Seems like someone confirmed officially with Apple. See the following threads
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Any one notices the cracking/popping sound of new 16 inch MBP?
- Thread starter MengkeMary
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Holiday return policy
Apple Holiday Return Period
Purchased mine on 11/15 mid afternoon and the store had just been notified that the holiday period started 11/15 with a return date of 1/8 which is also on my receipt.
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Just to see what would happen, I connected my speaker output to my Bose Radio Soundlink via a lightening to USB cable and tried a Youtube video. There was no pop or crack or any noise on closing the video or hitting an arrow key.
It seems that it only happens to built-in speakers. No issues with plugin earphones, bluetooth headset.
My 16" also has the popping issue when video/sound starts and stops. I do a lot of video editing, and it happens constantly in Final Cut Pro. Perfect machine otherwise, I would hope that there's somehow an update to adjust the sound drivers or something.
I have a new MBP 16 and I do not seem to have the Youtube crackling sound issue, but every once in a while if I change youtube videos while one is playing I did get a single pop, but not consistently.
I rebooted and afterwards I could not get the pop sound, so I cannot test for it now.
At least it seems I do not consistently have an issue. Not sure though.
I rebooted and afterwards I could not get the pop sound, so I cannot test for it now.
At least it seems I do not consistently have an issue. Not sure though.
Bump for visibility as people start receiving their units. I got mine Friday, i9 1TB model. Also have this issue. Seems to be video adapter related since it's only with apps that are video + audio (YouTube, FCP) but not with audio-only apps (Spotify, Logic, GarageBand). Bluetooth audio seems to be fine as well. I hear it a little when I plug headphones in, but its not nearly as loud as the internal speakers.
Taking it in to my local Apple Store Friday night to see what they say. It could be drivers, it could be hardware. Hopefully it's drivers because otherwise the laptop is fantastic. If they don't do a straight exchange for another model (either because they just won't or because they don't have stock) I'm just going to wait until it's known what the problem is. It seems widespread enough already that eventually we'll find out and it's not _terribly_ annoying since its only when audio begins/stops (closing app, scrubbing, etc) and I'm not doing too much video editing atm.
A reinstall also didn't work, for those who may be wondering.
Taking it in to my local Apple Store Friday night to see what they say. It could be drivers, it could be hardware. Hopefully it's drivers because otherwise the laptop is fantastic. If they don't do a straight exchange for another model (either because they just won't or because they don't have stock) I'm just going to wait until it's known what the problem is. It seems widespread enough already that eventually we'll find out and it's not _terribly_ annoying since its only when audio begins/stops (closing app, scrubbing, etc) and I'm not doing too much video editing atm.
A reinstall also didn't work, for those who may be wondering.
I'm also getting the issue on the base 16" MBP, just got it today. I'm able to reproduce the issue on YouTube on Chrome and Safari skipping through music videos and also when closing the tab.
Yes, we have the same model. I also made a reservation to take it to a local Apple store on Friday night. Let's see what will happen.
PS: If you really want an exchange, I think you can since you're still in return windows. You can always return it and buy another one.
I tested on my new mbp couple times. I am pretty sure that the problem is related to the speakers. It seems the cracking sound only happens when you are playing loud music/video with bass and you skip to next song/video.
I am heading to an the apple store near my office later today, and see what they gonna do with this.
I am heading to an the apple store near my office later today, and see what they gonna do with this.
My 2017 model makes a «pop» after playing any audio. In safari it happens 38 seconds after pausing the sound. Seems to be when the speakers turn off. Do you have this as well? Or is the cracking sound always straight away when pausing on the 16 inch?
Hi Guys. The way i see this is, this issue at the present belongs to the “we don’t talk about this” category regarding Apple.
It also belongs to a sub category which is called “Let’s see how this goes and if we get a massive amount of negative feedback then we will put down some resources to fix this”.
The thing here is that some of us can’t even work on these machines. That’s my case:
So we have to do this the hard way. Apple records every single incident and if an issue passes through their massive logistics filter then they “may” take some action to resolve it.
