Q: iPad 4 speakers make crackling noise on keystrokes

Hi, I have the very same problem, iPad 4th Gen 32gb. It happens exactly in the same circumstances as you describe.

I wonder if this is a software problem or hardware as it seems to be intermittent and difficult to reproduce..

You'd think that logically if the speaker was faulty then it would have problems with loud music etc, but ours doesn't.

Someone suggested elsewhere that it has something to do with having no sound producing apps open in the background and the noise is the speaker waking up from sleep - I don't know.

Is this different than the sound of tapping the keys?

Yes, very different. It sounds like a distorted crackle or pop. It's very noticable.

It happens for one or two keystrokes then the sound returns to normal. Then if left for a while longer, it makes the noise again.

That's the funny thing, I can't seem to reproduce the noise if I want to. In fact yesterday it didn't happen at all.

happens here too. do we need a replacement

Hi Paayter, in answer to you I don't know if we need a replacement.

I haven't heard the noise for three days now, it seems to have gone. Issues like this are difficult to resolve if they cannot be replicated by the user. If you take it to an Applestore you have to be able to demonstrate to them what the problem is.

I have a feeling this is a software glitch in which case perhaps it will be sorted out by Apple in a future update.

Regards, Elberto

Greetings. I'm having the same issue, unfortunately. It comes and goes and isn't too frequent. Might be a sound power management bug or something. Audio in general seems to either lost or extremely quieted while the bug is occurring, if I'm not mistaken. The first time it happened, I rebooted and it was fine. The second time happened just now, prompting me to search for a thread like this. It went away on its own after about 30 seconds. At least I didn't have to reboot.

Perhaps a bug report should be filed if one hasn't already.

same thing just started with ours, intermittent cracking noise when typing. going to restart the system, dunno what else to do.

Same problem here. Seems to be mostly an annoyance and inconvenience. Has anyone found a solution for this?

it started the night i posted above (April 26); i restarted the OS, and it stopped and hasn't happened again since. so, sample size of 1 says reset your ipad.

Mine started this tonight too. Happened in portrait and landscape and with the keyboard. I reset and it so far so good, but I'm definitely concerned.

I also have this problem on my iPad 4 (purchased last month). It sounds like what happens when you connect/disconnect a live speaker to an mp3 player -- there's a little "pop" sound as the connection is made. Except it happens intermittently as you type.

I noticed that switching the iPad off and then on again makes the noise go away temporarily. It also goes away if I turn the sound all the way down on the iPad. This is definitely not normal. I wonder if it's a software or a hardware problem.