Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

IconIc215

macrumors 65816
Oct 11, 2013
1,420
1,250
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.


Being that you have two iP7s and one makes this more pronounced to me makes this issue warrant a return. I get it that they wont be completely silent especially putting your ear right up to the back but to hear it from a distance is concerning. If your assumption of chips is correct, I do not want one on the lower end of the spectrum which may essentially fail quicker in the long run.
 

KimHansenDK

macrumors 6502
Jul 29, 2011
366
40
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.
I just downloaded some GPU benchmark app that runs some advanced graphics and even though the phone got a bit warm, I could not hear any noise coming from it. So I guess it is not a problem on all devices.
 

newellj

macrumors G3
Oct 15, 2014
8,147
3,043
East of Eden
Being that you have two iP7s and one makes this more pronounced to me makes this issue warrant a return. I get it that they wont be completely silent especially putting your ear right up to the back but to hear it from a distance is concerning. If your assumption of chips is correct, I do not want one on the lower end of the spectrum which may essentially fail quicker in the long run.

I just downloaded some GPU benchmark app that runs some advanced graphics and even though the phone got a bit warm, I could not hear any noise coming from it. So I guess it is not a problem on all devices.

I agree with both of you.

@KimHansenDK, which GPU benchmark app did you download?
 

iphone1105

macrumors 68020
Oct 8, 2009
2,106
316
I have this problem and frankly if I have to plaster my ear to the back of the phone to hear it, which I'd never do ever, then is it really a problem? I've heard a similar noise and old iPhones. Ehh not to concerned if it goes back it goes back not like they don't give you a new phone if you have an issue!
 

Animalk

macrumors 6502
May 27, 2007
471
19
Montreal Canada
I have no proof of this but I suspect the phones with the new intel modem are the ones who have the noise issue. The first years of the intel based MBPs I experienced the same issue and i rememembered reading about several other users experiencing the same thing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Vanilla35

KimHansenDK

macrumors 6502
Jul 29, 2011
366
40
I agree with both of you.

@KimHansenDK, which GPU benchmark app did you download?
The 3Dmark Icestorm benchmark.

I just tested it again and if I press the back of the phone (next to the camera) against my ear I can maybe hear some very low noise. I can only just hear it if I really concentrate in a totally quiet room - and the phone has to touch my ear at that special place on the back. It is actually the same on my old iPhone 6S - I have just not held the phone like that before under heavy load. So it really is not a problem...
 

iphone1105

macrumors 68020
Oct 8, 2009
2,106
316
The 3Dmark Icestorm benchmark.

I just tested it again and if I press the back of the phone (next to the camera) against my ear I can maybe hear some very low noise. I can only just hear it if I really concentrate in a totally quiet room - and the phone has to touch my ear at that special place on the back. It is actually the same on my old iPhone 6S - I have just not held the phone like that before under heavy load. So it really is not a problem...

agreed, not for me either, no if my iPhone start exploding like a Note, then I'll be pissed, cpu workload in a tiny space i get!
 

newellj

macrumors G3
Oct 15, 2014
8,147
3,043
East of Eden
The 3Dmark Icestorm benchmark.

I just tested it again and if I press the back of the phone (next to the camera) against my ear I can maybe hear some very low noise. I can only just hear it if I really concentrate in a totally quiet room - and the phone has to touch my ear at that special place on the back. It is actually the same on my old iPhone 6S - I have just not held the phone like that before under heavy load. So it really is not a problem...

I'll download that and run it for comparison. I ran the GeekBench app on my two iPhone 6 phones and they're silent.

Edit: the 7 that made some noise with the GB app makes a very faint, almost undetectable click/buzz with the Icestorm app. The other one is, as you'd expect, silent.
 

KimHansenDK

macrumors 6502
Jul 29, 2011
366
40
I'll download that and run it for comparison. I ran the GeekBench app on my two iPhone 6 phones and they're silent.
You really have to concentrate to hear it - and you have to press the phone to your ear next to the camera on the back. If I don't do that I cannot hear it at all.
 

mtulman1

macrumors 6502
Oct 17, 2015
321
267
Not to be a jerk as I wait for movement on my t mobile plus, is it noticeable with a case? I know lots of us like to show off the phone without a case but I wonder if that will be apples solution. If I had heard this hiss through my case you bet I would return it.

Rant: I should never come to a forum before release as I keep reading issues that make me think of keeping my jailbroken 6s+ Another year. Ugh.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shark5150

KimHansenDK

macrumors 6502
Jul 29, 2011
366
40
Rant: I should never come to a forum before release as I keep reading issues that make me think of keeping my jailbroken 6s+ Another year. Ugh.

I am pretty sure you can also hear it on your iPhone 6S+ if you run a benchmark and press the back (next to the camera) against your ear. But you don't do that when using your phone so it really is not a problem...
 
