yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] DevilzGtr:
I tried playing audio before turning the engine on then later with it turned on :S

It might be the cables as when I bend and twist it, the interference noise changes.

The high quality cable is a belkin:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Belkin-iPhone-Mini-Stereo-Cord/dp/B000ZZRJ2W/ref=pd_sim_sbs_ce_4

This never happened with my GS2.

Do you have a recommendation as what kind of shielded cable I can try?

Have you tried the new ROM in your car? Has the problem fixed?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StuartTheFish:
I'm downloading it now, but I think it's not a firmware issue, just noise from the van's electrics getting induced into the dac somehow. Could even be the charger itself! Won't be able to try again until I'm back at work on Monday, but I doubt it'll be any different in that respect. I hardly ever need to charge it at the same time though, so it's no big issue for me.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] DevilzGtr:
Well another update. I managed to get rid of the interference when connecting the GS4 to my car.

Different cables make a difference with the GS4 while all the cables I've tried work fine with my GS2.

The 2 sets of white cables on the right have problems while the red cable (from my Beats Mixr headphones) work flawlessly!

Maybe the gold plating helped :P
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] manbeer:
I just picked up my phone today (at&t version) and am having a problem where there is a severe squealing noise when playing through my car stereo. Its unusable like this. Anyone else have this problem? I just stumbled upon this thread so sorry if I missed a post. 51 pages is alot to go through
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] DevilzGtr:
I just solved that same problem in my car with a certain cable if you see 1 post before yours...
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] manbeer:
Thanks will try!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StuartTheFish:
Buy another lead, or just don't charge it at the same time.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] manbeer:
Just tried 3 cables with no luck. Am returning it tomorrow. Aside from this which is major there are a few more issues that make me prefer the note 2 I was replacing
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] M@ssy:
No one can answer me? :D
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ilabs:
As long as its unbranded you should be fine if you flash the MEA update. The only way to directly update is to wait for Samsung to roll out the update to your region. Otherwise, you gotta flash the firmware yourself. You can follow this guide for flashing the firmware:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2265477

The MEA firmware link can be found in post #3.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] manuel_f2003:
Same for me. This update fixed the crackling, good work Samsung. I have listen several music's with stock player and poweramp... And it is Ok.

Enviado do meu GT-I9505, usando o Tapatalk 2.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] M@ssy:
Tnx, so it's very symilar to the rooting process. Does the firmware update delete something from my galaxy s4?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] DevilzGtr:
It didn't delete anything for me. Some people have reported the WIFI to stop working but it didn't break for me.

If that does happen, someone says a full wipe install fixed it for him (I think you only lose your apps and settings).
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] M@ssy:
F**k yeah! I just flashed to the I9505XXUBMEA and the sound distortion is gone on my Shure SE-215, I hope in the car stereo as well, I will try later maybe :D Thank you guys for the help and for the feedback :)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Imixsan:
Just for you to know, you in MEA you trade noise by exchange sync.

If you are using an exchange account you won't be able to make it sync....sucks...

Regards.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] M@ssy:
I'm not using it, so I'm glad I doesn't have the noise anymore, it was driving me crazy :p
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StuartTheFish:
That's only if you try to use the deodexed version. Use the odexed version instead if you want exchange to work too, or use the patched version of the app from post 1890 in here:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=42349327
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
Headphone output performance vs. Headphone impedance

Here are some results for my S4 SGH-I337 for headphone audio characteristics as headphone impedance is varied:

As expected the distortion characteristics worsen as the headphone impedance is lowered with a significant degradation occurring between 33 and 15 ohm. Also the crosstalk degrades. (the 15 ohm case for my S4 doesn't have any crackle or frizzies .. .that occurs below 14 ohm; the distortion noted is typical THD/IMD degradation). Adding an external amp will provide excellent performance similar to the 1 kohm load case, assuming the external amp is at least as good as the S4. For example, the quad buffer amp described here provides that level of performance and with the S4 at maximum player volume of 15/15 can drive output loads down to 6.8 ohm without clipping.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] droidrob:
Is this based on the latest firmware??
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] *Emix*:
Happened to me yesterday for the first time with SoundMagic E10.

I was listening music on my S4 before but usually on 13 i think. Yesterday i had this problem at 15. No problem with earphones that come with the phone though.

I hope that new update fix this for me.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
No those RMAA performance results are NOT with the new firmware. Whenever that firmware is available for the SGH-I337 I'll test it. But as I said, the audio problem (buzz) is not present under the test load impedances I used (at least not present in my phone). Will be interesting to see if Samsung have modified the response to "fix" the problem.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Beefheart:
I had the issue terribly with my E10s before the update, had completely gone now.

