Chris:
With all due respect, I have to disagree. I myself have had interference and similar problems with the SOMA. While it is not apparent in all of your SOMA's(as you mentioned) it does occur commonly and while some units may do it and some may not, you do have a possible manufacturing problem as many units do have this problem. Of course the question is where that is can be tough to determine.
Please understand that in no way am I looking to insult the product, I like my SOMA, but I can say from significant experience in this field with a manufacturer (you would know the name if mentioned) that others competitors do not have this problem. I would highly recommend you look at the speaker's switch shielding and or components as this appears to be interfered with the iPhone cellular radio. The last statement of blaming the iPhone should not matter as your product main focus is to work with this device. While I appreciate the acknowledgment of this problem, Audyssey stands is in conflict of consumer best practices. I state this as I have seen much less then this cause manufactures costly situations.
If I may recommend, Audyseey needs to have a replacement/swap program in place that serves the consumer. While I have been offered to replace mine, I was told I would have to pay for the shipping which is ridicules when you have a know problem and the device is a day old.
Let's find a way to resolve and make Audyssey a real stand out in the marketplace.
Hi people,
Been mad with this issue which when worst when I switched from a IP4 to an IP4s with IOS 5. To sum up : crazy random starts while charging, crazy random pauses during playback, I was on the verge to drop the damn unit and change to a working dock like zep'. Which is a shame, since I quite enjoy SOMA's sound. But it seems I found a workaround : I plugged provided cable to dock's AUX input and SPK output of my desktop PC. FWIW, not a single drop since then, even with the computer shut off. My guess is the flaw comes from the hardware design and that a quick fix won't be easy to handle for Audyssey. Anyways, it worked for me for the time being, but I'm still waiting for a definitive solution. Regards.
While this may not be your situation ... I offer this up ... I had this problem all the time until I removed jailbreak ... And it never happened again ... Cheers
I recently purchased the SoMa and while it sounds great, I as well have the same problems. While my iPhone 4 is docked, the unit will pause or shut itself down (turning the play/pause button red). When placed into Airplane mode, it seems to not do this.
It appears the phone data (incoming) is conflicting with the play/pause button or some other interference internally with the unit that creates this action. Turning the Airplane mode off while in the dock made it stutter or pause over and over.
I have spent many years working for wireless cellular manufacturers and in the network field and can say that many SoMa users that have this problem are going through this problem to pause due to an interaction being set off by the phone that the speaker reacts by the way it acts.
The possible reason why some may not have the is problem ( I am guessing here) is better shielding or possible different design or manufacture of a board or some internal part.
The only way to correct this is a software update (if that is possible) or unit has to be swapped for a corrected manufactured replacement.
Thank you for your input. At this time there aren't any software or firmware updates for the Audio Dock. The intermittent playing/pausing is a known issue, and any customer experiencing the problem may contact me at ctrudeau@audyssey.com if they would like to try swapping the unit out for a new one as long as you are within the 1-year warranty.
I would like to add that I am also having this problem, and man is it terrifying when it does it in the middle of the night in my bedroom. I no longer use the SOMA as the great dock that it is because of this. Please fix.
Is it possible to open the thing up and just cut the connection to that sensor? Has anyone tried that?
I believe it is related to how the software handle the network signal changes especially from 2G to 3G. After I upgraded to iPhone 4S, the cause of the problem is clear. I will experience this problem when the network swtich to 2G. And as it tries to reconnect to 3G, it triggers the random on/ off. I can avoid this problem by simply switching to airplane mode ie stop all network connection. In addition, this problem also does not occur if you connect to the dock with bluetooth. So I sincerely hope Audyssey will take up my input and look into the software and fix the problem. It is a good sound system. I have upgraded my power cord to a US$120 cable.
@Jesse - We cannot recommend opening the unit up as there are high voltage lines that are accessible if the grills are removed. Also, it would void the 1-year warranty.
I am very sorry for the inconvenience this causes. If you would like to try swapping out the unit to see if that helps I would be more than happy to assist with that. Otherwise, I recommend putting your iPhone into Airplane mode at night when it is charging.
