My MacBook Pro 2018 version speakers are crackling.

From Spain the same problem-

I discover one thing, probably it is not important. You can adjust the format on the microphone and the speakers in MIDI utility. Once open Logic Pro X, you can change the microphone setting, but the macbook speakers seems fixed to 44,1, it is not possible to choose any another value.

It is important or not?

I haven’t had a chance to read all the replies so this might have already been said but on my 15” 2018 MBP whenever I am watching a video on YouTube or other websites the audio cuts out randomly for a couple of seconds. I thought it might be something to do with my internet which can be unreliable at points but I noticed whenever it happened the mute button on the Touch Bar would light up as if it were pressed and then turn its self off again a second or so later? Could this be a software bug?

For my own verification purpose, I reverted the sampling format to 44,100 Hz (both microphone and speakers). Within one hour, the crackling noise came back.

Until there is a software fix, I will temporarily set the sampling format to 48,000 Hz to workaround this problem. I understand that not everyone is able to do the same due to workflow. I hope Apple releases a software fix soon (or you guys come up with a workaround while waiting for the software fix).

Thank you I appreciate knowing this. Ok so if it's not Siri, it makes me wonder if everyone who has some kind of non apple audio program installed eg. Traktor has the issue?

At the moment I created a new profile with zero stuff on it, no problem so far, will keep updating if anything else happens.

I don't think it's something like Traktor. I don't have that installed. I don't have Logic installed either. I've noticed the crackling playing music through iTunes and when the system plays alerts. I also do not think it's related to a time machine backup. I'm having issues on a MacBook Pro 15" i9 with 32gb ram and fresh OS install, no time machine backup used.

I've read various theories but the most interesting one was that a power management glitch is causing buffer under runs in the audio subsystem. So it makes me wonder if by tweaking the throttling they broke the power management to the audio. I don't recall having this issue before the power throttling update.

Speculation on my part. I don't have any choice but to wait. I'm not going to use Windows unless I absolutely have to. I'll call Apple just so they have a record of the issue and I recommend anyone else having problems to do the same. Seems like Apple only takes action when they either have a lot of public complaints that affect sales or if they get a lawsuit. So we will have to make some noise.

I'd be surprised if they aren't currently working on a solution but I've read that Apple doesn't read these community boards so calling them is important. The news stories help a ton also!

Ok thanks for the heads up. As far as I can tell now my system works fine with nothing on it but when it has anything else happening the speakers start distorting. It's not just the speakers though, it's the audio. I had the same problem with the last laptop but with the headphones on it crackled.

I've read various theories but the most interesting one was that a power management glitch is causing buffer under runs in the audio subsystem. So it makes me wonder if by tweaking the throttling they broke the power management to the audio. I don't recall having this issue before the power throttling update."

I can believe this. I can't help but feeling they will tweak the whole system to take it's power away because the laptops just can't cope with their intended power. I don't trust the longevity of this machine.

I called apple today and they acted like they had never heard of the problem. Perhaps the tech support lady who was surely doing her best really never had but I find this ignorance insulting. You are absolutely right, they told me also that they ignore forums so people need to call and go through the whole process of having tech support for anything to get logged.

I really have lost all faith in this company, it feels like it's run on pure greed.

I have exact same issue and it happen more often on windows. I already went for apple store to test it but they have no idea what is going on cause noone report same issue as me. i should go there again and ask for replace to new one since there r some more reports now.

FYI, Same issue on my new Macbook Pro, and the music playback got out of sequence during the cracking. Unplug and plug back in headphone helps, until the issue comes back later.

It happens to both the internal speaker (aka MacBook Pro Speaker) and headphone, so it is unlikely speaker issue.

My mbp 2018, 13" also have problems with speakers. I bought it 2 weeks ago. I'm restarting the mac for solve the problem. I call apple, they said to delete some folders from "audio" but, it doesn't work.

Im having this issue as well with my base MacBook pro 2018 with the upgraded 560x. Its more present on windows via bootcamp when playing a game, doesn't happen when playing headphones. And changing the audio channel or default sound device on windows is temporary fix then problem happens again after a while. I will test to see if changing the audio config to 48khz works but we need a fix for this. Bootcamp for the 2018 MacBook is really bad as well temperature wise also as the supplemental update patch for throttling wasn't applied for bootcamp just Mac OS.

Hi ehsanw97 and everyone,

My new 2018 MBP (15" w/ Radeon 560X) is also experiencing poor throttling behavior in Boot Camp.

While playing a game, I used the Radeon driver's onscreen display to track GPU clock speeds, and for seemingly no reason the clock speeds are being throttled very aggressively, leading to really poor performance.

My previous MBP (the 2016 model) had a less-powerful GPU, and yet it played the same game in Boot Camp with excellent performance. So this is clearly some kind of issue with the SMC/T2.

I don’t think apple released the throttle patch for the boot camp side just for Mac OS hence the extreme throttling. Just the sound issues and this throttling issued on boot camp make it so frustrating I need both Windows and Mac OS. I hope apple fixes this soon with an update to both Mac OS and boot camp. I’m heading to the apple store on Monday and see what is said or can be done. I’ve already tried resetting the smc. So the only thing I can think of is a bios update from apple or an update to reconfigure the smc or how the t2 functions as it’s a mess currently.

I returned my second 2018 15" Mac Book Pro today. The Apple Store said they haven't even heard about the sound crackling/repeating issue. I told them to Google it. Going to have to wait until the 2019 version comes out and hope it's not a flop either. Very disappointed in the state of the new hardware. My 2013 is still going strong though!!

Yea I think I’m going to have to do the same. When I told them to google it they say this means nothing and that they only go by reports made to Apple care. They say they don’t even acknowledge their own forum here. Agreed, it definitely disappointing.

Right @Everyone I have spoken to Apple support via chat and also the technical team and apple care team regarding a few of the issues. One being the thermal throttling issues in bootcamp, and the main issue being the speaker crackling sound which has been occurring in both Mac OS and in bootcamp windows. I linked our forum page to the support which they have seen. In addition to this I have been told to inform you all that on the Mac Side a temporary workaround is to open up activity monitor and kill the process 'coreaudiod' this process stopping should stop the crackling on Mac OS. They have said that they are of this issue and that a fair number of people are having the same problem with the 2018 lineup. I have also been told that an update will be released soon to address this issue so hopefully it fixes this soon. During my own testing a temp fix for bootcamp can be to use bluetooth headphones so you don't have to restart your game or music every now and then via changing the audio source to stop crackling temporarily. And in power options in windows 10 changing the max processor state to 90% whilst on battery and charging helps the throttling issues.

Lets just hope apple fixes all these issues soon and this update comes sooner rather than later. Just worried about the speakers condition from all these crackling sounds.