MacBook Pro 2021 M1 crackling sound from Apple TV app

I'm having the exact same problem on my 16-inch MacBook Pro M1 Max.

Anything I watch on the Apple TV app has a weird rumbling, crackling, or pulsating noise whenever there are low frequencies in the audio.

I can confirm that this happens only in the Apple TV app (not on Youtube, Spotify, or anywhere else) and only when I watch content in fullscreen mode. As soon as I exit fullscreen mode, the crackling stops.

I can also confirm that changing the sample rate to 48 kHz in the Audio MIDI Setup app solves the issue.

Apple, please solve this issue!

I can confirm that switching to 48000 Hz in Audio Midi Setup Utility fixed this problem for me! It was only in the Apple TV app where I had this problem, it was not in Music, or GarageBand, or Logic. It only happened when playing downloaded purchased content in the TV app. It only happened when playing through internal speakers in the TV app. Routing sound through headphone jack, HDMI, AirPods, etc., was fine. Streaming purchased content through TV app was fine. Only happened on downloaded purchased content going through internal speakers. I had been so frustrated with this for weeks on my MacBook Pro 14" M1 Max with 32 GB RAM, 2 TB storage. Apple phone support was suggesting a visit to Apple Store. I knew this was not a hardware problem. Same problem after reinstalling OS, same problem in a new account. BUT, again, switching to 48000 Hz from 44000 Hz (default) in Audio Midi Setup Utility DID FIX THIS!!! Thanks all!

Hi Shranja, Confirmed sighting! After "fixing" the problem on the privious build I upgraded to 12.2.1. Then, after the updagrade, while watching Apple TV the crackling started.

I was able to "fix" it by changing the Format for MacBook Pro Speakers back to 48k Hz. 88k and 96k The sound cleared up immediately (while the video was playing).

A few interesting observations.

1) This (the crackling sound) only happens while using the Apple TV app. Audio from Youtube, Disney, Netflix etc don't show the problem.

2) On Apple TV, the problem only happens when there is background music. Typically audio soundtracs can be mixed to 2 track (stereo) or dolby 5.1,6.1 or 7.1. However, without debug access and diagnostic information, it's unclear how this triggers the problem.

Dear apple support, clearly this is an issue. No it's not a Sev1 issue but it would be great if you could please open a ticket and prioritize a fix into an upcoming build.

LB

Hello. I experienced this issue a while ago. First noticed it on 15 February where I was trying to show off my fancy new laptop with its incredible speakers. I thought it was glitch and carried on. I watch most things with my AirPods as I have a 10 month old and a girlfriend that blames me for waking her. Its not sound the wakes her but its easier to use AirPods. Anyway. I noticed it today on the apple event. I have therefore come to the conclusion that it is for Dolby Atmos things. If I watch the event on the apple website, Apple Events - March 2022 - Apple ,the sound is poppy and crackly. If I watch it on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUwg_JoNHpo there is not an issue YouTube doesn't do Atmos.. Another test is if you try the Family: season 1 trailer for see it wont do it, I know this isn't Atmos as my Soundbar tells me when using the app on the tv. But if you watch the one for season 2 "A Good Man" It does do it.

Now so far putting it on 48000Hz has fixed it. but I thought I would share this thought to see if you are finding the same thing.

I have a 2021 14" MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and 8gb Ram. With Mac OS 12.2.1

I just called Apple assistance and they helped me solve the issue (for now at least).

My MacBook Pro M1Pro 16" (bought on February 2022) had the crackling sound while using the MacBook Pro speakers without nothing else connected. The Audio Midi Setup suggested fix didn't solve it for me.

Apparently the issue was related to some unnecessary apps in the "login items" panel in the Users & Groups settings.

I removed all the apps from the panel and the sound runs clear now.

If this solution isn't helpful try calling the assistance, it takes some of your time but it might fix the problem for good.

If you read back a couple of pages you can see my self and at least one other person noting that creating a fresh user account immediately solved the issue. Played music for hours, not a single issue. Change back to my main account, crackles and pops return, which suggests it's a software/driver conflict. (well that or CPU load triggering it).

I think people may be missing their likely solution to this issue that was resolved in previous pages. I had the same clicking and popping sound during the playback of material, specifically on the Apple TV+ streaming app with my 16" MacBook Pro M1 Pro.

