iPhone 4 Volume jumping on iPod App - w/ SkullCandy Headphones

My 3gs has done this since the day I got it in Nov 2009. The reason it does this for me is because the Skullcandy earbuds I used to use had an inline mic on it. When I use my regular skullcandy earbuds, no inline mic, it's as normal as can be. The mic was picking up noise and it was causing the erratic volume problems I had. Music, did it ALL THE TIME. Watching a movie/tv show, never did the volume thing. I have yet to find any type of software/setting solution. Only thing that worked for me was to not use Skullcandy earbuds with an inline mic. Stock apple earbuds that came with my phone, no problems, other then being very uncomfortable.

I'm having the same problem with my skullcandy headphones and my iPhone 4. I never had a problem with my 3G. Surely there must be a fix for this it's so annoying.

I am having the exact same problem with my Zagg in-line mic earbuds, but not with my regular Bose headphones. I reset and just restored, and have my fingers crossed that will fix it, but I doubt it. Please post any solutions here!

I've been experiencing a similar thing since I got my iPhone 4 with my skullcandy FMJs with inline remote and mic. When I went I to London and wa on the tube I had need to pause music to hear announcements and got rather a shock when the music suddenly rocketed up full blast momentarily when I pressed the remote button. However when I tried again, it worked as it should. So, it seemed to randomly work and randomly blast out full volume.

After researching into this problem I found another thread where someone mentioned that the volume control on newer earbuds is on the same jack plug ring/signal as the mic. Which made me think, if the mic receives a signal (ie noise) whilst pressing the button, this might be the cause of the issue. So I tried it in my quiet office this evening.

Tried just pressing the button to pause/play, absolutely fine. Then tried pressing the button whilst blowing into the mic and making noise, and the volume spike occurred.

I can only guess that the noisy environment of the underground was enough to trigger the mic signal when I hit the button to pause, causing said volume spike.

This is obviously a bug that needs to be addressed, one I think is quite dangerous as volume spikes like that can damage hearing. So I will send a note to apple.

Sure I can use the bundled apple earbuds, but quite frankly, they are not very good and not in the same league of audio quality as my skullcandys. Not to mention my skullcandy were not cheap and I shouldn't have to buy more because of a bug that could be a addressed and fixed.

I've sent a detailed bug report to apple. We shall see what happens. It needs more people to send one too to highlight the issue.

Have you contacted the maker of the headphones?

Seems to me they did something weird with their hardware and should fix it, since they are the only brand having this issue.

2 different models of scosche, Altec Lansing and Maximo(all with microphones) work just fine.

I do not believe this problem is specific to your ear phones. Have you tried using them on a different device? I believe this problem happens to anyone with an iPhone 4, using the iPod app, listening with ear buds that have an inline mic (non-Apple).

I have experienced this exact same issue on my iPhone 4, when listening to the iPod app with headphones (V-moda ear buds, with an inline mic) where my volume jumps at seemingly random intervals from whatever volume I set it to (like 40%) to full 100% max all by itself with no input from me. Not only does it blow my ears out (can I sue Apple for that?), but it is really freaky to watch the volume slider jump like it's being controlled by a demon.

I tried setting "Volume Limit" to both on and off, neither setting solved the problem. I tried also setting "Sound Check" to both on and off, and tried "Shake to Shuffle" in both on and off positions as well. None made any difference in the symptom of the voodoo volume jumping.

I read on other threads (search "iphone 4 volume") that this same problem is being experienced by other users (also reporting iPhone 4, iPod app, with headphones).

One user seems to think it's happening when they receive push notifications. Someone else suggested resetting the network settings would fix it. I think that it does NOT have to do with push notifications, but rather some bug that has issues with non-Apple ear buds with inline mics.

I'll try putting my iPhone 4 into Airplane Mode to see if that helps - at least this will help eliminate whether it has to do with Push Notifications. I have to say that I hope this bug is quickly squashed, as I don't see the point of having an iPhone 4 if I can't use the iPod app on it. Might as well keep my iPod touch and get a Verizon phone that actually doesn't drop nearly every call I make.

I have done further testing and believe I have found the cause.

*V-Moda Vibe Duo Mobile in-ear headset*
I listened to my music on my iPhone 4 via the iPod app with my V-moda VIbe Duo headset with inline mic. The volume began jumping within 3 seconds of plugging in the ear buds and pressing play. Blowing into the inline mic reliably reproduced the symptom immediately without fail, and the problem continued for the entire duration of my listening period with the V-modas, which lasted 45 minutes. What was previously suspected to be a volume jumping at random intervals now appears to be directly related to mic input during iPod playback.

