I heard this clicking noise too lately a few times and never was sure if it even came from one of my Macs. M3 iMac and M4 Pro Mini. Can't also remember in what situations.
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Coil whine is the new normal
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I heard this clicking noise too lately a few times and never was sure if it even came from one of my Macs. M3 iMac and M4 Pro Mini. Can't also remember in what situations.
You don’t have to, I can hear mine in normal usage in a quiet room from a normal distance- this is just an easy way to check if yours exhibits the same and eliminates other variables preventing you from hearing it. Don’t be disingenuous.
The guy said he could not hear it at normal distance in a quiet room. He mentioned how his room was quiet to the point he can hear birds chirping.
Of course, there are several likely causes to this. One is his device does not make this noise for some reason. Differences in manufacturing could’ve caused his device to not do this.
Also, there could be differences in hearing. Some people have better hearing than others. Younger people will be able to hear higher frequencies than older people.
I don’t have the M4 Air so I can’t specifically talk about it but on my M2 I don’t hear anything. I haven’t put my ear to it or tested it in a soundproof room though. Under my normal use conditions, it’s not audible for me. I used to have a 2018 Mac mini and people complained about coil whine with it. I was able to hear something if I put in my ear to the top of it but for normal usage sitting at my desk, I could not hear anything.
I think this is all about perspective rather than one person is right or one person is wrong. Person a lives in the country and dead silence with no air-conditioning running. He has better than average hearing so he’s able to pick up even the slightest noise. The other person might live in a house with air conditioning running or even some light city noise. Combine that with possible variations in products and I think that’s the answer. It’s not one person is being picky, but rather they have a different perspective.
Uh yeah it does suck if true, I'm super sensitive to these things. Guess it's a good thing I stayed on MacBook Air m1 . Crazy how small things like this can make the whole computer a pain to use
I understand you are trying to be the 'nice guy', but I disagree that it's this black and white. Some people ARE just unrealistic. we see it here all the time. When someone returns something five times over the same perceived flaw... they should accept it's not a design flaw but just the design. take it or leave it. But instead some whine here about an Apple failure. Plenty of negative folks pile on. Sure, no doubt a few machines slip through quality control checks. But no business would stay profitable if their failure rate was greater than, let's say, 1% (and it's probably much lower for Apple), or 1 in a 100. Sure, bad luck. but twice? statistics say that would be 1 in 10,000. very unlikely you are that unlucky. and three times? 1 in 100,000. Some lotteries are more likely. No clue why people feel entitled to suggest Apple should meet their specifications rather than determine if Apple's specifications meet their needs. If not. Move on. I hear all the time 'the cost, it should be perfect.' rubbish. nothing is perfect, and your money doesn't guarantee that.
Case in point, when the original studio came out people complained about coil whine. Same issue, you can hear it from the back, in a quiet room, blah blah. Sure enough, when I moved behind it and put my ear to it, a faint whine. My answer? Sit in front of it.
Or the complaint that bright sunlight washes out a glossy screen. True. I sit in rooms with the window in front of me not behind. oh!
I am surprised no one has pointed out the obvious, coil whine... comes from coils. not chips. it's in the name. to say the M4 is the issue is pure rubbish.
The current dogma that all perspectives are valid is rubbish.
Of course there is a difference between “this product is defective” and “this product is not made how I want”. For example, if I complained that I can’t see my iPhone screen while standing in direct sunlight so I return it multiple times only every device not being able to see it then at that point expecting more out of device than it’s designed for. Maybe the answer is for me to stand in the shade or buy a different product that has the capability I want.
However, some people will argue with that the quality has gone gone down, so device is made by Apple used to be satisfactory for them and now are not. This is not my experience because with a few rare exceptions I’ve never experienced hardware problems with my Apple products. Those exceptions were years ago, so it’s not a new thing.
I’ve heard people complain about coil whine on the Studio and Mac mini. I’ve never had the studio, but I’ve had an Intel mini and it wasn’t an issue for me. For me to hear something I had to have my ear pressing against the top of it. This is not something I normally do when using my Mac so it wasn’t bothering me.
Sometimes the easiest solution is to change your surroundings. It’s not always possible, but I think people overlook this. I personally would love to have a soundproof room where I could maybe experience the joy of hearing coil wine, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.
So do processors and chips like the M4 not make any noise? I’m genuinely asking because I don’t know. The only time I’ve ever heard a computer make noise that was noticeable was when they had mechanical spinning drives. Whether that was a floppy, CD, or hard drive. Of course I’m not talking about fan noise, but actual noise from the components.
I think all perspectives are valid, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily reasonable to expect a manufacturer to make changes based on those perspectives. For example, some people might feel the aluminum on an MacBook is cold to the touch. That person’s perspective is holding a cold laptop is distracting. I can confirm using a MacBook as a laptop while wearing shorts is slightly bothersome. However, I don’t expect Apple to provide any type of heating or insulation from the cold surface. I usually put the MacBook on a desk or if I don’t have the desk insulate with a blanket.
