LG G3 volume control with mind of its own

[AC Question]

Hi there

Since shortly after I got the LG G3, every time I attach a headset with volume controls (e.g. the headphones that came in the box, or a set of A-Jays 4), the device periodically automatically turns the volume down. I can actually see the volume scrolling downwards. I can turn it back up, but it immediately turns it back down - we actually get into some sort of battle, where it's trying to turn the volume down, even as I'm pushing the "up" button. This turns music to nil and ringtone to nil, depending on what's active at the time. It looks like a ghost is pressing the volume button down. It stops happening if I disconnect headphones, or attach a set of headphones with no volume controls. Has happened with 2 different headsets, so seems more like a device glitch than the headset.

I use my phone at the gym - so I thought it might have been sweat getting into either the headphone socket, or into the microphone/volume part of the headset. But strange for it to happen with two different headsets.

It doesn't happen immediately - with both sets of headsets it took 3 or 4 times using them before it started happening.

I haven't seen this reported about the G3 before - so possibly not a known bug?

 

[Popehigh562797]

I'm having the same problem.. I'm not sure what's going on :/ but it's REALLY irritating.. Maybe we could try restoring the phone to factory state.. might help. who knows. I might try taking it to the at&t store and asking them what's going on, but honestly i feel like it might just be a software glitch. I also use my phone at the gym btw.

 

[harbour12]

Hi Popehigh. I'm kind of pleased it's not just me with the problem... Have you had any success with any fixes? I bought my handset in the US but I live in the UK, so my chances of any sort of support from the retailer are slim.

I have since installed the Volume Locker app - which should in theory lock the volume in place. It didn't work particularly well on the first attempt, but i've now changed the settings so that it returns the volume to preset levels after 3 seconds. Will see if that works. It's a bit annoying to have to switch the app on and off just to keep control of volume. And sometimes I actually want to change the volume. So it's very much a workaround, not a solution.

 

[Popehigh562797]

Well, fortunately for me, I have had luck in fixing it and I quickly was able to fix it. Firstly, you could try clearing the ram on your device by installing a third party app. If that doesn't work out for you, then try installing Soundabout on the app store. Basically the app just lets you tell your device what youre using your audio jack for. try going into the settings and tampering with it a bit. Honestly, though, clearing the ram is what did it for me. Try it and let me know! Otherwise, I'll try to help you out a bit since I know how frustrating it can be to not have a fully functional device.

 

[Katipo]

I'm having the same problem. 3 different headsets now. I threw the first one away as it was a bit older and I thought it was faulty. Apparently it wasn't.
Problem seems to kick in after using the headsets for about 2-3 weeks. I notice when it does happen that I can't use the button on the microphone to control the music player or answer calls etc.
When I awap the headset over to an S4 it works fine. When I plug in a new handset I haven't used before, that works fine too. Then go back to an old one, and it doesn't work.
I tried a Soundabout type of program, and that didn't help even a little bit. Really annoying.

 

[harbour12]

Volume Locker app wasn't a great help. It basically allows the volume to change and then returns it to a preset level. So the volume just bounces to nil and back to full volume every second. So not a very helpful workaround.

I emailed LG, and their response was that it was probably a software problem, which could be fixed by a hard reset. They said though that it could also have been dust in the mic port, so suggested I give it a good blow to get any dust out. I decided to do this before going through the annoyance of resetting. I got a can of compressed air and gave it a few quick blasts. Since then (5 days and counting) the problem has not appeared. So I'd suggest that as a potential fix. No doubt tomorrow it will be back to its bad old ways, but for now, I'm hopeful...

 

[harbour12]

An update to all: Getting rid of dust from the headphone jack did, well, jack. The problem continues to happen periodically. I find that if I swap to a different set of headphones the problem goes away, and then a week or so later I can return to the other headphones. Not a particularly great solution.

Volume Locker app is also a waste of time - as described above.

I found Soundabout to not help at all.

I have not tried the options to factory reset or to "clear the RAM" (the first would be annoying as have to load all the apps again, and I just don't know what the second actually means...)

One app that did help is Persist. Persist allows you to lock volume for specific purposes, e.g. for the phone volume, media, notifications etc - all separately. It properly locks them - so that when your headphones start trying to take over, the volume does not shift at all. And then the Persist audio settings show up on your Android notification bar - so that if you want to enable or disable the lock, you just need to swipe down from the notification bar and just click on a little padlock - and once unlocked, you can quickly reset the volume level for that audio source. I'd say that it's about as least fiddly a solution as possible.

