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Any one notices the cracking/popping sound of new 16 inch MBP?

Does your 16 inch MacBook Pro have pop/cracking sound issue?

  • Total voters
    379
semistandard said:
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?
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It depends on your luck. Some units don't have this issue at all. But even if you get one with pop sound, it may not be that severe if you're not primarily working on video/audio.

GlenK said:
That's awful but I got lucky. None of that on mine!!
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Glad to hear some machines are not affected. You are really lucky. Enjoy your machine.

lge1 said:
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.
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So how severe is your machine? Is it only the right speaker? Does it happen every time you forward/close a video?
 
I think most of the 16 inches are affected. I went to two different apple stores in Texas and all their demos do it. Some more noticeable than others
 
Danny Nava said:
I think most of the 16 inches are affected. I went to two different apple stores in Texas and all their demos do it. Some more noticeable than others
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Agreed. I also think the folks who voted "no" here might not know how to check for the issue. It's really not that big of a deal but if you are a heavy video editor in FCPX it's a nightmare!

At this point, I'm probably just going to wait it out until early January. Holiday return policy is in effect and *maybe* Apple will push an update to fix it. I checked two Apple stores in the Miami area and all the demos make the popping sound.
 
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If it is truly 100% of the units, its curious that not a single reviewer has mentioned anything about it. I imagine at least one would have used YouTube or fcpx and noticed..
 
covedrop said:
If it is truly 100% of the units, its curious that not a single reviewer has mentioned anything about it. I imagine at least one would have used YouTube or fcpx and noticed..
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I was wondering the same. I have watched tens of reviews of the 16 inch, none of them mentioned this issue, which is really weird to me. Hope that some reviewer would bring this to table and attracts some media coverage. Then Apple probably would take it serious and offer a fix.
 
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MengkeMary said:
I was wondering the same. I have watched tens of reviews of the 16 inch, none of them mentioned this issue, which is really weird to me. Hope that some reviewer would bring this to table and attracts some media coverage. Then Apple probably would take it serious and offer a fix.
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I would always take these video reviews with a grain of salt. Criticizing or calling out Apple for an issue could jeopardize their relationship with Apple which in return means no longer access to early events and other invites. Remember what happened to Lou at UnboxTherapy after the whole iPhone 6 bending issue. He has never been to another Apple event or gotten any early hands-on with new/unreleased devices.
 
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My new 16" has this issue. Interestingly, I can cause it to "pop" every single time I pause music using the Amazon Music App. There is no similar pop with iTunes music stopping/starting. Makes me think it is a software issue.

(I also get in in YouTube the same way others do.)
 
poorcody said:
My new 16" has this issue. Interestingly, I can cause it to "pop" every single time I pause music using the Amazon Music App. There is no similar pop with iTunes music stopping/starting. Makes me think it is a software issue.

(I also get in in YouTube the same way others do.)
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Actually, if you play something in background and keep it muted at the same time, then the pop sound issue suddenly disappears. So it's more likely a software issue. Hopefully, it can be fixed in a future release.

Apple just release Catalina 10.15.2 public beta 3, but not mentioning what is being added or fixed. Anyone opted in beta program and tried this version?

macOS Catalina 10.15.2 Beta 3 Release Notes
 
The popping noise is also happening on the speakers of my LG Ultrafine 5K monitor.

(Never had popping noise with it using my 2016 MBP 15" just for the record.)

I notice the volume of the pop is dependent on how loud the noise is at the time I perform the action that causes the pop: i.e. loud noise leads to louder pop.
 
16-inch MBP arrived an hour ago. I get the pops 50% of the time (with varying volumes) when jumping around a YouTube video in Safari - seems to come randomly from the left or right speaker, just after the music abruptly stops. Doesn't happen when pausing/playing at all for me.

Doesn't happen in the Spotify app at all, even when jumping around. (Spotify seems to quickly fade music in and out when seeking, which might help.)

Doesn't happen at all when playing an MP4 music video in QT Player and jumping around.

This has to be a driver/firmware issue surely? Maybe related to 1 or more specific codecs? Sounds like maybe it's not properly flushing the audio buffer when the music stops abruptly.
 
Hey,

I have the same issue on my new MacBook Pro 16 inch. I just bought it and went to a local Apple store to replicate the issue on their new demo computers.

We tested 4 demo Macbook Pros. 3 of the 4 we can replicate the issue.

Steps to replicate:
1) Open Youtube.com/SoundCloud.com
2) Play a media content with audio
3) Jump to another webpage, you will hear an audible POP as the system exits the page.
4) If you don't hear a pop,... navigate to previous page, and repeat step 3.

Notes:
Tested YouTube/Soundcloud on Safari, and Google Chrome (2 different browsers with 2 different webpages)
Tested Spotify by exiting the application instead of skipping to new song, creates a popping sound. Spotify Application has a built-in gradual descent on the audio, to 'mute' the sound instead of actually cutting the audio out completely like the other applications.

Dear Apple, do you plan to address this hardware/software issue? I am inclined to say it is a driver/firmware issue, but only your company is able to provide this statement.
 
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Yep mine does it as well.

Would the fact that speakers work well while its playing, and in audio only apps, indicate that this is more likely a software issue then a fundamental flaw with the speaker hardware?

I may be completely off base, but it seems like if it was a fundamental issue with the speakers themselves, it would maybe occur during playback, or across more apps, etc.
 
Ming Gao said:
Tested Spotify by exiting the application instead of skipping to new song, creates a popping sound. Spotify Application has a built-in gradual descent on the audio, to 'mute' the sound instead of actually cutting the audio out completely like the other applications.
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Yes, that's what I was saying in my post earlier. And just to add another data point - you also get the pop in Spotify if you plug in headphones or close the laptop lid while music is playing. Anything that abruptly cuts off the music basically.
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MikeVera said:
Yep mine does it as well.

Would the fact that speakers work well while its playing, and in audio only apps, indicate that this is more likely a software issue then a fundamental flaw with the speaker hardware?

I may be completely off base, but it seems like if it was a fundamental issue with the speakers themselves, it would maybe occur during playback, or across more apps, etc.
Click to expand...

Yeah I reckon the speakers themselves are OK. But it could be a fault in the DA converter. Hopefully it's a bug in the audio driver though!
 
What are the changes this get fixed in the next 10 days? Otherwise Im returning it with Apples buyers remorse policy.
 
Mine is going back tomorrow due to the same issue. What a complete joke of a computer for the price.
 
Do you get the pop after system notification sounds? And do you get it when using Airpods or other headphones?
 
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