Some Studios had a whine, but try running an equivalent Linux or windows workstation at high loads. It’s like jets taking off on AMD/Intel. I run a Linux work station with AmD thread ripper and Nvidia GPU. Compared to my Linux work station the M4 max noise is very minimal. I wish I had the luxury to inspect my devices beyond normal use. Let’s not even talk about the gaming laptops if you are going to put your head under heavy load on keyboard to hear whine, it will burn your face.
You forgot to mention at the same time your ears will be blown away by the jet engine roar of the fans attempting take off... seriously, I own an Acer Predator Helios 18 Gaming Laptop - 240 hz 18" 2560 x 1600 IPS Intel i9-14900HX, GeForce RTX 4080, if I try to play it after 10 pm the neighbors call the cops on a noise disturbance.
Coil whine if I press my ears to the keyboard in a dead silent room is a design flaw.
Give me a break.
play some tunes.
Did you just give me a participation trophy? Thanks
Anyone that argues quality has gone down has a very very short memory or just hasn't been around enough. Current machines are a thing of science fiction.
The m4 is the issue. M1-m2 airs have been silent under the exact same circumstances to me. The only thing that changed was the device. These noises can absolutely be avoided through better engineering. Stop making excuses for premium devices that don’t live up to their “premium” image. This isn’t an el-cheapo windows machine.
If apple was able to make dead silent MBA’s with the m1-m2, this is indicative of poor manufacturing changes or an inherent flaw in the m4 SOC/design.
BS. As clock speed increases there may be more audible frequencies in certain components. Faster SSDs also do this especially when doing heavy writes, but I still don’t hear it on my M4 Max. “Many people” are not complaining about this.
I’m guessing you never used a spinning disk hard drive, I don’t know how you could have possibly lived with a computer when you could hear whether the write head was going to fail before it happened by the tone changing.
Like I said you are expecting perfection and looking for problems, making broad statements about Apple’s quality surely without any EE or chip design background, and it’s something which has gone on for a decade in a way that suggests some compulsiveness which is more about what you can apparently not tolerate vs. Apple’s quality declining.
Their tolerances are very near the highest in the industry as far as hardware quality and consistency, occasionally there is a minor design issue like the M1 Studio but that was mostly resonant frequencies with the stock fan speed that was locked-in, “coil whine” doesn’t go away when you alter fan speed and it did on that model. To suggest that there’s some design flaw with the SoC is ridiculous.
If you can’t deal with whatever it is that you’re hearing, that apparently isn’t in some of the other products when normally using them, just move on. Looking for problems will find them. Talk to Apple about it, go into a genius bar and explain what you’re hearing and have them put the case to their head and see what happens. I don’t think you’re going to get a recall started, and I also don’t think it’s a widespread issue because we’d be hearing from hundreds or thousands of people. The resonance was noticed in the M1 Studio immediately, and that model sells probably 50x less than the MBA.
Apple has some weird issues sometimes like a potential difference that causes slight buzzing on some of their machines when you don’t use a ground plug which is a design decision I disagree with but… buying a ground plug solves it so, whatever.
You can try basic stuff like seeing if it occurs on battery power or not, and if not buying a ground plug, also getting a sine wave UPS which you should be using for the cleanest power possible, and hell if you want to go really far you could spend ten thousand dollars or more and get balanced power for whatever part of your house you use electronics in to really get rid of some noise floor.
You really have a few choices, live with it, get a different machine, or skip the M4. But if you can’t see a pattern here that isn’t related to electronics there’s a larger issue at play I think. Wish you the best.
Edit: why is this even in the MBP forum when they've only experienced this problem with the M4 MBA?!
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You did a good job and you earned it! 😂Did you just give me a participation trophy? Thanks
I had the CD drive on a MacBook Pro fail within two weeks after I bought it. I don’t think that was because of poor quality though. It was just a one off. The difference is Apple was able to fix this within a few days. I about to travel overseas and needed my laptop. If it would’ve been a Windows laptop, I would’ve had to buy a new one or be stuck with a broken laptop.
I don’t ever remember buying an Apple product and thinking the quality was poor or even not great. I’ve had complaints about Apple’s design choices but not so much build quality.
a) Premium is a marketing term and subject to personal definition. blah blah.
b) we agree Apple doesnt make 'el-cheapo windows machine'
c) we disagree on everything else, but it may be a simple matter of perspective.
My perspective is product design 101, 'you can't please everyone, but you better please the vast majority of your customers.' Rather than be subjective, let's look at some objective real facts. May 13, 2024, almost a year ago, the first device was released that contained the m4 chip that you claim is seriously flawed and has 'coil whine' (which by definition is impossible, no coils, but you don't seem to understand that so ...) in the iPad Pro (which I own), followed by the M4 iMac, m4 MacMini, and M4 MacBook Pro in November 24, and the M4 MBA in March 2025. Apple is a for profit company, if there was an overwhelming number of complaints and returns we would hear about it (pun intended) and if it was anything close to a majority Apple would top releasing M4 devices. So that means at best any objective concern over coil whine particular to the M4 is a small minority concern.
