A Quick Fix For Speaker Buzz Caused By Your Mobile Phone
Yesterday I was working on an RFP, trying to focus on what I was doing, typing away and listening to some pretty relaxed music. Something was seriously distracting me, it was the horrid sound of interference coming through my computer speakers about once a minute thanks to the close proximity of my iPhone. I’ve been putting up with this problem for a long time, but I never checked into it. I finally tweeted my frustration, and my problem was solved right away. The solution was much easier than I anticipated.
Tin foil. UPDATE: I am constantly being corrected…apparently it isn’t made of tin anymore, rather aluminum. You get the idea though, go get some Reynold’s Wrap.
It seems the GSM phones (AT&T, my carrier, uses GSM) work on a frequency that interferes with many electronic products, and you hear this interference most often in speakers (near your TV, on your computer or in your car). Both fxmixer and jmccartie suggested I use tinfoil to fix the problem, and fxmixer even linked me to this article over on bub.blicio.us. Bravo! I cut out a medium sized piece of tinfoil, folded it a couple of times and put it on my desk near my speakers. I then place my iPhone on it and…instant success! This actually works, resting my iPhone on a square of tinfoil cuts out all interference!
So there you are, friends. If you are going crazy with speaker interference like I was, your solution is just a square of tinfoil away.
Thanks for the tip!!
Will it work with my tin-foil hat too?
awesome…so, this explains it…my mom has the same phone, but never gets the interference..and when my phone made that noise… she seemed so surprised. I thought it was all mobile phones…but I am on ATT and she in on Nextel…so now the mystery is solved.
using tinfoil is so retro…reminds me of putting tin foil on the end of a my tv antenna to get better reception (does that date me?)
@syd…you may be dating yourself with that reference, but I’m dating myself by knowing what you are talking about!
Dude!!! You just gave me back 5 years on the end of my life. What an annoying problem you just fixed, or found out how to fix. I just emailed everyone I know this page. Keep rocking the free world!
Great tip. I’ve always wondered what caused this but since my phone never had a problem, I never looked into it.
Another solution is an anti-static bag used the same as the aluminum foil but much more durable. Try it. To read about this solution or to find an anti-static bag go to http://www.stopthebuzzin.com
Excellent! Sometimes the speakers on my alarm freak out with noise/static when I get an early text or reminder to my iPhone, waking me up prematurely. I will surely grab some tin (aka aluminum) foil and put it on my nightstand. (we’ll see how long it sits there before my wife throws it away)