Mac Studio Owners Complain of Irritating High-Pitched Noise

[upthetoffees]

Just got mine and I can hear the whine (and could on PS5 - the ufo noise), it's a high pitched constant drone and very annoying. I can also hear coil whine on cheap pcs at the office, so I am good at detecting all this.

It will drive me nuts. I have installed the fan control app. But I will call them tomorrow. The big headache is the mac arrived a month before the screen which arrived on Friday so I only just opened up and used the studio last night, hope they won't kick up a fuss, I am not spending this much and having such an annoying issue.

This machine was to replace my imac 2019, no fan/psu etc noise but the fans went off too often.

 

[upthetoffees]

The unit came today. Assembled in China with most probably the same PSU. Expecting another whiner, I did not even connect a monitor, keyboard etc. Did not even unwind the power cable. Only removed the packaging of the computer, connected the power cable still in its packaging to the Studio, booted it up, heard the whine, shut it down and put it back in its packaging. I am returning it for a refund this time and will not purchase again till another hardware revision. I hope a 27” iMac happens shortly so I don’t even care about the Studio ever again. Apple is trying too much to create miracles. They failed miserably for a small percentage of their users this time.

This is what I will anticipate with the second machine once it arrives (it says late September in the shipping estimation) I will open it up and will hear the same whine at the back, faint as it is, annoying it unfortunately is as well. As I bought a studio display at the same time, a month ago+ now (only just got the screen so only just opened up the mac studio at the weekend) I made sure Apple were aware of my intentions; if the second machine is also a 'dud' - I will send it all back for a refund, 2 week grace period or not. I am not spending this kind of cash to have any defects.

I was really annoyed when I heard the noise. All the logistics, all the packaging, sending around the world (something that would have taken a year in times in history), all the research and development, the knowhow, the marketing, the purchasing, the kitchen sink the... Well, all that for a coil whine. It's not good enough Apple. Yes some people are tone deaf and can't tell alien frequencies from normal ones, so you will pull the wool over some ears, but not all. Yes I am the pain in the arse... I can hear the whine. And I'm not having it.

 

[mpetrides]

Well, I finally bit the bullet and have a 32/1 TB model coming soon (hopefully tomorrow, unless UPS is lying). So I guess I'll see for myself. If it has an annoying whine, it will go back immediately. I live in the boonies, so any noise will be super noticeable and equally annoying. And if my 70+ year old ears can hear it, then I'd imagine younger folks would find it even more annoying. Hopefully, that won't be the case and it will be as silent as “Silent Cal“ Coolidge. Will post results ASAP.

 

[kerochan]

The problem is, with many mac studio owners, the noise starts after a few weeks, then its too late to return it.
I have ordered the Mac Mini m1 16gb, 1TB instead, heard nothing but glowing reports.

 

[southerndoc]

The problem is, with many mac studio owners, the noise starts after a few weeks, then its too late to return it.
I have ordered the Mac Mini m1 16gb, 1TB instead, heard nothing but glowing reports.

I didn't have any problems with my Mac mini M1. It didn't have a fan whine. It's definitely a design/production defect. Even if it's a "quiet whine," it's still a whine that's not supposed to be there. Hopefully Apple comes through and does the right thing by figuring it out and fixing everyone's Mac Studio.

Would encourage everyone with the whine to open a support case or email tcook@apple.com so that our voices are heard. Surprised MacRumors hasn't spotlighted it on their news feed. It seems at least 30% of owners are experiencing it from those that have participated in the poll. That's a significant number even if you only consider the number of people who visit MacRumors.com.

 

[mpetrides]

The problem is, with many mac studio owners, the noise starts after a few weeks, then its too late to return it.
I have ordered the Mac Mini m1 16gb, 1TB instead, heard nothing but glowing reports.

