The Sound of Silence

I've had my Photon 4G for a little over a month now. By and large it's an excellent, beefy little gadget. Motorola has issued two updates to the software since its launch and reportedly another one is due out this time next week. Even though they seem to be on top of things, one glaring problem remains with my device: it gives me headaches.

How does this happen? Well, like many folks with recent Motorola phones, any time we listen to our devices using the headphone jack, there's an obvious whine in the background. To me, it sounds like a quiet tea kettle, and it's always present regardless of what kind of sound I'm piping through it. Calls, music, even notification noises. Any time sound has to come through that headphone jack, I hear that whine. If I play something and then pause playback, I hear the whine by itself for about 3 seconds, followed by a click and silence. Likewise, just a few seconds before sound comes out I hear it click and start to whine again.


Some folks have reported the whine also comes out of the speakers on the back of the phone, which I can't verify. All I know is that it's painfully obvious with headphones. I've taken the phone to Sprint, and all they could offer was a loaner while they sent it in to Motorola. Unfortunately, I tried out 2 other Photons while I was there and they all had this problem so I'm not sure getting a refurb is going to help.

I'm past my 30-day return policy with Sprint, or I'd just trade it in for a cheaper EVO. Motorola and Sprint tech support have tried many software-related fixes (battery pull, factory reset, jiggle the headphones in the jack, look for any wonky settings in my sound menu) and none have offered any relief.

One of the main reasons I have a smartphone to begin with is so I can stream Pandora Radio and listen to music while I'm at work, in a relatively quiet office. With this whine, I can't listen to music for more than a couple of hours before I get a headache.

At this point my best hope is the update coming on the 22nd. I'm not entirely convinced this is a software issue. If the update doesn't address it my only other option is to send it in for service with Motorola. My biggest regret is not discovering this problem before my 30-day return policy.

I'll keep you all posted if anything comes of this.