1. parkerd1's Avatar
    Is it normal to hear a hissing/static noise in the background when making a call?? Doesn't seem to happen all the time, but about 90%. It even happens with 5 bars and 3G. I live in Baltimore, but also work in D.C. and NYC. If this is the norm I may have to go back to Verizon. I hope it isn't as I friggin love the Bold. I'm running .216
    01-09-09 03:14 PM
  2. asher_zelig's Avatar
    Same problem here in NYC and also running .216, not to mention the high percentage of calls dropping while getting 5 bars on EDGE.
    01-09-09 05:44 PM
  3. PHughes's Avatar
    I get this too. This is my first AT&T phne since the mid 90s so I have no other phone to compare it to. I was on Verizon but switched for the Bold with the international data plan which I love. I am not crazy about the static though. I was traveling during the first 30 days so I coundnt swap it for a new one.

    As the OP stated, it isn't all the time but around 90 percent of the time. I got it bad last night on all my calls but the people on the other end didn't hear it.

    Can anyone tell me if this is a phone issue or the network?

    Love the Bold, just not the static.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    01-16-09 09:05 AM
  4. Rogue_St.atus's Avatar
    seems like the network...

    when i talk to my girlfriend on her samsung, i hear static and sometimes it even distorts her voice a little bit. (we both have AT&T).

    but now that i have a blackberry it really doesn't happen as much as it used to. And what i've heard verizion is the best network out as of today. (opinion based)
    01-16-09 09:58 AM
  5. djkhanvict's Avatar
    same here.. switched from T-Mobile to AT&T about 9 months ago...

    planning on canceling this crap! on the phone with em now getting my unlock code !
    01-16-09 11:02 AM
  6. PHughes's Avatar
    seems like the network...

    when i talk to my girlfriend on her samsung, i hear static and sometimes it even distorts her voice a little bit. (we both have AT&T).

    but now that i have a blackberry it really doesn't happen as much as it used to. And what i've heard verizion is the best network out as of today. (opinion based)
    Thanks for the info, I'm glad to know it isn't just my phone but that it happens on the Samsung too.

    Despite marketing claims regarding coverage by AT&T, in the States at least Verizon has much better coverage and a clearer transmission. AT&T's actual claim if you read the fine print is that it has better worldwide coverage.

    I love the unlimited international data though. I think AT&T will improve the network though. I hope the static goes away, it is annoying. If it weren't for the international data plan I would have stayed with Verizon. Their international plan didn't cover where I use it most.
    01-16-09 03:56 PM
  7. obsidian6's Avatar
    I had thought it was the phone to be honest. I came from the iPhone which (when it was able to make a call ) had really clear call quality, and my first bold was terrible, the calls had a lot of interference and noise, even with full 3G. My second bold is substantially better, but there is the occasional noise, I didn't know what to think of it.
    01-17-09 12:18 PM
  8. parkerd1's Avatar
    I'm now on my 3rd Bold in less than a month. This one is a little better, but the static is still there. It’s probably all the iPhone Fanboys downloading their Justin Timberlake videos. CS told me that there may have been a bad "batch". Don’t know the odds of me getting 3 of the same batch. To be honest I'm sick of exchanging phones. I just want one that works. After I returned the original, my buyer’s remorse was done (much to my surprise). So I'm stuck with AT&T for now. If it doesn’t improve I’m going to plan B. Sell my Bold and pick up a Curve 8900.
    01-19-09 09:41 AM
  9. Xpimp's Avatar
    I can honestly say I don't have this problem, I guess I'm a lucky one
    01-19-09 01:13 PM
  10. hBunz2's Avatar
    yeah its def network caus b4 my BB, i had (dnt laugh) my razor and thats when i had 1st switchd over to Cingular/ATT, and it did the same, and now my electronic child BB is doN iT;(
    01-19-09 01:23 PM
  11. hBunz2's Avatar
    yeah ur pretty much lucky;p
    01-19-09 01:24 PM
  12. Xpimp's Avatar
    Is this happening while in Edge or 3G or both?
    01-19-09 01:33 PM
  13. parkerd1's Avatar
    Is this happening while in Edge or 3G or both?
    Usually 3G, I don't switch to Edge very often.
    01-19-09 02:08 PM
  14. Crackberrykills's Avatar
    I have not had this problem as well. Although, who knows when you are dealing with a mobile network what problems may arise in certain areas.
    01-19-09 02:10 PM
  15. parkerd1's Avatar
    I can honestly say I don't have this problem, I guess I'm a lucky one
    Where was your Bold made?
    01-23-09 08:33 PM
  16. Xpimp's Avatar
    Mine was made in Canada
    01-24-09 12:49 AM
  17. parkerd1's Avatar
    Mine was made in Canada
    Maybe that's my problem. I've had two Mexico's and one Hungary. My next one comes on Monday and hopefully it will be made by the Canucks.
    01-24-09 08:33 AM
  18. Xpimp's Avatar
    Also note mine is a Rogers Unlocked Bold.
    01-24-09 11:45 AM
  19. parkerd1's Avatar
    Also note mine is a Rogers Unlocked Bold.
    Do you set it to EDGE only very often? Or do you have it set to auto switch between 3G and EDGE?

