Faint ringing HTC One

[macri]

I just wanted to start a discussion on Verizon's HTC One. I am on my second phone and have the faint ringing that the HTC Droid DNA owners or complaining about. It happens exactly like they say, Out of the blue it starts ringing from the earpiece and won't stop till I reboot the phone. This makes me think that it isn't an HTC problem but something that Verizon added that is acting up. I haven't heard of this problem with any other carriers and the One has been out for a while. Considering that both the DNA and the ONE have the same problem and are on the same carrier is a good indication that a verizon app is the culprit. Anyways I'm still within my 14 day window to return or exchange the phone and I'm wondering if I should just get a different phone or go for the lucky third times a charm. Any thoughts????

[CalebSpronk]

Yes! Download the LTE On/Off switch:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.andirc.lteonfoff&hl=en

From there, run it, and near the bottom there should be a dropdown (it'll currently say "CRMA/EvDo/GSM/WCDMA/LTE")... try selecting different options and seeing if that helps. I'd love to know if just switching networks helps. Each time, let it take 30 seconds or so to take effect. If none of those options work, try the "Turn off radio" button. Kinda doubt that would work do to the airplane mode thing, but it's worth a shot.

And thank you for dealing with that ring temporarily!

[dsblade]

Well, switching to "LTE, CDMA" then toggling the radio power (to force an update, in my mind) didn't help. Also tried this with CDMA only, LTE only, and a couple others. I have to run to a meeting, but will keep it ringing in my headphones (stashed away) for a while. I'll check back later for any further suggestions. We'll also find out if it fixes itself.

[macri]

So I downloaded the app LTE on/off. Turning off the radio during the ringing had no effect. Switching to any of the CDMA/LTE/GSM auto crap had no effect. Switching to GSM only made the ringing stop, then switching back to LTE, CDMA  the ringing didn't return. The phone does give you a notification sound when switching to GSM only and back. Does this confirm that it's something with the radio or is it software related?

[dsblade]

I can confirm that switching to GSM only does stop the ringing and switching back to the default (or any other) does not cause the ringing to return. Also, the ringing does not time out after about two hours.

[CalebSpronk]

I'm pretty sure that means it's for sure radio related (definitely what we were expecting, but still nice to know). As for whether it's the hardware or the software, I think that's still up in the air. But still... SOME progress

[random64]

@CalebSpronk, to me all the macri results (along with dsblade and Azz316) show that it's likely *not* radio-related.

What's your reasoning that it is radio related?

I think the radio-related investigation was a sensible tack because celluar radio (and associated access sw) is one of the differentiating factors of the VZW HTC One (vs. other carriers 'Ones which don't seem to exhibit the problem).  However, maybe we should try to think of other specific sw differentiators.

[CalebSpronk]

@random64, I agree it didn't seem radio related when switching to any combination of LTE/CDMA/EvDo as that doesn't clear the ringing (or just turning the radio off for that matter). But, after figuring out that switching to GSM only does clear the sound, I can't imagine that this wouldn't be at least somehow related to the radio... Also, it is these multi-band radios that are different from the other HTC One's out there (where it contains LTE, CDMA, EvDo, GSM, and WCDMA to get all Verizon's bands and enough international bands to roam overseas). Of course, this exact radio is probably put in other Verizon headsets, so this is really all speculation.

On a separate note, this doesn't seem to be just HTC and Verizon related... I just found an article detailing the exact same thing on Sprint's Kyocera Echo Android phone... and it does appear to be radio/dialer related:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/misc-android-phone-chat/81804-subtle-ringing-silent-mode.html

There they stated that setting the phone to only Sprint's network fixed the issue (so no roaming). I had roaming turned off on my phone when it happened (I think so at least), so I don't think it has to do with that... but definitely think it's got something to do with the handoff between frequencies.

[random64]

@dsblade, thanks for your ongoing observations.

@CalebSpronk, I appreciate you sharing your reasoning and insights.  So, changing radio-mode effects the ringing -- so it's radio-mode-switching-related, though not necessarily radio-interference as a direct cause (which is what I was assuming, but which is de-bunked by the fact that the ringing can persist in Airplane mode (where the radios are supposed to be shut off).  I think the radio-mode-switching relationship makes sense from the standpoint that it would be specific to VZW than other carriers.  On the other hand, regarding your speculation (which I agree with) it's also just as likely that that specific radio chipset combination and access software is specific to HTC One and DNA, which are the only VZW phones which seem to have the issue.

