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

Nov 5, 2018 12:34 PM in response to flexier

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.

Juanho

Level 1

12 points

Nov 21, 2018 8:42 AM in response to hichamus

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.

eringen

Level 1

4 points

Nov 23, 2018 10:48 AM in response to matt_90

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.)

Dec 20, 2018 9:08 AM in response to matt_90

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.

ko-jen

Level 1

9 points

Sep 2, 2017 11:23 AM in response to matt_90

Hi Matt,

did you solve the issue? I am having the same issue now and have the same late 2016 mbp 15 with touchbar. Thanks.

JKKiang

Level 1

10 points

Feb 1, 2019 10:35 PM in response to flexier

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.

JKKiang

Level 1

10 points

Feb 23, 2019 7:47 AM in response to JKKiang

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!).

Oct 17, 2019 6:58 AM in response to matt_90

Also with a similar problem on my 2017 MacBook Pro.

The problem is not exactly the same but very similar.

The sound does not become muffed, instead, on the same conditions, the speaker makes a pop sound as I increase the volume and after that the quality of that speaker is drastically worse even if I decrease the volume.

It kind of sounds like the speaker lost the base.

Had the problem earlier this year and got it repaired. They replaced the entire top-case of the computer.

Today the same problem occurred again (computer out of warranty by now)

Apple should really acknowledge this problem and find a solution quickly!

We paid a lot for this computer.

Should also refer that the first time I had this problem, both speakers suffered from this.

This time only the left speaker has this problem.

Oct 6, 2017 8:27 PM in response to matt_90

Hey,

I had this exact same problem with a 2017 15" MBP. The repairer ended up replacing the top assembly including keyboard and speakers and its fixed the issue.

Good luck with yours!

Dec 12, 2017 10:27 AM in response to matt_90

Same issue here. Apple, please address this.

Dec 23, 2017 6:52 AM in response to matt_90

Same issue with my son's MBP. The MBP is just a month out of warranty and they offered to fix it for $400. Has Apple covered this for anyone that's out of warranty?

Dec 23, 2017 7:02 AM in response to dogsonic22

That’s insane. This isn’t User inflicted damage, and a restart of core audio fixes it temporarily.

I would escalate this to the store manager.

Still hoping for a software fix here.

Jan 3, 2018 9:01 AM in response to PGstudio

Heading to the Apple Store on Saturday to see what is happening.

Keyboard issue as well. This machine really is trouble... 4 issues and 2 replacements already.

Jan 4, 2018 11:57 PM in response to matt_90

This is also happening to me, trying Bryan's solution fixed only 1 speaker, not both, this is weird and frustrating, I find it odd that so many users are experiencing this at the same time.

PGstudio

Level 1

4 points

Jan 5, 2018 7:55 AM in response to Mourner

I took mine yesterday to an authorized dealer and immediately he told me: "ah, we need to service it. iIts probably the board"

Maybe it happened already with some other custo

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