iPhone 4S Audio Distortion/Crackling iOS 6.1.3

Question

Level 1

9 points

iPhone 4S Audio Distortion/Crackling iOS 6.1.3

Hi All,

This is my first post here. I'm hoping someone can help! I've never had a problem before that I couldn't fix on any of my iDevices but I am stumped on this one.

I've had my iPhone 4S for Verizon for almost 2 years so it is no longer under warranty. Never had a problem until now. I recently upgraded from iOS 6.1.2 to iOS 6.1.3 and now when I try to play any audio (music, ringtones, video) the sound comes out distorted. It comes out distorted whether i play it on my headphones, the iPhone speaker, on a phone call, or an iHome. It doesn't come out distorted on bluetooth or airplay.

It starts the same each time I reset the phone: it comes out fine until I play something bass-heavy (even if bass is turned all the way down) then everything plays distorted. At first it is distorted on the right channel only so I use accessability to move it more to left channel but after a few minutes of that the left channel becomes distorted as well.

This is what I have tried to fix the problem:

System Restore (multiple times) - I have restored with and without a backup, I thought that the backup may be holding some bad code so I restored from scratch and reinstalled everything manually to no avail.

DFU Reset (multiple times) - Didn't work

Tried to restore back to iOS 6.1.2 but was unable to do so

Un-Synced my music library and only had Pandora installed as a test but it failed

Took it to the Apple store but they were unable to pinpoint the issue and told me I would most likely need a new phone (which I'm definitely trying to avoid)

Has anyone ever seen anything like this before? I really can't figure out whether it is a hardware or software issue. It seems like a hardware issue since my other iOS devices (iPad, Nano, Classic, MBP) all play everything fine, but since it started immediately after downloading iOS 6.1.3 I think it could be software also. It is just my iPhone that is having issues. I haven't seen any other posts with this exact issue so I wanted to start a new thread.

Thanks Everyone!

iPhone 4S, iOS 6.1.3, Black, 64GB

Posted on Aug 4, 2013 10:25 AM

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Answer 1

gdgmacguy

Level 7

21,885 points

Aug 4, 2013 1:04 PM in response to glorydaysnj

Fell asleep half way thorough the story. What exactly is your technical support issue? Seems you've tried all the troubleshooting that Apple recommends and you even brought the phone to Apple who states you need the phone replaced.

Again, what's the issue? Replace the phone.

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Answer 2

glorydaysnj Author

Level 1

9 points

Aug 4, 2013 1:21 PM in response to gdgmacguy

Anyone else with something more productive? Something I haven't tried? If not I'll wait for the new one and upgrade. Just thought I'd ask...

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Answer 3

Aug 4, 2013 1:25 PM in response to glorydaysnj

Make a fresh data backup of your device, if you haven't done so already.

Restore your device as 'new'. Do not sign in with your Apple ID. Do not redownload or sync any of your data to the device. Keep it at 'factory settings'.

Test the issue. If it remains, it's a hardware issue.

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Answer 4

Aug 17, 2013 12:36 PM in response to glorydaysnj

I have the same issue on this with my 4s. Have tried everything you did. Still no resolve.

In regards togdgmacguy comment, what kind of answer is that? Replacing the phone is not the answer.

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Answer 5

Aug 28, 2013 7:42 PM in response to glorydaysnj

I have a nearly identical problem with my Ipad 3. Mine is the left channel. I've yet to find help, but have found a number of other posts on this and other forums discussing the issue. People have tried restore, reset etc. Also, cleaning the ports with compressed air or cotton swabs. It appears to be a software issue, but no one is sure.

Along with the original poster, I'd appreciate any help.

As far as the 'level 6' poster, if you're going to be rude, please don't bother. Hope it was just a bad day.

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Answer 6

Oct 14, 2013 12:52 PM in response to glorydaysnj

Were you ever able to take care of this issue? I'm having the same problem with my 4S. I've tried everything suggested in this post except not logging in with my Apple ID.

For me, it started abrupty in the middle of a practice session while using a tuner/metronome app. That was probably about a month ago, and it hasn't stopped since.

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