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????

[HighDesert]

Turning off fast boot only allows a reboot to stop the ringing that time.  It doesn't prevent the problem from recurring.

[waltnd]

I bought an HTC One  four days ago and yesterday I was on a lake where there was no signal and my phone started the faint ringing.  I couldn't hear it but the others in the boat could, I turned the phone off and it continued to ring for about 10 seconds and then quit.  I've turned the fast boot off like recommended but from what I hear that doesn't work.

[sliberato77]

I've had my One for about a month now and so far it has rung 4 times (twice just today). I did a restart the first three times to stop "The Ringing", this last time I switched my preferred network from LTE to GSM. The first time today my phone was not charging the second it was. The phone was NOT hot. The following is what I observed at the time of "The Ringing"

Sig Strength:      -96dBm

Mobile Network: 1XRTT

Network:             LTE

Phone State:      charging

Phone Temp:      normal

[lsyang]

Contacted HTC and here is the response:

"According to your description, this ringing issue seems to be caused by task killers, power savers or non compatible applications installed recently, so booting your phone in Safe Mode can help. Safe Mode is a method that allows the device to run without non-essential applications.

Before booting the phone in Safe Mode, please make sure you disable the Fast-boot option by going Menu>Settings>Power>Fast-boot.

To boot your handset in Safe Mode, please turn it off and then back on. When the HTC Logo or welcome screen appears, press and hold the volume down key and release it when Safe Mode is displayed at the lower-left (this may take up to 30 seconds). After you boot it in safe mode, try using it without third party applications for 24-48 hours to see if the ringing is one.

If you notice your phone your phone works just fine while in Safe Mode, this conflict should be caused by one of your applications. Try adding them back one at a time to determine which one is causing this conflict.

If booting the phone in Safe Mode was not successful on solving your phone’s situation, factory resetting it is required. If further assistance is required, do not hesitate to contact us http://www.htc.com/us/contact/email/ or call us at 1-866-449-8358 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. ET, seven days a week."

[HighDesert]

lsyang wrote:

Contacted HTC and here is the response:

"According to your description, this ringing issue seems to be caused by task killers, power savers or non compatible applications installed recently, so booting your phone in Safe Mode can help. Safe Mode is a method that allows the device to run without non-essential applications....

...If booting the phone in Safe Mode was not successful on solving your phone’s situation, factory resetting it is required....

These are the stock answers/suggestions that CS gives for any problem on any phone (or any computer problem, for that matter), not one specifically related to this problem on this phone.  It's what they say when they don't know what's wrong.

Still...if you find that removing a particular app actually does stop the problem from recurring (as unlikely as I think that is), please post it!

[dsblade]

As HighDesert said, that's a canned answer. I've previously mentioned that they asked me to put it into safe mode, as well. Long story short, the ringing occurred in safe mode.

[HighDesert]

I'm just glad that I don't live or work or daily-travel in an area where the phone is regularly switching/searching-bands (if, as it seems, ...that's what actually starts the ringing)...otherwise I'd be mighty peeved about it.  For me it only happens in infrequently-encountered circumstances.

For example, yesterday it did it when I hiked into a deep canyon.  It seemed to start faint-ringing ("FR"?) as I got deeper into the canyon and the phone started losing signal so it desperately tried different bands (or so I imagine) in order to find a signal.  When I got the FRing phone out of my pack I saw that it had no signal...so I put it in airplane mode and rebooted.  Why bother with airplane mode, why not just turn off the phone?  Because I wanted to continue using My Tracks with GPS to record my hike, but I didn't want to have to endure FR.  Rebooting to airplane mode seems to prevent FR...though, of course, that's not a "fix".

[Jason_H]

Add me to the list.  Got my HTC One just about as soon as they were available on Verizon.  All was swell up until about 2 weeks ago when i first heard that odd faint ring...no notifications, no nothing.

I have noticed, as has been brought up previously here in this thread, that it only seems to happen in a bad service area.

The stated fix to turn on all the global stuff for me is not an option because i am just a couple miles from Canada and I get the Canadian data roaming text all the time.  I don't relish the idea of paying out of country fees because of a problem with this phone.

