Volume increase - Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Coming from a Moto X which has incredible audio quality and loudness the Nexus 5 seems barely noticeable. The gps voice and ringtones seem so dim i can barely hear them. Im guessing custom kernels would hopefully be able to adjust this to higher levels, but until then, anyone know of solutions to increase the loudness of the phone?

emerica243 said:
Coming from a Moto X which has incredible audio quality and loudness the Nexus 5 seems barely noticeable. The gps voice and ringtones seem so dim i can barely hear them. Im guessing custom kernels would hopefully be able to adjust this to higher levels, but until then, anyone know of solutions to increase the loudness of the phone?
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I've noticed that too, your going to need to get ringtones and notification tones other than the stock ones. Try Zedge on the Play store, it has some louder tones.

Besides have it built by Motorola?? Custom kernels will help but it won't be on par with the X.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Also ive noticed if i have the volume all the way up, and keep pressing it up, it goes really low, even when i continually increase it, then it will jump back up to 100%. Not sure if this is a glitch or whats going on.

Apparently theres sites reporting this might be a software problem, hopefully. Or else this nexus 5 may be going back,.

Related

Sound tweak to up volume?

Hi,
Does anyone know a way to tweak a system file so that Inspire's volume is higher?
I personally find its stock volume rather low, and I want to increase it.
I downloaded Zedge. It is a free app with nice louder ringtones.
Hope this helps!
I'm wanting to up the volume system-wide. But, thanks for the info anyway
Yea, I tested a movie and sling player last night. The media volume was all the way up and it was quite.
I went from iPhone 4 (nice and louad) to Atrix 4g (nice and loud) to Inspire 4g (too quiet).
I am loving the Inspire but the sound volume and battery life are definitely the 2 big downsides of it. Still a winner over the Atrix any day though.
I personally don't have issues with the battery. I've removed all extra stuff. Even before removing them, I was happy with its battery.
It can't be that hard to change the system volume. It's done in every smartphone and OS before. Hopefully, some developer notices this thread and help us out.
goldentequila said:
I personally don't have issues with the battery. I've removed all extra stuff. Even before removing them, I was happy with its battery.
It can't be that hard to change the system volume. It's done in every smartphone and OS before. Hopefully, some developer notices this thread and help us out.
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+1
I'm half deaf. Need a louder phone please.
same here, the phone volume is too low. Maybe if can acces service codes? I did it on my previous Samsung phone.
Hi, all.
So, I've been doing some digging around, and looks like there are 2 possibilities.
One is to modify the system files manually (which would be very complicated), but I personally prefer this method rather than having to install extra stuff. However, this method is not available to us unless some very smart person shares the method with us.
Two, which seems to be the only viable option at the moment, is DSP Manager. As far as I understand, it used to be available through ROM Manager, but it is no longer there. I saw a thread that said the author was not releasing it anymore because most MOD developers were now including it in their ROMs from the beginning.
So, if we can find a way to install DSP Manager, we may be able to tweak the max speaker volume. But, that's as far as I could find. I'd need someone smarter to look into this.
Hi,
An update and a new idea.
First, DSP Manager doesn't work on Inspire 4G, so don't bother.
Second,
Here's a new idea I have about the low volume sound fix. I just read a comment from HTC employee who said, "The front speaker is for phone calls and the rear speaker is for everything else."
In other words, if we can find a way to keep the front speaker enabled all the time, we should be able to get more sound. I don't know much about what kind of coding is involved in routing sounds from each speaker, but I wonder if this would be an easier hack than trying to increase the entire system volume, which may still feel low volume for as long as we can't get any sound out of the front speaker.
Maybe someone smart can add to this possibility?
#1! I like to use voice recordings as scheduled reminders, and the playback volume out of the rear speaker is way too low.
I did notice the low volume on a movie i downloaded but you never can tell with those sorts of things. Overall the sounds is incredible even through the speakers with (SRS) and dolby mobile.
Could use something to ++output level.
Id like to see an app to change audio volume levels while recording video.
(ive only had the phone a couple days i returned my samsung Cap upgrade for the 4g, forgive me if there is such an app out there)
How often do you go to watch an awesome looking concert video and the sound is trash? It would make for some beautiful recordings i think. I have yet to test this one, but the Captivate could not record decent sound at all in loud environment.
I personally have come to believe that it is really not that the "volume" is low but rather a "wrong" speaker is being used. I mean, if the main speaker is on the back facing away from us, of course we don't hear much sound. If you flip the phone while playing music or video, you'll notice that the sound is actually loud enough. So, if we can enable the front speaker for normal use, I really think that it'll be just fine.
about every HTC phone has a quiet speaker. but cyanogen typically always includes the audio boost add-on. so i'd just wait for cyanogen 7 to include it, and your troubles will be solved.
well, even if the volume is boosted, as long as the sound is coming out of the rear speaker, if you place your phone on its back on a table or something, the sound will still suffer. It makes more sense to find a way to enable the front speaker.
Most of all phone have a rear facing speaker. But some phone are loud and some are not..
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
goldentequila said:
well, even if the volume is boosted, as long as the sound is coming out of the rear speaker, if you place your phone on its back on a table or something, the sound will still suffer. It makes more sense to find a way to enable the front speaker.
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+1 this would be quite useful!
kwin_captivate said:
Most of all phone have a rear facing speaker. But some phone are loud and some are not..
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
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No, they don't lol. (you may be right if you are talking about specific brand or series, but certainly not "most of all phones").
I just came across something that may be relevant to the audio routing, but I'm not smart enough to figure them out. If anybody wants to take a look at it, it would be great:
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/media/AudioManager.html
There are several lines there that talk about Routing.
GT
This may sound ridiculous but works!
Hi, all.
I just came up with a very simple workaround for "only when you are watching a video or something."
Now, you're gonna probably laugh, but trust me. It really works.
Just play any video, and hold your phone as if you are scooping water. The key is the left hand. When you cup your left hand around the rear speaker, it creates a echoing chamber that redirect all sound toward you. You'll be able to hear the sound much better.
GT

