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Old 07-22-2009, 06:18 AM   #1
spenillo
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Default Blackberry Bold Speaker Fix???

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I have googled this many times and it seems there is a problem with the speaker in some Bolds as it relates to the battery cover door.

Here is the porblem: The ringer, speaker phone, alarms, videos, and anything else with external sound is very very very low. Controlling the volume has nothing to do with it because you can turn the sound all the way up and its still the same very low sound. As soon as you open the battery cover door the sound returns to its normal/expected volume range. I have seen many suggestions and fixes where to stick pieces of paper to fix this problem.

My questions is does anyone have an actual picture of where the fix is supposed to be implemented in the back of the phone? Will also take a website link or detailed explanation of what location I need to implement a fix too.

Many Thanks!!!!!!!
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Old 07-22-2009, 06:21 AM   #2
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i would like to know too, this problem is really anoying...
someone please adviseeee
thankks
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Old 07-22-2009, 02:50 PM   #3
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My speaker function quit working all together on Saturday. I've spent the past 3 days trying to get someone to replace this phone, and no one wants to take responsibility.
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Old 07-23-2009, 09:03 AM   #4
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Anybody have an answer??

I have to take the back cover off if I want to use the speakerphone or alarm function to wake me up in the morning!
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Old 07-23-2009, 11:42 AM   #5
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If you have searched on this then you will have seen more than one thread on it. Solutions vary but they all put pressure on the speaker. The speaker has two pressure type contacts and they appear to loose contact pressure after time raising the impedance of the speaker and lowering the output. In my case, I removed the battery cover, battery and the back of the Bold. The back is secured with six screws. When the back is removed the speaker contacts can then be cleaned with a contact cleaner and bent slighly up to increase the speaker contact pressure. Do not use any abrasive on the contact as this will remove the plating material and increase the likelihood of corrosion.
The other solutions involve putting material (paper?) between the speaker and the back- either under the battery or on top of it. When the battery cover is put in place this puts pressure on the speaker and pushes it on the contacts.
Please note the first process (removing the back) will negate your warranty. If you have a warranty use it!
Jim
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Old 07-23-2009, 02:14 PM   #6
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Jim, Thanks for the explanation now I clearly understand what you mean. I did do searches through these forums but couldn't understand how a piece of paper could help if opening the back helped. I figure why stuff more in there don't you want to alleviate the pressure instead of cramming paper and things in there.

But now I see by placing a piece of folded up paper in there creates more space between the battery and the cover by pushing the battery a little further away. This is the same concept as opening the battery cover to ebale the speaker to function. Maybe this space will be enough to allow the speaker to work.

I will test it out! Thanks!!!
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Old 07-23-2009, 04:23 PM   #7
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I put a small piece if cardboard right below the top of the battery and my volume is way better than before. I have also read people are using a piece from an old credit card in the same location.
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Old 07-24-2009, 10:20 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rizzo View Post
I put a small piece if cardboard right below the top of the battery and my volume is way better than before. I have also read people are using a piece from an old credit card in the same location.
Hmm, would you be able to post a pic, im not understanding which way to place the paper/cardboard and where. I dont knwo if my situation is different because my speaker low volume only started after i turned my bold all white(white bezel,battery cover and keypad). Would this sollution still work for me do u think? So maybe during the quipment swap I did something wrong..
Thanks in advance!
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Old 07-24-2009, 05:05 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Meyefull View Post
Hmm, would you be able to post a pic, im not understanding which way to place the paper/cardboard and where. I dont knwo if my situation is different because my speaker low volume only started after i turned my bold all white(white bezel,battery cover and keypad). Would this sollution still work for me do u think? So maybe during the quipment swap I did something wrong..
Thanks in advance!
Here is how I did it. I taped the carboard to the battery door in case I need to pull the battery to reset.
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Old 07-28-2009, 05:46 PM   #10
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Thanks Rizzo!
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Old 08-12-2009, 10:22 AM   #11
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Guys thank you this problem has been driving me nuts the bold has become an integral part of my life what a shame such a great deivice suffers from such a pathetic design fault.
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Old 08-17-2009, 02:40 PM   #12
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Default Thanks!