  • Like
Reactions: realeric

Vanilla35

macrumors 68040
Apr 11, 2013
3,344
1,453
Washington D.C.
I have no proof of this but I suspect the phones with the new intel modem are the ones who have the noise issue. The first years of the intel based MBPs I experienced the same issue and i rememembered reading about several other users experiencing the same thing.

This would make a lot of sense, since people are primarily witnessing this during heavy load, during downloads and iCloud syncing! I wouldn't be surprised if Intel modems had an issue like this.

I have had whines from iPhone camera sensors on the back, and from SSD's before, but this doesn't seem to be like those situations (from what I can read - I don't have a 7)

I suppose the test here would be to turn on Airplane mode, and try and play a CPU/GPU intensive game (or processing app) for a couple minutes, with no sound on (in a quiet room), and listen for a sound.
 

iphone1105

macrumors 68020
Oct 8, 2009
2,106
316
The direction isn't that relevant if proximity is close enough to still be heard, despite it facing the other way.
FWIW I had two called this morning total time 30 minutes, and i have the noise never once heard it from the front end of the phone, nor did it interfere with the phone calls.
 

netnative

macrumors 6502
Nov 21, 2013
433
320
Puerto Rico, USA
I am pretty sure you can also hear it on your iPhone 6S+ if you run a benchmark and press the back (next to the camera) against your ear. But you don't do that when using your phone so it really is not a problem...

I have an iPhone 6s Plus, tried that with Geekbench 3 and could not hear any noise.
 

burgman

macrumors 68030
Sep 24, 2013
2,777
2,368
I listened to it, almost sounds like the processor inducing noise into something else. Definitely not right.
Really? And where is your degree in electrical engineering from? Thanks for the laugh from the posters who hear it and think it's a problem. Is it louder in a dark closet after holding the phone up to your eye looking for light bleed?
[doublepost=1474209937][/doublepost]
I'm by no means an expert on this topic, but do you really think that audible static coming from internal components of a smartphone could be considered normal? I'm putting my ear up to my rMPB with an i7 and dedicated GPU and it is dead silent.
[doublepost=1474079103][/doublepost]Which carrier does everyone have? Maybe it's specific to the non-CDMA models since I have at&t?
While using the phone AS DESIGNED, do you hear anything or see anything? If not throw your phone in a river because clearly you shouldn't own one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chabig

aj8690

macrumors regular
Aug 28, 2012
112
107
Columbus, OH, USA
You're not supposed to hold the BACK of the phone up to your ear. Why would you do that?
Seriously? You still hear an earbud when it's facing the direction opposite your ear. You still hear an external hard drive regardless of which of the six sides of the enclosure you place your ear. Also see below.
The direction isn't that relevant if proximity is close enough to still be heard, despite it facing the other way.
Exactly. Thanks for dumbing down sound 101, because you were a lot nicer than I would have been.
While using the phone AS DESIGNED, do you hear anything or see anything? If not throw your phone in a river because clearly you shouldn't own one.
I already posted my experience on a 46 minute call earlier in this thread. My engineering degree is from UCF. Class of 2014.
 
  • Like
Reactions: needfx

IconIc215

macrumors 65816
Oct 11, 2013
1,420
1,250
See this is hard to pinpoint because what one user might hear another user might not if given the same phone. Depends on how sensitive your ears are which makes this hard to judge how widespread the issue is within a forum. Now that this has been caught by all these tech sites its hard to believe we still have no idea which component it is coming from. Obvious answer would be the CPU but who knows. I just want confirmation good or bad that this is a defect or normal operation. Its one of those things where once you know its there you tend to listen for it. Similar to last year with the screen issues, once aware it was hard to "not see" the problem spot. I would be curious if display models have it although might be hard to hear in a store environment.
 

KimHansenDK

macrumors 6502
Jul 29, 2011
366
40
I have an iPhone 6s Plus, tried that with Geekbench 3 and could not hear any noise.
Maybe you can just not hear it? We have two iPhone 6S and an old iPhone 6 at home and they all make this low noise. Don't get me wrong - it is not a problem at all. You can just barely hear it in a quiet room when pressing the back of the phone against your ear. I bet this "noise" has always been there...
 
  • Like
Reactions: realeric

netnative

macrumors 6502
Nov 21, 2013
433
320
Puerto Rico, USA
Maybe you can just not hear it? We have two iPhone 6S and an old iPhone 6 at home and they all make this low noise. Don't get me wrong - it is not a problem at all. You can just barely hear it in a quiet room when pressing the back of the phone against your ear. I bet this "noise" has always been there...

If the iPhone 7 Plus that is delivered to me makes the "noise" and I cannot hear it, then I do not have a problem.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: realeric
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.