Earpiece quality?

Does anyone have some information about the earpiece quality?
On the Nexus 4 the quality was very low as on lower volumes interferences from the wireless signal could be heard. Also i don't like phone on which the lowest volume is still much too loud.
Any experience would be very appreciated.
No we dont have any information. The phone isn't even in peoples hands with the exception of media sites.
Just wait until you receive the device and conclude for yourself (or wait for others for a full-review)
Mine's in my hand. The earpiece quality is excellent, it's very loud and clear, the best I've ever encountered!
zephiK said:
No we dont have any information. The phone isn't even in peoples hands with the exception of media sites.
Just wait until you receive the device and conclude for yourself (or wait for others for a full-review)
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Got my phone right here.. Already have it for like 6 hours (has been shipped today)... Did not test the headphone output yet...
Sound quality is excellent through earphones..Plenty loud..Im pretty impressed with the speakers to..More bass and clarity than the N4.. Turn the volume up on Dead Trigger 2 or listen to some dance music and you will see what i mean.
Ok, thank you very much for your answers :good:
I'm only interested in the earpiece volume. It's nice if the speaker is loud enough but i don't want the earpiece on low volumes too loud. Even more i like it if it's very quiet for on the lowest levels as i'm not all the time in a noisy environment.
If the earphone output is also quite low on the lowest level i'd appreciate that a lot. I had troubles with every Android phone so far, except the HTC One X+, beeing too loud. (And don't start a flamewar. Some people can't get it loud enough and some like phones who are able to adapt to the ambient).
Hi,
Can you tell me if you can control the volume with a wired headset ? (much like the iPhone... and unlike my Nexus 4)
Thanks !
Mine has stopped working...still makes a sound when maximising the volume but I cant hear anything in a call.
Is the Nexus 5 compatible with HD Voice on T-Mobile USA?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
not as bad as N4
When on a call on the call volume is low you can hear a faint distorted signal. It kind of sounds like the phone is working on other tasks in the background more than a distorted signal to me. It's faint but kind of annoying when you realize it. The N4 was worse though.
Has anyone else noticed this is or is it just me?

[Q] Speaker Volume WAY too low

Differently from others who find that headphones volume is low, I think that what is really low is the speaker volume.
Using, or should I say trying to use, this phone for a call inside a car using the speaker is impossible... the volume is too low and the car noise, even at lower speeds will be higher.
Is there a way to increase the volume without changing kernel or rom? Maybe some system option like the one that can be used on ATT LG G2.
Thanks.
chk27 said:
Differently from others who find that headphones volume is low, I think that what is really low is the speaker volume.
Using, or should I say trying to use, this phone for a call inside a car using the speaker is impossible... the volume is too low and the car noise, even at lower speeds will be higher.
Is there a way to increase the volume without changing kernel or rom? Maybe some system option like the one that can be used on ATT LG G2.
Thanks.
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There is currently no system boost. I have to say when the phone was delivered I hated everything in the sound department with the Nexus 5. The volume is erratic my 5 year old daughter loves nextflix and the playback is so quiet even she was like where's is the volume boost. I am sure there will be a software fix by developers or google soon, well I hope so.
Hi of you use volume + this works to increase the sound always
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
steelmm said:
Hi of you use volume + this works to increase the sound always
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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Dafuq?!?!