[CalebSpronk]

@random64, Yeah, I agree with you... in all honesty, I'm just kinda hoping someone with more knowledge might see these different tests that have been done and know what to do... even if it has to do with the switching between radio bands, I am not even close to experienced enough to know what to do then (outside of perhaps just shutting down that problem band, if it is indeed a single band causing the issue).

I will say that I'm going to try using the "LTE/CDMA" option for the foreseeable future, just to see if that helps (I'm almost never in an area that I want it to use EvDo anyways... I'd be fine with just LTE, but then I can't get phone calls).

[CalebSpronk]

Dang, I really wanted to say I was just going to keep only LTE on for the foreseeable future, but you can't even make/receive calls with just the LTE radio on. I should have known that ... but you CAN send and receive texts. Maybe I'll just have to change my voicemail message to text make sure to leave a message (which I'd get through Google Voice), or text me for a week or two...

[Azz316]

OK, it happened again last night, had full 4G LTE so probably not a low reception problem.  Anyway, like MACRI mentioned earlier...I went into my MOBILE DATA option in SETTINGS and went into PREFERRED NETWORK and switched it from GLOBAL to GSM/UMTS...the "ringing" went away (it did not go away when I switched to LTE/CDMA).

[dsblade]

Even though you had a full 4G connection, I'd still lean toward the issue being with the radio switching modes/bands and the software controlling these changes. You could've been switching towers or the radio software may just do some background scans/updates that are transparent to the user. For obvious reasons, if the issue we're seeing is indeed related to the radio changing modes, then the issue would be most prevalent when the device has little to no signal.

[demmo86rt]

Not sure if this is still the case, but I know that with Android the signal bars used to show the CDMA connection, even if you were on LTE, so the full bars may not have necessarily been indicative of your true LTE connection.  When verifying signal strength, it is always best to go into the about phone section and get the dBm.

[keithrlewis]

What surprises me the most in all these discussions there has been no apparent response from Verizon as to this issue.   This shows me really either they are blind or just don't care to provide an explanation or reasoning behind the issue.

As I have said in previous postings - if everybody who has this issue calls HTC and opens a ticket and also calls Verizon to complain about the issues they are experiencing then we may be able to move the mountain so to speak.   Dealing with Verizon is painstaking and all they do is read from a script or in the case of Hardware issues transfer you to HTC.

As no other carrier appears to be having issues like this - the problem in my opinion comes down to custom software version Verizon has loaded on these phones.   Software controls hardware.

[random64]

@keithrlewis,

My speculation is that these forums are deployed by VZW simply as a way for us to solve each others "User Error" problems wherever possible to limit the traffic to customer service (CS) at VZW and/or HTC.  It makes sense from the standpoint that anything that can get solved without going to CS leaves more CS capacity left to deal with real issues, and it can be even quicker than trying to go through CS.  However, I don't think these forums are used by VZW to expose/elevate real issues, though I don't understand why they don't at least monitor the "Unanswered questions" ( Perhaps it might be more effective if posters would tag their issues with (device_problem) or something which flagged VZW that it's more than a "User Error").

So, instead of doing the most effective thing (as you did) for a device_problem, which is to open a trouble ticket with VZW and HTC, I'm afraid too many people assume CS *is* monitoring these forums and going to proactively find a solution or communicate one or something.

[keithrlewis]

There is supposed to be a new version of software coming out For the HTC one.

Take a look at the article..it's got some interesting information about versions

I have read multiple sources stating end of September

Sent from my HTC One on the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network

[demmo86rt]

Yes, you are absolutely correct about this site.  The only time the CS reps who are on this site visit a thread is if it is marked as a question, and none of the replies have been marked as an answer. 

[macri]

I just got off the phone with verizon and I was advised to go into the settings for mobile data, open up data roaming and allow access for all trips, uncheck play sound when roaming, and select global mode and this would take care of the problem. The rep told me that this was the fix for the problem according to something he read. He also said the only time you need to take the phone out of roaming is when you leave the country. So, I will try this and report back.

[rtpbiker]

Macri - Thanks for the info and that's awesome.  I'll implement the fix on my HTC One and wife's Droid DNA.  It never occurred to me until you mentioned it, but is the faint ringing the sound that occurs when the "Data roaming sound" option is checkmarked and the phone connects to a roaming network?

[macri]

I honestly don't know if the data roaming sound is the one we are hearing. My phone wasn't even allowing for data roaming, but I did have the sound box checked. Hopefully this works.

[rtpbiker]

On my phone the "Deny data roaming access" was selected, so the phone was not set up for data roaming either.  I still implemented the work-around, so we'll see what happens.  I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.