Q: iPad air 2 pop noise

I'm on my third Air 2 now also... First one was perfect bar the pop noise - (production week 42)  .... Second one from a few days ago was horrible - (production week 41)... not only was it a little scuffed & scratched on the back, but it had a dead pixel!.... the resposiveness of the screen was playing up  ...and the pop noise seemed worse than first Air 2!..... :-| ..bad form.

Now on my third since yesterday - (production week 38!!?) .... and I just might have a goodun... it's pretty much perfect  - (I can live with the vibration thing) ..........and so far!.... No ***ping!!! ....tried the usual ways to make it happen, including the method posted above.... and ....it's silent... =)....... but, we shall see.

I'll put it through it's paces throughout the week in a quiet room, so no TV / radio mask any pops sounds... and see if it holds up.

Well, it looks like playing if we perform the same action again and again to reproduce the issue. But this is only to show the issue on purpose because it happens when an app is launched or closed that has audio output. The keyboard uses the speakers and they get powered up when the keyboard comes up. It seems the supervisor you spoke to had no idea of what you were talking about at all.

I did a little research on the web today and found a program called Antipop. It deals with a similar issue on old Macbooks. The author wrote: Apple implemented a power-saving feature which turns the audio subsystem off after about 20 seconds of inactivity. So, the issue (or syndrome, as I like to put it) was aptly dubbed “Snap-Crackle-Pop” because that’s the sound that it would make when the audio system turns on and off. In a nutshell, Antipop is a launch agent which uses the Mac OS X “say” terminal command to speak a ‘space’ every 10 seconds. Because the sound is a ‘space’, technically there is no audible sound but the system is forced to play it anyway – blocking the audio system from going to sleep (power-saving mode).

It's an interesting approach although it drains battery power. I never get the pops while a sound is playing or when using an app that has no audio output at all. It only happens when the speakers are switched on or off.

I did a little research on the web today and found a program called Antipop. It deals with a similar issue on old Macbooks. The author wrote: Apple implemented a power-saving feature which turns the audio subsystem off after about 20 seconds of inactivity. So, the issue (or syndrome, as I like to put it) was aptly dubbed “Snap-Crackle-Pop” because that’s the sound that it would make when the audio system turns on and off. In a nutshell, Antipop is a launch agent which uses the Mac OS X “say” terminal command to speak a ‘space’ every 10 seconds. Because the sound is a ‘space’, technically there is no audible sound but the system is forced to play it anyway – blocking the audio system from going to sleep (power-saving mode).

 

It's an interesting approach although it drains battery power. I never get the pops while a sound is playing or when using an app that has no audio output at all. It only happens when the speakers are switched on or off.

 

 

I'm pretty sure that's been the issue all along. I don't think it's a hardware issue at all.

Fascinating. This has completely backed up my theory from day one that it is software. The fact that my Air 2 can be completely inactive and untouched and will pop as a push notification comes through tells me that it's happening when the speakers wake up.

Yes, and it explains why mine, a first week release, popped several times a day and yet hasn't popped for four weeks. And I haven't updated to the latest iOS.

Hardware wouldn't fix itself, but software will do different things depending on what else is running.

I Have this problem with my MacBook late 2009 and my iPad air 2.

Air8 wrote:

 

Well, it looks like playing if we perform the same action again and again to reproduce the issue. But this is only to show the issue on purpose because it happens when an app is launched or closed that has audio output. The keyboard uses the speakers and they get powered up when the keyboard comes up. It seems the supervisor you spoke to had no idea of what you were talking about at all.

 

I did a little research on the web today and found a program called Antipop. It deals with a similar issue on old Macbooks. The author wrote: Apple implemented a power-saving feature which turns the audio subsystem off after about 20 seconds of inactivity. So, the issue (or syndrome, as I like to put it) was aptly dubbed “Snap-Crackle-Pop” because that’s the sound that it would make when the audio system turns on and off. In a nutshell, Antipop is a launch agent which uses the Mac OS X “say” terminal command to speak a ‘space’ every 10 seconds. Because the sound is a ‘space’, technically there is no audible sound but the system is forced to play it anyway – blocking the audio system from going to sleep (power-saving mode).

 

It's an interesting approach although it drains battery power. I never get the pops while a sound is playing or when using an app that has no audio output at all. It only happens when the speakers are switched on or off.

 

 

I wouldn't call it "playing" but "trying to replicate the issue" instead. But yeah the supervisor had no idea, as a matter of fact nobody at Apple i've been talked to has any idea of this.

Software? Happy holidays guys. I am so sorry Apple won't work with you to replace your device. I wish you all the best and I hope that you get in touch with an iOS Senior Advisor and get your iPads "fixed" or replaced. Happy new year too.

I have it too it mostly happens when i use spotlight search, IOS 8 is rubbish.

I'm not sure whether this can be fixed in software.

The guy who wrote this Antipop created a workaround for a hardware problem.

For instance, the Air 1 doesn't pop with iOS 8. The audio amplifier chips in the Air 2 are different from the chips used in the Air 1. Other components like capacitors and resistors are part of the audio circuit as well. If all these components aren't tuned carefully, things like a pop noise can happen when an amplifier powers up. The internet is full of research information on that topic.

The audio circuit in the Air 2 could be prone for the frequent power on/off switches while the circuit in the Air 1 is not.

From a software perspective, it could help to increase the time before the amp is switched off but that's still a workaround. Only the Apple developers might know if the audio driver can be tweaked to eliminate the problem completely.

II've had my replacement Air 2 two weeks now after taking the original popping version back to my local Apple Store (in the UK) , they replaced it o  safety grounds..   All's now  good pop free !.

gwrx wrote:

 

Yes, and it explains why mine, a first week release, popped several times a day and yet hasn't popped for four weeks. And I haven't updated to the latest iOS.

Hardware wouldn't fix itself, but software will do different things depending on what else is running.

Perhaps you have an app running in the background that prevents entering audio sleep mode.

Why do you think its not hardware related. Mine had the sound coming from the top left the screen. And it sounded just like a static discharge. I got it replaced at a local Aplle store a couple of weeks back and not a single pop or crackle from my new one.

Alphacatt wrote:

 

Software? Happy holidays guys. I am so sorry Apple won't work with you to replace your device. I wish you all the best and I hope that you get in touch with an iOS Senior Advisor and get your iPads "fixed" or replaced. Happy new year too.

Thanks for your best wishes, happy holydays for you too.

I won't accept a possible "repair" only a brand new replacement will do like many of you got, one with 0 weird noises.

Is there any kind of local TV news segment where you are like a Consumer Watchdog that helps people who get ripped off by big companies?