Solve Distorted Sound from the Speaker on your Pixel 3 XL

by Ben Madison · January 2, 2019

Various issues with the phones have cropped up as thousands of devices get out to people and were put to use. Some of the complaints are just the result of the fact that Pixels are hyper-analyzed by all of us. No Android devices are perfect, you know! Besides the useless buzz, there are still many legitimate gripes that need to be addressed.

This is one of these issues. As was the case with its Pixel 2 XL predecessor, many users have reported hearing distorted or buzzing sounds from the speakers at lower volumes. Thankfully, Google has acknowledged the problem and says that a fix will be rolling out soon.

I don’t know how you feel about that, but I never find the patience to wait for miracles to happen. So, let’s hit the road and tackle the problem right now. Here’s what you can do on your own:

Potential solutions for the distorted sound:

If you find the problem to persist, try to disable Google’s MusixFx App (com.android.musicfx) and see if anything changes. Some users claim that this worked for them, so it might be the same for you too;
You can also install an equalizer app such as Equalizer FX. Pro – Free version. It does wonders when it comes to improving the sound quality of your Pixel 3 XL to get more to enjoy of listening music;
Depending on how is affected your speaker because the bad mounting (Google’s fault) you will have to play lowering the frequencies. In my case I only needed to lower 910Hz to -7db;
Some users have reported that this seems to be a “breaking in” issue and seems to go away after using the phone for a while. However, are you really willing to wait patiently for that to happen? Once again, that’s not really my thing.

Have you encountered this issue with your Pixel 3 handset? If so, do share your experience with us in the comments section and let us know if any of these tips effectively addressed the problem.