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Xperia Z4 tablet - fuzzy noise from speakers when music or sound is played

BrettBretterson
Visitor

Xperia Z4 tablet - fuzzy noise from speakers when music or sound is played

I bought a Z4 tablet wifi a month ago and noticed a quiet fuzzy sound coming from the speakers whenever music or any sound is played.  I returned the tablet and got the Z4 LTE model instead, but it has the exact same problem!  Updating and factory resetting had no effect.  

Has anyone else experienced this?  Does anyone have any suggestions?  It's a pretty annoying problem considering the price of the tablet and the "great audio" marketting.

About the sound:
It sounds like snow on old TVs or the "no signal" sound in radios from older cars...a steady fuzzy sound.
It's quiet enough that it's hard to hear unless you're in a quiet room, but it's loud enough for it to be unpleasant in a quiet setting when you want to listen to music.
It doesn't get louder when you turn the speakers up, but it disappears if you turn the speakers all the way off or aren't using any apps that play music/sound.
It doesn't occur at all when I use the audio jack.

It occurs using the included music app, youtube, all the games i tried, another music app I downloaded.

I can't tell if it occurs during very short sounds (notifications, the keypress sound)

About the tablets:
They were/are both white

They are international/unlocked versions ordered from a vendor on amazon

They were/are in pristine condition and experienced the problem immediately after openining and immediately following updates and resets.

6 REPLIES 6
Phy
Legend
Legend

Do you experience the same noise while on safe mode?

How to boot on safe mode
http://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/FAQ/How-to-boot-your-phone-into-safe-mode/m-p/348008#U348008

How to boot on safe mode on Lolipop
1. press and hold the power key
2. once you get the pop up menu 
3. press and hold "power off" 
4. Boot on safe mode should become available
BrettBretterson
Visitor

I just tested it - yes, it does happen in safe mode.

Phy
Legend
Legend

What if you repair it with Sony PC Companion?
http://support.sonymobile.com/gb/tools/pc-companion/
BrettBretterson
Visitor

I read that post after my first tablet came in, and there were a few things in the description that made me think their problem was different from mine. They mention "bad quality sound" a lot, along with mentions of the buzzing coming on and off and that the buzzing is worse when listening to sounds of particular frequencies.  I don't think any of those descriptions apply to the sound I hear in my tablet, but after re-reading their forum, I think you're probably right that it's the same issue, just maybe being observed or described differently.

Thanks.  I guess I'll return it and try to buy one from a different region (mine is international/unlocked)

Danp
Visitor

I get a very quiet fuzzy / buzzing noise coming from the left speaker when gaming. Only really noticeable when the tablet is on mute. Always happened since owning it and never bothered me enough to return it.