Clicking and Popping sound before fan starts ramping for new M3 Max MacBook Pro 16

FrozenRouter Said:

"Clicking and Popping sound before fan starts ramping for new M3 Max MacBook Pro 16: This is my 5th Mac in more than 10 years and I've never noticed these symptom on all others. Anyone know what is going on and if I should get a replacement?"

-------

Troubleshooting Boot Sounds:

Why Risk a Faulty Mac?

Rather than fiddle with its settings, see about getting this serviced. It may be a faulty Mac. You have 14 days to return this. You have a one-year, out-of-the-box, limited-warranty on this. So, here is the Apple Support contact info:

• Contact Us - Choose Locations
• Proceed from there as necessary
• What the Wait?: Phone calls are taking a bit to go through at the moment, due do lots of calls. And that makes sense because with the Coronavirus Pandemic, many are at home at the moment, with much more time on their hands to contact Apple. So, just stay on the line, and you will get through.

I’m willing to bet this is normal. I hear the same thing on my 16” M3 Max. A little title click or pop or “tick” right before the fans kick on (sometimes maybe even after they’re on). It’s only once, though, and it’s definitely related to the fans starting in some way. I’ve kind of gotten used to it.

Like you said, it’s only audible in really quiet environments and you pretty much have to be next to it to hear it.

I ran hardware tests just to see if the fan would report as failing or an issue, but everything comes back as fine.

What did you end up doing?

Thanks for the quick reply. Ok, I guess I should address it while I’m still within the year warranty. Thank you!