cell phone speaker checking


In cell phones, you hear the voice of the calling person in your ears through the speaker. The speaker converts electrical signal into voice. It is also called an earpiece. It will always be on the top, inside a cell phone. If it becomes faulty, you will not be able to hear the voice of the calling person during a call. In such cases you can turn on the loud speaker as a temporary relief! The method to check it is the same for any brand or model be it an iPhone, a Samsung Galaxy, a Sony Xperia or a Nokia. You can check it with either a digital or an analog multimeter, but most technicains today use digital multimeters as analog ones are outdated.



Steps to check speaker of a cell phone

  1. Switch off the cell phone and dismantle it carefully. If you do not know how to dismantle your cell phone or tablet, you can watch videos of its dis-assembly procedure on Youtube!
  2. Now remove the speaker which is located on the top. It will be below the top opening on the panel from where the voice during a call comes out. Do not remove the loud speaker (ringer)by mistake.  The ringer is a different part and it looks almost the same like a speaker. But it is the part through which you hear ringtone and music. In some low end models, the speaker as a ringer also and hence in such models, there wont be a separate ringer.
  3. Now keep the multimeter on continuity setting and touch the tip of the 2 probes (one is red and the other black) on any 2 terminals of the speaker.
  4. If you hear a beep sound, the speaker is OK. In some multimeters and speakers, instead of beep sound, you will see a reading between 25 to 45. The speaker is good and working even if you get a reading between this range. And if you do not hear beep sound and there is no reading then your speaker is faulty.


Read How to use multimeter in cell phone repairs


Second method to check speaker


The other option to test or check the speaker of a mobile phone or a tablet is to put it in any other same working model (or a handset with the same size speaker) and check if its working in it. If its not working, its faulty. It’s as simple as that!


Note: If your speaker is ok and still you are not able to hear the calling persons sound, check if it connecting properly with the PCB. Clean its contact points on the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) with an eraser. If the speaker is a soldered one, you will have to check if its soldered properly. If its not, resolder it properly. Also try replacing with a new one. In some models, the speakers come as an assembly unit. In such models, you will have to replace the entire unit. Still if the fault doesn’t go, there may be a complicated hardware problem in the PCB. It will either be due to a broken track supplying voltage to the speaker or due to a faulty IC. You will have to repair it by following schematic diagrams.


Now don’t forget to reassemble your phone! Just joking!


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