iPhone speaker too quiet? Stab it with needles
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted January 18th 2008 11:31AM
posted January 18th 2008 11:31AM
[Thanks, Michael]
posted January 18th 2008 11:31AM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
He should have said "LOANER" phone, probably. Of course I could be wrong. The phone could be anti-social with murderous tendencies and a penchant for making people put the lotion in the basket.
Holy shit i tried it on my headphones and i think there fixed again, one used to be louder than the other one
I've never had a problem with the speaker volume playing a song or video via the iPod app or using Youtube...it's only when using it as a speaker phone and it is abysmal.
Anyway, the only thing I'm going to stick into my iPhone other than earbuds is my elbow...I follow the same rule when it comes to my ears.
does this hack work with windows mobile phones also?
I purchased an iPhone on the day of release. The speaker volume was always disappointing.
Last week, I had it replaced (under warranty) because bubbles had formed under the glass screen. After replacement, I immediately noticed that the speaker was WAY louder.
So I suspect that there has been some hardware modification that makes the more-recently-manufactured ones louder than the early ones.
Yes, it absolutely works. There are only about 5 or 6 holes on the left side of the phone that can be pierced with a small sewing needle or safety pin. You are poking holes through almost a styrofoam type insulation material. Once those holes have been pierced, the increase in volume is immediate and dramatic. As for diminshed sound quality, I haven't found that to be the case - it was not like prior to this minor modification I was listening to a Bose stereo.
After reading on a number of other sites about this modification, I gave it a shot about two weeks ago - and this is from someone who never jailbroke his phone. For me there was an immediate increase in volume which improved my overall usability of the phone, since now I could hear my phone ringing while the phone was in my jacket as well as when texts or emails were received. I have experienced no problems and have now performed this minor surgery on my wife's iPhone and suggested it to a couple of friends who have agreed in its simplicity and effectiveness.
Why would something like this void the phone's warranty? Just interested before I give it a shot. I have never downloaded any illegal content or ringtones but this fix seems like it may be worth a shot.
Thanks,
If you jab a needle in your ear it makes the iphone louder!....don't mind the blood though.
aw, leave alex alone....he may get even more upset and squeeze some of his zits on you...and no one wants that.
Guys,
I'm the one that created the original thread "Loudest speaker volume ever?" on modmyifone.com. Couple of things... this definitely works and has been confirmed by everyone that has tried it. Those reporting that didn't get a noticeable volume increased probably didn't do it right. Anyways, the needle doesn't hit the speaker, just goes through a thin layer of plastic. Last but not least, you're not voiding your warranty as it's almost impossible to notice the tiny little holes created with the needle.
Good luck and needle your iPhone out LOUD!
Dont tell Steve but i just poked one hole and it increased it by a significant amount.....
Apple does provide iNeedle for this sort of thing. It costs $39.99 though.
A less aggresive thing that i do is to turn down the volume at the start of calls, then turn it up once your taling to the person.
I found that if you have it at full volume, despite turning off the noise control, it will still squach the volume.
Give it a go, and tell me if i'm nuts.
Just did it... It works quite well. I would doubt that it is quite a 40% increase in volume, but it is much better. It also does not degrade the sound at all - interesting if anything it expands the range. I would assume that the plastic was blocking out some of the higher Hz levels. All in all it worked well...
I have a dissecting microscope at work (4-10x) and found miniscule particles (China dust?) on the edges of the holes. Unfortunately I can not sit the phone completely vertical, but at about a 45 degree angle, so I can't see the full bottoms of the holes. I used a small brush and a thin straw to blow the debris out of the holes. Visually there are now fewer particle and the sound is indeed slightly louder. I similarly cleaned out the microphone ports. I also looked at the upper phone port. Since it is much larger, particles do not seem to get lodged there (unless you have very waxy ears?). what amazed me though, was the huge amount of dust and fine threads in the canyon between the glass plate and the chrome bezel.
Would I use a thin anything to push the debris inward? Heck no. Do the holes get clogged? Very likely. I will stick to my method of cleaning.
I just did this and it worked great. My roommate and girlfriend's iPhones were always much, much louder than mine. After this, I think I beat them both. This is by far the best mod I've made to the phone.
I dont know what the issue is. This thing has a louder speaker than any cell phone I have had in the past. Way loud enough for me. I can hear it across the house when it rings.
weird timing. I just did this a few days ago and the volume now is LOUD
WORKED, THANKS! If this was old news, I had not seen it before. In addition to loudness, fidelity also seemed improved (obviously not as muffled by the plastic/styrofoam). For those who have commented that it makes no sense to tinker with something so expensive -- bad news guys. This is more like a car than an appreciating asset and once the 3G version is released their value will plummet even more. Preserving the family Ford won't make you rich or wise -- drive it.
I just did it and didn't notice much difference for better or worse in either sound quality or volume. My iphone is only a month old if that makes any difference.
My iPhone got louder after one of the earlier firmware upgrades. The loudness is fine for me now.
I'm surprised that some nerd hasn't wired a little amplifier to the iPhone. Or maybe a Marshall stack running on a few car batteries, pulled behind the user in a trailer.
As soon as a red the story I went ahead and did it. I was careful not to stab through the speaker but just the gray plastic. You can actually hear a pop when u do it in some spots, specially the center. The corners don't have that much depth but still plastic was broken around those areas. I pierced every hole carefully and cleaned the debris that came out of them.
