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Does your 3GS emit the "15KHz tone"?

  • Yes I hear it.

    Votes: 99 53.5%
  • Nope, can't hear a thing.

    Votes: 86 46.5%

  • Total voters
    185
I haven’t been able to hear any sounds coming from the phone and I’ve always had very good hearing. So I’m not sure if it’s a matter of it’s too high-pitched that I can’t hear it or it’s not actually there. :confused:
 
I can hear it on mine, but not unless there is zero ambient noise or I hold the phone up to my ear. My guess is that the sound file Apple uses to make the lock noise has an empty void for a few seconds at the end and the compression process mutated it into a high frequency tone. They could probably just fix the sound file in the next OS release to make it go away.

But is also happens when recording video or voice memos. So this explanation can't be right.

All i hope is it IS software related, and not hardware. I don't want to go down that road of getting my handset replaced...
 
...the sound file Apple uses to make the lock noise has an empty void for a few seconds at the end and the compression process mutated it into a high frequency tone.

But is also happens when recording video or voice memos. So this explanation can't be right.

Like I said earlier, I think the signal processing is happening on-the-fly as sounds are played. If the speaker isn't muted immediately following the playing of a sound, that compression processing basically takes any EMI picked up inside the phone and amplifies it... thus why it occurs after different sounds, and sounds different for different models (static vs. hum vs. 15kHz vs. 4.8kHz).
 
seems like something a software update could fix

i notice the sound, but it doesnt bother me unless i actually have the speaker up to my ear
 
I just tried locking and unlocking, with the ear piece and speaker but I hear nothing.
 
I can hear it, but only if I hold the speaker right up to my ear. This 3G S is my first iPhone, so I can't compare to older models.
 
It would be interesting if anyone has an oscilloscope and could actually capture the sounds everyone is hearing and could post the wave.
 
All you have to do is play music thru the speaker and hit the pause to hear the noise. It also plays along with the music. If you put the phone to sleep while on pause the sound goes away after 3 seconds if you leave the music on pause it doesn't go away. I have to have the phone speaker within 3 inches to hear it. My 2g also makes a sound but it is not the high pitch. There is no sound on the headphones. The speaker is picking up interference from something. I imagine it normal considering all the electronics packed in the phone.
 
wow, 50/50. never seen a perfect split on a poll here before.
 
Just tested and mine does as well. It's a very, VERY quiet noise (I had to have it right next to my ear) and I wouldn't have heard it had I not specifically tried to listen for it.
 
i went to settings -> general -> accessibility and switched audio to mono.

I think the high pitch sound went away.

can anyone confirm?


edit: it came back after firing up the video recording
 
I'm 25 and I can hear the tone. I have to have the phone a few inches from my ear to hear it, but it's definitely there. Doesn't bother me.
 
I called Apple, and the representative gave me a fix:

She said I can navigate to Settings / Sounds, and disable the sounds that give us trouble. Wow. That's not at all the point. :rolleyes:

Its only a nuisance to me.
 
I have the sound too, but I only notice it if I listen for it.

My 3G also makes a sound for around the same length of time, but it's more of a low volume static, as thought the sound file wasn't clipped properly. Whether the 3G did this before 3.0 or not, I don't know, but neither of them is particularly annoying...to me anyway :)
 
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I never notice this until this thread pointed it out, all I hear is static for a second or two after I take a picture on my 1st gen iPhone. I have had it more than a year and a half now and it still doesn't bother me at all, I can barely hear it when the phone is to my ears.
 
i have a feeling this might be a source of battery drain as well.

i recall getting texts and after i set the phone down i could hear the 15khz tone for a good 10 secs later if i dont exit out the sms app.

really weird, but if the speakers are on that long after a tone those extra secs add up to depleted battery life
 
i have a feeling this might be a source of battery drain as well.

i recall getting texts and after i set the phone down i could hear the 15khz tone for a good 10 secs later if i dont exit out the sms app.

really weird, but if the speakers are on that long after a tone those extra secs add up to depleted battery life

Bearing in mind the 3GS can play audio for upto 30 hours, I wouldn't worry too much about keeping the speakers open for 10 secs or so every now and again :)
 
I usually turn the lock and keyboard sounds off, but seeing this, I turned the lock on, and behold, I heard it! :eek:

Seeing as though A) It's not loud to where you can hear it in your pocket and B) it's barely audible to a lot of people, I'm not worried.
 
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