Sent from my Qualcomm Galaxy S4
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
The quadbuffer article now includes some measured performance when driving 15 ohm loads and 8 ohm results are fairly similar.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
Those on the new firmware, could you try turning EQ all the way up on the lower frequencies? Better yet if you have PowerAMP If there's no distortion at all when EQ'ed all the way up at all volume levels, then it's probably safe to say that Samsung has addressed the issue for good without a cheap software workaround :)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] grenade01:
I haven't had a chance to read through the thread yet, but just wanted to add that I'm on a Verizon S4 in the US and every earphone I tried (I have like 9 different brands all cheap haha) do not even register as being plugged in.

My receiver, and car with different aux cables sound like garbage and my little phone speakers seem to trigger it to think there's headphones in it but they sound like complete garbage.

the s4 earphones sound great.

-_-
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Cinco5:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EAQTRI/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That guy solved all of my problems.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] manbeer:
Im wondering if the noise is present in all of these phones but some people are unable to hear it. Today I went to show my girlfriend and she couldn't hear the high pitched squeal at all. I can hear the dog whistle and she cant so it could be that some people are more sensitive to high frequency
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
There is also the possibility that you might get other types of distortion (related to overdriving the output) if you put the EQ way up ... that might not be the same type of distortion. I guess you'd also have to compare with, say an S3 to do a fair comparison.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] noufel:
What kind of sound issues?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
It's a female thing. My wife can't hear it either. ! They should stick to iPhone's ;)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] NineToTheSky:
If you've got it, you'll hear it. It's not a high pitched tone. It is, as the OP says, crackling/distortion.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Beefheart:
I can force distortion on my iRiver H340 which is generally known to be one of the best MP3 players ever made. Distortion still being present doesn't mean the issue hasn't been addressed, it could simply be a song that contains clipping on it's volume levels for example.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] M@ssy:
So, today i tried even in my car, connected to the stereo system and no distortion at all not even there! :eek:eek:O
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jeremy_inc:
So glad this was fixed through a software update - works for me now too - music sounds delish.

Cheers to Jensigner and Yuriy.Samorodov for being so proactive in this thread
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rbrucemtl:
Fixed?

Hi,

Can someone tell me the full version of the kernel in the update that seems to fix the distortion/crackling issues? I want to make merge the changes into my GS3 3.4 kernel so I can enjoy my music again.

Thanks

:good:
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
heck I wasn't even aware of the problem initially (since I use higher-impedance phones) and then just became curious after reading some posts and so tested my own. A lot of credit goes to trenzterra for motivating me to study the issue. It's great that the crackling is gone from all reports so far and that is the bottom line, irrespective of how Samsung "fixed" it and if their fix was intentional and motivated by disgruntled owner feedback. I'll wait for the firmware update to come available via Kies though. What would really turn my crank is to find out HOW Samsung fixed the problem. I look forward to verifying the same phone I tested (my SGH-I337) when officially updated and verify the excellent audio characteristics that I tested with my stock S4 (under 15+ impedance loads). Hopefully they haven't tweaked the response curve.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Lienot:
I think Samsung will try to hide it, they do not need PR like "the Galaxy S4 has sound problems - better buy the HTC with the boom sound"

Nice that they fixed it, but I think they won't even tell a word about it. Although it would be interesting.

I am waiting till the experts here do their "graphical tests" to see if really everything is perfect.

Have a nice day,

lienot

PS: As you can (maybe) read, english isn't my native language. As long as I understand you und you understand me it shouldn't be a problem :good:
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
Agreed about Samsung not making anything public (assuming they actually understand the problem :)

When I eventually test a firmware-upgraded S4, I'll be looking for a frequency response curve and noise floor which should look as good as this, (stock S4 under 33 ohm load) particularly the flatness of the response curve.

To establish a useful comparative benchmark, since the S3 (which I have) is very good and doesn't crackle at low impedance loads, I'll do a headphone audio test of my S3 under 12 ohm load. The firmware-upgraded S4 should look at least as good if not better than that. (Since my S4 crackles like hell at 12 ohm load I won't even try to measure it).
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dergnarf:
Resolved

I read the whole post as i had the same mind boggling crackling sounds as described. Just flashed the new FW on a german I9505 with Odin.

Had the crackling with two different beats ear phones and one from senheiser. My OE Senheiser didnt crackle...

