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New 4S vibrate sounds like a car horn, normal or defect?

V

Vanel

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 18, 2009
20
0
My 4 has a nice but kinda weak vibrate.

The 4S has a stronger vibrate but it's also giving off a loud "sound", it sounds like a muffled car horn.

Recording of the noise

Is the vibrate just stronger in the 4S or is this a defect?

If I squeeze the sides of the 4S while it's vibrating it stops the sound, this is why I suspect it might be a defect.

This isn't a huge issue, but it is slightly annoying, the rest of the phone is pure perfection.

Thinking of taking a trip to the apple store to see what they say but I was curious if it's only my phone or it's common, don't really want to make the 40 min trip for nothing.
 
Sounds normal to me. That's a good vibrate. When you place it on a table or "squeeze" it, your actually "muffling" the vibration from reverberating from the back.
 
gslrider said:
Sounds normal to me. That's a good vibrate. When you place it on a table or "squeeze" it, your actually "muffling" the vibration from reverberating from the back.
Click to expand...

It just doesn't sound "right". Use my iPhone 4 for reference, it makes no difference if I squeeze it while it's vibrating, it doesn't not change the sound/vibration profile.

I've had all 5 iPhones and this is the first one that made this type of noise when vibrating.

At first I thought it was a loose case, I was sending an email to Incipio when I got the idea to try it without a case on.

I would really like to get their opinion down at the Apple store, but I'm glad I'm not the only one.
 
Last edited:
Update from previous post:

I went to the apple store and they acknowledged that the vibrator was behaving incorrectly and replaced the phone for me. Problem fixed.
 
Mine does this, but only if its in my hand, if I place it on my desk the noise doesn't happen.

Nice to know if theres a niggle I can get it replaced on this though
 
evan4420 said:
Update from previous post:

I went to the apple store and they acknowledged that the vibrator was behaving incorrectly and replaced the phone for me. Problem fixed.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the update.

I'll most likely do the same.

Quick question, did they give you a brand new one out of the box? They can't have refurbs yet right?
 
Vanel said:
Thanks for the update.

I'll most likely do the same.

Quick question, did they give you a brand new one out of the box? They can't have refurbs yet right?
Click to expand...

I believe the Genius bar has a supply of phones separate from what they sell to customers. They gave me a brand new phone but it was from a smaller black box rather than the regular iPhone box. So even if they're sold out of iPhones, they still may be able to replace a defective iPhone.
 
I have this issue too but I have already applied screen protectors and don't want to swap for a new phone (not to mention the phone is perfect otherwise).

I'm wondering if simply opening the back and see if there is anything loose I could correct before taking it in :(

The vibrate is loud as all hell and you might as well just use a ringtone.
 
catalyst6 said:
I have this issue too but I have already applied screen protectors and don't want to swap for a new phone (not to mention the phone is perfect otherwise).

I'm wondering if simply opening the back and see if there is anything loose I could correct before taking it in :(

The vibrate is loud as all hell and you might as well just use a ringtone.
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat.

It's a perfect phone otherwise, all the other buttons have an perfect "feel" to them.

Plus the nearest Apple store is 30 mins away, not a big deal but far enough for me to whine about :p
 
Went to Apple store today, they said it was normal. They showed me an employee's phone and it did sound similar though not quite as loud.

I was annoyed with the crowd in the store and didn't really push the issue. He said it was because it's a new oscillating motor and not a rotating one from the older iPhones, but when I look up information on oscillating motors it says they are supposed to be quieter, and I still think it's strange that the sound goes away if I squeeze the sides.

I'll check out some floor models over the next few months and see how they sound compared to mine and take it from there, there is the possibility it could get worse also which will definitely prompt me to go back and complain.
 
I just compared the sounds to two other 4S models, and mine is significantly louder. I wonder if this could potentially damage the phone?

Any ideas?
 
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