Nexus 4 making strange noise

[superkruz]

Anyone else has a Nexus 4 that randomly makes a strange notification-like sound? Mine did and after searching high and low I established it was my transit card that caused it. Every time the card came close to the rear of the phone it happened - obviously as the phone tries to communicate with the card via NFC. Turning the NFC function off (or ensuring the card doesn't get close to the phone) solved the problem. Do this by going to Settings>More and uncheck the NFC option. Obviously any other card/device that works with a proximity sensor (like an access card at work) would have a similar effect.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central, and thanks for that tip!

 

[pashos24]

Anyone else has a Nexus 4 that randomly makes a strange notification-like sound? Mine did and after searching high and low I established it was my transit card that caused it. Every time the card came close to the rear of the phone it happened - obviously as the phone tries to communicate with the card via NFC. Turning the NFC function off (or ensuring the card doesn't get close to the phone) solved the problem. Do this by going to Settings>More and uncheck the NFC option. Obviously any other card/device that works with a proximity sensor (like an access card at work) would have a similar effect.

Thank you...I have had the same problem ever since I put a wallet case on my phone and it was the biggest nuisance now I know the problem and I now know there was nothing wrong with my phone

 

[James Chapple]

THANK YOU! I could not work this out for the life of me! My phone case has a card holder and it makes my phone constantly cherp-away.

 

[Samantha Zawistowski]

I was going mad trying to figure out what it was! I closed all my apps and it was still doing it. Thank you, you just saved my sanity

 

[Meviha]

Thanks so much! This was making me crazy - turns out it was my student ID in my wallet case.

 

[gorillaglassman]

Just found this thread after googling "Nexus 5 keeps making noise". I've switched off NFC, but I don't see how it can be that. I don't have any access cards in my wallet. Are you saying the magnetic stripes of credit cards are also able to set it off? Anyway, hopefully it will stop doing it. It's only done it twice so far, but it's pretty annoying. On both occasions, it happened when I left my house where it's connected to the wifi, and then came back after an hour or so. :-\

 

[N4Newbie]

Many types of cards have NFC chips in them; employee access cards, some bank/credit cards (especially outside the US), parking lot gate cards, etc. I believe even some modern automobile key fobs (such as Audi) as well.

But, no, not the simple mag stripe type (unless they also contain an NFC chip).

 

[belboschi]

Many types of cards have NFC chips in them; employee access cards, some bank/credit cards (especially outside the US), parking lot gate cards, etc. I believe even some modern automobile key fobs (such as Audi) as well.

But, no, not the simple mag stripe type (unless they also contain an NFC chip).

 

[belboschi]

Amazing. Thank you so much for posting this. I got a new phone case which has card holder sleeves in it. It was my car2go card that was activating the noise. I thought my phone had a virus or something. The weird thing is that it would somehow launch the airplay app too.

 

[Pierre Martin]

have reported the same strange notification sound on my Nexus 5. I thought it was hacked.
hopefully found this info. I've just made a test with a Paiement card with a chipset and with the NFC enabled, touching the chip of the card and the phone and the NFC audio notification began to be crazy !!!

 

[akf2000]

Thank you from 2015!! I goggled this issue and found this thread, in my case it was an Oyster card (London transit) in one of the slots of my folio case for my nexus 6. Only happens when I flip the front over of course. I was a bit worried there!

 

[Crow1336]

It happens with some library books too.

 

[Andrea Jeanett]

Thank you !!!
It was from my metro pass card

-Nexus 6 user

 

[Ludvigos]

Haha! I had this problem for over a year with my Nexus 5 and thought it was an error on my mobile. Now I bought a Nexus 6 and the problem persisted. Thank you for this great tip!

 

[xlovelyvalx]

Merci merci merci!!

 

[Neicey_01]

Three years later and this tip is still saving people like myself. I spent almost 3 hours on the phone with my service provider just trying to figure out this strange noise. They concluded that I would have to get a new device. I decided to Google this issue and thank God I did. You are a genius. Thanks so much. Lol.

 

[Startree]

Four years later, and this tip is still saving human sanity. Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the time to tell others about the problem!

I actually signed up here just to say thanks.

As you said, the same problem potentially exists on other NFC-enabled devices; in this case it was my elderly mother's Samsung S5 that bleeped all day, day after day, with no source of the sound in sight anywhere in the visual user interface. NFC has now been turned off on the phone, and a wonderful Christmas silence has descended over all of us. She and the entire family sends their thanks too!