Crackling gone! On all
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] i4mt3hwin:
I wonder what they changed to fix it. Hopefully it will be integrated into other 3rd party kernels or wherever the fix actually is. I don't want to have to wait years for T-Mobile to roll this patch out.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
That German firmware I9505XXUBMEA is from Samsung right? Then if Samsung are aware of the audio problem and consider it important, you'd think they would move really fast to officially deploy it via Kies to the huge i9505 North American market.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] pszafer:
Hello,

Unfortunately in Omega 5 rom with newest XXUBMEA I still have this crackling problem :(

Any advices?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] MattBastet:
Same for me... That's incredible !
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] i4mt3hwin:
I would flash the stock version and see if it's actually fixed. A lot of times people like to report things as fixed that aren't, maybe they just didn't hear it or played a song that doesn't emphasis it, dunno.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] M@ssy:
I tried several songs that cracked before, like Pink - Try (the first the came to mind) and many others, and now are just perfect!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Mandeep148:
Edit.deleted
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] i4mt3hwin:
UUUUUUUUUUGH lets trade phones!

Need to get this patch rolled into more kernels/roms
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] MattBastet:
Finally I came back to stock XXUBMEA and no crackling problem...
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
Firmware update coming this week?

Maybe sooner rather than later: Samsung Galaxy S4 I9505, Snapdragon 600 Variant Gets Official Android 4.2.2 Update with Major Bug Fixes

Can hardly wait to update and give it a test-drive (or rather a driver-test)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
Just one comment about the eq,

When I use my 32ohm and eq all the way up I don't get any crackling sounds. So I still think it may be legit to bump eq all the way up to see if the issue has been solved for lower impedances. Or perhaps jensigner could do an amplitude test once MEA has been pumped out to all?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Thermionics:
Quite wierd of Samsung to release a phone with a problem of this magnitude..

After listening to music for the first time on my T-Mobile S4 a couple of weeks ago I called customer support to tell them I was returning the device within the buyers remorse period because of distorted audio. I have to admit to being a bit more critical a listener then most, but the crackling was really horrible. It wasn't very noticeable with the stock buds but their lack of any bottom end makes them essentially useless to me. My other 3 sets of in-ear buds made the problem very noticeable. I tried an exchange device and it was the same.

Now that I found this thread and know others are experiencing the same issue I'm glad I returned the devices. I'm hopeful that there is a software fix but I am skeptical and I'll tell you why. First, Samsung has lots of volume "nannying" going on within their EQ. Try turning any of the sliders up and listen to the volume go down. Take the highest frequency slider up and listen to the volume drop. I suspect that the amp is just a bit short on current delivery and the"fix" (as well as the volume nanny behavior) may be ways of covering this up. This is disappointing as in every other way (other than useless voice dialing) the S4 is the most satisfying Android device I've had since the OG Droid (and I've had 7 Android phones and an iPhone).

Hope I'm wrong about the software "fix" being a bandaid because if it's really fixed I'm back in.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
Looking forwared to doing some tests after official update hits NA

---------- Post added at 08:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:53 AM ----------

I haven't looked at what EQ does carefully but that "nannying" is probably just an intelligent attempt to prevent overall output overload .. keep the overall sound level ~ constant. In terms of "a bit short on current delivery", I have tested my S4 (SGH-I337) at 12 ohm load and there isn't a "current limit" effect at all, so I don't thing it is "short" ! The "crackle" is something completely different. If there was current limit effect, you'd hear a really horrible distortion, completely different than the annoying "crackle" people report. Yesterday, I did tests with 12 ohm resistive loads on my S3 (with a parallel output fed to a good monitor amp/speaker) and there is absolutely no crackle or audible distortion at 15/15 on volume.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] iobau998:
Hi

I have eph100 and it's crackling
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StuartTheFish:
That's plenty of information there!

Have you tried the new update?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
For those interested in this, I've updated the QuadBuffer Amp headphone amplifier article. I specifically designed this to be a good match to the S4 max output level (~ 0.8Vpeak). I've included a link in that page to my RMAA (Right-Mark-Audio-Analyzer .. standard program to measure audio performance) measurements on that QuadBuffer driving into 10 ohm loads. It is definitely a good match to the S4 if you want to extract all the audio-excellence out of the S4 (firmware-updated or not), particularly if you are driving headsets with Z < 32 ohm. Really the S4 when driving a high-impedance load is bordering on the audiophile regime .. pretty sweet DAC (although I'm sure anal audiophiles would balk at this :laugh:). Graphs don't lie! In fact the noise floor of the S4 is lower than the noise floor of the QuadBuffer amp above, but the distortion of the S4 while very very good, isn't quite as good as the QuadBuffer ... hence a good match.