*Bose in-ear mobile headset*
I removed the V-Modas and plugged in my less-desirable, far less comfortable and severely overpriced Bose in-ear mobile headset with inline mic. The volume NEVER jumped in over 60 minutes of listening to the iPod app on my iPhone 4. Blowing on the inline mic produced no problems whatsoever. iPod playback was not problematic at all, and even during push notifications I experienced no problems - volume would slightly detent, and I would hear the push notification sound, followed by the expected rise to previous volume.

*Post-testing Hypothesis*
Certain mobile headsets (mobile meaning "phone" and with an inline mic) will produce the symptom of seemingly random volume "jumping" while listening to the iPod app on the iPhone 4. Some will not. My V-Moda Vibe Duo's are +at least+ 3 years old, but they are far more comfortable than my Bose. Unfortunately, they produce this volume jumping problem on my iPhone 4 (not my iPhone 3g or iPod touch), whereas the Bose do not.

Other users in similar threads (search "iphone 4 volume") are reporting the same problem using certain Skull Candy ear buds. Whether they have an inline mic or not I do not know, and as I do not own any Skull Candy ear buds (and never will), I can't test them.

I can reliably and with certainty reproduce this problem 100% of the time within seconds using the V-Modas. If I cover the inline mic of the V-Modas with tape or shield it from noise, it seems to make the problem go away. The problem seems to have something to do specifically with the inline mic working (instead of being "off") during iPod playback. The inline mic should be ignored by the iOS during iPod playback, as there's no use for it (currently). Once a call is received, then it should be enabled for hands-free calling while the iPod application is "paused".

It's almost as if the iPhone 4 is trying to compensate for ambient noise sensed through the inline mic by increasing the iPod playback volume. This is actually a cool idea, but something that I personally want to have forced on me. If we could turn it off in the Settings > iPod, that would be great. But I suspect it's currently a bug.

*A Note Regarding "Push Notifications"*
Another user in a similar thread hypothesized that it was Push Notifications causing the symptom. In my testing, I never experienced this. In fact, I experienced normal push notification behavior both during problematic volume jumping with the V-modas, and normal playback with the Bose.

*A Note Regarding the "Volume Jumping"*
Previous posts (from myself included), thought the volume was jumping to 100%. It might have been in certain instances, but during my testing, I verified that the volume does NOT jump to 100% every time. It jumps in proportion to the noise sensed by the inline mic. When my testing area was quiet, gently humming or blowing into the mic produced a SMALL volume jump. Turning on fans and my Mac's desktop speakers on a loud setting produced a LARGE volume jump, usually close to or at 100% volume.

*Suggested Solution*
Obviously the solution is for Apple to correct this bug in the next iOS release. There are three temporary user-workarounds that I would recommend. These are unsatisfactory as long-term solutions as they remove the hands-free functionality of your iPhone 4.

1) Try a different pair of mobile "hands-free" headphones if you have them, but that's no guarantee as they may also be problematic. For now, we know that certain Skull Candy (probably) and V-Moda hands-free sets are suspect. Possibly many others.

2) Use regular (as in not "hands-free") headphones that do not have an inline mic. If you do this you will not be able to make hands-free calls on your iPhone 4 as you won't have an inline mic.

3) Cover the inline mic "hole" with a piece of tape. Obviously this will render the hands-free functionality of your headset useless, but you will experience trouble-free iPod playback until Apple fixes the bug. If you use blue painter's tape it will remove easily without leaving residue.

Message was edited by: flyboym535i

I've submitted a detailed bug report with my testing results to Apple via the Apple Bug Reporter. If you wouldn't mind testing my suggested workarounds, I'd like to know if it helps you. If so, please consider marking this thread as "answered" so other users will know that there is a solution here. I've located multiple other threads describing the same problem and have redirected those users to this thread.

Please report back your experience so we can do further troubleshooting if necessary. Thanks! 🙂

I cannot reproduce the issue you describe at all using the four brands of headphones with inline microphones I listed in my other post.

Therefore according to my test(without the long boring post)-the problem is your skullcandy and v-moda headphones. Not IOS 4.

My son uses the bose mobile in-ear headset. His volume would suddenly blast really loud. I had him restore his phone in itunes and all is well now.

Seeing as all the problem headphones were fine on previous generation devices, I beg to differ.

Apple has changed something in the way it uses mic signals. It needs addressing.

I reproduced the issue again today with a Zagg hands-free headset.

None of the headphones I've mentioned cause any problems on iPhone 3g or iPhone 3gs. So how does that rule out iOS4?

Restored the iPhone 4 today with iTunes. I'm still able to reproduce the problem after restore on iPhone 4 only.

Message was edited by: flyboym535i

GEdwards, thanks for bringing simple logic back into the equation. 😉 Long and boring yes, but I think he may have missed the part about those headphones not affecting previous iPhone models.