Sony WF-1000XM4 metallic echo / pinging / bell / sound issue

[Ozmica]

I bought these earbuds 10 days ago and I noticed immediately this weird sound issue. The issue is already common for many people and it seems that it affects sometimes the left and sometimes the right earbud. 

In my case, I can hear a ringing or pinging noise coming from my left earbud whenever I'm in a call and someone is speaking, including me. It follows the higher notes of the voice and kinda sounds like an echo but a similar sound to the notification sound you have when you tap on the earbud to either change the NC on or off or to play or pause the music. What I noticed is that the issue can be reproduced also if I snap the left part of the teeth quickly.

If I turn off the NC, then I can't reproduce the issue when snapping my teeth but it still can be reproduced if someone talks in a voice call. Also, I can just listen to a podcast, and no matter if NC is on or off, the pinging is there. It just seems that if NC is off that the issue is less obvious. But again this is in my case, other people have the same issue but reproduce it a bit differently. These are the Reddit posts I found that reference the same issue:


https://www.reddit.com/r/sony/comments/obsdne/wf1000xm4_faint_pinging_noise_during_voice_calls/
https://www.reddit.com/r/sony/comments/ot5vqf/wf1000xm4_anyone_not_having_metal_sound/
https://www.reddit.com/r/sony/comments/oa0oy3/sony_wf1000xm4_hollow_ringingpinging_in_left_ear/
https://www.reddit.com/r/SonyHeadphones/comments/o1ah8m/tinnymetallic_noise_when_listening_to_speech...

Can anyone confirm if this is a design flaw with the hardware or some weird issue with the ANC and microphones that can be resolved with a future update? 

[Rokannon]

@HannahEd01 

What they tell usually is to perform basic resetting procedures, upgrading firmware and so on. I also sent one of my faulty pairs to certified service center were after 3 weeks they returned it to me claiming that "no defect has been found".

But it's not just me. You can easily find tens of upset customers complaining to the same experience. Read this review for instance (read about "dinging tone" there):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/ROP22HIEW7NCD/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B094C4...

[HannahEd01]

@Rokannon, there's a normal phenomenan where you hear a slight sound which is the internal electrical circuits, that might be it since many of us aren't use to ANC headphones. 

[MrBojangles]

@HannahEd01

Sorry but I don't believe that's the issue we're having. I got a second pair from a distributor and have the exact same issue, but worse, in the other ear bud. This still happens when anc is switched off, so there is clearly a mechanical issue with some of the ear buds. A component is resonating when it shouldn't be.

Sony support have asked me to send them in, which I of course will do, but judging by other people's experiences I'm not expecting any acknowledgement of the issue. 

[Flamingcamel]

Hi

I am thinking of buying these earbuds

Has this issue been resolved?

[Ozmica]

Hi,

no, unfortunately, the issue still remains. Now I can say that I'm the proud owner of two pairs of these buds with the same problem. Firmware updates never fixed it. The only way to fix it is to return it and replace it. 

[SkyNet404]

Or you can be one of the lucky ones that never gets it in the first place. 

[Qonaniu]

Coming here to say I have the exact same problem. Have had the headphones for about 10 months and I don't use them often due to that fact. I assumed it was just faulty design but it seems that some people don't get the issue so I'm going to request a replacement. It's especially annoying during conversations where it essentially ends up happening every other minutes or something. 

Anyone managed to get any luck with the support itself, rather than physical stores? 

It's kind of incredible to see brands making premium products sold at high end prices these days with so bad quality control, this reminds me of Garmin products. 

[Itcsuk]

Same problem here I’ve tolerated it for to long thing it’s me or position. I’m probably out of warranty now, wish I had researched the problem sooner

[dscoular]

Hi,

I have the same problem which is only noticeable on voice calls (the reason I bought these).

However, I've noticed I can replicate the metallic "ting" just by tapping on the ear bud (or even just in front of my ear).

It sounds like a metal spring under tension or maybe a diaphragm.

How do l get Sony to address this problem? I have the latest firmware.

[Rokannon]

Hello,

Don't set your expectations high but I have randomly stumbled upon someone who claims to fix the problem. I don't have these earbud (probably will never have anything from Sony) but I still recommend to have a look at this comment:

https://www.reddit.com/r/sony/comments/ot5vqf/comment/j1df507/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&co...

It would be interesting if someone who still has these earbud could check that fix and write a comment in this thread with confirmation (or not).