I know. So far, so good. I've had my M1 Max Mac Studio 32/1TB for just under 24 hours and it is dead silent. If it starts whining in the future I will KNOW for sure it has a problem and will either return it (if within the return period) or keep bugging AppleCare until they admit the problem and fix it. Here's hoping that won't be necessary because I love this thing. Totally and utterly unnecessary, since I already have a 16 inch M1 Pro MBP 32/1TB that meets my needs but the Mac Studio is just sooooo appealing. (Can you say, I need an intervention to deal with my AAPL addiction? H*ll, yeah!)

 

[simacc]

P.S. for anyone that is concerned about noise from the Mac Studio, ignore anyone that tells you the (or their) Mac Studio is silent: because even Apple's specs say it is not silent.

In fact, according to their specs, it is one of the loudest Macs at idle they've made in the last 10 years. This is science, this is fact. Learn how to read specs if you don't believe me. Just because "in your opinion it is silent", does not make it so.

Now, regarding whine/whistle, or whatever you want to call it (tonal components is the correct terminology in the acoustic measurement world)...a Mac Studio can have that issue, and still be at spec (as I've shown in another thread using class 1 measuring equipment)...whether or not they all have it will come out in the wash (I think they all do; it's an oversight/design flaw...).

 

[kerochan]

P.S. for anyone that is concerned about noise from the Mac Studio, ignore anyone that tells you the (or their) Mac Studio is silent: because even Apple's specs say it is not silent.

In fact, according to their specs, it is one of the loudest Macs at idle they've made in the last 10 years. This is science, this is fact. Learn how to read specs if you don't believe me. Just because "in your opinion it is silent", does not make it so.

Now, regarding whine/whistle, or whatever you want to call it (tonal components is the correct terminology in the acoustic measurement world)...a Mac Studio can have that issue, and still be at spec (as I've shown in another thread using class 1 measuring equipment)...whether or not they all have it will come out in the wash (I think they all do; it's an oversight/design flaw...).

Good point, in which case trying exchange the loudest machine Apple have made is pointless, as they will replace it with one of the same, thats if they do actually replace it, as there is probably nothing wrong with it. Having the loudest machine Apple have made in the same recording/recording environment is a no brainer for me. I have ordered the Mac Mini M1 16GB 1TB, after reading many reviews, fast, reliable and SILENT!

 

[bukalemun]

Good point, in which case trying exchange the loudest machine Apple have made is pointless, as they will replace it with one of the same, thats if they do actually replace it, as there is probably nothing wrong with it. Having the loudest machine Apple have made in the same recording/recording environment is a no brainer for me. I have ordered the Mac Mini M1 16GB 1TB, after reading many reviews, fast, reliable and SILENT!

M1 mini is indeed silent. I have one that is used as a recording station for the IPTV security cameras. 8 cameras in total, with 8 streams totaling around 100 Mbits/s bandwidth. It also does motion and object detection on the streams. The SoC never goes over 40 degrees Celsius.

 

[Jackpaultechnab]

very informative !

 

[kerochan]

Got my MacMini M1 16gb, 1TB yesterday. Totally unbelievable, best computer I have ever owned, the most powerful, most silent and the cheapest! No Bluetooth issues, running my old TB 27 display as main monitor, it has a hub also, so I dont need another. And I use my Cinema 20" to the side as a 2nd monitor, all hunky dory.
Created a HUGE Logic project with 20 VIs, 80 Audio tracks, over 250 plug ins, plays all the way through the 3 minute song with no hiccups and the Macmini is not even slightly warm , incredible.

 

[upthetoffees]

Second one (mac studio) has arrived. Haven't opened it yet as I am dreading it having the whine again. I will have to tomorrow and make a decision for Monday, if I am not happy the mac studio and studio display are going back and will put up with my 2019 imac 27 (high specd) which is noisy from time to time (fans) - still not sure if having 40GB of ram added myself was the culprit but wanted M1 anyway.

