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Is there actually a FIX to the airport extreme buzzing noise?

G

gregfisk25

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 27, 2010
11
0
It is well document around the place that the 5th Gen Airport extreme can be noisy while transferring data.

However, I have not been able to find anything that says how to fix it, or IF it can be fixed.

Can anyone please shed some light on this??

Thanks a million in advance. It drives me nuts.
 
I've never know them to buzz. But the buzzing is caused by tiny vibrations of the various chips inside. There is no way to "fix" it.
 
Intell said:
I've never know them to buzz. But the buzzing is caused by tiny vibrations of the various chips inside. There is no way to "fix" it.
Click to expand...

Actually, ICs don't vibrate, and if they did, it would be in the tens of MHz to the GHz range, so totally inaudible. If there is a buzz when transferring data by wifi, it's probably from toroidal coils in the power supply vibrating when it's under load. Switching power supplies operate in the audio range. The vibration is caused by magnetostriction in the cores, and from the wire coils themselves when heavy electrical currents are switched rapidly. The coils are usually coated in an epoxy resin to minimize this.
 
Ok. I know what the problem is, but is there a fix - like are the new versions not doing it, or should I keep returning it till I get a quiet one, or....
 
I had not heard of this problem before, but yes, you should keep returning them until you get a good one. Otherwise, Apple will never react and fix it.
 
still an issue it seems

Ok - so I bought my first Airport Extreme in a few years today, and its making the described 'noise' (think of it like the sound of a disk platter spinning, that gets very, very obvious when you put it under load). It wouldnt be so bad if it was a consistent noise like a fan, but it can get pretty irritating pretty quick I found.

As per gregfisk25 it seems to be well documented, but as per the consensus I'll take it back to best buy tomorrow and see what happens.

Half of me says move it ouf of the office where I can't here it, but I object to paying this much for something with an obvious issue :)

Sadly its giving the best wireless performance you can imagine - let's hope a swap out will resolve it.
 
In the AirPort Utility I simply changed the 2.4 GHz channel from 'Automatic' to 11 and the buzzing was (almost) gone! :) (The previous automatic setting, which was causing the noise, was 1.)

The 5 GHz channel is still on 'Automatic'. (I'm definitely connected to the 5 GHz network, as I'm using a separate ID for it).

Regards
 
I noticed this when I first got my 5th gen too. Did a bunch of research and the majority conclusion that I found is that it is 'normal'.
 
I have just updated the firmware of my Airport Extreme 5th generation and the annoying sound is gone, perfect now.


update: it did not solve the problem. I could figure out only a temporary solution:

Run Airport utility, click on (in my case) airport extreme, edit, wireless tab, wireless options, set the 2.4ghz channel to 6 (or any value I think), save changes.
The noise is almost gone. Sometimes it needs changing the channel back to Automatic, only then disappears the noise.

It's only temporary because if your mac goes to sleep or restart, the noise comes back.
When I use an ethernet connection, there is no noise.
 
Last edited:
I've noticed that my airport has started to hiss. Is it safe to use? Anyone have a solution to this?
 
puckhead193 said:
I've noticed that my airport has started to hiss. Is it safe to use? Anyone have a solution to this?
Click to expand...

I have three and I know for sure two out of the three have a very minor hiss that is only audible if the room is completely silent and I am within a few feet of it. I rarely notice it. To your question, they have been like this since I got them, so I wouldn't be concerned if I were you.
 
paulrbeers said:
I have three and I know for sure two out of the three have a very minor hiss that is only audible if the room is completely silent and I am within a few feet of it. I rarely notice it. To your question, they have been like this since I got them, so I wouldn't be concerned if I were you.
Click to expand...

I've had this thing for a few years and never noticed it. I moved it a few weeks ago into my bedroom hoping I would get better signal and I was trying to sleep i kept hearing this hiss, it drove me crazy :p
 
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