Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the N900 earpiece?
 

The cutout is begging me to Dremmel it open. I'm one of the few who feel like call volume is too low and its taking every bit of my reserve to keep from putting a Dremmel or exacto knife to it. Its days are numbered.

Has anyone else made the effort? If so did it/will it make a difference?

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

how does widening the earpiece jack increase the volume? lol

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

I think he means the phone earpiece (the small slot on the left hand side of the screen).

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

More air out...less restriction? I have to line up that slit "exactly" with my ear canal to get decent volume...trying to eliminate that. If not "exactly" lined up with my ear canal, volume drops by "what seems like" half.

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

<ding> penny drops

Doh! :P

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

show us what it looks like once you've massacred it!

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

I've found that due to the shape of my ear, sometimes the little hole gets covered and I miss parts of conversations.

I have been contemplating doing the same thing, but I'll wait for my USB port to break, first. :)

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

Oh you know that. I documented (w/photos) my antenna mod for the Droid I had. Unfortunately CDMA + Droid = suspect reception in my area, despite the Verizon coverage map for the DC/Baltimore corridor...but I digress.

I think I'll see how an exacto does, then go for the Dremmel. I'll probably be doing it this weekend, without taking the screen apart, so it will most likely not be a "clean mod". I'm more concerned about "function" over "form". I've already taken my first 900 apart because the USB port came undone...putting it back together, it wasn't exactly "the same", so I'll opt out.

:p

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

So I finally got around to picking up a pen knife...got a little over-zealous on one cut, and tore the lining, but it is still working. Here is where I am so far:

http://home.comcast.net/~masterpiu/900_ear1.JPG

http://home.comcast.net/~masterpiu/900_ear2.JPG

http://home.comcast.net/~masterpiu/900_ear3.JPG

Basically, I just "shaved" it down, much like I was hollowing out a boat. Biggest difference is that I don't have to have the hole line up directly with my ear canal for max volume. I've been playing with the volume controls on the main and media player volume, and now it seems like they act more independently, but its inconsistent. I'm thinking there is a software bug with call volume, as the levels vary greatly, with little or no changes.

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

man, I applaud your quest for function over form!

you are gonna give some of these nutjobs on here that use two screen protectors and a case and clean it every night a heart attack :)

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

watch me hack up my $700 phone !! yeah F**k that

modifying earpiece voids warranty

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

@colnago:
was it worth it?
did it fix your issues?

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

Here you go

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

@quipper8: thanks for reposting something that I've already read. I felt that 'conclusion' was a mixed bag and asked for a bit more clarification from the OP.

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

Given that I was still having volume issues, though I have only heard my g/f voice mail, and called into my own voice mail, and volume still seems really low, I can not say for sure...leaning towards it being more of a system/hardware issue overall.

Again, if nothing else, I feel like I'm getting similar volume levels with the phone's earpiece "at any part of the ear". "For me", it was worth the knowledge and minor performance gain.

After the first few cuts, and the initial curved groove was started, the screen shaves down fairly easily. The hardest part was to not go too deep with the blade, but was issue free for the most part. FWIW, the opening is now about 2x the original width, and I'll probably go another 0.5mm wider on the top and bottom (since I still can not tell how the speaker is aligned. Its hard to tell with the pics, but I actually cut into the screen protector on the top end.

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

Sorry you paid $700...Only $500 was paid for "my birthday present".

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

I hope you read this thread here first, because that thread was the first thing that popped into my head reading your post. At least you have a bigger hole for more ear wax to get trapped in there now XD.

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

Should be able to shave quite a lot off, I believe the actual speaker is at THE BOTTOM of the N900 with just a long channel leading up to that little hole, so nothing to damage underneath. However that also means a channel to aim the earwax, dust and water ingress down to the speaker. I'm sure there was a damn good reason to keep it the size it was.

I would always choose wired/wireless headset over voiding my warranty any day.

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

Lot of issues listed in that thread...most of which I've read about previously. My concern, since getting it in Nov. was that call volume was too low, on both the earpiece and speaker...varying levels may or may not be another issue, but again, even at "max", I feel it could be louder.