 

[Fenderborn]

I would like to add something to this thread. I tested, and recorded today the noise from my mac studio ultra. I also recorder 12!!!!! Other mac studios (max versions). They ALL have the „whine“. Apple made a ****** product!!!! I can‘t get mine back, its too late. I will mKe sure the reseller knows what i feel. I canceled other order. And i will try to cancel more. Maybe i cancel 40-60 orders. Its not a lot, but its the best i can do, since apple is too stubborn to acknowledge a design flaw. I guess i will try and sell it an buy a macbook pro 14“. I like their products. But this is such a bad attitude

 

[Bob-K]

I heard the sound soon after getting my M1 Max Mac Studio in April, but was hoping it would go away. It didn't.

A couple weeks ago, I started a support ticket at the Apple site, and it said to take it to the Apple Store.

Bottom line: It was a sh*t show - a complete waste of time. The sound remains.

Any leader at Apple with the slightest bit of conscience should be ashamed, both at the poor quality control and the incompetence of the workers.

Full story:

I told the "Genius" it was highly unlikely we'd hear the noise given the high level of ambient sound at the store. (She agreed it was always loud there.) But we tried it anyway. As expected, it wasn't audible. The store was so loud that I think I couldn't even hear the fan with my ear right against the grille.

I left it for the techs to check, but before leaving I noticed that on the "Genius's" iPad, she listed it as a software issue. Huh? But the rest of the description of the problem looked OK, so I didn't say anything.

Their plan was to run a hardware check and, if that didn't work, erase the drive and reinstall the OS. I asked them to call before erasing the drive - not that I had much of a choice (and yes, I'd backed it up).

They called later that afternoon.

I asked the tech "Did you hear the sound?" He rambled. I suspect he sensed I was getting impatient, because right as I was about to stop him with "Did you hear the sound or not - yes or no?" he stopped, paused and said "yes."

I said go ahead and erase the drive.

The next day, I received an email that it was ready to pick up.

If I recall correctly, the "Genius" wanted me to check the sound in-store again. I told her it was futile, but played along and tried it.

As she signed me out, I saw that in the work order on her iPad, it said that after erasing the drive and reinstalling the OS they'd checked for the sound by playing a YouTube video. W...T...F? I had clearly described the sound as coming from the rear vents, not from the speaker.

Trying not to completely lose it, I told her that either the tech didn't understand the problem or he lied when he said he heard the sound.

She said she couldn't send it back; I'd have to schedule another appointment.

The rest of the day was full, so she scheduled an appointment for the next day.

But when I got to my car, the confirmation text said the appointment was for two days later.

I tapped the link to reschedule, but that ended with a message like "we are unable to complete your request". I tried again - same result.

Then I tried rescheduling by logging into the Apple support site; the error was different, but I still couldn't reschedule.

I finally succeeded in rescheduling via phone.

Back home, I found that - not surprisingly - the sound remained. I had to cancel the appointment, and am now considering my next steps.

I wish I'd waited for the second generation Mac Studio.

 

[southerndoc]

Keep sending emails to Tim Cook. Eventually Apple leadership will acknowledge the problem.

 

[kerochan]

Real

I heard the sound soon after getting my M1 Max Mac Studio in April, but was hoping it would go away. It didn't.

A couple weeks ago, I started a support ticket at the Apple site, and it said to take it to the Apple Store.

Bottom line: It was a sh*t show - a complete waste of time. The sound remains.

Any leader at Apple with the slightest bit of conscience should be ashamed, both at the poor quality control and the incompetence of the workers.

Full story:

I told the "Genius" it was highly unlikely we'd hear the noise given the high level of ambient sound at the store. (She agreed it was always loud there.) But we tried it anyway. As expected, it wasn't audible. The store was so loud that I think I couldn't even hear the fan with my ear right against the grille.

I left it for the techs to check, but before leaving I noticed that on the "Genius's" iPad, she listed it as a software issue. Huh? But the rest of the description of the problem looked OK, so I didn't say anything.

