yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jms.flynn:
I can't believe Samsung has still not released a statement even acknowledging the fault, shocking. Just a quick question what can people do who got the phone on contract, they can't get out of the contract can they so I guess they will only have the option of changing the phone?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Evostance:
Just put up with it for a bit until Samsung release a new batch of phones. Then call up and explain.

Let them know you cannot have a refurb as it is a hardware fault
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Tom Servo:
Samsung's going to perform their own testing first, before just blindly confirming something that was posted on some forums. Most likely, they're just going to smoke'n'mirror.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Lcrkz0023:
They would just reverse your contract. Its similar to if returned a phone during the return window grace period and opt not to get anything else.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] paul_one:
antennaegate anyone??

it would be great if we could manually fix it somehow.. perhaps when that famous take it apart website (heh, dunno the proper name) gets its hands on the phone?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] sblantipodi:
really disappointing.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Tom Servo:
Hrm, I've just seen the picture of the phone of the newest stock over at Clove.

Baseband I9250XXKK1.

Same in all of your phones?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] oscillik:
baseband is irrelevant - the phone encounters the problem even when in bootloader mode.

(yes same baseband as both of the Galaxy Nexus phones I've had in the past 4 days)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] dodo1431:
Same on mine.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Phrive:
Same as mine, which is experiencing the problem.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] kristovaher:
THIS IS NOT A SOLUTION

All it does is make your phone not use 2G at all. So when you don't have 3G reception in some areas, you won't have reception at all.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jms.flynn:
Yeah same.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] TonyHoyle:
That's the standard 'preferred' radio for ICS...

http://source.android.com/source/building-devices.html
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] oscillik:
BASEBAND VERSION IS IRRELEVANT

the problem occurs in bootloader mode, which does not load any device drivers or baseband firmware.

so knowing what version of baseband a particular handset has is completely irrelevant.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] justabrake:
antennaegate anyone??

so this is going to be RF interference gate :D no case's for this maybe aluminum foil
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] sblantipodi:
this reduces the possibility of a software problem :(
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Phrive:
If Samsung are going to get funny about exchanging devices, is there an easy way to resecure the boot loader and unroot for warranty purposes?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] oscillik:
yes, as I've been saying all along and that you wouldn't accept. Now you finally accept it. :mad:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Tom Servo:
Jesus.

You know what a frequency band is? It's a region with a starting and ending frequency. The GSM bands are divided into channels (i.e. smaller regions). It's possible that the GPIO chip only reacts to specific frequencies. The baseband could maybe be tuned to avoid those as hard as possible. If there's phones with different/newer basebands, then there might be a software fix out already (seeing how Samsung acknowledged the problem).

Holding up another phone to the Nexus is an artificial case to force the problem.

Also, the baseband probably runs already in bootloader mode already. The baseband runs on its own processor, independently from the smartphone operating system and CPU.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] CJSnet:
Yes, that's exactly why I took the time to type out:

"Whilst it's not a "fix", it is a pretty good workaround"

Trust me, I am getting 3G and H fixes more often that I did without it, so it actually forces the phone to sniff out 3G data connections, albeit weaker ones, when usually it would go to GPRS (i.e. back to last decade's tech). This is, as I said, not a fix but a workaround that completely stops the volume bug. For anyone in a decent city with decent reception, it is certainly a step in the right direction.

Also "you won't have reception at all" is a little misleading. What you mean is "you won't have a data connection at all", in those areas. Calls, texts, etc. will still work fine. And the volume won't fight you during them!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] sblantipodi:
I said that reduces the possibility of a software problem not that we can be sure that it is an hardware problem.

In any case I'm really disappointed from samsung/google for no answering this problem at all.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Rossimac:
Having the same problem - also my touchscreen is thinking there is input but my finger is not on it.

Bit disappointed but hope there's a fix soon!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Evostance:
I don't think warranty matters on a mass problem. Even so, I imagine there will be a way
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] oscillik:
the baseband does not run while in bootloader mode.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] seakins:
Lol, you must be pulling your hair out by now.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] seakins:
So how can a poll be done to see how many users have this issue?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] kristovaher:
What do you mean 'how'?

Apparently 2/3'rd of Galaxy Nexus owners have this issue according to the poll. Reality is likely different (and perhaps more close to 1/4 of the users), but the issue is still quite relevant.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] j1mmyg88:
ive had it a couple of times, not to the extent of the video but i just give it a couple of seconds and it seems to be okay, only thing i can think of is that its related to dropping off wifi onto 3g, only ever seems to happen then
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] coleburns:
from my experience, the placement for the volume buttons in the problem. almost every-time while i have been talking on the phone, i have been clicking the button unknowingly. even while playing around on the phone, it has happened numerous time.