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    01-24-09 12:44 PM
  20. Xpimp's Avatar
    Well before I use to set it on Edge only when I was at home, because 3G use to run on 1900mhz in my area, and couldn't get a decent 3G signal. But as of Jan 20th they switched 3g to the 850mhz band and I have better signal penetration and can actually use my phone in my apartment on 3G. So now my phone is on 3G all the time and still with no static.
    01-24-09 12:49 PM
  21. stroy's Avatar
    Is it normal to hear a hissing/static noise in the background when making a call?? Doesn't seem to happen all the time, but about 90%. It even happens with 5 bars and 3G. I live in Baltimore, but also work in D.C. and NYC. If this is the norm I may have to go back to Verizon. I hope it isn't as I friggin love the Bold. I'm running .216


    I'm in NYC also and I just got the Bold a week ago Friday. I hear the hissing/static sound too. Sometimes it's worse than others and it's only noticeable when neither person on the call is speaking. When there's silence, I hear it and it's definitely annoying! I actually don't know if it's the Bold though because I put my sim card into an unlocked BB Curve and heard the same annoying noise so I think it might be either the sim card or the AT&T network. I'm new to AT&T. I switched from Verizon for the Bold and also because I was tempted to stab a Verizon rep at one of the stores when he blamed my hitting the wrong keys on the BB Storm touchscreen on my poor spelling ability. He actually said it was unfair to blame the Storm for my spelling errors. I left Verizon after 9 years because of that corn%!*^. Lol! I'm sure Verizon is devastated! Do any old AT&T customers in the NYC area know if the static/hissing sound is normal for AT&T's network? All in all, I'll be relieved as **** if the sound isn't coming from my Bold. A phone that costs this much should sound better than the Motorola Startac I used a decade ago!
    01-27-09 12:50 AM
  22. Xpimp's Avatar
    You should either return your Bold and exchange it for another one. Or update the firmware. In all honesty I'm in NYC specifically Queens during the week and I'm in upper Manhattan on the weekends when I'm with my GF. And I actually think the 3G network got better as of late.
    01-27-09 01:05 AM
  23. parkerd1's Avatar
    I'm in NYC also and I just got the Bold a week ago Friday. I hear the hissing/static sound too. Sometimes it's worse than others and it's only noticeable when neither person on the call is speaking. When there's silence, I hear it and it's definitely annoying! I actually don't know if it's the Bold though because I put my sim card into an unlocked BB Curve and heard the same annoying noise so I think it might be either the sim card or the AT&T network. I'm new to AT&T. I switched from Verizon for the Bold and also because I was tempted to stab a Verizon rep at one of the stores when he blamed my hitting the wrong keys on the BB Storm touchscreen on my poor spelling ability. He actually said it was unfair to blame the Storm for my spelling errors. I left Verizon after 9 years because of that corn%!*^. Lol! I'm sure Verizon is devastated! Do any old AT&T customers in the NYC area know if the static/hissing sound is normal for AT&T's network? All in all, I'll be relieved as **** if the sound isn't coming from my Bold. A phone that costs this much should sound better than the Motorola Startac I used a decade ago!
    I'm on my fourth Bold and second SIM in less than a month. They all have had the static. I've tried .167, .185, .210 and .216. I can tell when it's going to happen before the call even connects. Usually after the second ring I'll hear it. AT&T offered to give me a Tilt or Fuze if I continued to have the issue. Told them I didn't want a Windows Mobile device and there is no "equivalent" Blackberry offered by AT&T. Think I have a pretty good case to terminate without paying and ETF. I�m going to sit tight for a month and see if it improves. If they get the 8900 I might consider taking that. I will say this, Verizon absolutely has the best network. I travel all throughout the Mid-Atlantic and never had any issues. Between the dropped calls and static I really regret switching to AT&T. Funny, I had a Startac also, and it did sound better.
    01-27-09 10:53 AM
  24. stroy's Avatar
    I'm on my fourth Bold and second SIM in less than a month. They all have had the static. I've tried .167, .185, .210 and .216. I can tell when it's going to happen before the call even connects. Usually after the second ring I'll hear it. AT&T offered to give me a Tilt or Fuze if I continued to have the issue. Told them I didn't want a Windows Mobile device and there is no "equivalent" Blackberry offered by AT&T. Think I have a pretty good case to terminate without paying and ETF. I�m going to sit tight for a month and see if it improves. If they get the 8900 I might consider taking that. I will say this, Verizon absolutely has the best network. I travel all throughout the Mid-Atlantic and never had any issues. Between the dropped calls and static I really regret switching to AT&T. Funny, I had a Startac also, and it did sound better.

    Lol! I know exactly what you're talking about. The noise starts right after the second ring! I sit there hoping that the static won't come but it pretty much always does. It's a lot stronger if I have the volume up all the way. Fortunately, I usually only have it at the halfway point so I can live with the static. I love everything else about the phone and I think AT&T's 3g network is way faster the Verizon's EVDO network. I guess I won't bother to swap the phone out since you've noticed no improvement between the four that you've had.
    01-28-09 11:40 PM
  25. mltenzer's Avatar
    I have had my Bold since switching from T-Mobile to ATT last November. I have made dozens of calls to tech support complaining about static that drowns out reception on >90% of long distance and some of the local calls. They have traced calls, replaced my Bold, I have uploaded the new OS etc. After 9 months they have given up and offered to allow me to leave my contract without a penalty fee.

    I am convinced that the problem is ATT, not the Bold. For a few days I switched to an iPhone 3Gs and had the same problem. What astonishes me is that their engineers and customer service personnel act like I am the only one on the planet with this problem and I am convinced many of us AT&T users just put up with it. I never had noise with T-Mobile and am considering taking AT&T up on their offer and switching back. I am just afraid I will loose some of the Bold's functioning.
    10-03-09 05:49 PM
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