iPhone 4 Sound Issue - Ringtones Works, Text Tone Doesn't Work

RINGTONES WORK, TEXT TONES DON'T WORK ON IPHONE 4 - HERE'S WHY

You own an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S and your ringtones function properly, but your text tones are silent. Plus you notice that your volume buttons don't work, and the sound icon that pops up does not show the volume level changing when depressing the buttons.

You might also notice that videos and music have no sound, along with the text tones. A hard reset does nothing, neither does a full reset. The only way you have sound, otherwise, is by using your headphones. It's a maddening experience.

I discovered this problem when refurbishing broken iPhone 4 devices, on both Verizon and AT&T models. I took to the forums, and found numerous posts about the problem, and solutions that don't work. But then I discovered the source of the problem.

The reason the iPhone 4 devices malfunction in this way is due to a dirty dock connector. Several users reported that if you carefully clean the dock connector with a needle and pick out all of the dirt and lint, you can renew the sound. Apparently some of the leads on the dock connector will prevent the sound from functioning properly when gummed up.

But this doesn't always work. Others reported that cleaning the dock connector with a flat sharp device and a cleaning cloth dampened with alcohol will yield better results. I tried this, and it worked... for ten minutes. I repeated this three times, and it only ended up functioning properly for minutes each time. The last time that I cleaned the leads on the connector, I wasn't able to get the sound working right again.

The only true solution to solving this problem is to replace the dock connector entirely. It is said that this is an "easy fix" that can be done in 15 minutes, but that is the farthest thing from the truth if you are not an experienced iPhone repair technician. I woulnd't recommend that anyone disassemble an iPhone unless they had prior experience.

What really caught my eye was how Apple handled this situation when it first started to pop up. As usual, it is met with denial, or trivialized by the company. But when pressed, Apple would end up completely replacing the devices rather than to acknowledge the fact that it is a common issue.

I've noticed that this is the normal way Apple handles common issues, which was the case with iPhone 4 power buttons sticking and failing to work. When a friend first brought an iPhone 4 to me with this issue, we were able to press Apple to replace the device even though it was out of warranty. I had this happen in 3 more instances.

If you have an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S and you're experiencing this sound dropping issue, your first course of action should be to ask to have the device replaced if you purchased it within the last 2 years.I must add that I have read several instances of this issue occuring with the iPhone 5 also.

My advice to you: the only solution that will not leave you pulling your hair out or throwing your phone across the room is to have the dock connector replaced.

I hope this post aleviates the frustration to anyone that has come across this issue, and best of luck having your dock connector replaced.

Carlton Flowers
iPhone Whistle Blower

Samsung Galaxy 4S Information - Hot Off The Press!

THE SAMSUNG GALAXY 4S AND WHY THERE IS NEWS

You either reached this site because you are an avid, rabid Carlton Zone Blog fan, or you were searching for the Samsung Galaxy 4S in vein. But lucky for you, this site is the only "legitimate" search result for the 300,000 people looking for this non-existent phone each and every month.

It's halfway comical, and also half marketing success story on behalf of Apple. While you searchers were really wanting to find more information on the up-and-coming Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone, you mindlessly used Apple's crusty old nomenclature for their boring 5th generation device.

When I see "4S" coupled with "Samsung Galaxy", it makes me cringe. Why? Because it dredges up the frustrating, painful memories that I have stuck in my mind from the days of owning an iPhone 4.

Fortunately for me, I was liberated on October 24th, 2012 when I purchased my Samsung Galaxy S2, which I now own and love.

But back to the topic at hand... hats off to Apple for brainwashing at least 300,000 people per month and causing them to mindlessly search for the vaporware device listed in the title. My bet is that the searchers are current cult members who are trying to escape the stronghold Apple has on their minds.

Fear not, brainwashed Apple refugees, for you have not actually found this site in vein. You have reached the promised land of Android, and I will lead you to the light. Crank back a few stories and start to read what I have provided about the rumors surrounding your smartphone savior, the Samsung Galaxy S4.

Carlton Flowers
Smartphone Prophet

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3 Stupid-Simple Things Keeping Me From The iPhone

THE 3 SLAP-YOUR-HEAD SIMPLE THINGS APPLE REFUSES TO GIVE ME

It has been a year and a quarter since I defected from the Walled Garden of Apple. I traded in my iPhone 4 to get a Samsung Galaxy S2, which I'm still using.

I've got a backup iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch 4th Gen for WiFi use, but Android is my main operating environment experience.

If I counted everything, there would be quite a laundry list of things that Apple seems to refuse to give me to make me happy (it's all about me).