Also, why the hell is the volume on the left hand side.... doesn't make any sense
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] monkeyboy451:
i've had it happen a few times today - phone from O2 via upgrades online.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] martonikaj:
click 'view poll results' lol.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] alsex87:
never had the problem on mine.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Bilbo Fraggins:
Had it occasionally, thought it was when I had brushed the volume button, can't seem to recreate it now though.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Chrono_Tata:
So until this problem is fixed properly by Samsung or Google, I've been looking at quick fixes to the problem. The best I have found so far is using apps such as "Volume Control+" to automatically change the volume back to the original if it has been changed.

This is still not very ideal though as the volume still gets changed before it gets bumped back. If possible it would be good to disable the volume down button altogether (assuming the problem is due to the phone thinking the volume down button is held down). Does anyone know any apps that can achieve this? Preferably without root.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] nikosrs4:
I wonder why none of the reviews mentioned that issue.. it didn't exist or they did it on purpose?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] :
Bought mine today and its happened a few times so far. Must be software bug.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Chirality:
I think all the reviewers are using pre-release units, which would be a different batch than the release units that people were able to buy.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] StuMcBill:
Is it at all possible that all the people with the Volume Bug have installed an app which may be causing a conflict? Maybe something in the app doesn't play nice with ICS?

Would it maybe be an idea to post what Apps you have installed also?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] oscillik:
the problem is nothing to do with any installed apps or user settings - I encountered the problem immediately after performing a factory reset on the handset.

It does not appear to be a hardware fault as I have put the phone into bootloader and recovery mode, and the problem does not occur.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] gonzlobo:
Do you have an android app that uses the volume control (not as volume). For example, the google reader app uses the volume buttons to forward through stories.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] nikosrs4:
pre-release units are supposed to be in beta and not in better condition than retail units. :p

but then again, it's logical.

indeed, but, one thing that phone doesn't use in recovery is the radio, which seems to be related with the issue, as mentioned so far. so it could still be a hw issue.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] oscillik:
Considering that I said the problem still persisted, even after a factory reset...nope.

radio firmware can be updated. but i shall clarify my statement:

it doesn't appear to be a hardware issue related to the volume buttons due to the problem not happening whilst in bootloader or recovery mode.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] GrandPuba2000:
It still can be a hardware problem though, maybe not with the volume rocker itself but with the radio.

If no radio is loaded in recovery and it doesn't happen you may conclude it's not there for the volume rocker.

Reading all the stuf about this, it must be in the radio version which can be updated ( switching wifi / 3/2g or something, I don't think there is much difference between the review model and the production model in hardware except the software version running on it.

Must say it's not well tested by google / samsung when releasing this ( maybe it's just one batch which has these problems ) this could have been notible in the production version quite easy if I may say so, if 2/3 of the people get these problems.

Very curious how this will be picked up by google / samsung; netherlands / germany are not even released
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] rakh1:
Had the same yesterday, went and swapped handset and is no longer a problem...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] samjpullen:
Not an issue on mine :)

Got from a Three Store today Sim Free
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] qwerp_:
yes, you can easily relock the phone using

fastboot oem lock.

this well relock the phone and format the phone.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Shodney:
I presume it will also drain your battery faster, as the phone is trying to hold onto a weak signal rather than dropping to a stronger 2G signal.

It's a workaround, sure - but instead of muting the volume on a call (for example), it will just drop the call altogether.

It depends on which problem you would rather have happen. Either way, there will still be a problem.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jms.flynn:
Is it me, or does everybody (or most) who works for phones shops know absolutely zero about phones. I just spoke to the Phones 4 U technical support and he asked did i have a screen protector on the phone and i should take it off and see how i get on... I advised him that won't help and to think of another solution. :D
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Tom Servo:
Still doesn't exclude the idea of selectively avoiding specific frequencies at the baseband level.

As said, holding a RF source directly to a problematic area is an artificial test. The only reason it's freaking out in bootloader mode is because there's a RF source explicitely introduced. I'm sure, if it's about 10cm further away, the problem because pretty sporadic to non existent in bootloader mode.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] oscillik:
yeah...because we can take out the internal radio on the Galaxy Nexus and hold it more than 10cm away from the handset so we don't get the issue :rolleyes:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Phrive:
Cheers :)

Thought it might be that easy, and the best bit? It didnt wipe the phone and I still have root :)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Shodney:
That's good to know. I was kinda worried about that myself :)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Tom Servo:
Jesus Christ! I referred to the artificial RF source, i.e. the damn secondary phones being held up to it in these videos. Here, let me highlight it again, since you apparently didn't spot this phrase in my last few posts: artificial RF source!

