MacBook Pro 2018 - Speakers Crackling

[Marketh]

I can feel another Supplemental Update coming to resolve this, they surely can't expect people to wait until Mojave's release.

 

[M.Rizk]

I can feel another Supplemental Update coming to resolve this, they surely can't expect people to wait until Mojave's release.

Expect it to come today since they now know what is causing the issue after @UnexpectedHuman posted the fix for them /s

Although this is meant to be sarcastic, you never really know. Their supplemental update also came same day as the VRM fix was posted here and on Reddit

 

[tjway2hot]

If the sound crackling is not permanent, it can be possibly fixed through a software update. Which is the only hope for these macbook pros

Yes and no. A lot of the crackling does actual damage to the hardware. Thats why its Cracking, because the cone and surround are being bent beyond their ability. so it WILL cause permanent damage if you continue to use.

 

[1050792]

Happening with Bootcamp too so it's not Software but an Hardware fault.

 

[Stux]

Happening with Bootcamp too so it's not Software but an Hardware fault.

Hardware and Software are very confused these days.

Its probably a T2 software fault. That's almost firmware.

 

[UnexpectedHuman]

Hardware and Software are very confused these days.

Its probably a T2 software fault. That's almost firmware.

It is a software problem, and at least in part due to the drivers. Apple also has to provide custom drivers for Bootcamp, because the T2 uses a proprietary PCI interface to the host processor.

 

[CreeptoLoser]

Happening with Bootcamp too so it's not Software but an Hardware fault.

It's not hardware.

The reason Apple produces so many of their own chips now is so they can run the designs and productions through diagnosis and error checking. They learned a costly lesson from that time when Nvidia's chips failed. They don't want to waste time and money with hardware returns and replacements.

Firmware and drivers can always throw up problems later though because customers have 100s of configs and uses that can't be checked during production.

 

[tjway2hot]

Happening with Bootcamp too so it's not Software but an Hardware fault.

Yes and no. Bootcamp is missing its software for sound, it falls back on generic drivers. As does macOS. Some are hardware but 90% are software

 

[princ2]

Does this issue happen on MBP 2018 13"?

 

[GerritB]

Firmware and drivers can always throw up problems later though because customers have 100s of configs and uses that can't be checked during production.

I think that for Apple there are lot less configurations to test compared to other manufacturer's though, especially since they do produce so many of their own components and they do not update OS's on some of the older Macbook's right? For this year's Macbook's there are what, 7 variations between the 13 and 15 inch? (not counting hard-drives sizes)

I think it's safe to say there were large errors made testing this machine before releasing it and I expect that the person(s) responsible for those tasks are getting some flack for that.

 

[vom]

Does this issue happen on MBP 2018 13"?

Yes - it happens on my 2018 13".

 

[princ2]

Yes - it happens on my 2018 13".

Makes me kinda sad - problems with those machines occur again.

Question is - is Apple aware and are they working towards fixing this?

 

[tjway2hot]

Does this issue happen on MBP 2018 13"?

bootcamp is missing 1 driver only for power ACPI and oddly no one is reporting the issue with the 2018 13in most likely because it uses the older intel chipset ect.
[doublepost=1533216738][/doublepost]

Yes - it happens on my 2018 13".

you say YES based off of what? The 2018 13inch has NO reported speaker crackling as it uses the OLD bootcamp, and still uses the OLDER intel chipset that the 2016-2017 used as they converted to QUAD not sex (6) core. and uses the old ddr3 LP. So the answer is NO as the new quad core has ONLY a upgraded graphics chipset and processor. IF anyone had the problem then its a RARE hardware defect.

 

[vom]

If anyone would like to try a *possible* workaround for the audio drop-outs, I have uploaded a driver to GitHub:

https://github.com/tSoniq/AudioFix

Unfortunately it is very difficult to test, since the audio dropouts are somewhat random. What the driver does is to reduce the power management applied to the IO system to improve responsiveness. Because of this, it may impact battery life.

