine, and I'm now off my iPhone and Q10. There was an issue where USB sync wasn't working on my Mac, but I booted into Windows and it runs fine there, so it must be an issue with Yosemite or the Mac drivers. Was able to sideload Snap, and Android apps are much faster than on the old Q10.

So all in all, happy times. Still a weird thing to run through a full day and have 60-70% battery remaining.