Speaker phone on Samsung Messager (r450) no longer works? And phone constantly

[Justan G]

restarts itself? Forgive me the length of this question, but this problem really baffles me. Last week, I noticed that the speaker phone on my MetroPCS Samsung Messager phone started acting strange. The first time this happened, my phone was charging via my computer through the USB cable that came with the phone. One night, I noticed that the phone made a strange crackling sound. When I went to see what it was, the phone had shut off. Upon restarting it, none of my ringtones, shutter sounds etc. worked. Instead all sound generated by the outside speaker was an ugly loud static-y buzzing /crackling noise, similar to the first one I mentioned, but longer and louder. No matter which sound I tried to test it was the same exact sound. I have no idea why this happened or what this could be. For a few days the loud noise went away and there was only a faint crackle and nothing more. But now the loud static-like sound is back. So...why in the WORLD is this happening? I recently uploaded some ringtones to the phone via a Micro SD memory card. Could they have perhaps been 'too loud' and somehow busted the speaker? I initially thought this, but even with a busted speaker, shouldn't still be able to hear my sounds and music (granted in a distorted state)? Or could it be that this is the result of the battery needing to be replaced? I've had the phone since the summer of '09, so perhaps the battery needs replacing? I've noticed the battery life has gotten a bit shorter over time, or perhaps I just use it too much. Does this type of thing happen when the battery is going bad? ALSO, ever since my sound messed up, the phone restarts itself in weird moments. For instance, I may plug in the charger and it will suddenly restart, or it may restart while I'm trying to make a call or send a text. Could any of this be because of a battery going bad? Theres been no recent water damage to phone, that I know of. Last summer, it fell face first in a small puddle outside, but I took the proper measures to dry it, and never had a single problem problem with it up until recently. I'm not even certain that anything important got wet. Would I really be having this kind of trouble several months down the line, after it working so well in between? Once again forgive me for the length of the question, but this is all very strange. I'm overdue for a new phone, but it's simply not in my budget right now. Need this one to hang on just a little while longer.