Jim -

I went straight to your method & removed the back & bent the two pins slightly upward & my ring tone volume is back! I purchased a leather pouch off of eBay for my Bold, similar to the one that comes with the Curve (as I liked using that to carry my phone when I wore shorts) and I think that it was the problem. The only way to get the phone out of the leather pouch carrying case was to pinch it right where the speaker and earpiece is at. I noticed this after the ringer went bad that if I pinched it, it'd flat go out and when I released the pressure, it would come back, somewhat. This little tutorial on removing the back to fix worked! Thanks a bunch. Sure, my warranty is now void, but the 18 year old kids at the store had no idea what the problem was anyway!!

Many thanks -

Jon
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Old 11-06-2009, 02:38 PM   #13
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Default low volume speaker fix!!

I have been plagued with this problem as well for the last few months. tried all recommended fixes. took apart rebent pins (worked for a week). but spacer on battery (kind of worked but not really any pressure to problem area would make speaker cut to low again). seems problem as stated above is pressure from battery cover on light grey area that houses flash with speaker below. I keep my phone in my front pocket so it constanly is compressed. I found a way to completely aleviate the problem! kind of using the "credit card fix" but place tape or glue 2 - 1/2 inch pieces of an old card right above the battery on each side of the light grey area. do not place too high up or the back cover will not close properly. see pics. this works by not allowing the cover to come near problem area. Hope this helps.

Rick
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Old 11-06-2009, 03:43 PM   #14
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my left speaker doesn't work and i disassembled my phone to see why. i used a multimeter to test the speakers and the left speaker is kind of dead and is no way to replace it :(
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Old 11-07-2009, 01:22 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mircea View Post
my left speaker doesn't work and i disassembled my phone to see why. i used a multimeter to test the speakers and the left speaker is kind of dead and is no way to replace it :(
you can buy a new midplate for < $20.

BlackBerry Bold 9000 OEM midplate - Cellular Nationwide Network - Cellular Accessories - 3G, Sony,
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Old 12-08-2009, 01:58 PM   #16
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Default Speaker Problems

There are apparently two different problems that plague the Bold. The first is that there is bad contact between the speaker and the board which could be caused by rough handling, dirt or just loose fit of components. Taking the phone midplate out and cleaning could fix the problem and if not then a new midplate with speaker is only $20. The second problem is the one I had which is that the led light for the flash actually comes in to contact with the transducer on the speaker. This has the same effect as putting your finger on the driver of any speaker and limiting it's excursion which limits the volume... The person(s) who talk about lifting or prying up on the led light assembly and their volume coming back or pinching and dramatic increases in volume happening might have this same problem (these were my symptoms). Putting a paper, plastic, foam or other such spacer between the cover and the battery helps because it keeps the cover from putting pressure on the led light assembly (the entire grey/silver thing with black nubs sticking up around the led light). When you take your back cover off, you'll notice indentations in the cover that are meant to keep it from exerting pressure on the led assembly. Over time and from carrying in your pocket, the rear cover gets loose and is allowed to put pressure on here effective muting the speaker. Since my phone was out of warranty and my local provider is a co-op who won't replace the phone without me booting the deductible I took mine apart and cut a spacer for the speaker to led assembly out of old pool table felt and my Bold sounds spectacularly good and has for the last 6 weeks. Obviously I wouldn't recommend taking your phone apart if you can get it replaced but the replacement 9000's have the same problem so it's only a matter of time before you have the same problem.
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Old 12-18-2009, 12:32 PM   #17
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Default I fixed my low speaker issue:-)

12/18/2009 Low Speaker Ringer Sound Volume Blackberry Bold 9000 compared to original settings fix

Not sure if my method was or was not mentioned. As I saw the tape/card methods being thrown around that keyed me to the problem area.

THE FIX: Without taking my phone apart (forgive ME I'm not technical with the phone parts) i found the problem with the low volume was in the light gray part with the flash and the black rivet looking things(the grey flash box is my name for it). at the top of the grey box theres a thin gap (as if u wanted to pull the grey part off from the top) and I simply took a thin object (razor, paper clip or something hard and slimmer than a butter knife) and just BARELY started moving it around as a song played to see if it affected anything and it did. It needed to be pulled away just a bit so I took a post-it note and follded it til about 4 ply and wedged it.

My phone is back to its normal loud ring

Hope that helps and let me know if it works for you!
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Old 12-21-2009, 02:17 AM   #18
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Just a big THANKS for this fix.
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Old 12-21-2009, 02:22 AM   #19
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What fix?
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Old 12-23-2009, 10:09 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2smov View Post
What fix?
In your post, 2 up you gave a FIX tip.
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