I have always had a problem with the call volume on my N900. Usually I would have to switch to speakerphone because I wouldn't be able to hear through the normal speaker.

I noticed that applying pressure just to the left of the speaker hole with my finger would fix the problem. But when I removed my finger, the sound would go bad again. A number of people on this forum have reported similar problems.

After disassembly I discovered that the speaker isn't behind the speaker hole. Rather, the speaker is to the left of the speaker hole, *exactly* where I had to apply pressure to hear sound.

The electrical connection to the speaker isn't a wire. The speaker has two gold spring arms that extend up and make contact with two gold pads on the other half of the phone when assembled. (see pic).

I bent the arms up at a sharper angle to hopefully increase the contact force between the arms and the opposing pads. The result is that I no longer have any trouble hearing people during a call.

DO NOT DISASSEMBLE YOUR N900 UNLESS YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE DOING

It is very easy to break a lot of things in there.

This is, IMHO, a build-quality issue.

EDIT: other posts concerning this same issue:

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=46581
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=42227
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=41646
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=37590
https://bugs.maemo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=6063

nice one. Nokia not only want us to develop software, but also fix their products. I have this issue but wouldn't dare to open it.

AND THIS IS MY LAST NOKIA DEVICE

word. I ordered a nexus one last night. I would sell my N900, but I wouldn't feel right about it.

not seeing nokia put effort on this device is sufficient to make me switch. I spent € 600 on this and thought I would be getting alot of software support including ovi. I could have chosen the iphone 3gs over this and thats what many of my friends tell me. Why didn't you buy an iphone ??? I reply "I'm OPEN minded" After seeing this ********, well I was wrong,

It's not all that bad. I just want the killer apps that android offers. And I'm not willing to wait for nitdroid development.

Game. On.

Looks like I'll be bustin' out the exacto knife this weekend...again:

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php...light=earpiece

Awsome find.

Now if only sling player worked on the 900, this would be the perfect phone for me.

Please let us know how it goes, and if it helps. And thanks for the link.

So I widened the earpiece slit to about 2cm now, and it seems to be making a difference. I can hear every word on my voice mail with the phone about 6 inches away (the operator), and the message itself from about 12 inches (T-Mobile USA).

I don't think this was possible before, but it was late last night when I did pre-cut testing and I just finished a 40mi. ride. Right now my trim-work is sloppy because I did it while watching F1 this morning, pre-coffee...will tighten later.

There is stil a thin layer of plastic covering half of the hole...I left it there to test volume, as well as partial protection from dirt, but I may ultimately remove for function over form.

Will post pics later.

Hmmm, i have noticed that moving the phone slightly on my ear will cause a drastic change in perceived volume. If that is your problem then widening the hole would certainly help.

My issue was a dropout of actual volume. I would have the call volume turned up to maximum and the phone positioned perfectly on my ear and still could not hear the other person unless i pressed at that spot.

However, after bending the little gold arms up I was surprised at how loud the speaker is now. I tested and, like you, I can hear my voicemail with the phone a good 8-10 inches away from my ear. (t-mobile u.s.)

Roger that. My problem was just that the volume level was always "too low"...not imperceptable too low, just too low if outside and there was ambient noise, it was tough to hear. My Motorola Q faired better in this regard, as well as other phones of mine.

Well I've given up...hit a snag, or rather, a thicker layer of clear plastic, that I don't want to force. Here is what I have now, coming from my first attempt posted above:

- I started by trimming away the first layer of "black" plastic, which revealed a thinner layer of clear plastic (left side of the expanded slot)..




- Here is a clearer shot...this is what I was going to leave as added protection, but opted for "full volume".




- Here the tip of the knife is under the thin layer of clear plastic (sorry for crappy shot).



- Here is where I gave up...tip of knife is pointing to thicker layer of plastic, that I don't feel like clearing out...right now. I think I can see the edger of the speaker, based on what the OP identified.





The (2) angled cuts at the top of the last pic are just superficial to my screen protector...hopefully. The cavity bottom is kinda goopy...remenants of the glue that I can't seem to scrape out. All I know is that the volume level is much more "comfortable" now. I can actually hold it 3" away from my ear, and hear perfectly with the TV on.

As always...YMMV.