Distorted earpiece

[NarDog]

Hello,

It has been almost a month living with a distorted earpiece on my galaxy S23 plus..I was hoping that the update I received today would solve the problem, but it didn't. Any idea what could it be wrong? 

[LongHiker]

@NarDog Have you tried running the diagnostics in Samsung Members app -> Support? 

[NarDog]

I have, I can hear the sound during diagnostic, but the sound is distorted on the earpiece speaker.

[CEParsons]

Distorted sound is often indicative of a damaged speaker.

You may consider visiting a certified Samsung repair center to have the issue diagnosed by a certified technician. Find a location near you using this tool:
https://www.samsung.com/us/support/service/locations/

[realaud]

When you say ear piece, do you mean ear buds?  If you mean ear buds, it could be a defect in the buds.  Is the sound normal when coming out of the phone's speakers?

[NarDog]

I mean the top speaker

[realaud]

So, the top speaker is distorted when you are on a phone call?  Did this start all of a sudden? Did the top of your phone get wet at any point? Years of skin oils can also be clogging the opening, so try gently cleaning it out. Make sure there is no obstruction at the top of  your screen where the speaker is, make sure your case isn't covering up the opening. If that does not help things, it's time to bring it in for service.

[NarDog]

It is worse when I'm on phone call and not on loudspeaker. Sound comes distorted all the time from this speaker, but it is worse when I'm not on loudspeaker. Also, I did try cleaning it, it didn't help. My phone didn't get wet or anything, but I did put it in the rice all night long just in case, and it didn't help. Yes this started all in sudden. The day before was fine, and the next morning I noticed it.

[realaud]

Sounds like perhaps a tiny hair got inside.  Your best bet would be to take it for service.  Either there is debris in there that you can't get to, or the speaker just suddenly went bad. If you don't want to take it for service, I suggest using ear buds to take your calls.