"Audio/midi setup" in the Utilities folder allows you to change the output sample rate. Mine was set to 44.1k and I changed it to 48k and the problem stopped. I actually have it set to 96k which is compliant with the sample rate that is mismatched at 44.1k it seems.. Give it a go

So... the issue has gone away for now.

What I did:

(1) I uninstalled the Corsair iCue application and drivers I installed for my Mouse and Keyboard.

(2) I followed the suggestion by @sbson on page 9:

Open up a terminal

cd /Library/Preferences/Audio
sudo rm com.apple.audio.*

Shutdown / Resart the machine

Sadly I did both at once so I can't say which helped.

(3) I had previously applied the "Midi" fix which did not help at all at the time, but worth mentioning since I had done it.

Installation was done from scratch on my Pro 13inch M1 with 16GB, ~2 months old.

Did below once, after that it was good for several days, then it came back once in a while.

cd /Library/Preferences/Audio
sudo rm com.apple.audio.*
Reboot

To me it seems the reboot fixes the issue for some time, in my case days. Unfortunately killing 'coreaudiod' is not fixing the issue for me. A fix that avoids a reboot is welcome as long as Apple hasn't made the effort to eradicate this.

Changing the 'Format' 'Audio MIDI Setup' to different Hz reduced the issue but did not clear it fully.

Installed 12.4 so far so good, but issue still seems to be there according to others.

Issue also occurred once on my AirPods Pro (~1 month old) (even in combination with my iPhone 12).

Maybe this is indeed an issue with corrupted cache/data like fundix is suggesting.

TL;DR It's a known software issue. Try reinstalling mac os. How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support

I started having this issue on a 2021 16" M1 Macbook Pro -- any audio I played (Youtube, video conferencing, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Netflix) would occasionally crackle. This would happen on the laptop speakers, through external speakers over HDMI and with my Airpods. Super annoying for a $3k premium laptop.

I took it in to the Apple store. The Genius said this is a known issue and is software related. He ran a hardware test and didn't find any issues. He recommended these troubleshooting steps:

1. Update to the latest version
2. Reinstall the OS (this keeps all your apps and data)
3. Fresh reinstall
4. Wait for an update from Apple

I was on the latest OS so reinstalled Mac OS (How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support) and so far it sounds good! No more crackling sounds. It's was pretty painless to reinstall OS -- took a couple of unattended hours and my system started up just as it was before the reinstall.

Now hopefully they'll release a more permanent fix to this in the next OS release!

UPDATE: 12.5.1 seems to have fixed it for me (available mid August 2022)

This issue was reliably reproducible for my when my memory usage went above 14GB (of 16GB). Since updating to 12.5.1 I have not heard the crackling, even above 14gb. Fingers crossed it's a permanent fix!

Using the Audio Midi Setup Utility set the format to 48000 Hz for the MacBook Pro Speakers. That should resolve the issue.

sbson wrote:

I was trying to solve that problem for many months and it looks like it can be fixed (at least I wasn't able to reproduce it again). The problem is somehow related to the recent update that corrupts Audio settings. So the fix is simple, go to. Open up a terminal:

cd /Library/Preferences/Audio

sudo rm com.apple.audio.*

Restart your MBP. Hope that helps!

I did what you mentioned and so far it's working great!

The only thing I did differently, to prevent any problems, is to rename the files instead of directly deleting them. I even noticed that the quality of the speakers improved.

For now I'm only going for 48 hours of testing, hopefully this is the final solution.

Thanks!!

The release notes for Monterey 12.3 briefly mention a fix for audio distortion with the apple tv app: What's new in the updates for macOS Monterey - Apple Support probably worth upgrading and seeing if it fixes it (I haven't yet). The annoying thing about this problem is that after a restart it often doesn't seem to start to reoccur for me for a few days.

MacBook Pro (16 pouces, 2021)

MacOs Monterey 12.3.1

What worked for my case :

1. (Menu Bar): Go > Computer > Macintosh HD > Library > Preferences > Audio
2. Delete the com.apple.audio.DeviceSettings.plist and com.apple.audio.SystemSettings.plist files
3. Empty trash
4. Restart your computer