Level 1

92 points

Volume triggered Muffled Speakers - 2016 MBP 15” Fault (w/ Video Demonstration)

Hello all,

I’m having an unusual problem with my Late 2016 Macbook Pro 15” with Touchbar (model shipping 17th December 2016).

Whenever playing audio that reaches a certain volume the internal speakers would become muffled. When lowering the volume the sound continues to be muffled. The only way to get clear sound is to either:

Restart my Macbook
Plug in headphones and pull them out again
Type ‘midi’ into spotlight to enter ‘Audio MIDI Setup’ and change the audio frequency (Hz) of the Internal Speakers output.
Killing the ‘coreaudiod’ process within terminal or activity monitor and restarting it.

Increasing the volume again will result in the audio becoming muffled again.

In this video I demonstrate the problem in detail.

I find this problem unusual as I’ve searched extensively for a resolution and cannot find anyone else with the same problem. I realise there was a problem around launch with bootcamp audio drivers breaking the speakers. However I had never used bootcamp and this problem started in the past week.

Here are the things I’ve tried

I’ve reset the NVRAM/PRAM (on multiple occasions) [Via. boot keypresses & terminal]
I’ve reset SMC (on multiple occasions, however as there is no confirmation I’m unsure if it really processed)
I’ve formatted & reinstalled OSX Sierra (version 10.12.5)
I’ve formatted & Internet Recovered OSX Sierra (version 10.12.5)
I’ve downloaded an older version of OSX Sierra (version 10.12.2) and installed it.

Yet, the problem remains.

I decided to install Windows 10 via. Bootcamp and the problem no longer occurred. However after some use it started occurring. I believe it is harder to trigger the muffled sound as Windows 10’s maximum volume on the MBP 2016 is lower.

Apple Diagnostics report reference code ADP000 ‘No issues found’.

I’m tech savvy, however am stumped at what is causing this.

Hopefully some of you have some ideas?

At first I thought it was a software issue however after trying everything outlined above I no longer think this is the case. Do you think I should take my mac in for warranty? This is a last resort as I’d hate to be without my mac for a week.

See the full demonstration on YouTube here!

Keywords to help others search for this problem.

Poor Quality Sound, Low Quality Audio, Sounding Distant, Sounding Hollow, Sounding Underwater, Low Pitched, Distorted, Deep

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2016), macOS Sierra (10.12.5)

Posted on Jul 16, 2017 5:09 AM

Top-ranking reply

freezeyjn

Level 1

9 points

Posted on Oct 9, 2019 6:39 PM

2017 15" macbook pro with touch bar. Started experiencing this issue about 6 months ago (I have two posts in this thread already about it).

I finally took the laptop into the Apple store for repair, and they replaced the top case assembly, as others have reported, plus the logic board itself. By my understanding, this means they replaced everything on the computer except for the chassis and the display. If I hadn't purchased the extended AppleCare when I bought the laptop, it would not be worth the expense to repair.

View in context

134 replies

asrytis

Level 1

4 points

Jul 12, 2019 6:42 AM in response to matt_90

Same problem on my 2016 15" mbpro. What an awful machine. Worst keyboard on the market and now the speakers have stopped working properly.

Jul 17, 2019 10:47 AM in response to freezeyjn

My speaker issue returned today. Resetting the NVRAM and SMC on my macbook definitely did not provide a permanent resolution.

Jul 30, 2019 7:54 PM in response to matt_90

I am also having the same issue only with the right speaker with a 2017 MacBook Pro. Trying to see if I will have to pay for the fix because the warranty expired. Simply bizarre.

asentner

Level 1

4 points

Oct 15, 2019 8:28 AM in response to khemsurov

That sounds promising. I'll upgrade tonight and report back! Would you mind keeping us updated on yours?

asrytis

Level 1

4 points

Oct 15, 2019 9:32 AM in response to khemsurov

Just upgraded and the issue is still there

Okok2ok

Level 1

4 points

Sep 20, 2017 6:33 PM in response to Bryan Bassett

Bryan, you just saved me a trip to the Genius Bar. I ran into a the similar type of issue about six months ago with my Late 2016 15' MBP, though in my case, only the right speaker sounded muffled. I actually had run bootcamp beforehand, so I thought I must have blown out the speaker like other users were complaining about late last year. I took your advice and switched the output's hz--now the right speaker sounds just as clear as the left one. Thanks for the tip!

