iPod with video no likey cellphones

We can neither confirm nor deny firsthand the results of the video linked below (for one reason or another no one at Engadget seems to own or have access to a cellphone), but apparently certain amounts of radio interference emitted by cellphones can drive an iPod with video freaky crazy wild. We're not sure what makes the 5G iPod any less shielded from RFI than other iPods (or if other iPods have this problem as well), but apparently some users are confirming the issue — and if nothing else watching that iPod go on the fritz when that cellphone gets close might elicit a chuckle.

Watch [3GP]

[g0nk @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

ROKR STRIKES BACK!!

[ed @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

whoah!!! it does, i can change the volume on my ipod without touching it!!! i could be defeaned if my phone rings when in the same pocket as my ipod!!! p.s. no lasting effects noticed... yet

[Jeremy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

That's odd...

I can't seem to replicate this... I've got a Treo650 and an iPod with video, and when put together, my iPod is still solid as a rock.

[ed @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

ok, i called my housephone and then moved it round my ipod while playing music. oh and soz for the spelling mistake in my previous post!

[Jimmy O'Toole @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I used to put my old Nokia phone right next to my iPod in my car, and now I do the same with my new Motorola V3. I have never noticed any ill effects on the iPod itself. But then, my iPod is a 4th-generation one.

[dan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

ha, just tried it on mine, that's hilarious! didn't do it on my tmo phone, but worked on a coworkers cingular. probably the same as the att buzzing speakers thing

[Reid Sorenson @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Just tried it and it definitely causes the iPod's volume control to spaz out when a call comes into my RAZR. Interestingly, I could bring the volume up and down by passing the phone back and forth across the front of the click wheel.

Trying again with the Hold switch enabled on the iPod prevented interference from the phone.

[iptydafu @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I see they're using a Sony Ericsson. I've got a T637, and it drives every pair of speakers I walk past, out of their mind. I've never seen anything throw off interference like this thing. Apparently it's endemic of the brand. So I can't say I'm surprised. -I can always tell when I'm getting a call before the phone even starts ringing.

[ed @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

i think it may be the apple click wheel!!
someone try it on a nano!

[kevin @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

happened to my friend. must be the new click wheel

[MadTxn @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Just adding a "me too" using an SMT5600 from Cingular.

[Hunter @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

The volume on my nano used to dramatically fluxuate in my pocket before I became more vigilant about using the hold switch. At the time I attributed it to the scroll wheel being overly sensitive and brushing up against my leg but now I'm wondering if its proximity to my cell phone (which I keep in the same pocket) is the culprit.

[Scott N @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

dosn't work with my nano and my LG Vx8100

[mdwsta4 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

same thing happened to me the other week. i wasn't sure what was going on at first!
i do have to say, i absolutely hate how every Cingular phone i have makes speakers buzz for no reason. it's so damn annoying! not a single TMO phone ever did that (and they're always european unlocked phones). i wish i knew how to make it stop. it's irritating when my speakers buzz so loud it wakes me up.

[Admiral @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

This is what is known as TDMA interference.
Put any active GSM, iDEN or IS-136 phone next to a speaker, of anysort, and you will get interference. (sounds like morse code) - It does not happen always, it depends on several factors

This does not happen with CDMA phones (US/Canada see: verizon, bell, telus, sprint) because of the way the CDMA air interface works

[NekoTsukimi @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

It spazzes my nano. I just hear the normal cellular interference noise and plus when I'm using it to send or recieve data, it'll lower the volume (saw it with my own eyes and it doesn't revert back) XD It was about the funniest thing ever XD However, this must be done with the cellphone in front of the nano. It does nothing when it's behind it. Guess the shiny is good for something other than being a handy mirror.

Oh yeah, Nokia 3200 here~

[ela2 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

No problems with my Nextel and Nano...

[Jason @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I can confirm it happens with my Cingular Treo 650 and the new 60GB iPod. I thought the iPod was defective, so I exchanged it at an Apple store. The next day, it happened again. The Law of Averages dictated that I couldn't have received two different pieces of hardware that exhibited identical wonky behavior, so I ran the same informal tests others listed above, and it's definitely the phone's signal that's causing the iPod's volume to jump around like a kid on a Halloween candy binge.

[Robert @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Here's a tip for getting this to work with phones that don't work normally:

Go into the phones setup and change it to analog mode only. If your phone has this option, set it and send or receive a call. When it's in analog mode it pumps out a lot of power.

I was talking to a friend who used to work for an IC company that, among other things, made power management chips used primarily in Laptops. One of the laptop manufacturers they were supplying to found that if a cell phone was sitting on the laptop when it received a call it would reboot! Some of the signal was coupling onto the lines going into the IC making the chip think there was an overvoltage condition and initiating the shutdown of the laptop.

[Bedammit @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Hmm lets see..
Subjecting microelectronics that appear to not be completely shielded from RFI.
Not a good idea.
Its like adding extra voltage to a circuit.
Might damage your little iPod toy.
I'm betting this WASNT part of their QA.
Bedammit

[mike @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

seems as if it only works with 850 mhz such as Cingular and Verizon but not T-mobile.

[John Kilpatrick @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Yes, I was noticing this too, but since my last iPod was a Gen2 I was wondering if this was common in Gen 4 as well. In a way, I've been looking at it as a feature - mine only gets softer due to cell phone interference. So it's almost like it's automatically muting the iPod when I get a call.

[Ryan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Please someone confirm: Is this symptom cured when the hold switch is in the locked position? That will tell us whether this is an issue with the Apple click wheel or another component. i.e. what is being interfered with: the user interface to the volume control, or the volume setting itself?

