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blairian89

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 5, 2016
379
247
Texas
Well, tomorrow I have the distinct honor and pleasure of going to the Genius Bar for my Late 2016 MacBook Pro; 2.9/1TB/16GB/460 in Silver.

It has developed a very loud and distinct "CLICK" noise that occurs on cold boot and intermittently throughout use. I spoke to Apple Support on chat and the advisor stated that my fan has likely failed and needs to be replaced - he also mentioned that the problem I am experiencing can be narrowed down considerably using my computer's manufacture date...whatever that means is open to interpretation.

For what it's worth, my other one is great with no issues thus far.

Has anyone else heard of or experienced this same issue with their laptop? What happened? How did it go?
 
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It's not a fan issue, it is a pop/click sound due to eletronic components of the ssd, around ssd and around cpu (capacitor hiss/whine and other coil whine). You can exchange it but the new one will have the same click sound. This is just my opinion based on my personal experience in electronic design and study.
 
Hi,
I think I have the same problem. Intermittently I feel a kind of noise "click" but very intense derived from under the keyboard. I do not think a fan problem (work well).

I do not quite understand from your description, it is a normal behavior or if it is a problem to report and resolve?

It's not a fan issue, it is a pop/click sound due to eletronic components of the ssd, around ssd and around cpu (capacitor hiss/whine and other coil whine). You can exchange it but the new one will have the same click sound. This is just my opinion based on my personal experience in electronic design and study.
 
In my opinion it is not a problem, it is due to the design/manufacturing of the logic board and its electronic components. So if you think that your machine is defective I suggest to return/exchange with a new one, but always in my opinion the Genius at Apple Store will be unable to give you an answer about this "issue". I also suggest to evaluate your machine, I mean if you check it and nothing is bad (screen, keyboard, fans, chassis, ssd, audio, speakers, Bluetooth, TB ports, graphic) and all works properly then you can keep it because the new one could be worse.
 
I had my Genius Bar appointment earlier this evening.

I have been relieved of my laptop for the next one to two weeks. Apple Genius verified the problem and stated that it is undeniably a fan failure. Off to Apple it goes for repair!
 
I think that we spoke about two different "click" noise. A click noise due to a defective fan is completely different from hissing/click/whine noise due to electronics.
 
I picked up my MBP 15 and it's doing it intermittently as well. I hear it on the right side, kinda annoys me. I'm going to exchange it out.

I have had no issues with sound on mine. The keyboard is a bit louder then my 2011 MBP, but I prefer this keyboard so i can deal with it being a bit louder. Other than that...no issues at all.
 
I have been relieved of my laptop for the next one to two weeks. Apple Genius verified the problem and stated that it is undeniably a fan failure. Off to Apple it goes for repair!
Its good that you're getting it resolved, but its a bummer that you now have to wait to get it repaired.
 
I chatted in with customer service last night, they wanted me to set up an appointment to have it looked at. I told them I'm not going through that hassle for a computer I've owned for 24 hours.

Does anyone have experience with exchanging in store? There is a store about 30 miles from where I currently am and they have the silver 15 in stock. I just hope they exchange it out without me jumping through hoops. I told the rep I chatted with that if they won't exchange it, I'll just return it fully.. She told me it's up to the manager if they exchange it or not.
 
Luckily I don't have the high pitch click noise, but my replacement 13" i7 has the opposite issue on the arrow keys.
The left/right arrow key have a distinct (proper) snappy click like the rest of the keys, while the up/down arrow keys are mushy.

What about you all? Do your up/down keys snap like the left right ones or do they lack the snap/pop tactile response?
 
I had my Genius Bar appointment earlier this evening.

I have been relieved of my laptop for the next one to two weeks. Apple Genius verified the problem and stated that it is undeniably a fan failure. Off to Apple it goes for repair!

How old was your MBP? Did they tell you the relevant manufacture dates?

I just opened mine today and it looks perfect — no scratches and a beautiful screen. I'm hoping any early manufacturing issues have been worked out by now.
 
I exchanged mine yesterday, this one doesn't have the click sound, but it did have the scratch right below the speaker grill, and the screen warmth is really not uniform compared to the first unit I had and has a pinkish tint on the left side of the screening. Looks like another exchange is in my future.
 
I picked up my MBP 15 and it's doing it intermittently as well. I hear it on the right side, kinda annoys me. I'm going to exchange it out.

Exchanging may be a good choice, should your model be in stock. My configuration is a BTO and I had little interest in attempting a swap, mailing items back and forth, etc.

Its good that you're getting it resolved, but its a bummer that you now have to wait to get it repaired.

You're telling me! I'm still waiting for it!

I chatted in with customer service last night, they wanted me to set up an appointment to have it looked at. I told them I'm not going through that hassle for a computer I've owned for 24 hours.

Does anyone have experience with exchanging in store? There is a store about 30 miles from where I currently am and they have the silver 15 in stock. I just hope they exchange it out without me jumping through hoops. I told the rep I chatted with that if they won't exchange it, I'll just return it fully.. She told me it's up to the manager if they exchange it or not.

Exchanges are pretty painless if they have the model in stock...at least that's been my experience in the past.

