Apple Updates Boot Camp Drivers to Fix Major Issue Causing Blown Speakers on New MacBook Pros [Updated]

[Hastings101]

What happened to QA testing at apple?

Their Boot Camp drivers + support have always been horrible: worse audio quality, computers running hot, losing connection to apple wireless keyboard/mouse etc. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even test Windows 10 on it besides a quick install and collecting some drivers for it.

 

[macintoshmac]

Hi, I get that this is an issue when using BootCamp, but does this mean that this issue could exist if I run windows via virtualisation software such as Fusion or Parallels?

 

[Queen6]

Look around! Its not subjective but perfectly measurable!

Watch this:

And this:

Very much agree, as both positives and negatives of the 2016 MBP are tangible. Apple depreciating battery capacity to such a large extent, amongst other concerns soured it for me. As the man said if you do little to nothing you can hit Apple`s runtime numbers; smaller the pool, the less water you have to dive into. Sadly Apple is solely focused on the aesthetic; 3mm reduction in thickness versus the additional battery capacity, I will take larger battery capacity any day.

Personally I have no interest in such retrograde steps for the sake of minimal savings in weight & volume. My notebooks must to be relevant, as they are a significant component of my business efforts. My 13" rMBP is already replaced, nor is it a Mac, first time in a very long time...

Q-6

 

[idunn]

After installing the updated drivers, some MacBook Pro users appear to be experiencing issues with low volume on both Windows 10 and macOS Sierra, but the underlying problem remains unclear.

Problem fixed?

 

[UltimateSyn]

What a shame that Apple has to replace the complete computer for a couple of blown speakers. We have sunk to a new low with technology.
[doublepost=1480615083][/doublepost]

Oh and if you blow your headphones, good luck getting them replaced.

Don't think the issue was ever reported as happening to headphones. I guess people should use crappy headphones just in case, though.

 

[mkali]

Luckily I dodged this issue with my new mbpr 15". Although I notice the volume setting sometimes sets itself to 100 so I keep the headphones in despite having updated everything...

But I'm having another issue in boot camp with the wifi/Broadcom.

(1) If I install the windows security updates it flat out doesn't work. Doesn't matter how many forum fixes I attempt. No problem, uninstall.

(2) Now just back to ridiculously slow to no connectivity otherwise. (Steam download speeds <0.25MB/s if it even downloads, web surfing don't even think about it)

Example, I boot back into Sierra and wifi works beautifully, steam download speeds at 3MB/s.

Windows 10 Home 64. Latest Sierra and boot camp versions. Latest Apple software updates on windows side.

Does anyone else have this boot camp wifi issue going on again as well (seemed to be an old issue on past forums)?

 

[LordVic]

One step closer to Apple removing boot camp altogether. I am surprised it is still in, honestly.

Don't be.

Apple only accounts for roughly 5-10% of the world's Operating system usage. The largest other usage is Windows. it's very likely that Bootcamp or Parallel's usage on Apple computers is large enough that removing the ability to dual boot or run windows would be a huge loss in functionality that many people would need.

 

[fathergll]

You get what you pay for when using Windows regardless of OS!

Yep. With OSX if you want a professional grade computer for heavy usage your only option is purchase a 3 year old computer for the same retail price as it was when it came out. Bravo Apple! Mac Pro users are sooo happy.

 

[xkmxkmxlmx]

Apple only accounts for roughly 5-10% of the world's Operating system usage. The largest other usage is Windows. it's very likely that Bootcamp or Parallel's usage on Apple computers is large enough that removing the ability to dual boot or run windows would be a huge loss in functionality that many people would need.

Clearly, which is my point. Apple doesn't seem to be caring so much about end user experience overall at the moment. Nor their wants and needs. If something was giving them trouble, I can see them axing it. Hell, I felt they were on the verge a year or so ago. They were not updating it and it was a major pain to use depending on the mac model you were using.

 

[Stella]

You get what you pay for when using Windows regardless of OS!

No, its Apple that didn't QA the drivers with its own hardware properly. Can't blame Windows for lack of Apple QA.

 

[CaryMacGuy]

Yep, QA teams won't always find every last bug. The average QA/QC team is a tiny fraction of the size of any installed user base. While no bugs is the goal, it shouldn't be a surprise that things slip through the cracks once you have a large base of users "testing" your product.

Early adopters should know what they are getting into. If you are willing to be the first one on the block with new tech, you will be an unpaid beta tester. That is how things have been since the Apple I.

