Samsung Galaxy Nexus Owners See Volume Bug

Based on the reports coming in from owners of the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone, there's a serious problem with the phone's volume controls. Under certain circumstances, the phone's volume behaves erratically, jumped between muted and full volume and every setting in between.

The XDA Developers have looked into the problem and believe it is related to the Galaxy Nexus hardware--meaning a software update probably won't solve the problem.

"What happens is that the phones volume will go haywire, it will start lowering volume hectically on the phone, especially during phone calls or when radio is being switched from 3G to 2G, or data connection is activated while WiFi radio is turned off or on," explained the XDA in a blog post.

"This only happens when the phone is on 2G connection (that is, when phone shows G (for GPRS) or E (for Edge) icons for connection). It only happens to phones that use 900Mhz for 2G coverage, which is majority of Europe. If you live in Europe, there's a large chance you would be affected."

[ Want to avoid Android App stinkers? See 10 Android App Flops. ]

The XDA goes on to say that the problem is amplified in areas with low signal strength because of the way that the phone behaves to find and connect to cellular networks in those areas. It goes so far as to prevent the phone from being used at all to place voice calls. When under these conditions, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is apt to drop calls, as well.

Estimates made by the XDA suggest as many as 60% of Galaxy Nexus owns in the U.K. are experiencing the problem, with the possibility that more users have yet to notice it due to strong 3G coverage. The number of comments in the thread show that many users are complaining of the problem.

Both Samsung and Google have been alerted about the issue, but neither has responded publicly yet.

The Galaxy Nexus that went on sale in Europe last week is not the same version that will eventually be sold in the U.S. Verizon Wireless has confirmed plans to sell a Long Term Evolution 4G version of the Galaxy Nexus; see specs on the official Nexus web site. According to that web site, the hardware of the Verizon LTE Galaxy Nexus is a bit thicker and heavier than the GSM counterpart. Since the Verizon version doesn't use GSM-based systems for its cellular network, the likelihood of the same bug existing on the Verizon version is very slim.