Nokia 6610, sound problems during conversations. Is this a common problem for 6610?

[mino]

Hi all,

I just bought a new Nokia 6610, and started to use it 2 days ago. I just realized that sometimes the sound from the other side comes to me a little bit distorted (sound is crackling). If he/she increases his/her voice the sound get worser. Then I plugged the headphones that come with the phone, it happens again.
My friend is using a Nokia 6610 for 4 months. I used his phone to check the sound quality, but the same problems is happening on that phone too! (but he didn't realize until I told him :)

When I use radio option on my 6610 the sound is great on both phone's speaker and on headphones even when the volume is at maximum. So I think this problem is not related with speaker, if the speaker is bad then the radio sound should be bad or the the voice on headphones should be good during conversations.

And I read some posts and reviews on internet about this problem. The other 6610 users have the exact problem.
So is this a common problem for Nokia 6610?

Thank you.

[Kaibigan]

the 6610 has these features:

Enhanced Full Rate (EFR):
*3370# to activate EFR. Makes calls sound better, but decreases battery life by about 5%.
#3370# to deactivate EFR

Half Rate Mode (HFR):
*4720# to activate HFR. Decreases call quality but increases battery life by about 30%.
#4720# to deactivate HFR.

Hope that helps!

[Thanh]

Hi there :)
I have a 6610 since a few months, and since about three weeks i changed from EFR to HFR...... i did not notice a decrease in sound quality, maybe my network does not support EFR anyway, no idea.
But i have no problems with the sound quality, it is loud and clear all the time, over handset, speaker and headset.
Maybe it depends on the software version? Press *#0000# to find out what version your phone is. Mine is 4.18......
Kind regards
Thanh

[Drini]

Hi,

I have the exact same problem with my 6610. I now believe that there is actually a design problem with the phone.
If you lower the speaker volume during a conversation
you will notice that when the speaker volume is about halfway the sound quality (crackling/distortion) gets worse than when at full volume.

Secondly, if you use the HS-5 Nokia headset, the sound quality is appauling to say the least. The HS-5 headset is the single earpiece headset not the stereo headset supplied with the phone.
After taking my phone and HS-5 headset back to the Nokia service centre numerous times, I finally spoke to one the technicians who said that he had a number of compaints and that it was due to a poor quality headset. Nokia are now said to be "investigating" this issue with the HS-5 headset.

I have since found out that the headset is not all to blame. I connected the same HS-5 headset to a NOKIA 7250 and the sound quality was greatly improved.

The stereo headset supplied with the phone has better sound quality than the HS-5 headset and according to the NOKIA technician this is because they use better quality cable for this headset which "shields" the GSM noise produced by the phone.
He also said that if I use the same headset on a NOKIA 7250 I would get the same results. This was certainly not the case, so I now believe that the 6610 phone has some design problem, probably to do with shielding in the handset.

The crackling noise problem is also present when not using the headset I believe this is related to the above problem.
I am still pursuing NOKIA on this and will not give up until they fix the phone or give me a different model (7250).
I have changed the 6610 twice and have 3 friends who also have the 6610 with the same problems.
Anyone experiencing these problems should report this NOKIA. The more people that complain, the more chance something will be done to fix the problem.

[Kaibigan]

Drini,

I couldn't duplicate the problem you were having. I had even tried to go where there's only 2 bars left on my signal and the sound is still clear. I even put the volume to the lowest setting and it's still clear, no crackling. Can you press *#0000# and tell us what software version your phone is running on? Mine is V 4.74. I know for a fact that in the manufacturing process, occasionally you can get a bad batch. Also, I have read in another post that a guy who had upgraded from an earlier version now has better sounds (v 4.74). But if it is a design problem, I'm sure Nokia will pull it out of the market just like they did with the 8290. If there's no fix for it, I hope at least they offer you a replacement

[Drini]

Hi Kaibigan,

Thanks for the information.
I have checked the software version of my phone and it is V4.74.
I assume this is the latest software as it was upgraded last week by the Nokia technician.

I agree with you about bad patches during the manufacturing process. The first 6610 I had was quite bad with this "crackling" problem, NOKIA then sent me a replacement phone which was much better although the crackling was evident from time to time but nowhere near as bad as the previous phone.

My main concern is the poor sound quality when using the HS-5 headset. I assume you haven't tried this with your phone as I am quite sure that you will also experience the same poor quality sound.
If you could possibly try this and let me know the results. Remember this is not the stereo headset supplied with the phone, this is the single earpiece headset with the micro-phone hanging down.
Every 6610 phone I have tried with this headset has had poor sound qulaity.
Looking forward to hearing your results.

[Kaibigan]

Hi Drini,

Unfortunately, I don't have an HS-5 headset. And you are lucky you have the package that has a stereo headset. Mine came only with an HDB-4. Not sure if that has better cable than the HS-5, but still no crackling on this model with the different volume settings and locations around my neighborhood, commute, or workplace.

Nice to know Nokia sends replacements when warranted. I once had an 8290 that went bad after the warranty period. Since the defect was pretty evident on that particular model, the cell provider offered a different Nokia model for free. Mind you, they did not take my old one back so I repaired it and it's now my backup phone. Maybe your provider will be as generous and offer you a better phone?

Good luck :cool: