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Loud static when using headphone jack

I've had my 13.3" MacBook Pro for three months now with no issues, yet today when I plugged in my headphones to listen to some music this immensely loud static noise started playing. It's the same with any kind of headphones or earplugs I use, or any kind of audio at all. It's inconvinient because I'm in the middle of editing a film for a client and can't use my headphones for full sound quality.

Any ideas?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.3)

Posted on Apr 4, 2012 7:07 PM

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Posted on Jan 31, 2014 8:27 AM

I've been having this problem with my 2012 15" MBP. Plug the headphones in and a horrible static which I hear whether viewing Netflix or playing iTunes. Tried different headphones etc. but nothing.


I then unplugged the power cable and voila, static noise gone.


I'm wondering whether it's ground loop noise, or because I have powerline adapters, it's giving feedback static through the power sockets.


Anyway, problem solved for me - if I want to listen to anything off the MBP while at home, I need to unplug it! My home's fault, not my Mac!

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Question marked as Best reply

Jan 31, 2014 8:27 AM in response to oliverschultz

I've been having this problem with my 2012 15" MBP. Plug the headphones in and a horrible static which I hear whether viewing Netflix or playing iTunes. Tried different headphones etc. but nothing.


I then unplugged the power cable and voila, static noise gone.


I'm wondering whether it's ground loop noise, or because I have powerline adapters, it's giving feedback static through the power sockets.


Anyway, problem solved for me - if I want to listen to anything off the MBP while at home, I need to unplug it! My home's fault, not my Mac!

Feb 20, 2013 12:29 PM in response to oliverschultz

Does the static noise you get create a loud almost screech type noise? I ask because I just posted about an issue using headphones on a couple iMacs at one of my schools. I called apple and had the guy listen to it, becasue although coming through the headphones there is a loud screeching beep type noise that comes though the headphones that is loud enough to be heard 20ft away. Apple told me take it in to get looked at because he has never heard about it.

Mar 20, 2013 3:16 PM in response to Bart2

@Fane_J .. i am facing the same problem & yes i can see a faint red light in my headphone port & i cannot hear anything from my headphones other than that loud weired static noise & even i am unable to use the inbult speakers too .. Any solutions ???

Feb 18, 2014 10:08 AM in response to oliverschultz

I did a lot of searching and found one suggested solution online (it didn't fix it completely based off their instruction) which allowed me to eliminate the static about 99%.


If you go to Applications>Utlities>Audio MIDI Setup


I was able to mess around with the settings for the headphones and it made the static mostly go away.


I chose "Format - 96kHz" and 2Ch-20 bit Integer. That's the best one for me. When a track gets REALLY quite, I can still sometimes hear a moment of static, but it is MUCH better than it was.


I am not sure on the technical side, for those you edit audio and video, what kind of quality this may eliminate, but for me, I just listen to iTunes and videos on ESPN, it is much more enjoyable now.


Mess around with the different combinations for you (and your specific headphones) and hopefully you'll find an optimal setting.


I hope this helps some people. Felt like I was listening to a mix tape from the 80s with the static.

Loud static when using headphone jack

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