[Ryan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Please someone confirm: Is this symptom cured when the hold switch is in the locked position? That will tell us whether this is an issue with the Apple click wheel or another component. i.e. what is being interfered with: the user interface to the volume control, or the volume setting itself?

[Viet Hoang @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

It seems to me it is the 850mhz frequency that is used by Cingular and ATT at fault? Tmobile users (including myself) can't replicate the problem since we only run on 1800. It seems the Verizon and Nextel (both non GSM) people can't replicate the problem also based on the postings above.

[fdisk @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

When I have my Nano on hold, it does not affect the volume control at all. When I don't have it on hold, volume is spastic.

[KianTech @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

HHAHAHAHA I DID IT with my nokia 6820 and the volume jumped like no other.

[Keirmeister @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I get the effect with my Nextel Blackberry 7520, but not with my T-Mobile I-Mate SP3i.

It must be a sensitivity with the click wheel.

[gripworks @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Does not work with a verizon Nokia 3589i and 5g

[Daveoc64 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I have this problem in the UK. I have tried it with a Nokia 6600 (on "O2") and a Nokia on Orange.

It does not happen to my iPod photo or iPod 3G.

It is definitely the click wheel, as it jumps no matter what screen you are in.

Most likely due to Apple making its own Click Wheel for these iPods.

[damon @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

yeah, no prob's with my 5g and my sprint moto v60s. i have noticed at work, all the nextel phones (all moto) make some crazy amounts of static in the speakers of computers when a direct connect call is about to come in.

[Daveoc64 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

In response to "Ryan" the hold switch does fix the problem. It's as if someone is moving their finger over the wheel really fast, when hold is on the wheel wont work so there is no problem

[gadgeTT @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Same thing with my Moto MPx220 phone. Figured it has something to do with the GPRS connection as it always happens during a data connection on my phone (web, e-mail, etc.) when I also hear the buzzing from nearby speakers.

[Russ @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I think I understand what's going on. I once asked someone who should know how an iPod wheel worked and he explained that the human body, full of water as it is, is an excellent antenna. It takes up all sorts of radio waves and transmits them. When your finger touches the wheel, the wheel can detect this concentration of radio waves, and interprets this appropriately. I'm thinking that the proximity of a cell phone antenna - sending out lots of radio waves - is being interpreted by the iPod like a finger would be. This explains why you can get the volume to go up and down by moving the phone in different directions, and it also explains why the volume doesn't change when the hold switch is activated. I'm also guessing that this only effects the Apple made wheels rather than the older type. If I had a phone, I'd try it with my Nano.
I hope this makes sense.

[Jellosh0ts @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

funny I just noticed the same phenomenon last night. I had the ipod 5g on the seat of my patrol car plugged in to the monster cable FM modulator, and my cingular treo 650 on the seat next to it. all of sudden the ipod's screen got wavy, the volume control was going back & forth and then the treo told me I had a new SMS message! there was no change in the audio output though. Just weird. MTB

[Mark @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Hi, can engadget either mirror the 3GP file or not directly link to it. My bandwidth hit 1.7GB and I think I only get like 2GB a day... Thank you

mark

[acidreflux @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

i will sue apple and the cellphone, and anyone else.

[roycifer @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

it does happen between my nano and moto e398.

[Mike @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I can also confirm. The volume goes haywire on my 5G 60GB when the RF of my phone is sending and receiving signal data.

[Ryan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Hey I think my cellphone radiation just scratched my iPod Nano.

[TomTheGeek @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

So it seems the 5th gen iPods are suseptible to GSM 850mhz traffic. Any 850mhz GSM phone will do this, just some are worse than others.

I have a Cingular Audiovox 5600 and it makes any unshielded speakers buzz and pop whenever it is sending out data. I actually had to switch out the speakers I use at work because the pair I had were really sensitive and it was getting very annoying.

I don't know if it's because of the new click wheel or if they ditched some RF shielding in order to make them thinner. Also it might be a different chip that they used this time that is really sensitive.

Just another reason to ditch the iPod in favor of an all in one device.

[Don Wilson @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Video is down.

[jasondefaoite @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I'd be interested to know if it is GSM850 or 900 causing this. Apple may be due a call from the European regulators if this is true. That CE mark on the back of the iPod shows its been tested for ElectroMagnetic Compatibility (EMC). Part of the numerouis suite of tests is exposure to a radiated field from 80MHz to 1GHz. If what's been described above occurs during this test, it fails. If this is true, the iPod should not be on the European market, or the South Korean one (the only ones with this current requirement).

[Don Wilson @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

New link: http://www.248am.com/video/ipodvideogoingcrazy2.3gp

[Jon @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

happened to my friend. must be the new click wheel

[Matt @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Nano seems to be immune from K700i (i.e. same handset shown in image) on UK T-mobile, which I think is 1800Mhz.

[jasondefaoite @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I've actually experienced this myself, having a k700 and the 5G iPod. I didn't make the link at the time, that the phone was causing the problem. Time for some more experimenting... running on GSM900 here.

[mike @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

listening to my ipod video last night when a call came in on my treo 650 and my 'pod started going nuts. the volume started going crazy, can't understand what would cause this. it humored and bewildered me.

[eminem213486 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

not experiencing this with my nokia 3205 but i am experiencing a weird shut down problem, holding down teh play button to shut it down but if i scroll with the wheel i can hear the clicks� meaning the unit is on. if i turn it on again it will have changed volume or place in scroll etc�. very scary since im trying to shut the unit off but its just wasting power anyway� no sleep state. this has happened about 5 times out of the 10 times ive shut it down

[sheik124 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

T-Mo USA is 1900, not 1800, the 1800 band is used OUTSIDE the US. Looks like 850 MHz GSM makes the 5G iPod spazz out, cool.