Their plan was to run a hardware check and, if that didn't work, erase the drive and reinstall the OS. I asked them to call before erasing the drive - not that I had much of a choice (and yes, I'd backed it up).

They called later that afternoon.

I asked the tech "Did you hear the sound?" He rambled. I suspect he sensed I was getting impatient, because right as I was about to stop him with "Did you hear the sound or not - yes or no?" he stopped, paused and said "yes."

I said go ahead and erase the drive.

The next day, I received an email that it was ready to pick up.

If I recall correctly, the "Genius" wanted me to check the sound in-store again. I told her it was futile, but played along and tried it.

As she signed me out, I saw that in the work order on her iPad, it said that after erasing the drive and reinstalling the OS they'd checked for the sound by playing a YouTube video. W...T...F? I had clearly described the sound as coming from the rear vents, not from the speaker.

Trying not to completely lose it, I told her that either the tech didn't understand the problem or he lied when he said he heard the sound.

She said she couldn't send it back; I'd have to schedule another appointment.

The rest of the day was full, so she scheduled an appointment for the next day.

But when I got to my car, the confirmation text said the appointment was for two days later.

I tapped the link to reschedule, but that ended with a message like "we are unable to complete your request". I tried again - same result.

Then I tried rescheduling by logging into the Apple support site; the error was different, but I still couldn't reschedule.

I finally succeeded in rescheduling via phone.

Back home, I found that - not surprisingly - the sound remained. I had to cancel the appointment, and am now considering my next steps.

I wish I'd waited for the second generation Mac Studio.

I heard the sound soon after getting my M1 Max Mac Studio in April, but was hoping it would go away. It didn't.

A couple weeks ago, I started a support ticket at the Apple site, and it said to take it to the Apple Store.

Bottom line: It was a sh*t show - a complete waste of time. The sound remains.

Any leader at Apple with the slightest bit of conscience should be ashamed, both at the poor quality control and the incompetence of the workers.

Full story:

I told the "Genius" it was highly unlikely we'd hear the noise given the high level of ambient sound at the store. (She agreed it was always loud there.) But we tried it anyway. As expected, it wasn't audible. The store was so loud that I think I couldn't even hear the fan with my ear right against the grille.

I left it for the techs to check, but before leaving I noticed that on the "Genius's" iPad, she listed it as a software issue. Huh? But the rest of the description of the problem looked OK, so I didn't say anything.

Their plan was to run a hardware check and, if that didn't work, erase the drive and reinstall the OS. I asked them to call before erasing the drive - not that I had much of a choice (and yes, I'd backed it up).

They called later that afternoon.

I asked the tech "Did you hear the sound?" He rambled. I suspect he sensed I was getting impatient, because right as I was about to stop him with "Did you hear the sound or not - yes or no?" he stopped, paused and said "yes."

I said go ahead and erase the drive.

The next day, I received an email that it was ready to pick up.

If I recall correctly, the "Genius" wanted me to check the sound in-store again. I told her it was futile, but played along and tried it.

As she signed me out, I saw that in the work order on her iPad, it said that after erasing the drive and reinstalling the OS they'd checked for the sound by playing a YouTube video. W...T...F? I had clearly described the sound as coming from the rear vents, not from the speaker.

Trying not to completely lose it, I told her that either the tech didn't understand the problem or he lied when he said he heard the sound.

She said she couldn't send it back; I'd have to schedule another appointment.

The rest of the day was full, so she scheduled an appointment for the next day.

But when I got to my car, the confirmation text said the appointment was for two days later.

I tapped the link to reschedule, but that ended with a message like "we are unable to complete your request". I tried again - same result.

Then I tried rescheduling by logging into the Apple support site; the error was different, but I still couldn't reschedule.

I finally succeeded in rescheduling via phone.

Back home, I found that - not surprisingly - the sound remained. I had to cancel the appointment, and am now considering my next steps.