If you want to try the driver without permanently installing it the install script can be run via "./audiofix.sh try". Rebooting will then restore things to normal. I do not recommend installing it permanently as Apple will presumably fix the problems in due course. In any event, the driver disables itself on an OS other than High Sierra on the assumption that everything will be fine in Mojave (so if you are running the Beta it will not do anything useful).

If anyone has any feedback - positive or negative - it would be helpful...

Thank you so much for making the effort on this. I'm trying it now (in <try> mode).

 

[fokmik]

Thank you so much for making the effort on this. I'm trying it now (in <try> mode).

Any succes?

 

[vom]

Any succes?

Well I just loaded it 5 minutes ago

I need to let audio run for a bit and see if I get crackling. I plan on having music going during the day today and work normally. I will try to post an update later today if I run clean.

 

[vom]

Well I just loaded it 5 minutes ago

I need to let audio run for a bit and see if I get crackling. I plan on having music going during the day today and work normally. I will try to post an update later today if I run clean.

Still getting crackling with this kext loaded - just happened I will keep an eye on the github repo for any updates and keep trying it.

 

[MikeVera]

My MacBook Pro just started doing this as well (TB 18' 15inch 2.2 I7 w/555x)

Smh, really hope this is a patchable issue.

 

[majestice]

I've been waiting for Apple to patch fix this since release of iMac Pro... more than half a year, various OSX updates but no fix

 

[UnexpectedHuman]

Still getting crackling with this kext loaded - just happened I will keep an eye on the github repo for any updates and keep trying it.

That is not a good sign. If you open a terminal, can you check that the kext was loaded correctly by running "kextstat | grep AudioFix" (if it is loaded you will see a status text line with the driver ident and version).

My laptop audio has been completely stable since installation. Now I will try uninstalling to see if the problem comes back...

 

[UBS28]

I have a 100% consistent way to get crackling speakers.

1. Go into bootcamp
2. Play any game for a while.

Are there people who do not get crackling doing this? (yeah, I know gaming is stupid on a Mac, but this is just for testing purposes)

If not, then we got a hardware problem.

 

[CreeptoLoser]

I have a 100% consistent way to get crackling speakers.

1. Go into bootcamp
2. Play any game for a while.

Are there people who do not get crackling doing this? (yeah, I know gaming is stupid on a Mac, but this is just for testing purposes)

If not, then we got a hardware problem.

I have a better solution. Don’t boot into a third party OS to run games. Install the latest Mojave and report back.
[doublepost=1533231272][/doublepost]

I think that for Apple there are lot less configurations to test compared to other manufacturer's though, especially since they do produce so many of their own components and they do not update OS's on some of the older Macbook's right? For this year's Macbook's there are what, 7 variations between the 13 and 15 inch? (not counting hard-drives sizes)

I think it's safe to say there were large errors made testing this machine before releasing it and I expect that the person(s) responsible for those tasks are getting some flack for that.

Sometimes you just gotta release a machine when competitors are and during summer holiday season.

 

[vaugha]

I have a better solution. Don’t boot into a third party OS to run games. Install the latest Mojave and report back.
[doublepost=1533231272][/doublepost]

Sometimes you just gotta release a machine when competitors are and during summer holiday season.

Haha, agreed. I had good laughs reading this.

 

[vom]

That is not a good sign. If you open a terminal, can you check that the kext was loaded correctly by running "kextstat | grep AudioFix" (if it is loaded you will see a status text line with the driver ident and version).

My laptop audio has been completely stable since installation. Now I will try uninstalling to see if the problem comes back...

Yep I did - and it was loaded. I ran it with try - and I got the warning about code signing. Went into Settings and allowed it, and verified it was loaded. When it crackled again, I stopped my music and manually unloaded the kext.

Is there anything else I can try ? Do you think there would be any benefit in installing it and rebooting ?

Thanks.

 

[GerritB]

I have a better solution. Don’t boot into a third party OS to run games. Install the latest Mojave and report back.
[doublepost=1533231272][/doublepost]

Sometimes you just gotta release a machine when competitors are and during summer holiday season.

Haha at this point I'll just assume you're trolling