Oh yes, the frequency response in the RMAA measurements on that QuadBuffer circuit is limited by the sound card rolloff at low and high frequencies. In fact the response is flat from DC to over 1 MHz (because it is a DC coupled op-amp circuit) .. a bit of overkill for audio.

Also, if your headphone impedance is greater than about 16 ohm (at all frequencies), you only need to use ONE dual op-amp for each channel and save on power but with the same great audio performance, provided the maximum output voltage is < 1Vpeak (as it is on the S4 and S3 versions I've tested).

And since the quad-version can source 100 mA/channel, this means that that little circuit can actually drive 8 ohm mini-speakers up to the full output level of the S3/S4 with extremely low distortion, or in fact even drive 4 ohm mini-speakers to a14/15 level without any clipping (tested) ... definitely a lot better than the HTC One can do I'm sure ;)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
Really? I also have them headphones. Amazing buds!!! Hoping after the update I can use them again ;) miss them bad.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
I've finally got the MEA update and it seems solved on my UE600. No crackling whatsoever, even when I pumped up the equaliser on PowerAMP. Pretty amazed that Samsung has managed to solve this.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
Great news.. still waiting for it.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
fantastic news. Has anyone applied this update (if possible) to the USA SGH-I337 version?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StuartTheFish:
Just download and install it via Odin.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
Do you have to root?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StuartTheFish:
Yeah, but you don't need to if you just want the regular stock rom. You can update via Odin without needing root or a custom recovery.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] iobau998:
After update still crakling

No solve for me
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StuartTheFish:
What update have you done? What are you hearing crackling with, etc? Kinda need more information than that.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
Ok. So to confirm you downloaded stock Germany firmware from sammobile then put the phone in download mode and plugged it into odin. Then put file in pda section and updated it. Is that right.

After installing the German firmware will it have any effect if I goto - about phone, software update? Will it say "device modified unable to update"

Just don't want to mess my phone up as my s2 is rooted but it's not on a 2 year contract ;)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] iobau998:
Hi

After update AME2 using Kies.

In poweramp using yamaha eph 100 there are crack an dist sounds.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] majjkiie:
AME2 won't fix this!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] spencer_uk:
The MEA update seemed to do the trick for me. Not done an extensive test yet but the crackle seems to have gone from my Westone 4rs.

---------- Post added at 07:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:56 AM ----------

Some folk over at avforums reporting the ota update just got to them. So it might be available in the UK now.... Can't check myself as I did the manual update last night.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] spencer_uk:
On the new MEA update? Or the old firmware?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
Where did you update from? Nothing on my phone yet ;(
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] spencer_uk:
I did my update manually last night through ODIN. But on my morning surf of avforums (an av specialist forum site) some folk were reporting a new version of the firmware landing. I suspect this was in the UK although the forum does have an international following.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/samsung-mobile-phones/1784108-samsung-galaxy-s4-part-iii.html
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] okiru880:
Three (UK) H3G OTA is available this morning.

I updated first thing.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] majjkiie:
MEA fixed crackling sound for me! (beats tour). Sounded really crappy before on higher volume!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
Dam T-Mobile. Give me the update! ;)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StuartTheFish:
Just download it instead. :)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
I am considering it. Problem for me coming from S2 I am used to rooting etc but worried with my S4.

If I install manual update I then have to install kernel too and does it change modem?

And to install manual do I just put S4 in download and put firmware in pda?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StuartTheFish:
All you have to do is get the phone in download mode, then install it as PDA in Odin like you say. No need to flash anything else afterwards unless you specifically want or need a different kernel or modem. :)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
Ah I see. Did you lose OTA updating after doing the Odin method?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
anyone?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] slonn:
The MEA firmware did NOT fix the issue on my i9505. It's still there on a-Jays One+ earphones.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] masc81:
Upgraded today, solved the issue with my AKG K3003.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
Subliminal Friday

As I said a few pages back, I'd celebrate Samsung's apparent fix of the audio problem with a martini. On a sunny Friday, this is the pluperfect combination:

a very dry martini, the S4 and the high-impedance Sennheiser HD 598 phones:
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StuartTheFish:
I assume so, but I'm happy getting unbranded updates as soon as they're available instead of waiting a few more weeks for my provider to butcher them, if they even bother releasing certain updates at all!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
Updated and on German firmware. Fixed the issues with my eph -100 and now sound a bit more bassy?

Decide to then try 3uk firmware and have stupid 3 boot screen!!!!! Probably flash back German firmware.

Thanks for your advice fish ;)