[daloudin]

There are apparently two different problems that plague the Bold. The first is that there is bad contact between the speaker and the board which could be caused by rough handling, dirt or just loose fit of components. Taking the phone midplate out and cleaning could fix the problem and if not then a new midplate with speaker is only $20. The second problem is the one I had which is that the led light for the flash actually comes in to contact with the transducer on the speaker. This has the same effect as putting your finger on the driver of any speaker and limiting it's excursion which limits the volume... The person(s) who talk about lifting or prying up on the led light assembly and their volume coming back or pinching and dramatic increases in volume happening might have this same problem (these were my symptoms). Putting a paper, plastic, foam or other such spacer between the cover and the battery helps because it keeps the cover from putting pressure on the led light assembly (the entire grey/silver thing with black nubs sticking up around the led light). When you take your back cover off, you'll notice indentations in the cover that are meant to keep it from exerting pressure on the led assembly. Over time and from carrying in your pocket, the rear cover gets loose and is allowed to put pressure on here effective muting the speaker. Since my phone was out of warranty and my local provider is a co-op who won't replace the phone without me booting the deductible I took mine apart and cut a spacer for the speaker to led assembly out of old pool table felt and my Bold sounds spectacularly good and has for the last 6 weeks. Obviously I wouldn't recommend taking your phone apart if you can get it replaced but the replacement 9000's have the same problem so it's only a matter of time before you have the same problem.