I wish I'd waited for the second generation Mac Studio.

total nightmare, I had a Macbook Air with a distorting speaker, took it back to Apple, 3 weeks later they said all is fine now as they had replaced the speaker, RUBBISH, it was exactly the same, and has been for 6 years now. Anyways, sorry you have had to go through all that hassle for nothing, so glad I went with the Mac Mini M1, totally amazing.

 

[Fenderborn]

I heard the sound soon after getting my M1 Max Mac Studio in April, but was hoping it would go away. It didn't.

A couple weeks ago, I started a support ticket at the Apple site, and it said to take it to the Apple Store.

Bottom line: It was a sh*t show - a complete waste of time. The sound remains.

Any leader at Apple with the slightest bit of conscience should be ashamed, both at the poor quality control and the incompetence of the workers.

Full story:

I told the "Genius" it was highly unlikely we'd hear the noise given the high level of ambient sound at the store. (She agreed it was always loud there.) But we tried it anyway. As expected, it wasn't audible. The store was so loud that I think I couldn't even hear the fan with my ear right against the grille.

I left it for the techs to check, but before leaving I noticed that on the "Genius's" iPad, she listed it as a software issue. Huh? But the rest of the description of the problem looked OK, so I didn't say anything.

Their plan was to run a hardware check and, if that didn't work, erase the drive and reinstall the OS. I asked them to call before erasing the drive - not that I had much of a choice (and yes, I'd backed it up).

They called later that afternoon.

I asked the tech "Did you hear the sound?" He rambled. I suspect he sensed I was getting impatient, because right as I was about to stop him with "Did you hear the sound or not - yes or no?" he stopped, paused and said "yes."

I said go ahead and erase the drive.

The next day, I received an email that it was ready to pick up.

If I recall correctly, the "Genius" wanted me to check the sound in-store again. I told her it was futile, but played along and tried it.

As she signed me out, I saw that in the work order on her iPad, it said that after erasing the drive and reinstalling the OS they'd checked for the sound by playing a YouTube video. W...T...F? I had clearly described the sound as coming from the rear vents, not from the speaker.

Trying not to completely lose it, I told her that either the tech didn't understand the problem or he lied when he said he heard the sound.

She said she couldn't send it back; I'd have to schedule another appointment.

The rest of the day was full, so she scheduled an appointment for the next day.

But when I got to my car, the confirmation text said the appointment was for two days later.

I tapped the link to reschedule, but that ended with a message like "we are unable to complete your request". I tried again - same result.

Then I tried rescheduling by logging into the Apple support site; the error was different, but I still couldn't reschedule.

I finally succeeded in rescheduling via phone.

Back home, I found that - not surprisingly - the sound remained. I had to cancel the appointment, and am now considering my next steps.

I wish I'd waited for the second generation Mac Studio.

I feel you man. I will consider switching back to

Real



total nightmare, I had a Macbook Air with a distorting speaker, took it back to Apple, 3 weeks later they said all is fine now as they had replaced the speaker, RUBBISH, it was exactly the same, and has been for 6 years now. Anyways, sorry you have had to go through all that hassle for nothing, so glad I went with the Mac Mini M1, totally amazing.

well yeah. Thats my problem with apple. I do actually like most if their hardware and software. Going back to windows is not my dream scenario. But i can’t stand it being threated like a cash cow from a company. But, as long as no other can convince me, their is no better tablet then the ipad pro, there is not really a better cellphone then the iphone pro line, airpods are great too. And then there comes to good design of mac os. So yeah…i would like to love this machine…

 

[Bob-K]

I called Apple support today. Explained the problem to the first person, then again when transferred to the "Senior Advisor” Anthony.

I told him about the YouTube videos clearly illustrating the issue. He found them, but had to leave his station to do so, making it impossible to discuss them in any detail.

Bottom line: he said the ringing is normal. And then later he said I could take it (or ship it) to Apple for repair.

Huh? By then, I was too confused to ask Why did you tell me to take it in for repair if the noise is normal?