How old was your MBP? Did they tell you the relevant manufacture dates?

I just opened mine today and it looks perfect — no scratches and a beautiful screen. I'm hoping any early manufacturing issues have been worked out by now.

Mine was pretty fresh; first couple weeks of release...the Apple Genius I spoke to on chat said it was able to be narrowed down by the manufacture dates...whatever that means is open to interpretation, but I would imagine that there was a batch of bad fans or something.

I exchanged mine yesterday, this one doesn't have the click sound, but it did have the scratch right below the speaker grill, and the screen warmth is really not uniform compared to the first unit I had and has a pinkish tint on the left side of the screening. Looks like another exchange is in my future.

I would undoubtedly return or exchange the computer if there is a clear physical defect; no questions about it. Best of luck!
 
Well, tomorrow I have the distinct honor and pleasure of going to the Genius Bar for my Late 2016 MacBook Pro; 2.9/1TB/16GB/460 in Silver.

It has developed a very loud and distinct "CLICK" noise that occurs on cold boot and intermittently throughout use. I spoke to Apple Support on chat and the advisor stated that my fan has likely failed and needs to be replaced - he also mentioned that the problem I am experiencing can be narrowed down considerably using my computer's manufacture date...whatever that means is open to interpretation.

For what it's worth, my other one is great with no issues thus far.

Has anyone else heard of or experienced this same issue with their laptop? What happened? How did it go?


My friend described the same issue with his 13" 2016 model.


Also I have a question for you OP:

I'm actually going to be order the same laptop as you

2.9ghz/1tb/16gb/460 graphics card but in Space black.... Apple is quoting my shipping for a month. Did yours take a month to get delivered???
 
Sorry some of you guys are having problems. I have a 2016 15" 2.7/512 space gray that was manufactured a couple weeks ago and it was perfect out of the box — no scratches, no clicking noises, and no screen problems. I know it's a bummer having problems with a new $2,000 to $3,000 product.

My biggest problem to date is that I have 7,707 photos and videos on my 2012 rMBP but now I have ... 7,706 photos and videos on my 2016 after migrating — which, of course, has fully triggered my OCD.
 
Exchanged my 2nd unit today that had the scratch and uneven pinkish tint on the screen, my 3rd unit also has the clicking sound the same as my 1st unit had. My luck is horrible.

Ouch! That is pretty bad luck. Granted, if they are all coming from the same store all of their shipment may be from the same production run and if there was a batch of bad parts then they will all exhibit the issues...?

Just a thought.

My friend described the same issue with his 13" 2016 model.


Also I have a question for you OP:

I'm actually going to be order the same laptop as you

2.9ghz/1tb/16gb/460 graphics card but in Space black.... Apple is quoting my shipping for a month. Did yours take a month to get delivered???

I absolutely love mine and I think that it will be worth the wait for you. I personally have no experience with the ordering / shipping / delivery process and will have to let someone else speak to it. I was able to walk directly into the store and pickup mine from store stock.

Sorry some of you guys are having problems. I have a 2016 15" 2.7/512 space gray that was manufactured a couple weeks ago and it was perfect out of the box — no scratches, no clicking noises, and no screen problems. I know it's a bummer having problems with a new $2,000 to $3,000 product.

My biggest problem to date is that I have 7,707 photos and videos on my 2012 rMBP but now I have ... 7,706 photos and videos on my 2016 after migrating — which, of course, has fully triggered my OCD.

Ah! That would kill me on the insides to have one short of the other...the problems have been a big bummer, but I am glad that yours has been great thus far!

I made a video with 3 different clips of the intermittent clicking sound I'm getting from the right side.


Man! That's really similar to what I was hearing...FWIW mine seemed to be louder, but the video may be muffling the sound. So far the fan replacement has solved the noises that I was hearing...your mileage may vary.
 
Ah! That would kill me on the insides to have one short of the other...the problems have been a big bummer, but I am glad that yours has been great thus far!

Thanks. Not sure what happened, but over 48 hours later, the numbers now match.
 
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is a click sound like this at 0:07?


This is my 2nd unit...

It sounds like a electrostatic discharge and it's completely random.

This is my second macbook with exact the same issue. I've tried:
- Reset SMC
- Reset NVRAM
- Reset OS
- Connect to an official power adapter with a ground connector

i'm 99% sure that the problem is related with the speakers, because every time i connect the headphones i never heard any click/crack noise.

In my opinion this is a hardware design fault related with the speakers, may be it could be fixed with a firmware upgrade... in worst case scenario with a new hardware revision.
 
is a click sound like this at 0:07?


This is my 2nd unit...

It sounds like a electrostatic discharge and it's completely random.

This is my second macbook with exact the same issue. I've tried:
- Reset SMC
- Reset NVRAM
- Reset OS
- Connect to an official power adapter with a ground connector

i'm 99% sure that the problem is related with the speakers, because every time i connect the headphones i never heard any click/crack noise.

In my opinion this is a hardware design fault related with the speakers, may be it could be fixed with a firmware upgrade... in worst case scenario with a new hardware revision.

Mine sounded nothing at all like that. Those noises appear to be electrical components within the machine (SSD, speakers, etc.) causing noise; mine was completely different.
 
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