But looking back, I would have stayed if I could just get three stupid-simple things. I'll share them with you now.

Thing 1 - A Back Button

When running an app that doesn't have an on-screen back button, the only thing you can do to go back a step is to hit the home button and re-enter the app. To me, that is a huge waste of time, even though it only takes a moment. But how simple is the solution?

I love my back button on my Android device, and now I can't live without it. I constantly use the back button to backtrack though my screen taps, especially on Facebook. No on-screen back button on the app? No problem. I have my Android soft button always there waiting for me to give the command to "back that thang up".

Thing 2 - Text Reflow

This is the most maddening of all things that Apple had deprived me of. It's quite possibly one of my most favorite features of Android devies. But for whatever reason, Apple prefers to remain hard-headed about this, turning a deaf ear to the many inquiries about adding this capability to the Safari browser.

When I'm using Opera on my Android device, I can zoon in on text to make it bigger. My browser will re-flow the text, wrapping it downward so all I have to do is scroll down to read. With my old trusty iPhone, I get to pan sideways to read sentences that fly off the right side when you zoom in. I'd rather bang my head up against a brick wall than pan side to side trying to read an article on a smartphone.

Thing 3 - Keyboard Choices

Even though I absolutely love the perfect layout of the iPhone's keyboard, I want variety. Apple has no plans to provide that, when it comes to text input. Don't hold your breath waiting for cool things like Swype for an iPhone. Because it ain't gonna happen.

When I'm on my Android device, I switch from my iPhone Clone keyboard to Swype, then Swiftkey, and more. Once I burn out on a particular keyboard and layout, I  can move to a completely different keyboard that allows me to keep my mind fresh.

I have found my time period to get sick of a particular keyboard is about a week. After that, I have to move to a different style of keyboard to freshen my mind and cut down on typos. It's completely a mental thing, but I seriously enjoy the choices for text entry on Android devices.

So there you have it. Sure, there are 10 or 15 more things I could drone on about. But these three stupid simple things would have been enough for me to tolerate the balance of other things I would have had to give up hope on.

How do you feel about your iDevice? Have you ever thought about these issues? Are you secretly desiring these things, hoping that Apple will some day bend? Or does it not cause you to lose a single minute of sleep? Toss your opinion into the hat in the Disqus comments section!

Carlton Flowers
Spurned/Burned Apple Fanboy

Want A Samsung Galaxy S2? Better Get It NOW

LAST CALL FOR SAMSUNG GALAXY 2 IPHONE CLONE

Folks, this is your last chance to buy the unbreakable version of the iPhone 4. It's called the Samsung Galaxy S2. It could be pulled from shelves in the near future.

After a recent landmark court case proved that the Samsung Galaxy S2 is in fact the iPhone 4S in an unbreakable case with a better display, Apple has decided to bench the superior version of their smartphone. This leaves consumers with the more fragile, smaller version of the iPhone 4S.

If you want to get your hands on the higher quality version that costs about $90 less than the original iPhone 4S, you better hit the link below to get your hands on one for as low as $10. It's still available from Amazon Wireless.

But seriously, my friends, I recommend buying the Samsung Galaxy S3 from AT&T first and foremost, then other carriers, versus the Galaxy S2. But if you don't have a need for the latest-greatest, the Galaxy S2 is an amazing smartphone to have at a great price.

Too bad banning the Galaxy S2 will only lead to stronger sales for the Galaxy S3 and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 2. But time will probably teach the best lesson.

UPDATE: Sorry, but it is GONE! Sadly, the Galaxy S2 is not for sale on Amazon any longer. But you can check out the great deals on the Galaxy S3 by clicking the links below.

Carlton Flowers
Deal Watcher

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Solid Proof That Apple Practices Mass Mind Control

UNDENIABLE PROOF THAT APPLE HAS PERFECTED MIND CONTROL

My wife: "Everybody's iPhones are cracking and breaking. They're always brining them to you to fix. How come mine isn't breaking? When is it gonna crack?"

Me: "Honey, you don't have an iPhone. That's why."

Wife: "Huh?"

Me: "You have a Samsung. That's why it hasn't broken."

Wife: "Oh."

There you have it, folks. Not only has Apple mind-washed everyone into thinking that every smartphone is an iPhone, but they've also mind-washed millions of people into buying expensive devices that break.

Plus they've figured out how to make them think it is normal to spend an extra $150 (even multiple times) to replace the fragile screens.

Carlton Flowers
Mass Apple Mind Control Buster

"Life-Proof" iPhone LifeJacket Case - Stupid, Or Super Smart?