[Q] 4.4.1 Louder sound?

I just finally did the update to 4.4.1 and is it just me or does the volume for everything seem a bit louder?
Ya I just updated five minutes ago and I noticed the volume being much louder too, especially on the locking and unlocking sounds. That's a good thing though since so many people were complaining about the volume not being loud enough?
Still playing around with 4.4.1 but so far so good
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Hi, do you know whether the headphone volume is also louder? Thanks.
And i thought i was the only one going crazy ahah
Yup definitely sounds louder now. Especially on unlocking screen and screen shutting off. Havent received any notifications to know if that is any different.
The audio is just more compressed, I did some tests in a previous post that showed that.
It averages louder, but isn't any more loud than before at max loudness.
Super_Panda_ said:
I just finally did the update to 4.4.1 and is it just me or does the volume for everything seem a bit louder?
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Yes, it is louder. And it is not a placebo effect. I have two identical n5s, one on 4.4.1 and the other still on 4.4.
Definitively louder!
Plus an overall speed boost, went from antutu 28-29k to 30k on complete stock.
shayne9512 said:
Hi, do you know whether the headphone volume is also louder? Thanks.
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Click to collapse
I actually do not, i haven't been to the gym recently to use my headphones yet. But if you find out, please share it
Headphones volume seems a bit louder too.
Any other significant changes?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
PainfulLover said:
Yes, it is louder. And it is not a placebo effect. I have two identical n5s, one on 4.4.1 and the other still on 4.4.
Definitively louder!
Plus an overall speed boost, went from antutu 28-29k to 30k on complete stock.
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Click to collapse
Awesome! I thought I was going crazy for a bit. Good to know
ArtG818 said:
Any other significant changes?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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Aside from the camera and louder audio, i haven't noticed anything different
Camera is much better than before, though it didn't really bother me to begin with, but comparing the previous lagginess of the camera motion with my iPhone 5, it looks as though the 4.4.1 update made the camera motion smoother than on my iPhone 5. Video mode seems a bit equal, although I think the nexus is slightly smoother than the iPhone.
I really can't tell a difference in speaker. I need to test tomorrow in a more audible environment (its late and quiet here) it does seem a little louder, but I'm not sure yet. Some sounds seem louder, while others are just as quiet as before. Still pales in comparison to iPhone 5 speaker.
Haven't ran any benchmarks, but performance does seem slightly better as well. Ran a test lap on real racing 3 where I noticed obvious frame rate issues when I first got my nexus, but now it seems a bit smoother, much less noticeable lag.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Call volume with earbuds has gone from too loud on the lowest setting up to deafening. Not good.
I checked cpu spy, seems like it's boosting to 1.2ghz instead of 1ghz now.. Anyone confirm?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Stronger haptic too.
If I had to assume, I'd agree with you on the haptic feedback being stronger, bloot. But if it actually is stronger, its a very small difference. The motor doesn't feel any different than before, and I doubt a firmware update could make it stronger. But again, it does feel a little stronger.
As for the sound, tested it today and yes there's definite improvement over before. Still barely audible in some cases, but I'm comparing with my old iPhone 5, and honestly, the situations I'm comparing to are better suited for an actual speaker anyway, not some tinny phone speaker. So for most typical case usage, the speaker is pretty good now. Keep in mind the speaker isn't being touted as one of the phones features, much like a phone with stereo speakers, or higher quality ones. So with that in mind, the speaker on the nexus 5 is actually pretty good when you consider the price of the phone.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Found this changelog for 4.4.1
The Camera app on the Nexus 5 has sped up considerably post the update.
The low volume output from the Nexus 5 speaker in certain apps has also been fixed.
The haptic feedback has been tweaked on the Nexus 5.
There are some bug-fixes related to ART as well. This allows Whatsapp to work with the ART runtime.
The default email client in Nexus 5 not syncing with an exchange server bug has also been fixed.
Immersive mode breaking while adjusting the volume level bug has been fixed.
The new ‘Photos’ app is now the default Gallery app.
There is a slight improvement in benchmark performance on the Nexus 5.
The transparent status bar sometimes turning opaque issue on the Nexus 5 has also been fixed.
The navigation bar is now transparent on the lock screen in the Nexus 4.
The Settings icon in Quick tiles has also been changed.
The Miracast setting has been renamed to Cast settings.
source: http://www.androidbeat.com/2013/12/android-4-4-1-features/
Also, Koush posted on G+ recently that the code for mirroring to a chromecast was also added to 4.4.1, so maybe we will be able to mirror to our TVs.
italia0101 said:
I checked cpu spy, seems like it's boosting to 1.2ghz instead of 1ghz now.. Anyone confirm?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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confirmed. it boosts there for ~3 seconds. too long, imo.
i don't think anything actually happened to the sound, hardware-wise. it seems like all they did was normalize the UI sounds to a higher level. my custom ringtones/notifications are still as quiet as ever
quite absurd that the notification led for missed calls still doesn't work
italia0101 said:
I checked cpu spy, seems like it's boosting to 1.2ghz instead of 1ghz now.. Anyone confirm?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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notbrodie said:
confirmed. it boosts there for ~3 seconds. too long, imo.
i don't think anything actually happened to the sound, hardware-wise. it seems like all they did was normalize the UI sounds to a higher level. my custom ringtones/notifications are still as quiet as ever
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From the logs:
https://android.googlesource.com/device/lge/hammerhead/+/0ad5707
BoardConfig: Define TARGET_TOUCHBOOST_FREQUENCY to 1.2GHz
Bug: 11387181
Change-Id: Icf3272edbb1052861a13aa17f3b14ee40ea57654
Signed-off-by: Iliyan Malchev <[email protected]>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read Project Hammerhead:
https://funkyandroid.com/aosp-KRT16M-KOT49E.html

