Popping Sound, MBP 2016

Hey macBookPro2016TROUBLE thanks for your explanation. Can you make some pictures or videos to help others solving the problem ?

I don't what to give my device to the apple personal, they will just make the issue more terrible.

Shame on Apple.

Hi Hector,

I waited more than a week to write this post. I wanted to confirm that I don't hear any more popping noise before writing on this forum. And therefore, I thought to share my repair experience.

I was thinking about putting some images or a video. But, I dont want to open my laptop again and go through the process, but I will just get the images of the part list and may be able to walk you through the procedure, soon Obviously, this may mean the warranty may be void. So, users need to be careful while repairing the laptop, so that they dont damage any other parts.

I have mixed views about the fault, I think more then millions of people have bought the Macbook pro 2016 model, comes with new hinge design and only less than 1% of them reported the issue (I think)?. Display wire ribbon doesn't come on the way to exhaust of the fan, so dramatic degradation of the display wire ribbon due to heat may have less chance? It very difficult to say, without knowing much about the property of the material, then we can look into fatigue life, thermal flow point of the material to predict some kind of behaviour. However, it the cable is sticking on the sharp edge of the antenna, may pull the cover off, may wear off over a period of time and also thermal degradation might impact the design. But when? I cant say. I believe Apple Engineers must have looked at the design details very well. However, they have made mistakes in the past by selecting poor material & design in the past for their own greed to save money and improve the issue in the next models. Thus forcing consumers to buy the product again.

A similar design ribbon connector wire is used in Macbook (I think), and I dont think any user of Macbook have reported such problem? However, other aspects did change. So I am quite not sure about this.

I will post the images very soon..

regards

Hi macBookPro2016TROUBLE, thanks for your explanation.

It is true that it should be clear that home repairs involve loss of warranty.

I apologize for the misunderstanding. The idea is to understand exactly where the problem is and to solve it. Everyone decides whether to go to the Apple Store or dare to do it at home. I dare to think that you could use some lubricant so the tape will not get stuck on the edge of the antenna.

I agree that millions of people can have the problem but very few report it. I do not want to take my MBP to the Apple Store because I have already asked them and they do not know the problem. I do not want them to make useless repairs.

I'm waiting for the pictures.

Thank you.

<Edited by Host>

macBookPro2016TROUBLE,

As someone who's been diligently following this thread, thank you for your thorough explanation. It's nice to have what seems like a viable explanation after months of questioning.

I definitely don't have as much experience in this field as you do, so bear with me. If the issue is indeed the heat/friction interaction between the antenna and surrounding wires, is this something that will eventually cause appreciable damage to the computer's functionality, or is it "cosmetic" in the sense that it doesn't threaten an aspect of the computer to a point that renders the computer in need of repair? Will this become a problem over time?

If you look back in the history of this thread, I believe several posters mentioned that their popping sound went away after several months. Is this caused by the friction between the antenna and the wires eventually becoming "smooth" through repeated bending/passing over? I.e. did you speed up this smoothing process by rounding the antenna with a nail file? If so, it seems that many of us can be confidant that the popping will eventually go away–fingers crossed!

All the best!

Hi AlphaHelix,

"

If the issue is indeed the heat/friction interaction between the antenna and surrounding wires, is this something that will eventually cause appreciable damage to the computer's functionality, or is it "cosmetic" in the sense that it doesn't threaten an aspect of the computer to a point that renders the computer in need of repair? Will this become a problem over time?

"

I think apple engineers must have taken those factor (heat & friction) into consideration at very early stage of development process. Those are mechanical design factor for fatigue due to cyclic/periodic/regular use (such as - opening & closing of the display) and due to random & repetitive thermal response from the laptop. Which needs to be taken into consideration while design laptop components. Also, They should have thought these factor during the design & development stage and the problem should have become obvious during the prototyping and testing of the product. So, I am not sure if this problem is very selective, which means there is some issue with manufacturing and quality inconsistency.

I am not sure, what kind of design & development process Apple go through and what processes they avoid based on experience and knowledge? As this design was taken from MacBook and it worked fine for small and lighter size laptop during testing. Apple didn't think much about the design improvement while implementing/using the same design to the heavier and big laptops?

The fact all the Apple technician from the genius bar and the engineers from Apple are deeming it as "Cosmetic Issue" is because the all the Macbook Pro model has small pins backed up with a spring system, which is attached to the main circuit board. These pins stop the undercover/backcover of the laptop to touch the circuit and may as well support them(I think)? They think, due to the heat from the laptop makes the pins pop from time to time.

It may become an obvious problem over time, or may not? I cant say much, but what I did notice was. The plastic used to make antenna body is of superior quality. It was easy to file and after filling the sharp edges, I cleaned it with wet tissue paper and it was not very obvious as if the edges were filled. However, I cant speak much about the quality of display wire connector and ribbon. We might see that this becomes a problem over a period of time. But, I would recommend the people popping noise problem should at least register the issue with Apple. So they are aware of the issue and when Apple will finally roll a repair service, the laptop might get repaired?

"

If you look back in the history of this thread, I believe several posters mentioned that their popping sound went away after several months.

"

I dont remember seeing such message from members of this forum? Can you point me out to the message?

"

Is this caused by the friction between the antenna and the wires eventually becoming "smooth" through repeated bending/passing over?