IPHONE LIFEJACKET MAKES A POINT... AFTER THE INITIAL SHOCK

I was perusing the web and came across something that just struck me as plain stupid. It was the LifeProof "LifeJacket" iPhone case made for the iPhone 4/4S. My initial reaction? This is just plain dumb! But then I got to thinking about it...

First of all, whenever I see big, thick, ugly cases made for the iPhone 4S like the Otterbox, I just shake my head. Why in the world would you want to wrap a gorgeous, thin, sleek phone in a big ugly brick-like case? I've never been a fan of the Otterbox, nor have I ever been happy that an iPhone requires the need of such a monstrosity.

So when I saw the iPhone LifeJacket waterproof case by LifeProof, I just shook my head. Why in the world would someone want to put their iPhone in something that was even bigger and uglier than an Otterbox? But then I started to think about this...

I myself have submerged and nearly ruined an iPhone. I decided that I could not part with my beloved iPhone 3GS when I went on a 4-hour float trip. I put my iPhone in a Ziplock bag (yes, that was stupid) and thought it would survive the trip. Well, it didn't. The bag took on water, and I almost ruined my phone.

I also thought about how quickly I destroyed my iPhone 4 (within 3 months of purchase) and how devistated I was to stare at the ugly, shattered display. After breaking the device that I could not live without, I thought it would have been much better to have spent the extra $75 on an ugly Otterbox case rather than to stare at the horrid cracks running the length of the phone.

The bottom line? The iPhone is far to expensive and fragile of a device NOT to put it in something that can protect it. It is not a rugged device, and was not made to survive active life. Therefore, you have to protect your investment.

The LifeJacket looks like a joke, but it is shock-proof AND water-proof. If you're anything like me, water-proof is a great thing to have. I like to run, swim, bike, and play in the rain. I would much rather do all four of those things with my smartphone at my side than to do without. Therefore, the LifeJacket suddenly makes good sense.

If I still had an Apple iDevice, this is something I would probably consider buying. Fortunately for me, I'm no longer stuck in the world of super fragile smartphones as I now own a super-durable Samsung Galaxy S2. But I would highly recommend that people check out the LifeJacket before they drop their phone.

Furthermore, now that I have as much experience as I do in repairing iPhones, I can tell you that the quickest way to FUBAR your iPhone is to get it wet. There's no turning back once you burn out your backlight coil & IC chip.

If you're an active person and you own an iPhone, give this a look and protect your investment. You won't be sorry the first time it takes a dive in the toilet.

Carlton Flowers
iDevice Advisor

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The First Infallible iPhone 5 Design Prediction

THE CZ BLOG IPHONE 5 BOLD DESIGN PREDICTION IS HERE

With the release of the Apple iPhone 5 around the corner, it's time for me to make a bold prediction about the design that will stand above all. Here it is: All of the current iPhone 5 design predictions are 100% crap, and I can back that up.

No matter how much "proof" that the current prognosticators have, no matter how credible they may be, they're gonna be dead wrong when the actual device is released. Something we have learned over the years is that Apple has successfully guarded their product releases without fail.

Right now, all eyes are on the alleged iPhone 5 digitizer from China that is featured in a Youtube video being circulated around the net. The video shows a new screen that is the same exact width of the iPhone 4, but about a half an inch taller.

First of all, if this is the only modification we see of the iPhone 5, I would be sorely disappointed. Stretching out the digitizer only in the vertical direction would make no sense. That would mean changing the aspect ratio of the new device.

If you do that, none of the 1.7 bagillion apps currently available for download would work on the iPhone 5, requiring developers to rework their apps to fit the new dimensions. That's not going to happen, folks. Just because we see this fake mockup digitizer does ont guarantee that the odd proportions will end up on the next iPhone.

All we have to do in order to completely discount this garbage story is look back to the release of the iPhone 4S in 2011. How many times did we see stories released which outed iPhone 5 cases that had a new display size? I lost count.

They even went so far to say that entire container loads of new iPhone 5 cases were shipped to the US and stocked in carrier stores. The story sure was believable, but I don't think a single person actually saw a container of these vaporware cases.

Fast forward to the future, and the fake iPhone 5 digitizer with the vertically-stretched design. I call shenanigans. This is complete bunk. If Apple really does have a new bigger display about to hit us in the face, it's not going to be with a different aspect ratio. They will protect the integrity of their App Store products and make it as easy on developers as possible to make the new phone compatible.

So my bold prediction for the iPhone 5 is that it will not look like anything the insiders predict that it will be. I think we will all be in for a surprise, and the suspese will be tremendous. Circulate THIS around the net if you dare.

Carlton Flowers
iPhone 5 DeBunker