I've also read about the speaker possibly being located towards the bottom of the screen. I would have taken the phone apart "again" (following my USB port coming detached) to confirm the driver location, but I didn't want to risk having the slider mechanism not be flush again. However if the opening is merely a channel, couldn't hurt to open it up.

FWIW, there is metal mesh underneath the black fabric that is visible at the bottom of the opening.

For you guys getting earwax in the earpiece...wow. I'd find that hard to do. May I suggest:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...FL._SS500_.jpg

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

Wow. You, my friend, are insane!

I'll stick to repositioning it and teaching muscle memory where I should be holding it. I'm sure we can also patch out a upper volume restriction, but that might lead to distortion.

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

Fair enough.

I remember reading somewhere that someone was able to alter "max volume" on mplayer, via a "config statement". I was hoping it was also possible for call volume. i would hope so given that media plays much louder than calls...again, on both ear piece and speaker.

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

Bloody maniac!

Dremelling a £500 phone! you must be cazy, I don't even put the phone with my key, or put it down on a hard surface even though I have the Zagg shield.

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

Well, I opted for a modeling knife over the Dremmel. The Drmmel would probably be too wide given I did not know how the screen would react.

The 900's screen is a soft plastic...it's not like I'm cutting diamonds, or splitting atoms. However, it really just boils down to being patient and maintaining blade control. If it makes you feel better, I practiced "safe cutting"...I used a screen protector.

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

Do you want a phone that works well, or a phone that's in factory-fresh condition? I know which one I would prefer.

Now if only I could improve the battery life or GPS performance with a "hack" like this.

Regards,
Roger

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

Just a quick update...did a "little" more cutting, based on recent findings about the earpiece driver placement (near LED) from Flynx's thread:

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=54375

I can actually follow a conversation with the phone a few inches away from my ear now. I'd guesstimate a 30-40% volume gain.

- 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)..

http://home.comcast.net/~masterpiu/DSC00198.JPG


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

http://home.comcast.net/~masterpiu/DSC00197.JPG


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

http://home.comcast.net/~masterpiu/DSC00200.JPG

- 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.

http://home.comcast.net/~masterpiu/DSC00202.JPG

http://home.comcast.net/~masterpiu/DSC00207.JPG

The (2) angled cuts at the top of the last pic are just superficial to my screen protector...hopefully. :rolleyes: 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.

I'll eventually cover the hole with some speaker fabric that I have, which will be held in place by the new screen protector.

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

Are you out of your mind by doing this to your phone?
Why did you not try to disamble it at first and then cut it with at least a professional cutting tool/machine??

This guy is a maniac! who is with me? :D

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

Hey, no problem. He has a screen protector on his screen!!! :D

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

Re-assembling my first 900 was a pain, and at this stage in my life, I don't have patience/time for things that are not important (getting the screen to line up properly).

Using a Dremmel is an unknown as far as how it will react when it his the cutting surface.

Using an pen knife, I have more control of the cutting depth, and it creates a cleaner cut (again, no patience/time this weekend).

Given Flynx's pics, there was nothing to "damage" using the more precise "knife".

The phone is not under lease, so it does not need to be returned to the dealer.

As a VoIP engineer, and owner of a full conrad-johnson tube system, I'm picky about my audio, found a resolution to my problem, and applied it.

;)

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

lol this looks horrible xD
Just insane :D

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

if anything, the op actually created a possible market for someone. maybe a 3rd party should make professionaly cut face plate replacement to maximize the ear piece volume. while i do think his resulting phone looks a bit hacked up, it is proof concept that the ear piece can be better utilised if the ear piece is placed in a larger/different location.

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

I did some research and found out where the microphone is located,

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

But that looks like the location of the earipiece, which would be the "opposite side" of where the opening for the microphone is currently located (based on the location of the lens for the front facing camera in that pic).

Re: Has anyone "widened" the cutout for the earpiece?
 

That's not the mic, its the speaker.

And its only connected to two of the four contact points circled.

I have no idea what the other two contact points were for. I didn't see anything connecting to them.

The mic is on the other half of the phone (keyboard section, not screen section).

CarstenDutch - where did you find that pic?