Q: iPhone 6s Distorted Sound

Hopefully it's firmware or software, and I personally believe it is or this is just how the 6s speaker sounds. I'm sure there are phones out there with varying degrees of a wide range of issues. Who knows? One thing I will say is that I'm not going to go through 5 or 6 replacements trying to find one only to end up with a refurb with the same issues as the original one. Make sense?

Having had 5 of these, I can tell you it must be widespread. I randomly checked a friend's 6sPlus and it had the distortion too - tho' I was polite enough not to point it out... he was happy with the phone and didn't notice.

The sound issues are not the only defects, which is why I am holding on to this one.

First one bad sound.

Second one, bad sound and distorted casework, (front panel clicked when using 3D touch - poorly assembled) and the camera didin't seem as sharp.

Third one had a flaw on the aluminium (didn't even get as far as powering it on), poorly assembled..

Fourth had a 'rippled' screen - as if looking at diagonal waves/shadows on a white background...)

This one has the poor sound but has good pictures, and the case is nice.

I was able to return all under the 14 day policy - but after a while (as Apple well know) you just wanna get on with the phone... and the fear of getting a dud outweighed the sound issue. It's time consuming restoring and returning.

It's still a poor show from Apple but the instore guys never questioned my request. The 5S was my first smarthphone and I was delighted with it - so much so that I went for the 6s on launch. All were got from the same Apple Store (Regent St, London) and were always in stock, being Space Grey 64 GB which was probably the least popular at launch. Having got them all form the same place within a month or so, could point to a bad batch - or early adopters bad luck.

Next time I will get my phone from John Lewis, who now stock sim free phones and I will use their 28 day return policy and better customer service to get what I want.

Indeed it does appear to be a widespread problem. I've read all 16 pages of this thread and of all the returns that have taken place over this only one or two people claim their phone no longer experiences the problem. That isn't a very good scenario for those looking to swap their device. There is another thread over at reddit about this problem (https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/3oiz7t/iphone_6s_speaker_volume_signifi cantly_weaker/). Lots of complaints there, too. Don't continue to return your phones, wait it out and see what Apple does. Let them know, too. You're just wasting your time with the constant returning and exchanging. Eventually Apple will follow up on this. I really believe it's software or this is how the phone sounds and that's that. But I'm not too pleased about it. But I'm not freaking out about it, either. It'll get resolved. If that means I keep this phone for a year, then swap it out for another once early adopter issues are resolved, then so be it. That's how Apple has set it up it appears.

Apple won't acknowledge anything until a public Facebook Group/Page gets created or Twitter tag gains steam. Reddit and Apple Discussion boards don't threaten iPhone sales. History says they only capitulate until the mainstream media picks it up. CNET sometimes can draw enough eyeballs with big headlines to start something.

So, let's do it

Hi,
This helped! I had the EQ set to electronica and was getting distortion on everything. I deactivated the EQ and the distortion went away.

Just tryed, no changes. for me the worse problem is in the reciever, it vibrate during calls in the 80% Of cases. I'm really disappointed.

i did post to youtube reviewers like marques to test this phone. who knows if he or any one else will.  still like to know if this is every 6s and 6s plus or only some and if the chipset samsung or tmsc has any relation to problem.   in this day and age it is amazing apple cannot be asked for an answer??  store people are useless to solve this.. we need to submit this to an engineering team and have them respond after testing. for now the speaker is worthless.

also i did a teardown of phone analysis. the speaker in phone reduced so that taptic component could fit. and casing new stiffer metal that vibrates unlike the 6. those two factors may be cause of distortion. in which either will not be solved by ios update i fear. 

and please start a facebook group. maybe fb will serve some  use other than peoples bdays.  

i am in my fourth IPHONE 6S and still have the distortion problem !! Im gonna return it, get the money and buy samsung or something like that, and still have money to go out. SHAME APPLE, SHAME !!!!

Hello!! has anyone tested the sound with the New released 9.2 beta 4?? I will test it in 2 hours then i'll let you know.

Just installed Beta 4 and unfortunately no change  - Agnes Obel and other piano content from iTunes, still crackles

Here, too. Beta 4 installed...same issue with that piano piece. But if it makes you guys feel any better a relatives brand new iPhone 6, not the S version, also distorts and crackles on the song as well. And in the same spots to boot. After installing the third 9.2 beta I no longer noticed as much crackle on the opening default ringtone, nor has the distorted send/receive text tone returned, either. I did send some feedback to Apple via the beta app regarding the problem.

Hello All -

I am also experiencing this issue, and am joining the discussion to add to our "strength in numbers."

I received my new iPhone 6s just over a week ago, and noticed the bottom speaker distortion sound from the instant I started using it.  The sound is intermittent, but happens more often than not. It's most noticeable with the test messaging conversation sound, as many others have noted.  I also experience distortion when my phone rings at full volume, and when using the voiced direction option in maps.  I have noticed that if I turn my volume down, the distortion improves, but is still slightly noticeable in some cases.  Regardless, I shouldn't have to turn my phone volume down to hide the distortion. 

I did have an appointment with the Genius Bar today and was unable to reproduce in store. Just my luck.  They ran diagnostics and everything passed.  I spoke with the Apple representative about potential causes, mentioning my case and that I had restored the 6s from a previous back up and that I had upgraded from the iPhone 5 to the 6s. He didn't think any of those reasons would cause the sound distortion I was noticing.  However, the Apple representative I was working with did offer me a replacement.  I have a really nice screen cover and really didn't want to go out and replace it and because I am well within my warranty period I declined to replace the device.  The gentleman I was working with told me that I could come back at anytime within my warranty if I changed my mind. 

When I got home, I decided to see if anyone else is experiencing distortion, and I came upon this thread.  Based on the other replies, I am glad I chose to keep my phone instead of having it replaced. I would hate to have gone through the process only to experience the same issue. 

Hopefully, Apple will address this issue soon.  While this isn't the end of the world, because of the sound issue, the phone doesn't seem to be worth the money spent.  It's really grating to hear the distortion so often. 

That being said, I haven't had challenges with any of my other iPhones so I can only hope that Apple resolves this quickly.