[Q] why my phone's speaker volume is low?

I bought nexus 5 a month ago. from then i don't know weather this is the problem or the volume of speaker is built low. i am getting very low ringing volume . while on cal its loudspeaker volume is very good and while on head set volume is also very good. only problem is while ringing a cal or while playing music via loud speaker the volume is below average. i went to service center they just took one more nexus 5 which they had(that one was other customers phone which has a software bug) and compare it with that phones speaker that phone is also giving same volume. but i have read reviews that its speaker has very good sound. and it has around 65db sound. my friend has iphone 5 it has 68db which sounds very good(while ringing). but mine with less just 3db difference is not even half i think. i saw in internet lg released an hardware upgrade so that speakers can be changed is that correct? how can i fix this?
This is a well known issue.
You can flash this zip http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2532788
There are a few other methods as well. You can also look at viper4android or faux sound deal.
I use the sound file called sedna..with no fixes I can hear it clear across the house even without full volume.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
wideasleep1 said:
I use the sound file called sedna..with no fixes I can hear it clear across the house even without full volume.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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cant i get any help from LG service center? what about there hardware upgrade?
wideasleep1 said:
I use the sound file called sedna..with no fixes I can hear it clear across the house even without full volume.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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how can i use it? should i need to have root access to it? because i haven't done rooting yet
kiran9 said:
how can i use it? should i need to have root access to it? because i haven't done rooting yet
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It already exists as a selectable ring tone under Sound settings.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
kiran9 said:
I bought nexus 5 a month ago. from then i don't know weather this is the problem or the volume of speaker is built low. i am getting very low ringing volume . while on cal its loudspeaker volume is very good and while on head set volume is also very good. only problem is while ringing a cal or while playing music via loud speaker the volume is below average. i went to service center they just took one more nexus 5 which they had(that one was other customers phone which has a software bug) and compare it with that phones speaker that phone is also giving same volume. but i have read reviews that its speaker has very good sound. and it has around 65db sound. my friend has iphone 5 it has 68db which sounds very good(while ringing). but mine with less just 3db difference is not even half i think. i saw in internet lg released an hardware upgrade so that speakers can be changed is that correct? how can i fix this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You`l have to root to increase loudness, read the first 4 threads in the General section first first first first and don`t use toolkits
It isn't a defect, all of them are pretty quiet. I just flashed franco kernel and used his app to boost the speaker volume. It's almost too loud now...the lowest setting was the highest one before.
wideasleep1 said:
It already exists as a selectable ring tone under Sound settings.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
no i don't like that tone. while listening to music through loudspeaker sound is low right. we can't hear seleted songs only through that speaker .
kiran9 said:
no i don't like that tone. while listening to music through loudspeaker sound is low right. we can't hear seleted songs only through that speaker .
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Click to collapse
I thought your issue was ringtone loudness. Sorry.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
gee2012 said:
You`l have to root to increase loudness, read the first 4 threads in the General section first first first first and don`t use toolkits
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hi i rooted my phone yesterday it went fine. then i installed viper4android . i didn't find any reasonable or even a bit increase in volume while ringing? did i went somewhere wrong or is there any other mod or solution for it?

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