Cindy,
I don't think I have every heard of a quality company that actually will not address an issue like this with at least some** recommended "best practices"** on how to avoid this issue. As everyone is aware by now, swapping the unit does not resolve this issue. Also, the issue is not something that I would call "minor", but rather a "major" issue since it prevents me from using the device as it is intended to be used. I have mine in my office, on my desk at work, and I love what it is made to do, but due to the random "playing" I can't keep it on for convenience sake to listen to voicemails, use for phone calls, etc. I have been on countless phone calls and many important meetings when the unit just starts blasting music, much to the surprise of my clients/partners. For a $400 product, this issue is unacceptable and embarrassing for your company. Of course, if there was any pro-active approach from Audyssey with suggestions to avoid this issue, I would at least feel like there is a reason to stay loyal to the company since we are all human and mistakes happen. But as of now, i paid $400 for a product that does not work. The worst part is that your company just confirms that it doesn't work. I have literally never heard of such a pathetic and more ridiculous response for a company in the consumer products world. I hope your CEO will read this post since he must have some interest in the continual growth of the company. EVERY SINGLE user of this dock has the potential for this issue, but nobody knows what is causing it? How can your engineers design such a wonderful device, yet not be able to trouble shoot the cause? If I had time, I would bet you that I could figure it out eventually with a simple trial and error method.
Please forward this to your CEO today.
Thanks,
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
This issue is far from widespread and it most certainly does not affect the thousands of docks sold. It does happen on some and to the best of our understanding it is caused when the iPhone cell radio feels the need to increase its power. This can be due to reception or data coming in, but it's not easy to reproduce. The radio interference triggers the capacitive switch and the music starts to play. The percentage of docks that have this issue is a very small number and it is highly dependent on the local environment. Because this is caused by the iPhone radio there is little we can do other than disable the Play/Pause switch on the top of the unit.
I am having the same problem on a new unit. IS AUDYSSEY GOING TO ADRESS THIS WITH A SOFTWARE FIX OR DO i NEED TO RETURN TO AMAZON FOR A REFUND?
Chris:
I have 5 family members (brothers, uncles) who own this device ALL of them have the same issue. So seems statistcally impossible for the issue to be far from widespread.
First step is admission, if you want to address the issue.
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
I don't know much about addiction recovery but I do know one or two things about statistics. The issue seems to happen more with pre-iPhone 4 models (i.e. 3 and 3 GS) and the same dock may exhibit it in one location (e.g. home), but not another (e.g. office) even with the same phone. That would indicate an environmental issue as well including wifi traffic. I am just trying to convey how hard it is to find the root cause of the problem and to let you know that we are trying to figure out a fix.
The folks I know have iPhone 4s.
Thanks for your help
Hi!, Chris,
I have the same problem with my iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.
Actually the cause of the problem is clear : when the iPhone switches between 2G and 3G (due to fluctuation in signal strength) SOMA somehow trigger the Play/Stop function.
My 'solution' (works for half another now) is to switch off the iPhone Network/Automatic function.This is stop the iPhone from auto switching between networks.
Another proven 'solution' is to go into airplane mode but this will stop all incoming calls/sms/mails which is really not good.
I really hope Audyssey will get an engineer to look into what I have just mentioned and the fix could be a few lines of codes (depending how the software was written in the first place of course).
I have compared SOMA with many other docks that are higher in price and big in brands but SOMA outshine most if not all. It is a shame to let this bug bring down a good product and the brand.
Hope to hear the good news soon.
Thanks for this info. It is in line with our own observations that it has to do with changes in the signal strength. The fix, however, is not simple because we have no way of monitoring these changes in signal strength...
Chris, I have an iPhone 4S with the same problem. In an earlier post you say that "the percentage of docs that have this issue is a very small number", and in an earlier post Cindy offers to replacement doc to see if that solves the issue. I take from This that it is a doc issue and not an iPhone issue, and that a replacement may not have the issue. Please let me know how I can obtain a properly functioning replacement. Thanks.
Hi William, I responded to your other post as well. Please contact me directly at ctrudeau@audyssey.com. Thank you.
Chris, with due respect, I believe you don't need to monitor these changes.
I am writing this comment after I have just completed another test :
this problem can be avoided when my iPhone 4S is not docked but streaming via bluetooth.
I think this is a good starting point for the engineers to look into how and why the software behave differently under the same cellular signal strength fluctuations.
Good luck.
