[elan19]

I just got my first BB a couple days ago and am satisfied enough to keep it - though I have some reservations about the time required to manage the complexity/setup and ever shrinking memory. I have been able to deal with a few issues already thanks to this forum and intend to deal with a few more when I have the time (i.e. reconfiguring my home router). But one thing I have not seen discussed makes me wonder if my unit is defective and I should ask for a replacement:

While the call quality using the included earbuds is terrific (clear, no hiss - best cell phone quality I've ever experienced), using the phone without the earbuds (and Wifi turned off) I always hear a hiss in the background (might also be described as static, but it was so steady it sounds more like hiss to me). I hear it also with speakphone enabled. I even hear it after I dial and hear the phone rings before the call is answered. Interestingly, when I tested a different unit at a T-mobile store a couple weeks ago, I heard the same hiss (the salesperson brushed it off as probably a WiFi thing but now I have the same thing in my phone with WiFi turned off). The hiss is not loud enough to interfere with my ability to understand what is being said by a native English speaker, but it's an irritant and I wonder if it would make it harder for me to understand people with a thick accent.

Do all Curve owners experience this hiss? Is there a workaround apart from using earbuds?

I am very surprised that I have read nothing about this hiss on any reviews or comments on the forum. I do intend to use the phone with earbuds at least 80% of the time as it will be my main phone at my office - and I have to say these earbuds are really terrific given my intention to use them primarily for phone use - in fact it's my single favorite thing about the phone. But I do use the phone sometimes when out and about and would prefer to eliminate the hiss, if possible.

Thanks in advance for any/all help.

[Helmdawg]

Elan, welcome to the forums. To be honest, I have never had or heard of this problem. The call quality on my 8320 has been fabulous whether I am using UMA and wifi or the network.

[monkeypaw]

Sounds like a problem with the phone. The background noise on this phone is so low that I can not tell if the other person is just not talking or if the call had dropped. On my old phones, if the background static stops, it means the call is dropped. Can't use that indicator anymore.

Since there is no hiss on the earbud calls, it's got to be something in the speaker ciruit.

[elan19]

Thanks for the comments. Given that I heard a similar hiss in an 8320 I tried at a T-mobile store, I also wonder if my ears might be more sensitive to it than many other people?

When at the T-mobile store, I also tried the Nokia 8086, the only other model I was considering for purchase (I wanted WiFi and disliked a number of things about the 2 Samsung WiFi models). I did not hear a hiss on that one.

Monkeypaw - an interesting perspective on call drops. Perhaps I should think about this as a feature, not a bug! I also get the hiss when playing mp3s (whether speakerphone is on or off) - though again no hiss with attached earbuds.

[elan19]

I called T-mobile this morning and after discussing for 10-15 minutes the rep decided to send me a replacement for a nominal shipping fee ($9.99) without me even asking. Playing with volume on my phone, the hiss goes away if I turn the volume fairly low, and comes right back, getting increasingly louder, as the volume goes up.

I've called T-mobile several times in the past week (about other issues such as changing my phone number) and I have to say their customer service lives up to the hype - I've never experienced customer service like that for cell phones or computers before. Every rep I've talked to has been incredibly friendly and obviously trying very hard to help me get what I need.

The coverage where I live is terrific (and even if my home or office had poor reception I could just use WiFi). The price is better than the competition. It's hard to see why I'd ever switch away from T-mobile after just a few days' experience.

I'll post a comparison between my current phone and the replacement phone when I get it.

Thanks again for the comments.

[monkeypaw]

Originally Posted by elan19

I called T-mobile this morning and after discussing for 10-15 minutes the rep decided to send me a replacement for a nominal shipping fee ($9.99) without me even asking. Playing with volume on my phone, the hiss goes away if I turn the volume fairly low, and comes right back, getting increasingly louder, as the volume goes up.

I've called T-mobile several times in the past week (about other issues such as changing my phone number) and I have to say their customer service lives up to the hype - I've never experienced customer service like that for cell phones or computers before. Every rep I've talked to has been incredibly friendly and obviously trying very hard to help me get what I need.

The coverage where I live is terrific (and even if my home or office had poor reception I could just use WiFi). The price is better than the competition. It's hard to see why I'd ever switch away from T-mobile after just a few days' experience.

I'll post a comparison between my current phone and the replacement phone when I get it.

Thanks again for the comments.

Good to hear they've replacing it. I also think TMobile customer service is outstanding. Even though their network coverage is not as extensive as others, I'm not sure I would change back to another provider without some hesitation.

[John Clark]

Does the hiss go away when the screen backlight goes out? I notice a faint hiss when the screen is on with mine.

[elan19]

There is no change in the hiss whether the screen backlight is on or off. I just did an experiment to verify.

[Thatzmister2u]

I would not tolerate my phone hissing at me!

[Helmdawg]

Originally Posted by Thatzmister2u

I would not tolerate my phone hissing at me!

I agree, especially when the wife is always hissing at me as well

[Thatzmister2u]

Originally Posted by Helmdawg

I agree, especially when the wife is always hissing at me as well

Ditto!!!

[elan19]

Just noticed that some of the last few posts I made disappeared (perhaps due to the server crash?) so here again was my conclusion:

The replacement phone hissed just the same. With some experimentation, I found the hiss goes away if I change where my ear is in relation to the phone. The hiss is most strong when ear is placed very close to the phone, just above it, which was my natural position. But the hissing is not noticeable if you move your ear a couple inches away from the phone or move it lower so that it's positioned around the track ball.

As I mentioned before, there is no hissing with headset so in my case the hissing is not very important as I use the headset most of the time. When not using headset, I have simply adjusted my ear position away from the phone, raising the volume a bit to compensate.