Buzzing / static sound coming from back of new iPhone 7 Plus

[aj8690]

Go check your old 3GS, i bet it hisses too.

Jesus, this foruns are usefull for many things, but when many start searching for problems (where probably they don't exist) it's a really big mess.

My guess is all of the iPhones 7 models do it, probably lounder on some. For now we can only speculate but i am sure that there's got to be a very good reason.

I waiting for my ip7+ and i am start thinking on shutdown my internet! Lol

For a device that's meant to be held up to your EAR, this is a legitimate concern. I have had every iPhone except the 3G and I'm not one to seek out problems or even care about minor issues like screens being warmer or what have you. But the fact is that I noticed this sound on my own within hours of purchase, before even reading about it online. If it existed in previous models, it was many times quieter. This is a real issue and a legitimate one that affects one of the main features of a phone (you know...making phone calls).

 

[shahin90]

My new iPhone 7 Plus (128GB, Black) has an odd buzzing / static sound coming from it. Specifically, if I put my ear up to the back of the phone where the apple logo is, I can hear the battery or processor or something “working”… note the sound file attached.

I am experiencing the same exact issue on my 7 plus model under heavy load.

 

[iphone1105]

For a device that's meant to be held up to your EAR, this is a legitimate concern. I have had every iPhone except the 3G and I'm not one to seek out problems or even care about minor issues like screens being warmer or what have you. But the fact is that I noticed this sound on my own within hours of purchase, before even reading about it online. If it existed in previous models, it was many times quieter. This is a real issue and a legitimate one that affects one of the main features of a phone (you know...making phone calls).

have you made a call with your new 7 or 7+ and had it hinder your call? Because i have the noise as well, but have been on 3 calls and hasn't leaked over the line or even been heard. FWIW hope it works out for you!

 

[amps]

We might need a noise canceling case to mask this noise.

 

[aj8690]

I agree it's only at the back I can't hear anything from the front... however I have noticed it's only when it's downloading stuff like music etc... other times it's barely noticeable

I do notice it get louder when downloading stuff too, but I also tested it in airplane mode and it's still there.

have you made a call with your new 7 or 7+ and had it hinder your call? Because i have the noise as well, but have been on 3 calls and hasn't leaked over the line or even been heard. FWIW hope it works out for you!

I do notice it on HD Voice calls because of how clear they typically are. The call is not hindered but I can tell it's there. Not really noticible on regular calls.

 

[iphone1105]

I do notice it get louder when downloading stuff too, but I also tested it in airplane mode and it's still there.

I do notice it on HD Voice calls because of how clear they typically are. The call is not hindered but I can tell it's there. Not really noticible on regular calls.

Do you know if the person on the other end might have heard it? Thanks.

 

[Cscottrun]

Can someone who has the sound post the steps I can take to try and replicate it? All I've seen is that the noise may come upon a "Heavy load", but I'm not exactly sure what is considered a heavy load.

 

[aj8690]

Do you know if the person on the other end might have heard it? Thanks.

I was on a 46 minute HD Voice call earlier today, mixed between regular earpiece mode and speaker mode off an on. The person on the other end only heard static for just a moment during the whole call and the rest of the call was clear, so I think it was unrelated...it doesn't seem like the person on the other end can detect any of the hiss. I kept the call on speaker most of the time and that way I was unable to detect the hiss. Using the earpiece was still clear, but every time there was a pause in the conversation, I could make out a very slight hiss. It wasn't really bad (not worse than a regular phone call), but knowing how clear HD Voice calls are supposed to be, you could tell that something was going on. I made a couple of brief regular (non HD Voice) calls and couldn't notice anything wrong since regular calls have their own background noise/static on their own.

 

[IconIc215]

I am starting to think its a defect and bothersome after paying as much as these phones are. I can live with the screen being moderately warmer than my 6S+ but this might be what pushes me to return. Whats worse is now that I know about it I always find myself listening in for the problem more often than not.....

 

[CSpackler]

You know when you walk by an electrical substation and hear that loud buzzing? That's what's happening at a very tiny level with the new iPhones. All electronics with transformers and inductors do it to some degree. With a device as small as an iPhone though, you really shouldn't hear it. Seems it's happening when the CPU fires up on all cylinders. It's a quality control issue.

 

[Neebee]

Yup. This is a defect folks: https://9to5mac.com/2016/09/17/iphone-7-plus-hissing/

Let's hope the phone doesn't catch on fire.