Sep 22, 2017 6:05 AM in response to matt_90

Went to apple store. They need to take the machine for 3-5 days. I can't do that right now since this is my work machine. BUT - w/apple care+ I can have them ship me a box, and send me my machine when i'm ready with a loaner at work.

The tech agreed that there is some hardware problem. He said because of the redesign of the macbook pro, there will be problems.

Jan 3, 2018 3:06 AM in response to nicholasfromcarina heights

@nicholasfromcarina It happened to me, too. I found this 2 weeks after purchase. And I searched a lot about this issue. And finally I got the right key word, "MUFFLED."

I showed your reply to an engineer here, and he fixed my MBP '17 15 inch in just the same way as you mentioned. Thank you so much. I really was relieved to see your comment, and I am sure the engineer figured out how to fix mine thanks to you. It just took two days to get mine.

I appreciate your comment.

Mourner

Level 1

4 points

Jan 5, 2018 5:44 AM in response to matt_90

Had this issue for the last 4 months on my Macbook Pro 15'' 2017. On 10.13.2 now and the issue persists. I hoped it would be a software problem, but I guess I have no choice but to take it to the service.

Jan 5, 2018 5:18 PM in response to matt_90

Same problem 5 times... bought my refurbished 2016 MBP 15" last June, speaker broke twice, repaired twice. When the speaker broke the third time, they replaced me with a 2017 MBP 15". A month ago the speaker broke again, so I sent it in for repair. A week ago, it broke again, so I guess I have to send it in for repair again...

Interesting patterns:

1. The speaker breaks after an obnoxious and scary zapping, electric sound comes from one side of the speaker. The following video demonstrated this: MacBook Pro Late 2016 Speaker Issue - YouTube

2. Only 1 side of the speaker breaks at a time. Happens to the left or right speaker.

Not really sure what's causing it, but this is very annoying since this happened 5 times in 7 months of MBP purchase, and every time I sent it in, it takes 1-2 weeks to repair.

Jan 7, 2018 7:51 PM in response to matt_90

I took it today to the apple store for diagnostic, no tool detected anything wrong, and the technician suggested a clean reinstall which I'll do tonight, before the visit to the apple store the volume wouldn't go to high, after the diagnosis the volume goes high but it's still muffled

Jan 12, 2018 10:10 PM in response to PERR0_HUNTER

Another poster had the logic board replaced, not the top panel. If that is really the root cause, for example the audio chip, then you’re in for 1500 or something.

Show them this thread, clearly this is becoming an issue that points to some design flaw.

Juanho

Level 1

12 points

Jan 18, 2018 6:06 PM in response to matt_90

I have the same issue, if the speaker is broken should be always sound "muffled" I am trying your solution hope it works but APPLE please listen to us ! We pay a Loy of money for a machine the had issues.

Feb 20, 2018 2:56 AM in response to matt_90

I'm having the same problem.

MBP 15 2017

I heard cracking noise from the speakers two or three times in this month and now I have the same problem: in my case I lose the bass.

I'm going to the Apple Store this weekend to find out.

Feb 20, 2018 4:02 AM in response to matt_90

Hello, unfortunately, I have the same issue ((( reset NVRAM and all recommendations helped for a 10 minutes. I don't believe that it's a hardware issue. BTW just now realized I got this issue only with last major mac os update ....

Guys if someone will fix this somehow, please share the solution

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Volume triggered Muffled Speakers - 2016 MBP 15” Fault (w/ Video Demonstration)