So even if a call to them regarding this issue is practically useless i suggest you to do this. In other words make some noise, hit the "I have this question to" button on those threads on Apple’s site (foldpages provided a link) and leave your feedback here and there.
Some years ago a guy wrote a script (for previous models and OS versions) which was called Anti Pop in order to solve a similar issue. Finally Apple solved it through a software update but this happened after several months, leaving the users exposed.
Then you can count in the fact that when an issue like this remains unsolved for several months, your beloved expensive machine is being constantly devaluated so you are practically loosing money.
For example i paid 4500 euros for mine this August and i can’t sell it even at 3000 just 3 months later because of this issue (ok the 16 inch model also played a role here which makes my pain worse, lol).
It’s really frustrating how much underpowered we are as consumers, isn’t it?
It also belongs to a sub category which is called “Let’s see how this goes and if we get a massive amount of negative feedback then we will put down some resources to fix this”.
The thing here is that some of us can’t even work on these machines. That’s my case:
So we have to do this the hard way. Apple records every single incident and if an issue passes through their massive logistics filter then they “may” take some action to resolve it.
So even if a call to them regarding this issue is practically useless i suggest you to do this. In other words make some noise, hit the "I have this question to" button on those threads on Apple’s site (foldpages provided a link) and leave your feedback here and there.
Some years ago a guy wrote a script (for previous models and OS versions) which was called Anti Pop in order to solve a similar issue. Finally Apple solved it through a software update but this happened after several months, leaving the users exposed.
Then you can count in the fact that when an issue like this remains unsolved for several months, your beloved expensive machine is being constantly devaluated so you are practically loosing money.
For example i paid 4500 euros for mine this August and i can’t sell it even at 3000 just 3 months later because of this issue (ok the 16 inch model also played a role here which makes my pain worse, lol).
It’s really frustrating how much underpowered we are as consumers, isn’t it?
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How bad is the issue on 16 model?
My primary use is coding/simulations/latex/media consuming.
Should I avoid getting the 16 inch until the issue is solved?
My primary use is coding/simulations/latex/media consuming.
Should I avoid getting the 16 inch until the issue is solved?
I just got back from the apple store. They ran the hardware test on my mbp, and it shows there is something wrong with the right speaker. Also, I noticed that cracking sound is only from the right side. So, I guess it is a hardware failure, and they cannot fix this. They just asked me to return my mbp and order a new one.
This is a serious issue. The speakers are fantastic, but I heard crackling in FCP last night. Didn't realize it was a known issue, and an uncorrected one at that.
If this bothered me (as if in I were doing this professionally), I'd go with online support and get it escalated to Tier 2.
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I see a lot of stuff in the Refurb store coming soon.
That's interesting. I tried Apple Music with a 7min song of silence and there are no pops. However, when I got into Audio Midi Setup and do the speaker test, both sides will pop every single time I play the test sound. So I'm not sure if it is GPU related or not.
I'm noticing another unrelated issue with my unit. The ambient light sensor is all over the place. My screen brightness adjusts very aggressively and the same goes for true tone. I had to turn both off. Once the screen goes to max brightness the colors really start to wash out. I read somewhere that the max 500 nits are only reached when the light sensor pushes the brightness to max.
I really love this machine and it's so close to being perfect but man these small issues are annoying.
Edit: I just spoke to a T2 senior advisor. The official message is that they are not aware of any issues
However, he did indicate it sounds like a hardware issue and suggested exchanging the unit.
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I expect Apple to make customers while given what they are trying to put into the past. It’s a decent reason to wait a few months after new hardware comes out.
Of course I’m a lost example of that. I got my 2008 and 2014 MBP soon after launch along with the iPad mini 5 and Mac Mini with lots of iPhones, iPads and iPod touch devices.
I saw somewhere that playing a video on mute is a workaround, so I went to youtube and put on a video "10 hours of silence" and lo and behold, not a single pop. So it's definitely something to do with active toggling of the speakers - whether that is the speakers, the drivers or the video adapter itself I'm unsure.
Hard to say on face value. The popping is definitely a hardware thing, but it could be resolved with software (OS/drivers). Hopefully will know more tomorrow night (PST) after I take it in.