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Verizon iPhone 4S Clicking Noise on Bluetooth Headset with Wi-Fi On

I've read in these discussion forums and elsewhere that a number of people have had problems with hearing a clicking noise while using the earpiece of an iPhone 4 on Verizon's network while wi-fi is on. Seems to be a case of electrical interference on bad iPhones. It appears that many/most of these people's problems were solved when an Apple genius swapped them a new phone. My situation seems to be similar but slightly different:


I have an iPhone 4S and a Motorola H17 Bluetooth headset. I hear the clicking only when I'm using the Bluetooth headset and wi-fi is on. When I use the speakerphone or earpiece on the iPhone, no clicking. When I turn off wi-fi, no clicking. When I use a different Bluetooth headset, no clicking.


Based on my experience and other people's experiences on this forum, it seems that the problem is electrical interference between the wi-fi and the headset. The question is, who's to blame: Motorola or Apple?


It's tempting to blame Motorola, because the problem occurs only on my Motorola headset. However, this exact headset worked perfectly—no clicking—when I used it just yesterday when I had an iPhone 4 on AT&T. And others are reporting clicking when they use iPhones with Verizon, even though most people report the problem with the earpiece on the phone rather than a bluetooth headset.


The reason I ask is that I have an appointment with an Apple genius tomorrow morning, and I want to be prepared if s/he tries to blame it on Motorola.


Any suggestions?

iPhone 4, Other OS

Posted on Nov 8, 2011 3:47 PM

Reply
7 replies

Nov 9, 2011 1:49 PM in response to moskovit

UPDATE: I brought my iPhone to the Apple store to resolve this. The Genius was able to reproduce the problem. He swapped it out for a new one, and at first (in the Apple store), it seemed better. But then, I took it home, and the problem came back, as bad as before.


The Genius said he hadn't seen this problem before, and he wasn't sure whether it was a hardware or a software issue. If it's a software issue, he said, hopefully iOS 5.0.2 will resolve it (he said Apple is probably going to skip 5.0.1 and issue 5.0.2 as the next public release). Unless I was unlucky enough to get two bad iPhones (which should be from different batches, because I got the original from Verizon by mail and the replacement in the local Apple store), it looks like this may be a software issue. Fingers crossed.


In the meantime, please post here if you've experienced this problem, and please post whether or not you've found a resolution or have any more details suggesting a cause.

moskovit wrote:


I've read in these discussion forums and elsewhere that a number of people have had problems with hearing a clicking noise while using the earpiece of an iPhone 4 on Verizon's network while wi-fi is on. Seems to be a case of electrical interference on bad iPhones. It appears that many/most of these people's problems were solved when an Apple genius swapped them a new phone. My situation seems to be similar but slightly different:


I have an iPhone 4S and a Motorola H17 Bluetooth headset. I hear the clicking only when I'm using the Bluetooth headset and wi-fi is on. When I use the speakerphone or earpiece on the iPhone, no clicking. When I turn off wi-fi, no clicking. When I use a different Bluetooth headset, no clicking.


Based on my experience and other people's experiences on this forum, it seems that the problem is electrical interference between the wi-fi and the headset. The question is, who's to blame: Motorola or Apple?


It's tempting to blame Motorola, because the problem occurs only on my Motorola headset. However, this exact headset worked perfectly—no clicking—when I used it just yesterday when I had an iPhone 4 on AT&T. And others are reporting clicking when they use iPhones with Verizon, even though most people report the problem with the earpiece on the phone rather than a bluetooth headset.


The reason I ask is that I have an appointment with an Apple genius tomorrow morning, and I want to be prepared if s/he tries to blame it on Motorola.


Any suggestions?

Dec 8, 2011 11:35 AM in response to mazinger101

Interesting. So it's not unique to the iPhone 4S or 4, it's not unique to Verizon, and it's not unique to my particular handset or headset. There seems to be something about the combination of the Motorola H17 bluetooth headset, iPhone (4S and 3GS—not sure about 4, because I didn't have this problem on my iPhone 4), and wi-fi that don't get along.


Now I'm not going to even bother exchanging my H17 with a new one, since it seems to be a problem with the H17 in general rather than me having a defective piece.


The question now, for me, is: Who might solve this? If this is something that can be fixed via a software update from Apple, I hope Apple fixes it. If it's a problem with H17 hardware or firmware, I think we're out of luck.


Anyone else have this problem?

Verizon iPhone 4S Clicking Noise on Bluetooth Headset with Wi-Fi On

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