Q: Popping Sound with USB

I've had the issue go away, then come back, and have what seems to be a fix for me...If I close all other apps running in the background and even turn off wifi, I don't seem to have the issue. Perhaps this isssue is due to the processor not being able to keep up, or RAM use?

So I just restored my iPod Touch (I had auto-backup turned on, so all my apps and settings remain) and the popping noise has gone away. Sound quality is perfect again too, so now comes the arduous task of adding back all my music (I have over 60 gigs to wade through).

Getstew, I'm really hoping this issue doesn't creep back up, as I originally closed all other apps, restarted Music, tried restarting the iPod etc. It does seem to be a glaring issue that Apple needs to address, as it completely ruined the sound quality, and a regular auxilary connection is nowhere near as clear as my car and stereo's direct connection.

In the meantime, thanks for the advice Mac-Win Harmony. I'll post an update sometime in the future if the issue comes back, or if it seems to be ok after the next iOS update. Regards,

s.

I am so glad I found your post. I too am an audio engineer and was quite puzzled by this problem.

I purchased an ipod touch 32gb over the weekend updated with latestet OS and instantly noticed the popping sound when I plugged into (usb) my Pioneer deck of my car which is made for an ipod/iphone.

I got the noise to stop only by turning off wifi, email accounts and any other app that would be searching for a connection to function. then powered off device. Plugged the usb/apple cable into the stereo then with ipod OFF, plugging in the cable to the ipod and letting the deck turn the device on for me. Noise gone.

I will experiment further and will repost if the problem appears again. It is definatley a device isssue that Apple should address. We should always be able to use the device the way it was meant to be used, not jump through hoops to solve OS problems.

I am having this problem as well with a 32GB iPod 4g running USB through Ford's SYNC system in a 2012 Mustang GT. Very annoying!! I wish they would figure it out and fix it, I love my iPod/iPhone and it works brilliantly with SYNC, but the sound popping is BIG deal. Step up and fix it Apple!!

I just bought a new car Kenwood car stereo and had it installed at Best Buy. When I plug my ipod touch 4th gen. into the Aux input it sounds great, but I am getting the popping noises when I plug in via USB. I haven't tried any of these random fixes yet but will try them today. I guess plugging into the aux in is alright, but I'd really like the convenience of plugging in via USB since that way it can charge at the same time without any extra cords.

I also have a Kenwood stereo, and experienced the same issue. Same thing on my Pioneer receiver. As I mentioned above I had restored the iPod, and the issue went away, however now it has come back not even 2 months later. I can't isolate any one cause; I didn't update iOS, which is what seemed to cause it the first time.

Now I'm completely at a loss, since I don't want to restore my iPod every couple of months, and re-add 30gb of music just to have the popping noise return. Looks like I'll be going Android when it comes time to upgrade my phone, as the experience with the iPod Touch has put me off sticking with Apple hardware.

Seeing these new posts I thought I would update.

Since I tried the first experiment, I have had only one instance of this noise reccuring and that was while listening to Headphones and using the device to play a game (again Ipod touch 32 g, 4th gen, current OS).

I haven't had the problem in my car through my Pioneer head unit since the first time i tried the fixes on here.

To poly and ego above. Have you tried turning off the device before connecting via usb to your cars headunit? Letting the usb power up the device? I do this every time and it seems to be working fine when I do. I originally turned off the wireless network too, but then I experimented with leaving the wifi on after the problem stopped the first time and it has been fine everysince with wifi turned on, which I find very strange.

I have also disable all notifications on the ipod (push notification, turn off email). This noise seems to be happening if the device is trying to do multiple things 

Obviously Apple needs to work out a fix for this bug. I hope my suggestions work for you. If this is happening for Iphone customers I feel sorry for them. with the touch at least I don't really care about email and other notification funcitons while in my car so I don't care if those are off. I just wanna rock out without being annoyed.

Hey, a few weeks ago I had a new Kenwood head unit installed in my 2000 Blazer, and just yesterday I had all the speakers replaced and subs and an amp installed.  I have a 4th Gen Ipod Touch, play it through my car head unit with a USB cord, and like everyone else in this thread, have been experiencing plenty of "popping" issues. 

I took my truck back to Audio Express today and informed them of the problem.  They said that the popping was because I had too much bass going to the front speakers, so they installed bass dampening kit to the two front speakers.  While still in the parking lot, I hooked up my Ipod, played a song where I know I would be able to clearly hear any popping sounds...and sure enough, it was still popping like crazy.  I happen to catch the the technician who worked on my truck that day, he listened to it, and told me that it was most likely my Ipod that's causing the popping.  Be it either corrupted files, damaged hardware, damaged wire, or something else.

Naturally, I came home and did some Googling.  After reading through this and many other threads, the one common solution I saw was to turn off ALL push notifications and to close ALL background apps.

I did just that...and sure enough, THE POPPING IS GONE.  Even when I played the song I played earlier(Daft Punk's "Rinzler" from the Tron Legacy OST), there was absolutely no popping at all.  I also tested this with plugging the USB into an on and off Ipod, and either way, there was no popping.

I probably didn't even need to take my truck in and get those bass dampeners installed, but the technician did say that he heard a little bit of popping even with a CD playing, so at least I got that fixed anyway.

tl;dr version: TURN OFF ALL PUSH NOTIFICATIONS AND CLOSE ALL BACKGROUND APPS.  PROBLEM SOLVED.

I have the ipod model MC544LL, iOS 5.1.1 and I've been experiencing the popping noise problem that has been described here on this thread. I've tried the latter solution of "letting the system power up the ipod" and "closed all background apps". Sure enough the popping noise problem went away. Now I've isolated each step, and found that I do not need to let the system power my ipod up from "power off". Simply closing majority of my apps has solved the problem for me! Thanks you all! The noise was driving me NUTS!

Hi;

tried this today and the popping still persists. I have tried playing with the volume in "Music" and that seems to make it less. I also shut down all the background apps, power cycled the phone, and did a sync to iTunes. Very frustrating....

It definately appears to be something to do with the scheduler and clipping packets or doing interrupts.

With so many people experiencing this issue, and the fact that the problem seems to go away when they turn off stuff in the background (additional apps, notifications… etc.). It sure seems like this is a processor issue, like the processor can't keep up and the audio suffers. It would also kind of explain why Apple won't even acknowledge the problem, they don't want to replace their hardware yet. What do you bet this problem is magically solved when the next iPod is released?

I had a smug "genius" flat out tell me the problem doesn't exist, and then refuse to even look at this thread.

Hi;

I think you are right about how the "flow" is not steady and something is clipping or interrupting at a very intermittent way. I am not sure it is the CPU or other chips because it seems others have isolated the combination. Meaning there is no issues with the 3.5mm jack.

I should say I am using a iPhone4 into a Alpine. So, we all have more or less isolated the issues to the use of the USB and it does not matter about the headunit or cable.

What that smells like is something with the OS scheduler for multi-tasks and the driver for the USB interface. it might not have enough buffer or it might have too low priority and some situations start the clipping of packet flow.

It is anyone's guess.... But it should be something Apple labs can investigate and improve either in the software, or if indeed it is a HW issue replace the defective unit with an upgrade sometime.