Motorola G7 Plus Stereo Speaker Issue

Hi all.

I've recently purchased a Motorola G7 plus, and have been pretty darn happy with it. These appear to be a popular phone on Ozbargain with all the deals for them recently and the rave reviews.

I have noticed over the past couple of days, that the speaker volume suddenly sucks. The phone has stereo speakers, but now the speaker at the top of the phone is VERY quiet compared to the bottom one. (is maybe 15-20% of the volume).

Im hoping that if anyone has one of these phones, they'd be able to do a quick test to confirm whether both speakers play at the same volume, or if the bottom speaker is the only one that does anything. Could be anything, but a good test is the standard 'alarm' ringtone that comes with the phone called "oxygen".

Phone is still within DOA period, so hopefully I can figure this out before it finishes. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

Comments

  • Never heard of them

  • Return it.

  • +2

    I'm still on a g5. Not sure if the speaker tech is the same as s7 but here's my story. One morning I got a small dab of tomato sauce on my speaker and it lost most of its volume; like its diaphragm was now stuck. I licked it and have done numerous other cleaning operations but it's never been the same again.

    So maybe you just have some dirt or other foreign material stuck in there - a small amount seems to do the job of fouling it well.

  • +1

    I'm pretty sure it doesn't have stereo speakers.

    If you want a phone that does, you need to look at the Razer Phone 1/2, ASUS RoG Phone 1/2, Google Pixel 2/3 XL, Sony Xperia X/Z1, ZTE Axon 7, Nubia RedMagic 3/Pro, Xiaomi BlackShark 2/Pro. It has a monospeaker that is aided by an earpiece, so its more like a "1.1 speaker" or maybe even a "1.5 speaker" setup. What I'm saying is, don't expect much from the earpiece.

    However, if you noticed the speaker performance was decent when you first got it, and now the speaker performance is noticeably lower/worse… then you can chalk it up to either a bad software update, drop/damage to the component, or dirt buildup affecting the component. Since you have the option, maybe apply to have it exchanged for a different unit… it might be bad QC control after all.

    • Cheers for trying to diagnose it. It's honestly hugely appreciated.

      The lower models in the G7 family of phones don't have stereo speakers, only the G7 plus does (its on the spec sheet as dual stereo speakers tuned by Dolby).

      I've been on the phone with Motorola (Lenovo) today who have determined there is a fault with the device and have given me the OK to return it. Hopefully it's not from a bad software update, because if that's the case, then the replacement will have the same problem.

      • +1

        Yeah, I just wanted to clarify that the "stereo speaker" they list is only marketing jargon. Or in other words, they lied to you.

        The other devices I listed, they actually have two individual loudspeakers, and can process sounds into a Left-Channel and Right-Channel. Phones which use the earpiece use it "enhance" the sound, but it itself, is not an individual loudspeaker and cannot produce a single channel of sound. It can only produce a narrow range, at a narrow volume, which is usually to emit a high-frequency at low-volume, sort of like a Tweeter and the opposite of a Subwoofer.

        Anyways, I'm happy to hear that they'll do a phone swap with you. I doubt it is a bad software update, that's unlikely, but it could be possible. Most likely it was a bad batch/QC and they are rectifying it for you…. which is unusual for Lenovo customer support based on reviews online.

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