And again, this might be a problem by avoiding selected frequencies. For all we might know, this could actually be a resonance problem, where the whole circuitry is relatively unaffected by RF (systems with an antenna close by are usually designed with it in mind), except a very specific frequency (one of many in the 900MHz GSM band!) that causes the problem. Otherwise, the other bands would cause the problem, too.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Shodney:
Awww, bless :D

It always makes me sad when I have to go into phone shops, and end up being the one educating their in-store "experts". I can't even be bothered correcting them half the time anymore.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Evostance:
Could an actual radio effect it?

This happened to me but there were no other phones etc in the area. The only thing was my clock radio..
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] coleburns:
so what is the default option should someone decide to switch back?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Evostance:
Don't worry. 02 were adamant that all protectors are the same and the gs2 protectors they sent me would fit the gn because they just go over the screen. If I had issues, go to a shop and they will fit it...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Shodney:
GSM/CDMA auto (PRL)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] basketor:
I don't see what indicates that it might be a hardware issue

that might be a kernel bug in handling the hardware, but that's still a software issue

it really seems like just a bug

an horrible one though :D
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] oscillik:
you're wrong - it's not an artificial RF source, it is an actual RF source. It's not like the RF interference coming from the secondary phone is imposter RF interference. it is actual RF interference.

---------- Post added at 07:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:44 PM ----------

kernel isn't loaded in bootloader mode.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Tom Servo:
Unless your phone was in airplane mode, it should have caused the problem itself. I guess if it's actually a resonance issue, some RF device would have to emit on the same frequency or an harmonic of it (..., 1/4th, 1/3th, 1/2th, 2x, 3x, 4x, ...). Devices sending on harmonics of allocated frequencies should not happen, to avoid interference. That's why frequency bands are regulated.

It's artificial, because it isn't part of the system in the case as presented here. And really, we're really just bickering about the definition here. Artificial, external, actual, who the **** cares. Unless you're making people keeping two cellphones in the same pocket out to be an important use case.

As I said, keep the artificial/actual/external/secondary RF source a little farther away from the Galaxy Nexus, the problem might just go away.

Actually, I posted an attempt at ghetto fixing this earlier. I'd try it myself, but my phone hasn't been delivered yet. It'd involve building an halfassed Faraday cage (thin weaved wire grid) under the battery, in the hopes it'll cross the path between the antenna and button circuitry.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] basketor:
and it's sensitive to rf interferences even in that case ?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] oscillik:
the problem occurs with the internal radio on the Galaxy Nexus. this is why this thread was made.

We wouldn't be complaining about it so fervently if it was only susceptible to external sources of RF interference (although that would still warrant complaints). So your example of having two phones in your pocket is completely pointless - the problem occurs with the internal radio.

---------- Post added at 07:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:50 PM ----------

yes
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Evostance:
Basically what were saying here is that using another phone is just forcing the issue to highlight it.

The problem is that when the GN operates on a particular frequency, the phone essentially interferes with itself and causes the volume button to be dropped.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] paul_one:
http://www.microwaves101.com/encyclopedia/frequency.cfm

imagine walking through an airport and the volume goes crazy.. You can't even operate your phone due to the fact it wont respond.

how about if you drive past a radio tower and your sat nav suddenly stops responding, you miss the right turning but you wont know for another 5 minutes as its gone on mute and again isn't responding.

rfid, tv signals, cordless phones in your house... any of these can stop your mobile working correctly.

This cannot be worked around by any 'driver'.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] basketor:
yeah I just found the video

that doesn't prove yet it's a hardware issue

it's not hopeless

yet :D

but yeah, nothing proves it's not hardware either of course :D
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Tom Servo:
Reposting this, since it'll probably get drowned out:

I posted an attempt at ghetto fixing this earlier. I'd try it myself, but my phone hasn't been delivered yet. It'd involve building an halfassed Faraday cage (thin weaved wire grid) under the battery, in the hopes it'll cross the path between the antenna and button circuitry.

To further detail this with cheap ass ASCII art:

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Button circuitry |
| +-----------------------------------+ |
| |###### fine chicken wire ##########| |
| |-----------------------------------| |
| Antenna | Battery goes here | |
+----------------+-----------------------------------+-------------------+

There's some possibility that this ghetto fix might work. GSM standard requires the antenna to be as far away from the head as possible. This is the bottom of the phone, on the far/outer side. Any wire grid (i.e. MacGuyver shielding) laid in might be in the line of sight between the antenna and the relevant circuity.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Phrive:
I think it is basically proved to be Samsung who are to blame her, although also to a certain degree Google as it is both of their phones.

However it seems the only people who are going to be able to deal with this are Samsung, and if this isn't sorted soon this is going to be a nightmare for their PR people, so I can only hope the next batch is/has resolved the issue.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Shodney:
This already happened to me - that's how I found out I was suffering from the issue.