Other tidbits:

At one point he said the ringing is likely dependent on how hard the machine is working: He said that merely watching a YouTube video would sufficiently stress the GPU to cause the fan speed to increase. In retrospect, I should have ended the call right then, because that's absurd.

I told him I had no evidence that it was load-dependent, but to show good faith I loaded a ProTools Project with around 30 tracks at 96/24 and a couple of virtual instruments, in the unlikely case this could get it to sweat a little.

(This is a tiny load for a Mac Studio, but it's the best I have on hand. For comparison, this YT video shows a Mac Mini with 16 GB RAM playing 96 orchestral instruments. Yes - a Mac Mini. So it should take a lot more than my little PT project to make my Mac Studio with 64 GB RAM sweat; that's one of the main points of buying a high-powered machine.)

As expected, it didn't force the ringing to start.

(I wish I'd remembered this while on the call, but I routinely stream a 90 minute Zoom class with HD video to my Apple TV from a 2012 MacBook Pro without its fans revving up.)

Another point that only dawned on me after the call is that the video with the spectrogram shows the ringing at normal fan speed; at very high speed, it either goes away or is masked by the increase of other frequencies.

Will look for Tim's email address, but a better step might be a BBB claim.

 

[Fenderborn]

Hi. No more posts after ocotobre? Is the problem fixed or has the thread moved?

 

[mabaker]

Hi. No more posts after ocotobre? Is the problem fixed or has the thread moved?

Apparently people get used to the whine. Like they used to yellow tinged iMacs back in the day.

 

[Fenderborn]

Apparently people get used to the whine. Like they used to yellow tinged iMacs back in the day.

Haha. I fear so. Strange how apple „users“ take hits. I also was somehow OK with it after fan control and moving it away from me. Now, a friend, former windows user bought one and returned it immediatly. He said i can not believe how people are OK with that and stand up against this. Because its clearly a production failure apple is not admitting.

 

[Truben]

Haha. I fear so. Strange how apple „users“ take hits. I also was somehow OK with it after fan control and moving it away from me. Now, a friend, former windows user bought one and returned it immediatly. He said i can not believe how people are OK with that and stand up against this. Because its clearly a production failure apple is not admitting.

Hi there, would a Mac Mini M2 pro with 12c GPU, GPU 19c, 32 GB RAM, and 1 TB SSD be more silent than a Mac Studio? I'm asking because I'm running a home studio and a pro mic which may record the grass growing, so absolute silence is mandatory!

 

[bukalemun]

Hi there, would a Mac Mini M2 pro with 12c GPU, GPU 19c, 32 GB RAM, and 1 TB SSD be more silent than a Mac Studio? I'm asking because I'm running a home studio and a pro mic which may record the grass growing, so absolute silence is mandatory!

If it has the same cooling architecture as M1 mini, yes, it will be much more silent. We haven’t yet seen the device while running but M1 mini is absolutely silent while not under much load unlike the Studio. M2 Pro will be a more powerful CPU, which may need more cooling though. I would wait for some reviews if I were you.

 

[Truben]

If it has the same cooling architecture as M1 mini, yes, it will be much more silent. We haven’t yet seen the device while running but M1 mini is absolutely silent while not under much load unlike the Studio. M2 Pro will be a more powerful CPU, which may need more cooling though. I would wait for some reviews if I were you.

Thank you very much. Yes, I should wait for the upcoming reviews. I'm thinking also about my workflow with 3 4K monitors at 60 Hz, which soon will be obsolete if they keep pushing for new 8K monitors at 240 Hz monitors. That's why I thought about Mac Studio. But that noise is unacceptable for an expensive machine.

 

[MattA]

Apparently people get used to the whine. Like they used to yellow tinged iMacs back in the day.

I've had my Studio since launch day and I've never heard anything out of it. It's been totally silent. I think some of them had different fans than others. I suspect the issue was fixed in production without Apple admitting there was a problem in the first place.