Fixing Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Speaker / Earpiece Problems [Can’t Hear Callers]

There are two things that indicate that your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has problems with its speaker or earpiece; that is when you cannot hear callers from the other end and when your phone just won’t play music or any audio when loudspeaker is on. There are, of course, different factors that affect the overall performance of the phone but the easiest way to determine whether the phone’s speaker has a problem is to use a headset.

Using Headset To Troubleshoot Speaker Problem

You could say that the phone’s built in microphone and speaker are the same as the ones you could find in headsets. However, they couldn’t just be used together. If you plug the headset, the built it speaker and microphone will be disabled automatically passing their respective functions to the accessory. The fact is, the headset uses different circuitry and simply does not follow what the built in hardware are using.

Therefore, if you suspect that there are some problems with your phone’s hardware that is responsible in emitting audio through the speaker, use a headset to verify it. If both the built in and headset speakers won’t emit a sound, you have a bigger problem than think. However, if audio comes out through the headset, it’s simple a speaker or earpiece problem. Before going a little further, here are the possible causes.

Possible Causes of Speaker Problem

Based on emails we received from our readers and the result of our own research, speaker problems in Samsung Galaxy Note 2 can be caused by any of the following:

• A headset / headphone is plugged in.
• Third-party application is interfering the phone’s normal operation.
• The speaker or the phone is damaged.

Troubleshooting Galaxy Note 2 Speaker Problem

Please note that the following procedures may or may not be able to solve the problem considering speaker issues with smartphones are often caused by a hardware malfunction such as busted speaker, circuitry issues, etc. While we provide ways to solve the problem, we do not recommend touching the phone’s hardware or circuitry; it’s the technician’s job.

Step 1: Unplugged your headset / headphones. It is common sense that when you plug your headset you want to listen to your phone alone. Otherwise, you unplug the accessory and turn the volume up so others can hear what you’re listening. There were reports that some units failed to play audio after the headset was unplugged. In this case, all you need to do is reboot your phone so everything would be back to normal.

Step 2: Disable / uninstall third-party app. If your phone doesn’t play audio through the built in speaker after you downloaded and installed a certain application or third-party multimedia app, it is more likely that the application is interfering with the phone’s normal operation. You have two options: first is to disable the app and second, to uninstall it for good. However, we urge you to reboot the phone before doing any of them.

Many users complained that some music players on the Play Store cause this kind of problem especially the ones that mimic the names of the popular apps.

Step 3: Phone / hardware problem. If you’re not a phone technician and do not want to void the warranty of your phone, do not attempt to open your phone and mess with its circuitry. You would end up being in a deeper mess than fixing the problem. Instead, bring your phone to an authorized technician or your provider and have it checked. If you’re on a contract, your provider is obliged to replace the unit.

Here is a couple of tests that may also help you:

Speaker Test 

1. Launch your phone’s voice recorder or camcorder and record a short clip.
2. Playback the clip.
3. If the audio plays clearly, there is no problem with the phone.
4. If audio does not play or distorted, you might want to consider doing a factory reset.

Earpiece Test 

1. Place a test call to your Voicemail.
2. If the audio is clear through the Earpiece, the device is functioning properly.
3. You can do a factory reset before you decide to have it checked by  a technician.

Tell us your phone problems

We are among the very few online communities that is open to receive questions from our readers about the problems they’ve encountered with their phones. Don’t hesitate to email us at [email protected] and tell us your problems and we will do our own research to be able to provide you with solutions and / or ideas that may lead to the resolution of your problems. That’s for free. All we ask of you is to mention all possible details so we’ll know where to start.