A number of T616 owners (me included) have noticed that some calls made through HFL have a 'crackling' or severe distortion problem. A few weeks ago, I met mobilezen (another member on this forum) and he upgraded my T616 to firmware revision R1B027. I have not had one distorted call since the update. You can PM mobilzen and make arrangements to do the update. I was able to watch him do the upgrade, and he defintely had the 'incantations' memorized (turn off phone, remove battery, connect cable, insert battery, ...)

Note: I have no business or personal relationship with him other than being a happy customer.

 

Mine has been pretty good, but I'm willing to try to improve it if it is a simple fix. Now is the method something for us do it yourself guys, or must it be done by a Tech for a fee?

 

You need a cable and special software. Also, mobilzen told me that the phone is very picky about the sequence of connecting the cable and applying power. I would recommend just sending it in.

 

I have met mobilezen as well during my trip to TX, good guy and trustworthy

 

I just recently bought my T616 and checking the SW Info, I already have firmware R1B027. However, I still have the crackling problem.

To be fair, it's not really that bad and I only notice it if I have the volume turned up high.

 

The method for upgrading firmware involves a couple items. Data cable, firmware, software, and some phone know-how. To obtain the first two, I would not recommend for the lighthearted. I felt like I had to walk across the path of hot coals, then jump through firery hoops and lay on the bed of spikes just to obtain the necessary items... The process of upgrading is a lot less painful than what I mentioned about but one wrong move or an "oops, I forgot this step" could destroy the main board on the phone.

sfintel Thank you. It was awesome meeting a fellow acura-tl member and sitting in your car solidified my feelings for what may be the beginning of another project for me. Your technical knowledge of RF, signal stability and arm chips made me do a bit more research and thus heading towards that direction with my career.

cTLgo Nice meeting you too...wrong place though... Remember Taco Bueno > Mi Cocina. Keep that in mind next time you come into town.


To everybody. I can also do T610, T616, Z600, T68i and many other Sony Ericsson phones. (unfortunately P800 is excluded). I'm working on getting cables, firmware, and software for Siemens, Motorola, and Nokia.

 

If you got your phone with R1B027, I don't believe that you ever heard the 'crackling' I'm referring to. Even some wired calls will have overmodulation distortion. The 'crackling' was substantally worse at all volumes.

 

You're probably right. The distortion I hear sounds like the distortion that occurs when you record a sound source with the gain set too high.

When I turn the volume down, the distortion disappears for the most part. The problem is that when driving over 70 mph on the freeways, road and wind noise are too loud and I can't hear the conversation well enough. So, I *have* to turn up the volume and then then I hear the distortion.

Also, this occurs for *all* calls, not just some. Ah well. Still wouldn't trade mine for a V66 or 3650. I mean, I have to use it of my TL occasionally as well. =)

 

I too had a recently manufactured phone that had severe crackling at every volume setting. This weekend I went to Best Buy and swapped my phone for a newer phone (after week 45 build date) and the crackling is now completely gone. I know the firmware plays a part in the "echo issue", but I am not too sure that a firmware upgrade is the cure-all for the members that are experiencing this problem.

Funny thing is, EVERY Bluetooth headset I have tried with the my first phone has had the same crackling problem. I am sure whatever it was is directly related to the issue I was having with my TL.

Good luck!

Stu E.

P.S. Thanks to all of the members for all of the information this site has to offer. I just picked up my car and couldn't be happier!

04 Satin Siver/Ebony/6MT

 

My understanding is that the firmware also increases range. I got my unlocked T616 off ebay and it already had the new firmware so I don't know what the difference is...but besides the crackling fix, you may see better range too.

 

moblizen what do you charge for firmware update?

 

$35 + to and from shipping.

 

My phone also has the latest firmware, but I still get annoying crackling. How do I determine the build date? I'm thinking about returning the T616 to the AT&T store for a swap.

Thanks,
DJ

 

http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76975

Reference the thread above. I think with the firmware that I have compared to cingular/at&t's is the customization version is different. Hmm...still doing research on this one though... to be continued