 

[Dwalls90]

Current Apple computers are designed to be disposable. 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle' has been changed to 'If anything breaks throw it and your money away and buy another one'. The hypocrisy of Apple being 'environmentally conscious' is blatant.



I see this all the time. What type of 'creatives' are you talking about?

Creatives relying on audio functionality of their notebook are likely in a field such as video or music/audio editing. Having friends in these industries, none of them rely on the speakers, but headphones or external speakers. I'm not belittling the issue of broken speakers, but mentioning that if I have a video editing project due for my client, this issue doesn't affect my productivity, as I'm relying on another method of listening to audio anyways.

 

[Scary Spice]

I am so cautious that I even plugged in headphones before doing this update!

 

[usarioclave]

People are criticizing Apple for not catching this but when you think about it, not every tiny bug can be found in the QC process.

That's true, but it sounds like all you have to do is install Windows 10 and your MBP is screwed. That's not a corner case, something hard to reproduce, or obscure. It sounds like they didn't even try to do it.

 

[CaryMacGuy]

Not to worry, a replacement machine with very more better potent unapologetic magic speakers is already on the way.

http://www.theonion.com/video/apple-introduces-revolutionary-new-laptop-with-no--14299

 

[melendezest]

The grass really, really isn't greener on the other side.

That's the sad part.

Apple is now making me choose between hardware that meets my needs and macOS.

"The world's most advanced desktop operating system", crippled hardware.

It doesn't matter how confortable I'm in the world's most powerful wheelchair. I still cannot go up steps.

 

[mi7chy]

'Designed in Cupertino'

 

[BornAgainMac]

These speakers are getting blown out of proportion in Bootcamp.

 

[maflynn]

I have no pity for those who fell victim to this type of apple's lack of quality.

Why, they're just normal folks who spent a lot of money on a machine and due to lax QA process o Apple's part they now have to go through the arduous process of replacing it

 

[emm386]

I can't remember ANY sound driver / hardware-combination that ever "blew" speakers...
Apple could have completely avoided this and potential other issue with a WHQL-certification of their (not publicly available) driver.

Probably to stuck up and convinced of themselves to do just that, since money couldn't have been the issue here...

Oh well, exploding batteries here, blown out speakers and broken touch IC's there, this wasn't a good year for the big ones...

 

[Agent OrangeZ]

It is a goddamn Windows, what did you expect

Apple supplies the drivers for it's hardware in the Bootcamp utility. It still lands at Apple's feet.

 

[A-Sign]

It was possible or is still possible to blow up your speakers in this expensive notebook? what the hell happened to Apple?

 

[runningman1228]

Anyone know if there were there any other updates included for other Macs or just the newest 2016 MacBook Pros?

 

[69Mustang]

Agreed, but catastrophic implies loss of life or not being unable to use the machine altogether, neither which is the case here. Creatives who are buying these machines to make a living, aren't relying on the internal speakers for audio output, let alone wouldn't be using Bootcamp on a Mac. I'm surprised we haven't seen this issue pop up on the forums yet (I could be wrong, someone can link that thread here if I'm missing it).

You're parsing words to excuse, and the excuses you're making are subpar. If creatives were the only ones buying these machines, Apple would stop making them for such a niche audience. Regular consumers buying these machines outnumber creatives by a vast amount. Regular business customers buying these machines outnumber creatives by orders of magnitude. Those businesses typically use MS Office and a lot of them use BC. So the creatives argument falls pretty flat.

From your previous quote:
"...so a very small portion of the population could have even had this happen to them. Out of that small population, an even smaller amount even run BootCamp. Out of that even smaller population would have had their speakers at a high enough volume that could irreversibly damage the speakers."

They had their speakers too high on the MBP and caused the problem. They dropped their phone too hard/too many times and caused the touch disease. Uh, okay. I totally believe.

Think about it. If there aren't that many MBP's out in the wild and this is already happening to enough of that portion for Apple to correct the issue then that tells me 2 things. 1. Apple believes the issue is wide spread enough to warrant immediate action. 2. Apple did the right thing by jumping on this pretty quickly.

Looking at the launch of the MBP, criticism is warranted. Looking at this issue singularly, criticism is warranted. Apple promptly issuing a fix is the right thing to do.

 

[pat500000]

Yes...the process.

Why, they're just normal folks who spent a lot of money on a machine and due to lax QA process o Apple's part they now have to go through the arduous process of replacing it