Speaker no longer works

[hasasimo]

If anyone's chronicled by adventures with the Lumia 830 dating back to late last year, you'll know I've simply had terrible luck with this phone (the handful of actual 830s I've had). In hindsight, at least one was probably fine, as the 2-3 times daily reboots ended up being a software issue.

Well, this is probably hardware-related . Yesterday while talking on the phone using speakerphone, I suddenly couldn't hear the other end. But the regular ear mic was working fine.

I tried rebooting the phone. Nothing. I tried a soft reset, nothing. Then, it turns out that for the 2nd time in two weeks (due to a different issue), I had to hard reset the phone.

It appeared that the hard reset worked, although my speaker sounded a lot more distorted than before. And then, just a few minutes ago, the speaker went out again. A restart and soft reboot hasn't worked.

Is sending it into the Microsoft Store for repair my only option? I have a feeling they'll just hard reset, only for the issue to come again.

I also don't have a backup phone, though I suppose I can find a T-Mobile Lumia 535 temporarily.

 

[pankaj981]

I had something similar happen when the vibrating motor failed. MS denied the repair for the first time citing liquid damage when there was none along with damaging the screen where it was loosely held to the metal bezel. Eventually I reached out to the chat support and they replaced the phone for free (second RM-985 yeeee) and also gave me an extra white back. In fact the lady over the chat gave me an option to switch to the dark grey model when asked.

 

[gordonfink]

I found loudspeaker modules on ebay for under $10. Not too hard to replace, if you are of a mind to do that.

 

[vinscg]

the ear speaker on mine stopped working .

 

[hasasimo]

I found loudspeaker modules on ebay for under $10. Not too hard to replace, if you are of a mind to do that.

Interesting. I don't know if I'd want to risk voiding the warranty. Have you tried it before or know anyone that has?

 

[hasasimo]

the ear speaker on mine stopped working .

I've read about that on here.. happened to a couple of people. Not sure if it's a manufacturing defect or just cheap parts :-/

 

[hasasimo]

I had something similar happen when the vibrating motor failed. MS denied the repair for the first time citing liquid damage when there was none along with damaging the screen where it was loosely held to the metal bezel. Eventually I reached out to the chat support and they replaced the phone for free (second RM-985 yeeee) and also gave me an extra white back. In fact the lady over the chat gave me an option to switch to the dark grey model when asked.

Interesting. So would you recommend I reach out to chat support or simply bring it into my local Microsoft Store?

Also, would you recommend I hard reset before sending it in or just sign out of accounts and protect any sensitive info?

 

[gordonfink]

I've taken apart and replaced about everything in an 830. In fact, doing a few more today. It's pretty easy to replace the loud speaker.

 

[gordonfink]

the ear speaker on mine stopped working .

On this phone, this is typically not the speaker itself. On the midframe, right behind where the printed IMEI/model number info is, there is ribbon cable with a few electrical components on it. Usually, if you replace that ribbon cable, you fix the problem. The only issue is that the cable can be hard to find.

 

[gordonfink]

Interesting. I don't know if I'd want to risk voiding the warranty. Have you tried it before or know anyone that has?

I'm not sure how the warranty voids? There aren't any warranty stickers or anything to remove. Of course, I'm not sure that's completely your problem either.

 

[pankaj981]

Interesting. So would you recommend I reach out to chat support or simply bring it into my local Microsoft Store?

Also, would you recommend I hard reset before sending it in or just sign out of accounts and protect any sensitive info?

You can take it to your local Microsoft store but I hardly doubt they'll entertain unless you bought the device from them. Plus I was told by support that they don't do repairs at stores so you'll need to send the device to their Texas facility regardless. If you're sending your device then reset it before sending. Microsoft would send you the shipping UPS label after you either reach out to their chat support or the warranty support site. I would recommend checking with their chat first.

 

[arjan wolthuis]

the ear speaker on mine stopped working .

Yep here also. The local shop send it to MS and they repaired it

 

[EMitchell]

the ear speaker on mine stopped working .

I'm curious if replacing the loudspeaker module would improve the crackling that is on the main speaker? Or is it a shortcoming of the design?

 

[vinscg]

they replaced the ear speaker with a cheaper one... i have to put volume to 10 to ear it..

 

[hasasimo]

Filed a repair request Friday night, they got back to me this morning and sent a shipping label. Sent it off for repair today. We'll see what happens.

In the meantime, back to my trusty Lumia 920, but with a partially shattered display thanks to my father's negligence :crying:

 

[cqgsp]

I had the same problem with my handset ,music suddenly stopped and volume disappeared .Tried a soft reset a few times to no avail and finally did a factory reset .This did not work either ,until I connected the phone to the computer and for some reason it worked shortly after ,very frustrating .I suspect that a music player app downloaded from the app store may have been the cause.

 

[hasasimo]

I had the same problem with my handset ,music suddenly stopped and volume disappeared .Tried a soft reset a few times to no avail and finally did a factory reset .This did not work either ,until I connected the phone to the computer and for some reason it worked shortly after ,very frustrating .I suspect that a music player app downloaded from the app store may have been the cause.

Interesting. I've only used the native Music app for music. I also tried a hard reset without restoring any backups or even entering my MS ID, and it still wasn't working. I suspect it's hardware related but who knows?

My device arrived at the repair center this morning. We'll see what happens.

 

[hasasimo]

Er, does this mean they're returning it without having replaced the speaker? :eck:I don't see any part replacements as part of the work they did on the phone...

 

[pankaj981]

Wait till you get your phone back. Looks like they did repair it and then perform the checks which passed. The wording is kinda confusing. Its similar to what I was emailed after my 1520's screen was replaced. I was freaking out because it would have been the second time my phone would be returned. I reached out to the chat support and after a 30 min wait I was told that the screen was replaced though the repair log did not mention it. I verified it by checking the AT&T logo on the panel and it was indeed replaced.

 

[hasasimo]

Wait till you get your phone back. Looks like they did repair it and then perform the checks which passed. The wording is kinda confusing. Its similar to what I was emailed after my 1520's screen was replaced. I was freaking out because it would have been the second time my phone would be returned. I reached out to the chat support and after a 30 min wait I was told that the screen was replaced though the repair log did not mention it. I verified it by checking the AT&T logo on the panel and it was indeed replaced.

Alright thanks. That's exactly what had me worried... read a handful of stories on the forums about devices being returned without repair despite the defects being obvious.

Looks like they overnighted it, so I should know by tomorrow. Fingers crossed!