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

Well, the experience I have with Apple is that MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs that get repaired under warranty or whatever free exchange programs last a few month and one is back to square one, this as the underlying problems are not fixed.

I have a Macbook Pro Mid 2012. The GPU went and the logic board had to be replaced. The first time I got it for free. It lasted about 6 month and the GPU went again. The 2nd time round they wanted 900 Euro for a new logic board. As the batteries where done, I had to replace these too. Batteries + keyboard (yes, they come as a pack) cost another 500+ Euro. So I said, forget it and I bought the 2017 touch bar MacBook Pro. It lasted not even a day. Once the initial battery charge was gone the MacBook Pro was dead (no recharge). I got a complete new one. After 6 month I started to enjoy the speaker problem.

Macbook Air...my sons Macbook Air's GPU went exactly after the the 2 year European guaranty period. So I called Apple Greece and told them that I'm pretty frustrated about the issues I experienced. After some debate I got a new logic board for free. The six month are not up yet. So I'm waiting for the logic board to go soon.

So far one could say that Apple customer care is not too bad. But the final straw for which reason I will not go to Apple for the muffled speaker problem is the following:

My old Mid 2012 MacBook Pro actually does work. All that was needed was to disable the discrete GPU. Instructions can be found on Youtube. Now the MacBook Pro runs perfectly well on the Intel GPU only. OK, no external monitor, but considering that this is a top spec'ed MacBook (Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB SDD), this is a limitation I can very well live with. As a nice side effect, the battery status (1014 cycles) is back to normal (from replace soon). Seems the less hungry Intel GPU tells the OS or whatever measures the battery status that all is OK. In matter of fact after 1024 cycles and an age of 6+ years, the batteries last still over 3 hours.

But this is not the end of it. If my internet research is correct, all that is needed to get the discrete GPU working is to change a capacitor that apparently gives up after some period of apparently getting too hot. Well, I will find out soon.

So should a I get my muffled speakers repaired. Don't think so!

It's your choice not to repair your muffed speakers, but this tread shows, that this is global problem. Even repair don't fix it. So Apple must react on this, because laptops is not cheap, and people want quality product.

For the price 2399 dollars that I’ve pay for the 2016 MacBook Pro I’m sure that my next computer won’t be a MacBook Pro. There’s a bunch of gamer pcs out there with better graphics and more powerful components now.

I had this problem for over a month or so, came out of nowhere, drove me crazy.

i've tried everything, at the end, with power of deduction

my diagnosis is DISCORD, i do not have any idea or explanation but it seems like

discord causing this problem somehow.

Setting audio subsystem to experimental somehow resolved my problems.

since discord is an electron framework app, i'm going to suggest you to check

any electron based application in use, (discord, slack, etc.)

I'd like to chime in on this.

I have a 2016 15" MacBook Pro that's already had a few repairs. I had keyboard issues shortly after buying in March of 2017 and what sounded like a plastic popping sound coming from the machine. The machine got sent away and I was issued a brand new MacBook Pro, sweet!

Around October of 2017, I had similar keyboard issues with the brand new machine. I decided I'd try and clean it: little did I know that seemingly 100% of the time pulling up the space bar key breaks it in what seems to be an anti repair feature. Paid $850 to get a whole new top case put in (there was supposedly no other option as individual key or whole keyboard replacements were not plausible (supposedly).

Fast forward to today where I discover that my MacBook Pro with a little over a year old top case now has a muffled left speaker. Apple Support on the phone had no answers for me and told me to go to the store which is about an hour and a half away from me. I set an appointment, we'll see what the verdict is.

If it's another $500 repair then screw that, I'm selling the machine and buying a Dell XPS or similar laptop and putting Linux on it, I can't believe how many problems I've had with this laptop since buying. It feels like a ticking time bomb.

Same thing has happened to me as well, on my 2nd machine. Had to get the first machine replaced, out of warranty. Figured it was a one time thing because the Genius bar said that it was not a known issue at the time. Has now happened to my 2nd MBP with touchbar so it clearly must be a defect in the device.

Here's an update about some of the issues I've faced.

So I contacted Apple support about getting this thing repaired and I was instructed to take it into a store. I took it to my "local" (hr away) Apple store and all I was told was that because the entire $800 top case was replaced a year ago, I was told to contact AppleCare and wasn't even given an option to repair in store. Called AppleCare and they basically told me they can't warranty the new part. I guess as apologies for going an hour away for literally nothing, I was told the left speaker repair would be covered.

When I got my machine back, I discovered they had basically replaced every single part on it (for free) and given me a brand new 2016 MBP. This is now my 3rd 2016 MBP so we'll see if this one has issues too. If it does, I guess I'll be selling it and buying a windows computer to run Linux on...

The same problem on MacBook Pro 2018 2.9 GHZ 32gb ram bought end of September 2018. The sound muffling occurred at the end of December 2018. Its been like that ever since. The problem seems to be related to both speakers.

A lot of money and then this. As many of you said here servicing it is not really an option since is my work machine ( can't really afford to leave it in the service).

MacBook Pro 2011 - 2013 (GPU failure, Apple replaced with next gen MacBook Pro)

MacBook Pro 2013 - 2017 (Staingate, still using it)

MacBook Pro 2017 - 2018 Touch Bar (Speaker failure/muffled, sent in for warranty)

The GPU failed me 3 times and eventually got upgraded to next gen MacBook Pro. Go figure.

Staingate happened 2 times. Go figure.

Speaker muffled happened this week. Sending in for warranty asap.

I wonder is there a permanent fix to the above or is just a band-aid remedy?

Yes, I am an avid Apple user but my patience is wearing thin. Those who are considering to try out MacBook Pro, my advice is to be mentally prepared for any potential defects.

Doesn't seem to be any permanent fixes for the above issues. Apple's solution is just to send them a new one or completely replace every part in the computer hoping that replacement parts don't have the same issues as the originals. The catch being, no parts have been revised.

Have anyone tried an app like 'Audio Hijack'? It can route the sound through various filters, including limiting the max db, "de click" and so on. For various reasons I can't test it right now myself.

https://imgur.com/a/Bhf9F0S

I recently incurred the exactly same issue (Macbook 15, late 2016 with touchbar, Mojave 10.14.3). It came after I heard a cracking sound after plugging in power cord couple of days ago. Is there nay real solutions?

I have observed this issue further on my MacbookPro 2018 running Mojave 10.14.3. I've been streaming a movie and listening directly on my MPB speaker. The sound was normal, not muffled. At some point i have triggered one of those system sound you get when you press a key on the keyboard that returns no action. Immediately the sound on the movie i was streaming became muffled, like the speaker could not support both type of sounds. I still think this is not necessarily a hardware issue, but that is just a guess.

Hope someone addresses this issue because i see it spreads on several Macbookpro generations and it becomes increasingly annoying.

MacBook Pro 2017 - 2018 Touch Bar (Speaker failure/muffled, sent in for warranty)

Update: Sent me laptop to Apple Authorised Service Provider and the entire topcase is replaced as it is under warranty. Took them 13 days (inclusive of weekends and public holidays) to replace. I am using the laptop for work, so its a bit annoying having to use my 10-yo Windows 7 Acer laptop (still working tho, haha!).

I have 2017 15" MacBook Pro. Same problem, speakers sound super muffled and terrible, after going over a certain volume. It's incredibly annoying, will take it to repair. Also my display lid makes a cracking noise when I open it and sometimes just randomly without even touching the laptop. Disappointed!