I had to pull over and wait for it to sort itself out. I wasn't overly impressed, I can tell you that.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Evostance:
Ive got about another week and a bit to return the phone. I might do that if there's no fix and then just buy it outright and move to giffgaff. My data usage is quite high too... 100mb in 4 days..
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] oscillik:
your MacGuyver shielding is amusing and could possibly work :D

but we shouldn't have to implement ghetto fixes like this to a phone that cost over £500

. This is a hardware defect and Samsung are responsible for it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Tom Servo:
Yeah, but I rather be willing to spend three bux in the hardware store, to bridge the time Samsung actually need to fix this problem, than deal with this issue all day long. Well, I could cancel the pre-order or return the phone if the new batch still isn't fixed, but I kinda want to try that ghetto solution now. :D
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] generalcha:
Dunno about your UKers but here in the US 900mhz is a REALLY common wavelength for things like microwaves and cordless phones, in addition to the occasional automatic door-opener. This is a sucky, big deal issue and I hope it's addressed promptly
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] paul_one:
exactly.. the external phone works because its so close... now think about being in a busy city center, a couple of hundred people about, but all the signals about and who knows what the additional diffusion/harmonics (damn, I can't remember the technical name from my physics classes) could do.

very odd it would react so badly in the gn.. Surely the volume controller is such a tried and tested piece of kit?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Tom Servo:
Microwaves shouldn't be an issue. First of all, they're shielded good enough, they only have minimal leakage. Second, you'd need to get really close with all that inverse square law crap. And thirdly, the most important, a microwave works at the resonant frequency of water, which is around 2.5GHz.

To cause that issue, the RF source would have to be really close. Someone making a 900MHz 2G call two meters away shouldn't make your Galaxy Nexus freak out. There's a certain voltage level that has to be inducted on the respective traces that cause the issue. Inverse square law makes the received power drop really quickly with distance. And since it's unlikely that said traces are specifically designed with the frequency in mind (trace length a harmonic of the wavelength, i.e. an antenna), the effect is even less.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] paul_one:
does anyone think tin foil with holes would work to create a sort of F-cage?

the thinness of metal to go behind the battery must be about that.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] oscillik:
you don't even need a scenario where you're in close proximity to other mobile phones for it to become an issue - you just need to be using the phone while you happen to be in a coverage area that is only serviced by 900MHz 2G.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Chirality:
So we need somebody with a ham radio or something that can transmit at 900MHz or some harmonic thereof to try and transmit near the Galaxy Nexus to see what happens, preferable a device that can transmit at fine-grained selectable frequencies to see if we can isolate a narrow band with this effect.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Tom Servo:
Yep. A HAM radio allows for pretty decent frequency fine tuning. Here's a table with the ranges:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM_frequency_bands#GSM_frequency_bands

Yeah, tin foil has attenuating properties. It could be enough to reduce the occurences, maybe eliminate them until a replacement device is available. I guess you could fold it once or twice, if it doesn't work straight away, as long the battery cover still closes. Be aware, aluminum is a conductor, leave some space around the battery pins.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] paul_one:
i don't have a nexus, just a suggestion for those that do.. And I remembered again from physics it should contribute to blocking signals, but didn't want to say for definate.

but anyway, ~900mhz is your frequency of doom. We don't need to give a definitive range (although +-10mhz probably wouldn't hurt)..

why experiment with an external rf generator when we've done it with one already (Youtube vids as proof).
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Bilhouse:
Just received mine from O2. After rooting, putting in the SIM card and setting up the phone the volume suddenly changed on its own. I was on my home screen when this occurred and I couldn't gain control of the volume for about 15 seconds.

Hasn't happened since but I do live in a low reception area and most of my calls from home occur over 2G. Lets hope this gets resolved soon.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] oscillik:
it won't get resolved by any form of software update - you will have to get a refund on your handset and wait for Samsung to manufacture a new batch that isn't affected by this hardware problem.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] swine...:
Hadn't noticed this on orange, putting my vodafone card in and I've certainly got the issue :-(
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] oscillik:
you wouldn't notice it on Orange since they use 1800MHz, and this problem is only triggered by 900MHz
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jms.flynn:
I think I am going to just change over to orange, I need a cull on who knows my number anyway. Then I can start enjoying this phone.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] xandermpls:
Damn. So it looks like ill be waiting or getting the htcAmaze. :(

Is this only for a batch or is it universal?

Oh Google, you dirty dog, You big corporate company you!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Tom Servo:
Before changing providers, you should make sure they're using 1800MHz exclusively. Some use more frequencies. My provider uses both 900MHz and 1800MHz.

Also, anyone tried the tin foil yet?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] oscillik:
so far it's looking universal. We'll find out if there's any difference with the next batch that are being shipped to the SIM-free retailers this week.