Your perspective seems to be, if you hear it, its a fail on Apple's part, and if the vast majority doesnt hear it, its because we have poor hearing. Which okay, I don't have any canine's in my ancestry so perhaps true, but Apple designs its products for the majority. Your perspective seems to be they should engineer for you because by your definition it's a 'premium device' which apparently means should have no design constraints. Reality is all designs are compromises and the more engineering you say should be done, means more money spent, which gets pushed to the customer, and I am not sure I want to pay more so that Apple addresses what is at best (or worst) a minority concern. Before we point fingers at who is being self serving let's accept these basic realities, research, engineering and hardware updates cost money. Customers pay the price. The majority of the customer have voted with their wallet. We all would like to pay less, few would elect to pay more.
I am trying to discuss this rationally, you have previously replied not with facts but anecdotes at best, and opinions issued as proclamations. I understand you are frustrated. I am not immune to your plight, but at the end of the day not only does a company have to make compromises to produce value products, customers have to make compromises to use those products. I dont use my MBA in bright sunlight, doesnt have the screen brightness, thats a compromise I have to make. You hear coil whine, rather than waste time ranting about the bad design that Apple is not going to change, you might want to invest in some form of white noise generator, or high frequency ear plugs, or play tunes or whatever it is that makes the experience better for you. Or, as you say, the M3 doesnt have this issue for you, the differences between the M3 MBA and m4 MBA is minimal at best. stick with the M3 and hope the M5 MBA does not have this issue for you. Or buy another premium computer.
Your thread has merit. I don't doubt it is a concern you have. And I am not saying it's ONLY you, when Apple sells tens of millions of devices, even if it only is an issue for 0.01%, that is still a 1000 people. You seem to think Apple, should design for that 0.01%, I disagree. Regardless, there are other people facing the same problem and they could benefit from constructive solutions. You have been presented with a lot of helpful advice. You can chose to ignore it and insist everyone is wrong, but eh, I tend to be more pragmatic than that.
Which means btw, I am not as you characterize me 'making excuses" I am acknowledging reality. apology accepted.
Yeah SOC flaw is ridiculous argument especially considering whining has nothing to do with it.
I had 3 HDD fail on my 2009 Mac Mini, made a shrieking noise before getting fried. Apple changed HDD adapter/HDD multiple times. Turns out I was stressing the mini too much 24X7. HDD couldn’t keep up. The Apple SSD have been very solid and never had issues.
You should return your MBA and buy something else. Let folks who have no issues enjoy theirs.
Yet there are not dozens of threads here and on other forums complaining of such an issue, which would be the case if it was as widespread as you claim.
Thanks everyone for all your thoughts and opinions. At the end of the day there isn’t much point arguing further. I posted this to raise awareness of a new issue affecting the m4 series. I don’t really care if it’s the m4 SOC itself or some other design change that came along with the m4
It’s as simple as, m1-2/3 air didn’t do it and was dead silent in all cases, so this should be the expectation for m4. So something has changed in a negative way. That’s all.
It’s as simple as, m1-2/3 air didn’t do it and was dead silent in all cases, so this should be the expectation for m4. So something has changed in a negative way. That’s all.
Same with M3.
ð m4 coil whine site:www.reddit.com - Google Search
www.google.com
ð m3 coil whine site:www.reddit.com - Google Search
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M2 Whine.
ð m2 coil whine site:www.reddit.com - Google Search
www.google.com
Confirmation bias is strong when some one wants to push agenda or prove a point. There are always certain small number of devices that are prone for whining be it M3, M2 or M4. Return if you have one of those machines with whine. Apple sells millions of devices, if it was normal the blogs and media and lawyers will have a field day.
Yup. I started repairing Macs some time in 1985, in my non-Apple upgrade shop (one of the first) in Berkeley CA, when the first Macs started to come off of their one-year warranty. Macs had been dying for some time before their first year of production was over, but until then, everyone had their Macs fixed on warranty.
The dreaded fried flyback transformer was my first repair, two of them at once, from one client who goaded me into trying it since he trusted me, though I don't know why, since I'd never repaired a Mac before, and I told him so. That particular repair became our bread and butter, doing a minimum of one a day, and usually several, for years afterwards. And so we graduated from just an upgrade shop, to an upgrade and repair shop.
And that didn't include all the other repairs that became common for the first Macs, like sliced-off read/write heads on the floppy drives due to a mistimed floppy eject software routine which was causing the shutters to snag the heads before the heads had moved fully out of the way. I figured out the problem and fix just through observation, and at my suggestion a friend of ours patched this in the OS, which became another big seller for us when we made it into a product, SafeEject, which Apple later adopted without a word to us, but they should have caught this themselves much sooner.
For people who don't remember that time, or for many years afterwards, you would not believe how many Mac models had so many hardware problems. It kept my business going for about 23 years before I felt I'd had enough. As you say, the reliability of today's Apple products, by comparison, is like science fiction.