2018 Macbook Pro 15`Inch Crackling Speakers

Hello Techprince,

Now that you have noticed this it is great ! Please let Apple know about this Feedback - MacBook Pro - Apple

As they only check what you type there and not necessarily on these forums!

For clarity you are talking about 2018 Macbook right ? If so there are no moving parts like a HardDisk !

The only thing that moves is the Fan ! And if you use MacFans and clock your Fan to a speed that is too high to the max designed speed or near to it, you can permanently damage it and you will always get noise.

But I still ask you to go to Feedback - MacBook Pro - Apple and let them know about it.

Mention that the speaker are causing it as well as other related noises.

Trust me Apple does indeed check that even if you ma not get a response !

I have personally issued multiple requests all which have been in some way heeded by Apple to which I am thankful.

Hi Asher, thanks for the advise.

By the way, where did you see the replies of "most users" admitting that the Mojave fixed the cracking sound in the speakers? I have read this thread and the other one with 21 pages, and I saw only 1 guy saying that it got fixed (the one that said about the i9 fan noise while kicking in). On the contrary, the below says it didn't fix it.

As well yourself, on 12th of October up on this page recommending people to keep on contacting Apple to report the issue, and on the other thread saying that you are still waiting for a fix and you cancelled your order.

Please show me exact users with their recent answers saying that Mojave fixed their speaker crackling sound. Would be great. Thanks again.

christian.mahlerOct 5, 2018 11:42 AM in response to wowadreamer

Level 1 (4 points)

Notebooks

Oct 5, 2018 11:42 AM Re: MacBook Pro 2018 Crackling Speakersin response to wowadreamer

Still having this problem with the newest MacOS Mojave Update,

Please report this issue to support before you return the machine. I spent 2 months chasing this issue down with Apple. The last customer relations person I spoke with explained that there's clearly a structural failure happening at Apple where the retail stores are replacing machines without documenting enough about the issue to link the returns being related to this issue.

Please see my reply in the thread link below where I go into great detail about what the Relations agent said. He was surprisingly transparent and said anyone experiencing the issue should log the issue with Apple support before returning or replacing the machine, and feared the issue will continue to slip through the cracks unless more people call and detail the issue before replacing it.

There's a pretty decent likelihood you'll discover the same issue on the new machine anyway if it's already happened once... Plus the Apple Store obviously isn't doing anything to connect the issue to replacements so you lose nothing by taking a day or two to document the issue with Apple Care before getting it replaced...

The short version is that anyone who would like to see the issue addressed should, at the bare minimum, do the following:

• Call support and log the issue in as much detail as possible. (A step missing from the replacement process at Apple stores.)
• Get a case number after logging the issue with support.
• Provide the case number when replacing the machine and make sure they link the replacement to the case number so the issue is correlated to replacements.
• Follow up with support after receiving the replacement to make sure the Apple Store linked or referenced your case number in the replacement.

Link detailing the discussion further:

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/showpost.php?p=13861620&postcount=293

None as of yet however I have contacted apple and they are aware of the issue. Update should be coming soon to fix this. Workarounds for temp fixes are to open activity monitor and kill 'coreaudiod' or to use a pair of bluetooth headphones not wired headphones. Which the AirPods are so hence no crackling sound.

It is unbelievable. I spent 4k as well. Thos crackling sound could damage the speakers too. It is probably CPU or Software/drivers issue. Will Apple make us damage our speakers before they do something ?

I purchased the 2018 MacBook Pro 15” 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 16 GB 2400 MHz DDR4 about 2 weeks ago to record music and general purpose computer work. I particularly like the bigger 15 inch screen for my work. I also experienced a repetitive crackling sound while streaming video and audio from various streaming sites (xfinity tv, Sirius, iTunes) soon after bring it home. I returned the 1st MacBook Pro to the Apple store, was told by the salesperson they had not heard of this issue and was given a replacement. Upon setting up the 2nd MacBook Pro and streaming audio I discovered the 2nd unit had exactly the same issue. After 30 minutes or so of listening to music the periodic crackle would start. I found that I could temporarily stop the noise by going into the Audio Midi Setup app and changing the bit rate from 44,100 Hz to 48,000 Hz. The noise would stop for awhile and then return. I too am confused as to what to do next as I like the computer but I am afraid I will be stuck with a lemon once the 14 day trial period is over for me to return it. I found this video online which shows exactly the noise I am hearing. https://youtu.be/AyPzhk3CkIY

I am encouraged by your statement that Apple is aware of this issue and update should be coming soon. How did you contact apple, via customer support chat or is there a better way? I am debating if I should return my 15" MacBook Pro now while under the initial 2 week period or trust that there is a fix coming as this noise is unacceptable.

I must emphasize once again that this noise exhibited itself to me on 2 brand new out of box 15" MacBook Pros while streaming audio or video so it appears to me this is a generic issue which should be escalated to the top of the priority list!

The only temp solution I found was to:

1. Go to "Activity Monitor"

2. Search for "coreaudiod"

3. Double-click it

4. Quit

5. Force quit

It resets the audio for little bit, but the crackling comes back again after a while. This is just a temporary fix so you don't have to restart your Macbook.

All the Apple rep needs to do is take a new Macbook Pro 15’ out of the box and set it up to listen to some streamed audio. In an hour or so the audio should start crackling as the 2 new ones I experienced did.

Here is another web page describing the issue. Can't believe Apple engineers have not heard of this by now. Don't know why this product was released. I'm thinking of returning this until I am sure it is fixed. New MacBook Pros Suffering From Sound Defects (Report)

I just bought it and I have been using it for two days now. It works perfectly, but I only have two issues with it:

1. Whatever headset I use I get a cracking/ screeching sound. At first I started to doubt my headset, but then I connected them to other devices and the sound was top notch as usual. Then I figured there must be something wrong with the audio jack of my laptop. I have not tested the speaker of the MacBook or returned it to the store yet. I am hoping that it is some software issue and not hardware related.

2. I cannot play 4k/ 8k movies online, because it is not yet supported on the current MacOS (as far as I know). I hope that Apple releases an update soon at least fixing one of these issues.

It would be interesting if you could try streaming video and/or audio from a streaming site (xfinity tv, Sirius, iTunes) through the speakers. Let is play for an hour or so and see if it crackles. I had 2 new ones do this and returned them both.