iPhone X iPhone X crackle speakers?

[toneLA2]

Verizon 256GB SG here, first November 3rd shipment. I am to suffering from the speaker crackle. I've read that some 8's were having a similar issue out of the ear piece speaker and Apple acknowledged it and pushed out 11.0.2 for the 8's.

Have we had an official announcement for the X's?

It's so bad, that mine will crackle even before it hits 50%.

Part of me thinks its a hardware issue / design flaw and the other thinks its a iOS problem.

I suspect design flaw as well. Half baked product with poor speaker component choice that found its way in this tiny notch filled with other components prone to resonating nearby. I bet you the next iteration of the iPhone X will have a bigger slit at the top to let more air out, therefore reducing rattling/crackling. All iPhone X I have tested exhibit the problem--I'm taking 30+ units here, 4 of which I owned and returned as it was unbearable. Back to iPhone 7+ until they've redesigned it slightly next year.
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Thanks for your input, I am not sure if I should wait for the next update or return/exchange the iPhone X and risk getting one with the same issues or worse...

I am starting to think it is software related because I had the metallic sound through the earpiece yesterday during a couple of calls and there seems to be a pattern to it. If the phone sits for a while unused the first received or dialed call has the metallic sound to it, in fact it happened when I called my mother and as soon as I hung up and called her back it stopped with metallic noise. Happened a second time later in the day and same thing, hung up and called back and noise is gone, WTF???

I'd just return yours and wait until they've fixed the design flaw. I do not believe this is software--it would have been otherwise addressed publicly by Apple after it made headlines a week ago. They cannot go about telling the public 'oh yes, we made a speaker grille that's too small therefore the speaker will rattle at high levels.'

 

[geekiemac]

Brand-new iPhone received today. I get the loudspeaker kind of metallic / crackling / rattling sound and it doesn't even need to be at high level, at around 60% volume is enough to hear it.
No issues whatsoever on headphones (tested on AirPods, Bose QC25 or Sennheiser Momentum). Which leads me to think it is indeed a manufacturing / hardware issue.

Damn Apple. This is unacceptable for the price they're selling these iPhones.

I'll wait up with asking for a replacement, until they fix the problem.

 

[jtwlbz]

Just wait more enjoy your phone within return perood i am sure apple does something

 

[redshovel]

I am on my third X and all have the speaker issue. I watch a lot of tv shows and movies and they sound terrible from 60% volume. You can hear it especially with dialogue. Sharp, boomy tone with a crackling rattle. My 7+ just doesn’t do this and performs much better.
I understand many users will never notice the issue as they are using headphones most if not all the time - but for me it’s unacceptable and very disappointing, especially at the price point.
At this stage I now believe it’s hardware related rather than software. I have some time before returning and hope a software fix will sort but to be honest I have lost faith in the X and might just use my 7+ until we see what Apple releases next year.

 

[toneLA2]

I am on my third X and all have the speaker issue. I watch a lot of tv shows and movies and they sound terrible from 60% volume. You can hear it especially with dialogue. Sharp, boomy tone with a crackling rattle. My 7+ just doesn’t do this and performs much better.
I understand many users will never notice the issue as they are using headphones most if not all the time - but for me it’s unacceptable and very disappointing, especially at the price point.
At this stage I now believe it’s hardware related rather than software. I have some time before returning and hope a software fix will sort but to be honest I have lost faith in the X and might just use my 7+ until we see what Apple releases next year.

It’s definitely hardware. A patch won’t fix it—went back to my 7+ after 4 flawed units.

 

[redshovel]

It’s definitely hardware. A patch won’t fix it—went back to my 7+ after 4 flawed units.

Yeah I fear your right. I have already put my sim back into the 7+. I am genuinely disappointed. I can live with the fact the X being a new design and that the interface might be a bit buggy etc and that all apps aren’t updated yet .....but to fail on something so simple as a speaker
Really is unacceptable!

 

[geekiemac]

Well, I don't know what to say. I changed my screen protection this morning. And the noise seems to be gone ?! I've tested a lot of songs and dialogues and while yesterday I had the crackling showing up at around 50-60% volume or less, all the time, I can push now the volume up to the maximum and only get the usual saturation - no crackling noise any more.