I just bought this and used it all of 5 minutes when I walked into the other room and it randomly started playing. No matter what I did, 10-15 minutes later it started playing. My phone is always set to 3G (so don't think that's the issue). I love the speaker otherwise, but if I can't doc my phone without the music going off it only full fills 50% of what I wanted it for. I have had a couple really good docs previously (not this brand) and never had this happen. Would be great if there was a solution.
Cindy,
Sorry for taking so long to reply - The state of the maching would always be similar to returning home after using the phone - calls/email/apps and then plug it into the Audyssey - itunes had not been used at all. That's what makes this puzzling is that we just didnt press pause and it starts playing. We primarily use Pandora for playing music, but when the music starts randomly it always plays music out of our itunes folder.
The Audyssey is sitting on a shelf about a foot from the floor and 2 feet from our TV - if that helps?
What I will try this week is when I dock the phone I will try your suggestion of putting it into standby mode. I will let you know what happens.
Thanks for your help and suggestions!
Update -
Pressing the play/pause sensor for 6 seconds is not a solution for us, as when it is in that mode the Iphone does not charge. If this was the only option we probably wouldnt dock the phone in the first place, which would solve our problem.
What we have found that works is to dock the phone, and turn the volume all the way down on the Audyssey. When the phone rings you can still here the ring from the phone, when the music kicks on, you cant hear it as it trys to play it through the speakers at no volume. Phone charges this way and when we want music, we just turn the volume up.
I'd be curious if anyone else has the same problem - it could be a bug on the Iphone itself?
Thanks for your help.
I am having the same problem. I am wondering if somehow the iPod connection on my car (Honda Fit) is causing this.
I have a similar issue ... if I leave the iphone 4 docked and go to bed I hear that other members of the family have had to get up in the night and turn music off that has started randomly during the night ... I do use the dock to charge the phone during the night and so sleep mode doesn't work well for that. As well, when docked and bluetoothed and I am work reigth beside it it will start to play music all of a sudden ... without having to be physibally close to it.
... so here is what I have noticed ... alerts appear to start the music ... it seems as though under certain circumstances that an incoming alert (for an upcoming meeting or whatever) is causing the music to begin to play ... I know now that alerts have come in at exactly the same time that music starts to play (because it happens several times per day and I am right beside it) ... but when I run tests to cause it to happen I have been less successful ... at least so far
... cheers ... steve
I have the same problem when I docked my iphone4. It simply going into shuffle mode.
Once or twice it even pause mid way through a track. Then resume after a few seconds.
this thing is really annoying.. bought a new dock and the very second day i face a problem. its the same thing, the music plays and pauses whenever it wants. its more annoying when u r in a middle of ur favourite track and it pauses on its own..
AUDYSSEY PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!
I second the last statement by sagar above. My first dock was returned because the volume control stopped working. The new dock that was sent to me had the set of problems that these posts deal with - starting randomly and stopping during a podcast playback as many as 4 times in an hour. I returned that dock for a new one and the new one has the same problems. This should not happen with a product that costs $400.
having a problem with the dock is fine, but people of audyssey forget their customers after selling their product. i am waiting since a month for their reply on the same problem, atleast a courtesy email would calm me down. no wonder the sound is astonishing for the price u pay but i think the old school buttons should be installed instead of these stupid sensor buttons.
Finally resolved my problem. Below is the not I sent to Audyssey.
Hi Cindy,
I am (or was) in an area of lower quality cell phone reception. Months ago, an AT&T support technician told me that to fix this problem I should uncheck the box on the iphone that allows 3G (settings, general, network, enable 3G) and use Edge instead.
After reading your email below, I switched the phone back to 3G. This seems to have fixed the problem with the dock pausing and randomly starting the ipod app. Fortunately, I think my cell phone reception has improved, otherwise, I would be in the position of possibly not receiving calls or texts when listening to the dock(switching to 3G mode).
I hope that this information will help others with similar problems. I like the dock and I hope that in future iterations, Audyssey will made adjustments in its hardware or software to fix this problem. I do fell a little ticked off that I spent so much time trying to get this problem resolved.
There's a chance static electricity may set off the play/pause sensor on the top of the dock so the music starts playing again. I suggest holding the play/pause sensor for about 6 seconds (the light will turn red) to put the dock into standby mode when you are not using it. Not only will this draw less power, but it should help the music to stay turned off. Sometimes due to certain environments the static charge in the air can be higher causing the play/pause sensor to be highly sensitive.
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