Galaxy Nexus with Volume Control Bug

About two-thirds of the Galaxy Nexus users report a volume control bug, that causes a total crash of the device. The first Samsung smartphone which supports Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, becomes entirely unusable after the strange bug appears.

The phone, launched in the UK on November 17th, and is expected to reach the U.S. on Verizon in the coming weeks. But a wider rollout could be hampered by this bug, which some suggest could be a hardware specific issue with the highly anticipated smartphone.

The bug appears to present itself as the volume control changes erratically when the phone achieves 2G network signal in the 900 Mhz frequency — a common wavelength across Europe, also known as GSM 900. Users are unable to control the volume with the side hardware buttons and are often unable to do anything else with the smartphone.

Not only would the device fall silent, meaning the device user may miss calls and text messages, but in some cases it takes over the entire device, rendering the device useless until the smartphone self-corrects like an upturned turtle.

Because 3G data runs on a different wavelength, users are only affected when the ‘G’ (for GPRS) or ‘E’ (for EDGE) is showing on the phone’s display. Oddly enough, it’s the one time you don’t want to get the broadband-fast 3G signal on your mobile.