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vmflapem

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 27, 2013
432
68
My SBSS watch makes very quiet static/beep noise when i bring it close my ears WHILE the screen is turned on. You have to be in a very quiet room to hear this. Is this normal? I'm no engineer so not sure if it's because of bad wire connection..
 
I also have the static noise. Only when display is on.
Series 4, Cellular, aluminum.
Also I have very bad battery life (does not even last from morning to midnight without workouts, connected to phone at all times). Perhaps thats related ...
 
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I know this is probably obvious but since you didn't mention it, have you tried restarting? This happened once on my Series 2 a few watchOS versions ago and a restart fixed it.
 
I know this is probably obvious but since you didn't mention it, have you tried restarting? This happened once on my Series 2 a few watchOS versions ago and a restart fixed it.
Yep, several times.
It's also not the Wifi and Cellular antennas. Deactivating these features has no influence.

It's not really annoying, since you can only hear it when putting the watch to your ear.
Although I fear it could just be one symptom of another electronic problem.
 
That does sound unusual. I can't imagine it was intended to happen, but it's hard to know if it's a bug or a manufacturing issue where something electronic isn't within correct tolerances.

I suppose Apple's going to suggest the usual thing of wiping it fresh to see if it still does it before they go any further, so it may be worth doing that first and then contacting Apple Support to see what they have to say about it.
 
yeah, I'm happy with the watch elsewise. So I don't really want to go through the trouble of exchanging the watch and just live with the coil noise. Still hoping that the battery life issue has a software origin.
 
Have the same static sound. Is this normal?
Not so sure. The sound is most certainly ``coil whine'' which is not fundamentally a bad thing. It just means that some coil is resonating mechanically, because it is not properly damped. That can be because they did not put enough damping material (glue) during assembly, or worse, if its not properly soldered to the PCB.
 
Not so sure. The sound is most certainly ``coil whine'' which is not fundamentally a bad thing. It just means that some coil is resonating mechanically, because it is not properly damped. That can be because they did not put enough damping material (glue) during assembly, or worse, if its not properly soldered to the PCB.

I just spoke with Apple Support, and they said that the watch is not supposed to make any coil whine/noise at all. They suggested that I made a return. Are you keeping the watch? Could it be a software issue?

The worst thing about this forum is, that I become aware of problems I didn't even know existed or bothered me before reading about it here...
 
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Not so sure. The sound is most certainly ``coil whine'' which is not fundamentally a bad thing. It just means that some coil is resonating mechanically, because it is not properly damped. That can be because they did not put enough damping material (glue) during assembly, or worse, if its not properly soldered to the PCB.
I just spoke with Apple Support, and they said that the watch is not supposed to make any coil whine/noise at all. They suggested that I made a return. Are you keeping the watch? Could it be a software issue?

The worst thing about this forum is, that I become aware of problems I didn't even know existed or bothered me before reading about it here...


True ... :)
I think I'll keep mine for now. Still time to exchange later when there is actual exchange stock available ...

Ah and I'm 100% certain that this is no software issue, at least if you hear sound that does not originate from the speaker.
 
mine has the same noise.

i actually remember that sound from my iphone 7, which sounded the same, when i put it to my ear. never had any problems because of it though.
 
Okay, it looks like I'm not the only one with this problem (?)
If you can't hear it, go to a really quiet room and try bringing the watch really close to your ear while the display is on.
I'm just gonna keep mine since it doesn't look like this is cause any other problem. My theory is that this is because of the new ECG feature.
 
I Don’t truly think this is an issue or of concern. All this is going to do is make those paranoid by taking their Apple Watch and listening to in a very quiet room. It’s likely some type of coil sound or faint static, which Apple likely is not going to do anything with this. If anything, they would probably want to capture the Apple Watch for engineering investigative purposes to find out what it is, but it’s likely the next Apple Watch will replicate the same sound with a replacement.

Also, For the quote above saying that Apple said this is ‘not normal’, in store or on phone representatives wouldn’t know any different anyways, because they’re probably not affiliated with the Apple Watch making any faint noise (Because likely have not been paying attention in a quiet room). This Is a situation for an engineer to make an educated guess.
 
I Don’t truly think this is an issue or of concern. All this is going to do is make those paranoid by taking their Apple Watch and listening to in a very quiet room. It’s likely some type of coil sound or faint static, which Apple likely is not going to do anything with this. If anything, they would probably want to capture the Apple Watch for engineering investigative purposes to find out what it is, but it’s likely the next Apple Watch will replicate the same sound with a replacement.

Also, For the quote above saying that Apple said this is ‘not normal’, in store or on phone representatives wouldn’t know any different anyways, because they’re probably not affiliated with the Apple Watch making any faint noise (Because likely have not been paying attention in a quiet room). This Is a situation for an engineer to make an educated guess.

So your guess is, that it’s a common sound?
 
Sounds like typical EM interference buzzing from a circuit/component that's not properly shielded. Either this is a design issue and therefore every single Series 4 Watch will do it, or something isn't within correct manufacturing tolerances.

I don't have a Series 4 yet so I can't offer a personal comparison, but my hearing is good enough that this would annoy me a lot if it was mine.
 
So your guess is, that it’s a common sound?

It’s difficult to say if it’s common or not. We would need more of a larger sample for those coming forward saying that their Series 4 Eminates this noise also. I think you will have those who are more sensitive to noises that may notice this type of static, but it also depends on the environment that watch user is in regularly that they would notice this chirping or static noise.
 
i turned walkie talkie off and it stopped... i then turned walkie talkie BACK on and the sound stayed off.. in my case i think it was a bug with walkie talkie after i updated.
 
I have it, only when the screen is on. I'd call it more of an electronic type noise than static. I've noticed the same sound on iphones before.

Mine sounds exactly like if you were to shake up a carbonated bottle and open it just the tiniest bit. like a high pitched squeely sound.
 
I just went to an Apple Store to check if this was a general problem or limited to mine and other few devices.

I tested 10 watches and both the Apple rep and I could hear the sound/noise as described above on EVERY single one of the watches! Not going to replace my watch anyways now, since this just seems to be a design flaw. Hope this helps anyone as OCD about this as I were! :)
 
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