The only side effects (not sure if related or not) are: (1) in certain apps (e.g. Spades for example) I get a pop-up message telling me that my "media audio settings" should be changed because the app does not recognise the headset. This message comes up whenever I'm playing music and playing the game on the app at the same time. The message goes away after a few seconds - a minor irritant only. NB - I tried to access my "media audio settings" - there is no such thing on the phone's settings menu. (2) I can no longer skip tracks or control volume using the LG headphones that came with the phone. Not sure if that's a problem caused by the phone, by Persist, or by the headphones. It's quite annoying - because effectively what it means is that i may as well get rid of the headset completely and just use some basic headphones instead. My long term solution will probably be to get a smartwatch that allows me to skip tracks (and hopefully control volume).

So if anyone still has this problem, I suggest a factory reset if you've just bought the phone, and otherwise download Persist.

 

[Dustin Martin2]

This has happened to me recently, it only started happening after the update. It gets quit anoying.

 

[Dustin Martin2]

Thanks for that app persist. I forgot your name, but I'd like to say thanks. It actually worked. Thank you

 

[Anedgarallenpoet]

Hello yes, everyone's talking about with headsets and head phones, etc., but i seem to be having this problem with and without a headset. At the most inconvenient of times the volume would shut off when im using the device speaker, or a pair of headphones, quality or not. Its annoying when trying to listen to music while working on chores and other things at home, as well as trying to play piano tiles 2 and the audio shuts off in the middle of a song... Is this something verison or any other person's service provider can fix?

 

[Dibyajit Roy]

Hello Guys.

I had the same problem.

I had tried with separate headsets but same problem.

For me , Volume control app from play store worked.

I preset my level of volume for each activity like music, calls, radio etc.

and finally locked the settings.

Now my headset cannot change the level of volume.

Regards

 

[Chyija]

Thanks for all great tips. I too have been having the same problem. Mine was with my Bluetooth that I use everyday at home as well as driving as I'm always doing some, "all hands on project"! My problem seems to have started with an update as well but can't be sure....I pay extra for extra security, virus, storage issues, etc..so it's cleaned quit often but it hasn't fixed this, so I'll try that app suggestion. I'm glad not alone.

 

[jglow7]

I'm having a similar problem with my new LG Stylo 3 volume. It just goes silent on its own, no headphones or anything, it just happens. My phone will lock after I'm finished using it- and when I wake it up- lo and behold THE volume is SILENT again! VERY frustrating, and I'm noticing a few other idiosyncrasis with this phone.

 

[TedinTO]

I too have this problem (with my LG G4).

This is my first Android phone; and this experience is not making me love them any more.

I tried the Volume Control app to no effect - and then I uninstalled it to get rid of the stupid ads that came with it.

Using a set of headphones that HAVE no volume control of their own appeared to address the problem; but I will post again if that changes.

 

[Dee Specialist]

I turned off my google assistant seems to have stopped since than.

 

[Rukbat]

Also be aware - there are different headset connections, even more than just Apple and Android (one earphone doesn't always work well with the other phone) - if one of the volume button connections in the earphone wiring is grounded as far as the other phone is concerned, the phone will keep "pushing" the volume in that direction. Make sure your earphone was made for an Android phone. (Having the LG-supplied earphone do it is strange unless they got a whole shipment of bad earphones or one earphone had a short.)

 

[dckushin]

I believe that I have found the solution to anyone experiencing this issue on an Android device. I have an LG Phoenix 4, and I am almost certain that this issue is due to limited storage and/or RAM. My phone was absolutely incorrigible, instantly turning the volume to zero whenever I turned it up. It even dominated any and all volume lockers almost instantly. All I had to simply do to fix this issue was delete a single medium-sized app, and everything returned to normal. If this alone does not work you may need to clear some RAM as well, but hopefully just the app will fix it. I hope that at least someone can benefit from all my troubles and can swiftly fix this same issue.

 

[pia alicia pilar sojourner]

I am having this problem only eith. My media slider I don't see it happen but every single time the screen goes black my media slider automatically goes all the way down ti silent it is freakubg maddening I like to lusten to meditation or soothing music to get to sleep however I cannot listen to amything for mote than a minute cause I have to keep yurming the damn volume back up so it is impossible to get a relaxed state. I feel like this only started happening recently. I really do not want to do a freakn factory reset is there anyway I can fix this without having to do that.

 

[B. Diddy]

Do you also have an LG G3? Does this happen in Safe Mode as well?