 

[michael31986]

Again. Anyone not having this.

 

[mjjferreira]

For a device that's meant to be held up to your EAR, this is a legitimate concern. I have had every iPhone except the 3G and I'm not one to seek out problems or even care about minor issues like screens being warmer or what have you. But the fact is that I noticed this sound on my own within hours of purchase, before even reading about it online. If it existed in previous models, it was many times quieter. This is a real issue and a legitimate one that affects one of the main features of a phone (you know...making phone calls).

So you use the BACK of your phone in you ear (regardless the noise)? Ok.

 

[KimHansenDK]

Again. Anyone not having this.

I tried running the Google Octane benchmark that someone suggested and I cannot hear it on my iPhone 7 128GB. I held the back of the phone up to my ear I could not hear anything. Maybe I need to run something more demanding. Maybe I have bad ears.

 

[mjjferreira]

I am starting to think its a defect and bothersome after paying as much as these phones are. I can live with the screen being moderately warmer than my 6S+ but this might be what pushes me to return. Whats worse is now that I know about it I always find myself listening in for the problem more often than not.....

People are not used to have screens calibrated to 6500k.

 

[Neebee]

There is talk about this on Reddit. There's also talk that Apple will address this issue by throttling the CPU which won't be a good thing, but nobody will probably notice except those who run benchmarks.

 

[mjjferreira]

There is talk about this on Reddit. There's also talk that Apple will address this issue by throttling the CPU which won't be a good thing, but nobody will probably notice except those who run benchmarks.

I don't believe apple will throttling the CPU. Nonsense!

 

[ventmore]

If it makes anyone feel any better, I can hear something on my 6 plus if I press my ear to the back of it whilst running the octane benchmark.

It's like a much quieter version of the "CPU whine" I hear on my rMBP when under load. A sort of screechy intermittent hiss. As I said...very quiet though.

 

[arncalars]

I have similar sound from my 2 year old 6 plus and I didn't know before I read this thread and listened for it. I hear a weak clicking when pressing light on home button and judging from ifixit tear down, I think it's from the Wi-Fi antenna.

 

[SBruv]

There is talk about this on Reddit. There's also talk that Apple will address this issue by throttling the CPU which won't be a good thing, but nobody will probably notice except those who run benchmarks.

By (the second instance of) 'talk', you mean total speculation, of course...

 

[pmau]

People are not used to have screens calibrated to 6500k.

Right. Plus there's no True Tone backlight which puzzles me.
This would have been a great selling point.

 

[Alexrat1996]

Mine won't vibrate when I plug it to charge but it vibrates to make calls and text is this normal

 

[netnative]

According to 9to5Mac the problem is real. Add a hissing or buzzing noise to the list of potential issues to check during the return period. This is the first time I hear of such an issue with a smartphone. Some have claimed that all iPhones make some noise but I ran Geekbench 3 on my 6s Plus while holding the device to my ear and heard nothing.

 

[Cscottrun]

Just tested on my iPhone 7 Plus 256GB (black), can confirm the sound.
As a test case, run something intensive. Like a browser benchmark:
https://developers.google.com/octane/

6S Plus: barely any noise
7 Plus: noticeable noise (focused nearer to the top of the phone)

Just ran this on my 7+. No noise. Guess its an intermittent problem.

 

[newellj]

I am starting to think its a defect and bothersome after paying as much as these phones are. I can live with the screen being moderately warmer than my 6S+ but this might be what pushes me to return. Whats worse is now that I know about it I always find myself listening in for the problem more often than not.....

I tried running the Google Octane benchmark that someone suggested and I cannot hear it on my iPhone 7 128GB. I held the back of the phone up to my ear I could not hear anything. Maybe I need to run something more demanding. Maybe I have bad ears.

It's very possible that what we are seeing is due to yield rates on the chips. Those that are well into the "good" range don't hiss. Those that are "bad" get rejected. It's possible that chips close to the "fail" or "bad" cutoff need to be "fail" to allow Apple to ship phones with no hissing. That would, of course, slow down production rates and delivery dates, fwiw.
[doublepost=1474201734][/doublepost]OK, this is vaguely interesting. I have two iP7s here right now. I downloaded the Geekbench CPU benchmark append ran it on both. One has a very clear, loud hiss/click noise under load. The other is basically silent - I could occasionally hear faint clicking if I was in a VERY quiet room. I can't hear any noise from that phone in a normally noisy room.

I do think it's normal manufacturing variations and chip yield rates that are the cause.