I've been experiencing some weird issues on my 2018 MBP (13" i5, 16gb ram, 512gb).
Issue #1: YouTube/Video Streaming/Audio Playback Issues
What's Happening:While streaming videos online (a good example would be YouTube) my audio will just cut out randomly here and there, occasionally bringing the entire video to a hault with buffering. Reloading the page doesn't solve anything and just leaves the video to buffer but never start, but I can play audio from other non-browser applications, like Spotify, just find.
Things I've done to attempt to solve it:
-Checked internet speeds (I have approx 83 down, 66 up... those speeds are relatively consistent throughout the day
-Switched networks (Tried two private networks and one public network)
-Multiple websites (YouTube, Vimeo, HBO Go (on HBO Go my video will randomly pause, my audio will rewind approximately 5 seconds, and then when the audio catches up to the video, it will continue playing as usual)
-Fully updated computer (10.13.6)
-Tried the Mojave Beta
-Tried 6 different browsers (Safari, Safari Technology Preview, Chrome, Canary, Opera, Firefox)
-Rebooting
-NVRAM resets
-SMC resets
-Ran diagnostics on boot (nothing found)
-Wipe hard drive start from new (not from backup)
-New user
-Nothing installed but default applications
-Gone to Genius Bar and talked to Apple Support (more on that in a bit)
Issue #2: 'Hey Siri' Doesn't Work Properly
What's Happening: When I activate 'Hey Siri' most of the time instead of Siri being activated the audio icons on the menu bar and touch bar get greyed out for a brief second before returning. Sometimes 'Hey Siri' works as usual. Sometimes both Siri gets activated and the audio icons get greyed out.
Things I've done to attempt to solve it:
-Turned off and on Siri
-Retrained 'Hey Siri' multiple times
-Fully updated computer (10.13.6)
-Tried the Mojave Beta
-Rebooting
-NVRAM resets
-SMC resets
-Ran diagnostics on boot (nothing found)
-Wipe hard drive start from new (not from backup)
-Start from backup
-New user
-Nothing installed but default applications
-Gone to Genius Bar and talked to Apple Support (more on that in a bit)
I have videos of both of these issues if anyone is curious.
When I went to the Genius Bar and talked to Apple Support they didn't seem to have any clue of what was going wrong. Some of the issues are hard to reproduce right on the scene at the Apple Store but they noted that the SMC (the T2 chip) seemed to be displaying odd behaviors (not exactly sure what that means). They sent me on my way after wiping my computer and not being able to reproduce the issue after 10 minutes. I was there for about 2 hours in total. They said if the issue persists then we definitely know it's a hardware issue and they will send it out for repair. I don't really want that after hearing similar reports online of people who got replacements and experienced the same issues.
Issue #1: YouTube/Video Streaming/Audio Playback Issues
What's Happening:While streaming videos online (a good example would be YouTube) my audio will just cut out randomly here and there, occasionally bringing the entire video to a hault with buffering. Reloading the page doesn't solve anything and just leaves the video to buffer but never start, but I can play audio from other non-browser applications, like Spotify, just find.
Things I've done to attempt to solve it:
-Checked internet speeds (I have approx 83 down, 66 up... those speeds are relatively consistent throughout the day
-Switched networks (Tried two private networks and one public network)
-Multiple websites (YouTube, Vimeo, HBO Go (on HBO Go my video will randomly pause, my audio will rewind approximately 5 seconds, and then when the audio catches up to the video, it will continue playing as usual)
-Fully updated computer (10.13.6)
-Tried the Mojave Beta
-Tried 6 different browsers (Safari, Safari Technology Preview, Chrome, Canary, Opera, Firefox)
-Rebooting
-NVRAM resets
-SMC resets
-Ran diagnostics on boot (nothing found)
-Wipe hard drive start from new (not from backup)
-New user
-Nothing installed but default applications
-Gone to Genius Bar and talked to Apple Support (more on that in a bit)
Issue #2: 'Hey Siri' Doesn't Work Properly
What's Happening: When I activate 'Hey Siri' most of the time instead of Siri being activated the audio icons on the menu bar and touch bar get greyed out for a brief second before returning. Sometimes 'Hey Siri' works as usual. Sometimes both Siri gets activated and the audio icons get greyed out.
Things I've done to attempt to solve it:
-Turned off and on Siri
-Retrained 'Hey Siri' multiple times
-Fully updated computer (10.13.6)
-Tried the Mojave Beta
-Rebooting
-NVRAM resets
-SMC resets
-Ran diagnostics on boot (nothing found)
-Wipe hard drive start from new (not from backup)
-Start from backup
-New user
-Nothing installed but default applications
-Gone to Genius Bar and talked to Apple Support (more on that in a bit)
I have videos of both of these issues if anyone is curious.
When I went to the Genius Bar and talked to Apple Support they didn't seem to have any clue of what was going wrong. Some of the issues are hard to reproduce right on the scene at the Apple Store but they noted that the SMC (the T2 chip) seemed to be displaying odd behaviors (not exactly sure what that means). They sent me on my way after wiping my computer and not being able to reproduce the issue after 10 minutes. I was there for about 2 hours in total. They said if the issue persists then we definitely know it's a hardware issue and they will send it out for repair. I don't really want that after hearing similar reports online of people who got replacements and experienced the same issues.