My iPhone has been out of the box for less than 24 hours. I'm wondering if it isn't some kind of metallic dust that got stuck in the speaker and then kind of (?) goes away with time?....

I've decided to keep my iPhone X for the moment and keep an eye on this. I've got more testing to do (like photos, and today it's raining cats and dogs), so I'll decide based on the overall result.

FWIW, Apple seems to be monitoring the issue closely - I reported the issue on Twitter and they were very prompt to contact me to open up a case.

 

[redshovel]

Glad your X now seems to be ok....but it’s all a bit hit and miss on how it became so. Gonna let my run for a while on the desk playing various things to see if it anyway helps matters. But in don’t think it will and have sort of give up in general on the X now!

 

[geekiemac]

I still think the iPhone X is a great phone. It's pushing me out of my confort zone, but I'm enjoying every bit of time I spend on it. The crackling issue is annoying given the ungodly price, but right now I can live with it. Overall the sound quality (at least today) is gorgeous. No idea how it will behave tomorrow, though.

 

[geekiemac]

OK so I just got off the phone with Apple's customer service and even got to talk to one of their level 2 senior advisors.
The issue is known by Apple (the support rep even said "it's a known issue affecting iPhone X" which could basically mean, well, (almost) all of them).
Secondly, their engineers are working hard in trying to find a solution........ but we don't yet know what...... and when it will be available. (Another person in a french forum was told it was going to be solved with 11.2)
Thirdly, they offered me a replacement with a brand-new unit, but then, I've had this iPhone for barely 24 hours and want to test it a little more thoroughly before claiming a replacement unit which won't necessarily be better, as examples on this thread have showed. A final call is scheduled for end of next week.

 

[redshovel]

Thanks for posting that info. Just looked at my receipt from Apple.....my return date is 8 Jan 2018. Wondering if I should just hold out and hope that a fix does indeed come along

 

[jtwlbz]

Thanks for posting that info. Just looked at my receipt from Apple.....my return date is 8 Jan 2018. Wondering if I should just hold out and hope that a fix does indeed come along

I would wait like i keep saying apple will do something since this issue is pretty much on all phone. Plus mine got a lot bettrt after 5 days things seem break in. Apple can do either lower the max volume or tweak eq.

 

[idandavid]

I have no speakers quality issues here. Got my X a couple of days ago and it plays loud and clear on its built in speakers. Very happy with the speakers performance coming from an iPhone 7.

I'm not in the US. So I might have a different version here.

 

[jtwlbz]

I have no speakers quality issues here. Got my X a couple of days ago and it plays loud and clear on its built in speakers. Very happy with the speakers performance coming from an iPhone 7.

I'm not in the US. So I might have a different version here.

Maybe you dont know what the problem is. Play some piano music on youtube in high volume

 

[Doesntmatter]

Another iPhone X with same issue here. Rang Apple. Ran diagnostics. Nothing wrong. He said sounds like phone will need to be replaced.

So angry that now I’ll be without a phone until a warranty replacement is available.

It sounds like physical interference from components inside the phone. Like something is either vibrating on something, or two seperate components are hitting each other.

I wish they could fix it without lowering the maximum volume of the phone. But fact is, it’s probably not possible. A EQ tune would be preferable. At this rate Apple won’t even acknowledge this as a problem.

 

[geekiemac]

I have no speakers quality issues here. Got my X a couple of days ago and it plays loud and clear on its built in speakers. Very happy with the speakers performance coming from an iPhone 7.

I'm not in the US. So I might have a different version here.

You're lucky ! I'm not in the US either.
[doublepost=1511690488][/doublepost]We just have to realise that we're probably a minority here, even if this thread is 14 pages long and I've seen similar ones on other Apple-related sites. When you think of the rate Foxconn is pumping out iPhone Xs (between 450 000 to 550 000 daily) then even a couple thousand devices with this issue are merely a handful. Of course, we make a lot of noise (ha ha) so Apple will address it, but it's not like a widespread epidemic (or at least not yet).

