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rjeffords Author

Level 1

30 points

macOS Sierra Update 10.12.4 Stuttering Audio

Yesterday I ran the 10.12.4 update in the morning. The install was pretty routine and upon completion, I noticed an immediate problem.

I use a Plantronics Audio .478 USB headset with my iMac. The audio to my headset constantly stuttered. I tested iTunes, YouTube, as well as Slack phone calls -- all audio had the same effect -- constant stuttering. I tried bypassing my USB hub and plugged it directly into my iMac, but the problem persisted. I reset my NVRAM, but the problem persisted.

Audio coming out of the internal speakers was find. I plugged in another headset to test and the problem did not persist. This lead me to believe that the my Plantronics headset was bad, so I replaced it with the same make and model (because I liked it). The problem persisted with the new Plantronics headset.

My last resort was to do a system restore back to 10.12.3. After that was complete, the audio no longer stuttered.

So what could possibly have been introduced in 10.12.4 to cause audio issues with this exact model headset?

iMac, macOS Sierra (10.12.4), null

Posted on Mar 30, 2017 7:34 AM

Top-ranking reply

BrianF

Level 1

44 points

Posted on Apr 5, 2017 8:11 PM

Using the solution form this thread: Re: Audio glitches with USB headset after upgrade to macOS Sierra 10.12.4 I tried a few different ways to make this work. Ultimately it was connecting my headset to an unpowered USB-3 hub.

Sabrent Premium 4 Port Aluminum USB 3.0 Hub, model HB-MAC3 purchased on Amazon, http://a.co/bXdeSWB ($14.99)

Other unpowered hubs may work. Other people report it working for them, but have not reported models.

2012 MacBook Pro, Retina Display, 10.12.4

Plantronics Audio 478 USB headset

Connect to unpowered USB-3 hub (Sabrent) works, whether plugged into wired keyboard, other powered USB-3 hub or directly into MBP.

Connect to Wired Apple USB keyboard (current aluminum model) did not work regardless of where attached.

Connect to old unpowered USB-2 hub did not work regardless of where attached.

Connect to unpowered USB-3 hub (AX88179 USB 3.0) did not work regardless of where attached.

Connect to powered USB-3 (unknown model) hub did not work regardless of where attached.

Hopefully a patch will be released soon.

View in context

67 replies

Jun 19, 2017 11:31 AM in response to zzzeni

Unfortunately, it seems that 10.12.5, whilst fixing some USB audio problems, has made others worse.

I have some pro-audio kit (synths) which stream audio over USB.

They were working fine on 10.12.4, but are now not working so well on 10.12.5

I guess I should open a ticket with Apple.

Aug 10, 2017 3:31 AM in response to rjeffords

Even I am facing this problem since I upgraded my Sierra to 10.12.6 2 days back. I don't even have a backup to roll it back to previous version. The internal speakers are working fine, but the earphones through RJ14 are stuttering. The stutter is happening across all applications - Firefox, Youtube, Safari, iTunes etc.

Hoping someone can help.

cbfiddle

Level 1

20 points

Oct 22, 2017 8:05 PM in response to rjeffords

I have had the stuttering audio problem with my Onyx Blackjack USB audio interface ever since I installed macOS 10.12.4 on my iMac in 2014. The interface had been working fine for three years before that. Recently, I tried some experiments and learned that by connecting the unit to the iMac directly instead of via a (powered) hub and with a different cable, it seems to work fine on 10.12.6. I'm not sure what that says about the cause of the problem. However, I'm not letting Apple off the hook, as something must have changed in 10.12.4 and not for the better.

kasimmm

Level 1

4 points

Dec 13, 2017 3:54 AM in response to rjeffords

Same issue happening on High Sierra 10.13.2, Macbook Pro 15 (late 2013)

Tried to connect to a DAC through usb

1. Didn't work when connected directly using any of the usb ports

2. Worked when using an unpowered USB3.0 hub

Apr 1, 2017 7:44 PM in response to rjeffords

You can find a workaround in this post:Re: Audio glitches with USB headset after upgrade to macOS Sierra 10.12.4

Felinae

Level 1

4 points

Mar 30, 2017 2:21 PM in response to rjeffords

Can you tell us what other headset you tested that was ok?

Apr 1, 2017 9:51 AM in response to rjeffords

how to do a system restore?

Apr 1, 2017 6:12 PM in response to rjeffords

Happening to me with two different Plantronics headsets:

.Audio 400D

.Audio 478U

Don't know if it has problems on input, but it certainly does on output.

Apr 1, 2017 7:03 PM in response to UnrealAllan

Hi Allan,

Someone told me to call Apple so that they can roll back the MAC OS to 10.12.3

Apr 1, 2017 7:31 PM in response to emirmadrazo

That's a lousy solution. I'm not rolling back unless USB inbound audio is put through a blender - I have a mixer I feed in for doing podcasts.

albpara

Level 1

4 points

Apr 3, 2017 2:14 AM in response to rjeffords

Same issue here with Logitech H340... and the funny part is that apple is not providing any solution

Apr 3, 2017 8:45 AM in response to albpara

Apple is definitely aware of this problem because I've got an open support case. However, they have yet to publicly acknowledge the issue or provide a fix.

kamtew

Level 1

4 points

Apr 5, 2017 10:23 PM in response to rjeffords

I am having the same issue with Logitech H340 (USB connector). It seems a problem with USB headsets only. Audio port works fine. Hope to get an update from Apple.

splintah

Level 1

4 points

Apr 7, 2017 7:01 AM in response to rjeffords

same problem

macbook air

microsoft livechat 6000

Apr 10, 2017 11:20 AM in response to rjeffords

I too have a .Audio 478 Plantronics headset, and also have the same stuttering issue since the 10.12.4 update.

Thank you for reporting this so soon!

macOS Sierra Update 10.12.4 Stuttering Audio