"

may be, quite possible. As I said, the plastic was not very hard and eary to wear & tear under friction.

"

I.e. did you speed up this smoothing process by rounding the antenna with a nail file?

"

I like to investigate engineering problems and when I saw the damages to the wire. I was able to connect the link. So, I tried and it worked for me. When I inspected at the antenna's edge, it was sharp, not as sharp to cut my finger or wire. But sharp enough to raise my eyebrows.

I will soon pull together some images and instructions for the work you all.

All the best!

<Edited by Host>

Hi Everyone,

Problem Solved!

Last week, I did a "chat" with Apple's support online. I told them that I've been following this thread, and that I did not want to goto the Apple Store, unless there is a solution. Just to save time. I was escalated to another "chat" rep. The second person, told me that they knew of the problem. (it helped that I had a video recording of the sound).

He created a case for me and made notes. He said, the store can do the repair.

I took my computer to the store on Friday. Explained the situation and told them to check the case number. They did, and have no further questions. They said, they did not have the part, but could do the repair in the store. However, I'd need to wait for the parts. Or, they can ship it to Apple for the repair.

So, I had them ship to Apple.

I got it back today.

Apple replaced the screen and case. It looks great and no popping sound. Also, when I move the screen slightly, no popping sound.

So far so good! Yeah!

Hope this is helpful to someone.

Ethan-

They gave me the choice. He said they could fix it in the store, but did not have the part, so it may take a week to get the part. Or, if they ship it to apple, they could fix it and get it back in my hands faster. So I choose to have thrum ship it to apple.

I suppose I could have held onto my computer and asked them to call me when the part comes jn.

But I also felt better about spoke fixing it over Thad local dude working st the mall.

I asked them if they had a loaner. Normally they do. But just ran out.

E-

Follow-up. Something interesting has happened with my late 2016 15 MBPtb. I've been hard wired for about a week with the Mac sitting on my desk. Screen has been on roughly a 100 degree angle. I had all my work stuff open for days. Noticed MacBook was consistently running a little hot, then realized via Activity monitor I had an app pegged at 33% CPU... must have been that way for maybe 4-5 days. Bad process, but basically the MBP was running quite hotter than normal for an extended period. No popping. Killed the process in Activity Monitor and CPU comes down, things cool off. No popping. Powered off for a bit and powered on. No popping. Some have been talking about wearing the antenna or cable out after a period of weeks and months and this seems to be happening for me as well. Hasn't popped in two days or so at least that I've noticed and my issue was incessant (30 times a day or so). Keep everyone posted. I think I might have 'cooked' the issue away....? I'm not recommending doing anything that may harm your Mac, but I wonder if anyone else has a heavy consistent workload like Final Cut or similar running for extended stretch, if they've also experienced a subsidence in the popping. Anyway, Weird.

Did it finally stop making the noise?

I too have the same problem. I took it to Apple and they just tested it and nothing came out. They formatted it and gave it back to me and the POP sound is still there.

Reset did not work for me, diagnostic did not pick up an issue either, it is almost certainly hardware caused, most likely hinge related. I just had my entire screen assembly replaced by apple (authorized repairer). The process i used to be able to replicate the pop no longer seems to work, fingers crossed it's fixed although the initial problem took around 2 months of use before it began. The person who posted the cause as screen ribbon cable related may be on the money.

Hi there! After a few days I was carry my MacBook Pro 2016 to an Apple Reseller. 2 days after they call me saying that they will change my Macbook for a brand new Macbook Pro, but the day when I was gone, they give to me a brand new Macbook Pro 2017! I'm feeling so lucky. The second day, when I'm using my brand new MBP 2017, I've noticed that the spacebar key has a little sticky sound. But all other things of the Mac is ok and the most important... NO MORE POPPING SOUND! and the keys doesn't got sticky when the Mac warms up like the 2016 model.

Hey have you experienced anymore issues since it was repaired? I still have the issue. my MacBook Pro 15 in with touch bar is one of the first ones made when first came out and have the problem daily.

I posted earlier in this thread. Hinge popping occurred on my 3 week old 2017 MBP 13". Contacted support and said i should take it into apple store to get it looked at. Scheduled an appointed but a few days later, the engineering department called me directly and said they would replace my machine with a brand new one. Just received the new one and so far, no hinge popping so all looks well but only time will tell. The employee i worked with was very keen on getting me satisfied. Said the issue has occurred (or been reported) on less than 1% of the machines they have sold so it is not prevalent (though i wonder how many people just don't report it). I don't really understand why my situation has been treated differently than some on this forum. Hope this helps. Let me know if there are any questions i can answer with my experience.

I got my MacBook Pro 13'' back this week, but the popping is still there. I contacted the same Apple Authorized Service Provider, but they said that they couldn't reproduce the sound after having replaced the "Display assembly 661-05324". They also said that they have no idea what is causing the issue.

I wonder if they should have replaced other parts, too.

However, the Apple Advisor I contacted earlier said that the problem shouldn't harm the laptop in any way. I hope that that's true.

That's very unfortunate. Today is rather humid in my area, I imagine it has something to do with it, but while I was applying the recent macOS Sierra update, my 2016 15" was popping like crazy, like every few seconds or so. Now that it's been installed it stopped. The noise not only came from the hinge of the display but also from the bottom casing.

I bought it refurbished in April. I'm monitoring this thread until Apple acknowledges it and fixes it properly.