iPhone anti-interference shield puts an end to buzzing speakers
by Donald Melanson 
posted Jun 25th 2008 at 5:24PM
As anyone with an iPhone and some unshielded speakers is likely well aware, the two don't exactly get along all that well together when they're in close proximity, with the fight for your desk's air space often resulting in an annoying buzzing sound. Now, one enterprising individual has thankfully come up with a solution in the form of the iPhone anti-interference shield, which consists of nothing more than a carefully cut Red Bull can and some always-handy double stick tape. The shield's creator does warn that there could possibly be some hindrance to your reception, however, although that apparently hasn't been noticeable so far. Of course, then shield would no doubt be just as effective with another 2G GSM phone, and you can probably find a suitable substitute for the Red Bull can if its not to your taste either.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brandon @ Jun 25th 2008 6:23PM
Yessss, I hate when my Blackberry does that...
Bideep bup bideep bup crap.
greenlight @ Jun 25th 2008 6:44PM
Haha, GSM interference. Haven't heard that since I got a 3G phone years ago...
Dean @ Jun 25th 2008 7:49PM
I've never heard GSM interference on my iPhone... and being my first GSM phone and all, I was a little worried about it. I guess Mac speakers are shielded?
Peter F @ Jun 26th 2008 11:25AM
I really wish my Kaiser had this. In our squad cars, I put my phone on top of the siren box. Is fine until I pull up some data or get a phone call. HOLY COW, loud static from hell.
cgallaty @ Jun 26th 2008 2:40PM
A little science experiment for anyone with an unlocked phone and both ATT and T-Mo sims to play with. There is *something* with the way that ATT towers talk to the phones (or vise versa) that causes a regular sh1t storm of EM interference. It will set off anything speakerish near by in to a fit of buzzing an popping every so often. Pop out the ATT sim, drop in the T-Mo, wait, nothing. It was an unlocked GSM Treo that I first noticed this with, but I've had Nokia's behave the same.
I even once had an incident where the wife was having a party, I was called in as the speakers on the keyboard (i.e. the musical kind) were popping and I should fix it. I stated that one of the people in the room had an ATT cell on her and sure enough, one was produced. (So yes, this knowledge can be fun at parties!)
I have not played with a Jailbroke iPhone, but my guess is that people with an iPhone and a T-Mo sim have never had an issue with this.
Anyone care to confirm this and post for the rest of us?
netgarou @ Jun 27th 2008 2:26PM
It's unacceptable that the FCC approved the GSM spec given that it does this. I'm not sure, but it would seem to be another case of corporate capitulation by our government agencies. The FCC is in charge of managing frequency usage to prevent interference, and they obviously failed big (and obviously) with the GSM+speaker issue.
cgallaty: I had a Tmo Nokia and it would also do the speaker buzz in my car. I would say that your theory is false. Perhaps it is just that model that works better when you swap the SIM?
Steve @ Jul 22nd 2008 1:01AM
Well I just got my iPhone3G and all i can say is that it makes a HELL of a lot more noise then my 3G Blackjack ever made, which was also with AT&T. Personally, I think there is some kind of design flaw in these iPhones. I mean the Blackjack occasionally made a bit of noise, but for the most part I could leave it sitting on my desk and no problem. With my iphone I have to get up and get about 8 feet away from my desk for the noises to stop. I have noticed its a lot worse when I have turned off 3G (to save battery). So something about edge must be worse.
This guy seems to think this will help, I haven't tried it: http://www.50leaves.com/apple/apple-hardware/how-to-stop-iphone-interferance-in-speakers/