Please Fix This!  My last Verizon phone was a Samsung Galaxy and that thing was a giant turd too.

[Azz316]

I also agree the standard pat answer from Verizon and/or HTC about it being a third party app we download is not relevant because the phone started doing it before any apps were downloaded onto my phone...I think it started a day or two after I bought the phone. 

[murph1]

Thanks for the feedback on the LTE/CDMA mode. Sounds like keeping it in that mode doesn't help the problem at all. The day before it happened I had installed the "Battery Guru" app, then I removed it after this happened. But it sounds like that is a red herring and it happens even if no apps have been installed.

I emailed HTC support and they told me they are working on the problem. Nothing specific, however. And I don't know what priority it holds for them.

How often does the ringing happen for you, Azz316? When people say "it happens", I don't know if that means daily or weekly or hourly or what.

[HighDesert]

murph1 wrote:

.......

How often does the ringing happen for you, Azz316? When people say "it happens", I don't know if that means daily or weekly or hourly or what.

FWIW:  For me it doesn't happen at random or with a particular frequency of occurrence;  it happens under specific conditions:  when I'm in a location where the signal is lost/almost-lost and the phone drops down to a lower band (i.e., maybe down to "1x")...or so it seems, anyway.  It's happened to me 4 or 5 times (every time under the conditions I mentioned), but never when I'm at home or in a town with a steady/strong signal.

[Azz316]

murph1 wrote:

.......

How often does the ringing happen for you, Azz316? When people say "it happens", I don't know if that means daily or weekly or hourly or what.

It happens at least 3 to 4 times a week, usually once per day with an exception here or there it may happen twice in a day (one time 3 times).  I think it is fair to say when it happens I am in a low signal area (mostly at work, driving through mountains, covered metal roof gas station (if that makes a difference).  Also, while it is happening, I've noticed when I go into Settings..."Mobile Data" says connecting versus connected.

[rtpbiker]

The faint ringing occurred again for me this past weekend and I was using the phone at the time and witnessed it happen. Before the faint ring occurred,  the signal went from 4G to 1x, then back up to 3G and then eventually back to 4G. Soon after transitioning back to the 4G state the faint ringing started. This problem should be producible in a controlled lab environment. Not sure why it has been ongoing for nine months (starting with Droid DNA).

[macri]

Has anyone received the latest software update and had the ringing reoccur? I installed the software update last night and set my phone back to full LTE,CDMA, EvDo auto. It's too early to make an assessment but so far I haven't had the ringing. I will keep you updated as time goes on.

[HighDesert]

macri wrote:

Has anyone received the latest software update and had the ringing reoccur?...

Wow -- I hadn't heard there was an update ...but I tried Settings>Software Update>Check new, and -- sho nuf -- there it was waiting for me.  Downloaded and installed.  May be a while before I'm in a situation where the FR can occur, so we'll see...

[Ann154]

HighDesert wrote:

macri wrote:

Has anyone received the latest software update and had the ringing reoccur?...

Wow -- I hadn't heard there was an update ...but I tried Settings>Software Update>Check new, and -- sho nuf -- there it was waiting for me.  Downloaded and installed.  May be a while before I'm in a situation where the FR can occur, so we'll see...

Here is some information on the update. The source is linked in the article. http://m.androidcentral.com/verizon-htc-one-receiving-first-ota-update

[murph1]

Great to hear there is a software update. At least HTC is putting out updates.

I would be interested to hear from those who have been able to reliably repeat the ringing if it still occurs. Hopefully this update fixes it.

[AggieT]

I also experienced it twice while hiking in Rockies where coverage came and went. I could stop it by calling  a number. I will try this update however I'm not at Rockies anymore.

[macri]

I've had the update now for a couple of days and have not had a reoccurance of the ringing. Previously I would get it aleast once a day while at work, and I've been at work all week. Hopefully this is the permanent fix, looking good so far. I'd have a lot more confidence if others who have this problem would chime in and let us know if it has been working for them.

[lcain]

Installed the update last week. Had the ringing problem both yesterday and today. Once each day.

[macri]

Interesting, I've had the update for over a week and have not had the ringing. I wonder if the problem can be caused by multiple problems. ie. bad reception or bad sim card