Tried it. I did notice an increase in volume. Not spectacular but, Yes, there is an increase.
Every little bit helps.
What kind off apple device is in the back behind the shoes? Is it
just a mod or what? Its probably just photoshopped but its worth
looking at. BTW this isn't an ad or spam or a link to my myspace page
or gay porn or....
Totally off topic but check this out...
http://www.hypebeast.com/image/2008/01/undercover-summer-madness-1_0.jpg
What kind off apple device is in the back behind the shoes? Is it
just a mod or what? Its probably just photoshopped but its worth
looking at. BTW this isn't an ad or spam or a link to my myspace page
or gay porn or....
Bunch of idiots!!!!!!
All of you!!!
loloololololol
You guys are
morons, this is the best thing I done to my iPhone , I could never hear anyone on speaker ,
that be on a conversation or youtube video .
Now its so loud I can hear my clicks while typing. So there's a risk
but its a risk well
worth it. Any iphone users annoyed by speaker volume, here's your fix. You won't regret it.
Sent from my iPhone.
I also found out that a great and cheap way to protect your iPhone is to put clear packaging tape all around. It works gr8! :)
It's spam. Don't click on it!
@scrjr: Oh, BTW, I voted your comment down.
It works!!!
Don't worry about 'damaging' you iPhone, you're not actually touching the speaker, as that is in a different area.. you are just making small holes in to the cavity where sound comes out..
I'd say 40% louder.
It works, can't be happier. Now I have to actually turn down the volume level to 75%, cause it's freaking loud in my office.
Void the warranty? That implies that someone would even look that hard in the first place.
If someone iNeedles their iPhone, breaks it and gets iScrewed iMe will point laugh at youHa.
OMG it looks like my cheap Trust haedset, on microphone the layer on the mike was to thick so i made some holes with a needle...
trust - apple arghhh hahaha
The thin film is actually a filter that eliminates the highest audible frequencies coming from the tiny speaker. If you puncture it, it will definitely be louder, but not as crisp and clear. It'll actually sound pretty crappy.
I have done this and have noticed no difference in it whats so ever. I used a sewing needle and poked every hole all the way down until i felt it wasnt going through anything. I recently have had to swap my phone out so i dont know if the updated model was already louder or not. I feel a little discourged when everyone is saying 40% better and I cant tell any difference, and now have holes in my phone somewhere. any advice would be appreciated. maybe a sewing needle isnt large enough or something.
OMG I swear Apple's like the Britney of the tech world :(
this really does work. i just tried it and there's noticeable gain in volume. i used to be able to "mute" the speaker by putting my finger over it, but now the sounds comes through a little better. so, hopefully this'll help me hear my phone when it's in my pocket.
I'm not sure if it's punching holes in the screen that improves volume, or simply the way that all the gunk which inevitably ends up clogging the little holes in the speaker grills gets pushed out of the way by the needle. In any case, I poked a needle through all the holes (speaker and mic) on my phone after removing the antenna cover, and there's a noticeable improvement in sound quality and volume.
Works great, and doesn't sound like crap. I have a day 1 iphone, and bought a 1.1.2 OTB for my gf this Christmas. Hers was noticably louder than mine, enough so to piss me off. Now they are very close, and the sound quality is the same.
I'm not gonna be dumb enough to poke my speaker with needles. I have no problems with my speaker, nor do I ever really ever use the speakerphone. I would just rather talk in the mic or use my bluetooth headset. Yeah and that would suck so bad for anyone to break their phones speaker for such a db reason.
All stupid comments aside, I took a look at the left port (speaker) and mine had been clogged with several months' worth of grime... I took a small plastic toothpick with a fine point and cleaned out the grime then blew the tiny holes out with air, and the volume has significantly increased. I'm going to clean the grime out of the speaker holes and see if that helps, although I rarely use the speakerphone option. Side note - will we ever have voice dialing????
Why isn't this plastic perforated in the first place? I'm guessing it's to keep it waterproof, but there had to be a more elegant solution than to just cover the bloody speaker.
i did it and it worked. 200% increase of volume with no probs. srsly, i measured it with my uber scientific method described in below sentences :))
i laid my iphone on my macbookpro in the corner so the iphones speaker will be close to mbp mic. then played one loud DFA1979 tune on iphone. recorded it.
then took a needle and did the.. thing.
placed iphone back in the came place, played and recorded the sound again.
whoa, the changes were quite noticeable.
heres the screenshot of the sample
http://abstrukt.com/junk/istab-sample.gif
and the fourier analyzis for those interested. note again, it was recorder with built-in macbook pro microphone.
http://abstrukt.com/junk/istab-fourier-blackman4096.gif
now i just hope the thing wont spread poisonous iGasses through those holes!
Works great! Thanks a lot.
YES I DID TRY THIS, and no the world didnt end. i got pretty good results, on some songs its so strong of a difference i have to put it on bass reducer but not the overall case. I DO RECOMMEND THIS
ALSO, I just had my iphone repaired (FOR A UNRELATED REASON), after i poked it, AND THEY DID NOT SPOT IT (YES!) THEY JUST GAVE ME A WHOLE NEW IPHONE!!
I just did it. It is louder for sure. I'm not sure how much because now I don't have a comparison. :) The good thing is that you can't even tell that it has been altered.
Just go to an Apple Store and try it !
Works like a charm, amazing...