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F150Wahoo Author

Level 1

2 points

Audio Problem with 2012 MacBook Air and Thunderbolt Display

I'm experiencing an audio problem when I connect my 2012 MacBook Air to my 27" Thunderbolt Display. When playing audio of any form (e.g., iTunes, Skype, streaming music via Chrome), the audio starts out sounding fine. After about 1 minute and 40 seconds, you start to hear static mixed in with the audio. After about 3 minutes, the audio is completely overcome with static; the original audio is totally indecipherbable.

I only experience this problem when playing audio through the Thunderbolt Display's speakers using my 2012 MacBook Air.

The problem does not occur when playing audio through the 2012 MacBook Air's speakers.

The problem does not occur when playing audio through the Thunderbolt display with a previous-generation (mid-2011) MacBook Air.

I have installed all currently-available software updates.

Is anyone aware of a solution to this issue? Any help you can offer is much appreciated.

----

13" MacBook Air Specs

Model ID: MacBookAir5,2
Processor: 2 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory: 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
OS: Mac OS X Lion 10.7.4

27" Apple Thunderbolt Display (MC914LL/A)

MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012), Mac OS X (10.7.4)

Posted on Jun 23, 2012 10:08 AM

234 replies

Jul 26, 2012 8:45 PM in response to Robert Keith Costin

Nope, nothing. Problem reoccured after about 20 minutes. Here's hoping things get straightened out. I supposed it's not the end of the world. We'll just have to use external speakers for a while.

robshook

Level 1

0 points

Jul 27, 2012 12:44 AM in response to Robert Keith Costin

While no, it's not the end of the world, this is obviously not an uncommon configutation - and at these (premium) prices, it really should work. I expect they'll find a fix ...

Jul 27, 2012 8:33 AM in response to F150Wahoo

Update: Upgraded to Mountain Lion on my new 11" MBA. Still have the problem using an mbox mini USB audio interface WITH OR WITHOUT being plugged into TBD. Also doesn't matter whether I have wifi on off off.

Chipfork

Level 1

0 points

Jul 27, 2012 8:43 AM in response to F150Wahoo

Same, upgraded to mountain lion, updated firmware, wireless off and same issue as before and as described by others.

Jul 27, 2012 8:56 AM in response to Marco Meneses 11

Ethernet: 2days no fail.

Wifi: 25mins fail.

Ethernet: 6 hours no fail.

Wifi: 25mins fail.

Hmm... 😐 Think you might have something here!

Jul 27, 2012 1:27 PM in response to JofArnold

Ethernet: 2 days no fail.

Wifi: 25 mins fail.

Ethernet: 6 hours no fail.

Wifi: 25 mins fail.

Ethernet: 4 hours no fail.

Wifi: 16mins fail

Well... that's pretty convincing!!!

(Setup: 2012 13" MBA, 256GB ram running a 2012 TBD with Spotify playing. Ethernet plugged into TBD alone with 2x FW800 drives, an iPhone4 and a USB mouse. A USB3 HD is plugged into the Air)

And for those of you not keeping up, this is what it sounds like: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4051858?answerId=18859630022#18859630022

Jul 27, 2012 2:28 PM in response to JofArnold

Unfortunately, turning off the WiFi card is an option for very, very few people.

Jul 27, 2012 4:23 PM in response to Robert Keith Costin

Perhaps. But hopefully this will inspire some temporary solutions whilst they fix it - e.g. tethering works fine. And, of course, they probably will fix it.

Either that, or just don't use the TBD's sound until they do. I doubt there's many people out there for whom the functioning of the TBD's built-in sound is a life or death thing.

Jul 27, 2012 7:42 PM in response to F150Wahoo

Hey guys, did someone notice that Mountain Lion comes with a Firmware update for MacBook Air? It doesn't say anything about the issue but maybe it helps.

Jul 30, 2012 4:41 AM in response to Marco Meneses 11

I can confirm that it does not 😟

Jul 30, 2012 5:29 AM in response to RichardJones

Yeah. :/

Apple srsly, even if you don't know how to fix it yes let us know you are on it.

Jul 30, 2012 8:51 PM in response to rolandofromperu

No, I didn't find the update after upgraded to ML.

Aug 1, 2012 10:29 AM in response to F150Wahoo

I talked to Apple Care yesterday. I was told that Apple Engineers have identified the issue. As some people have already pointed out there seems to be a connection between the wireless adaptor and the audio issue. They will be releasing a fix for this, however they didn't provide me with a date.

remeha

Level 1

0 points

Aug 2, 2012 4:23 AM in response to Marco Meneses 11

correct, the pause button solves the static noise problem for a while, then it comes again.

Chipfork

Level 1

0 points

Aug 2, 2012 4:28 AM in response to F150Wahoo

So I have the same issue as listed by all. MacBook Air 2012 and TB display. Static after a few minutes and fix as listed by others by switching audio source..

But Im also using a 27" iMac with TB port as an external TB dispay and no issues at all after hours of listening to music.

Not sure what the significance might be but assume the issue is specific to the TB display and not the Mac...

Audio Problem with 2012 MacBook Air and Thunderbolt Display