 

[Doesntmatter]

You're lucky ! I'm not in the US either.
[doublepost=1511690488][/doublepost]We just have to realise that we're probably a minority here, even if this thread is 14 pages long and I've seen similar ones on other Apple-related sites. When you think of the rate Foxconn is pumping out iPhone Xs (between 450 000 to 550 000 daily) then even a couple thousand devices with this issue are merely a handful. Of course, we make a lot of noise (ha ha) so Apple will address it, but it's not like a widespread epidemic (or at least not yet).

I’ve been hitting up twitter and trying to start a #cracklegate or #speakergate lol.

I rang support today told me to return it. Not sure it’s worth the hassle by the sounds of the replacements


Also, I thought production was way way lower than that?

 

[geekiemac]

Also, I thought production was way way lower than that?

It was, but now apparently manufacturing issues are solved:

iPhone X production issues "have been well addressed" in recent weeks, with Foxconn's production now at 450,000-550,000 units per day compared to just 50,000-150,000 a month or two ago as Apple geared up to launch the device.

This is why shipping estimates are now 1-2 weeks worldwide.

 

[toneLA2]

Another iPhone X with same issue here. Rang Apple. Ran diagnostics. Nothing wrong. He said sounds like phone will need to be replaced.

So angry that now I’ll be without a phone until a warranty replacement is available.

It sounds like physical interference from components inside the phone. Like something is either vibrating on something, or two seperate components are hitting each other.

I wish they could fix it without lowering the maximum volume of the phone. But fact is, it’s probably not possible. A EQ tune would be preferable. At this rate Apple won’t even acknowledge this as a problem.

Look at all my posts here—I suspect the same.

I’ve been telling everyone that I believe it’s a component in the notch that’s vibrating or resonating at a certain frequency. Interesting to note that the speaker grille is half the width of iPhone 7/8 yet it’s supposed to be a 25% louder speaker behind. Clearly a design flaw that is sure to be corrected with a slight redesign next cycle. They can’t acknowledge the problem without acknowledging that there is no real solution—therefore they won’t.

And to those saying that their units are fine, they’re either not sensitive to the issue or don’t know how to test it.

I’d believe there are good units out there if only 30+ units hadn’t reproduced the issue across 3 Apple Store and various friends. This isn’t localized at all.

 

[Unrivaled]

I've just created an account to post, mine has been having the same issue and I tried to get a replacement yet they refused as apparently all units have the same problem so I managed to practically fix it by adjusting the volume balance slightly to the left as shown in the screenshot, I hardly ever hear that crackling sound at the moment, hopefully apple acknowledge this issue soon and roll out an update.

 

[Doesntmatter]

I've just created an account to post, mine has been having the same issue and I tried to get a replacement yet they refused as apparently all units have the same problem so I managed to practically fix it by adjusting the volume balance slightly to the left as shown in the screenshot, I hardly ever hear that crackling sound at the moment, hopefully apple acknowledge this issue soon and roll out an update.

The only problem with that is that when you turn your phone to landscape mode it will swap speakers if you rotate the phone counter-clockwise . So then you will be essentially be channeling more sound through the worse speaker.
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hopefully apple acknowledge this issue soon and roll out an update.

I don’t think this is something they can fix via software. It’s a physical issue. The only software fix would be change the maximum volume of the phone.

 

[Unrivaled]

The only problem with that is that when you turn your phone to landscape mode it will swap speakers if you rotate the phone counter-clockwise . So then you will be essentially be channeling more sound through the worse speaker.
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I don’t think this is something they can fix via software. It’s a physical issue. The only software fix would be change the maximum volume of the phone.

Yeah it's obviously still there, yet if you rotate the phone clockwise it's gone and on portrait mode as well, apple would probably reduce the max volume on the earpiece speaker as a fix to the problem

 

[Doesntmatter]

Just had a look at my uncles X and it does the same thing. Soo bad. More people need to report it to Apple.

 

[redshovel]

If it’s not software then it only really only leaves a full recall.....flipping heck!

 

[Doesntmatter]

If it’s not software then it only really only leaves a full recall.....flipping heck!

I don’t think Apple would do that. they would make something up Tell us we are holding it wrong or listening to it wrong