Ok, so here it goes....

First and foremost, i am a huge fan of this phone, and the idea as a whole of the N900, and Maemo5. By giving us a phone that is largely developed by the community and unlocked we have many doors already open that the other platforms struggle to either open, or continue to try to keep open. Nuff said about that.

Now onto my problem, which i have several ideas as to how to fix (but am too nervous to try). over the past few weeks i have noticed that call audio while using the handset will cut out, or volume will decrease severely to where the call is either inaudible, or barely audible. I have found that by pressing the device firmly to my ear in a certain manner, that the audio returns, sometimes to the quality and volume i expect, sometimes to lesser degrees.

Obviously i am having a hardware issue. Some ribbon cable in the slider, or possible the speaker built into the slider itself. Does anyone have any ideas as to how to fix, or has anyone had a similar problem? Im all for getting my hands dirty and tearing this thing down to its naked bits to diagnose, but i figured i would ask the community for advice, tips, and tricks before doing so.... After all thats what the community is here for right =P

Thanks in advance for any help or speculation, and have a great day!