MacBook Pro 2018 - Speakers Crackling

[macuser0331]

I'm having the same problem. I was playing audio in iTunes and maybe about 15 minutes in it made this weird metallic scratching sound. I called Apple Support and they think its a hardware issue.

For me, its whenever my laptop begins to heat up. if left for a few minutes to goes way

 

[lnikj]

I am going to *cautiously* declare that 10.14.3 beta4 has improved matters considerably for me.

As somebody who has forked out 4k for something to make music on, at 11 days in out of my 14, I was just about ready to return it. Under 10.14.2 I was getting constant clicks and pops.

With the beta I am now largely down to the once a minute smart battery manager click if the first core is heavily loaded. Why can't Apple fix this CPU spike after six months ?

If I really monster the first core with Live, Logic and VCV Rack all running big patches at once then I can get dropouts but running exactly the same on my maxed out 2015 iMac the i9 MBP actually has less dropouts.

I would be interested to hear any other success stories. 3 days to go (and the Vega 20 screen flicker is NOT fixed yet).

This has not turned out as I hoped. I have found that after the machine heats up I start getting clicks and pops, most of which do NOT register as overloads in Console but are very audible on my headphones.

I have the Vega 20 screen flicker as well and the machine is going back (actually suggested by the Apple tech). I seen no point in replacing it.

 

[benbollinger]

I've been having the same issues when I'm using my computer by itself. (2018 MBP i9, 32gb ram, 1tb hdd, High Sierra 10.13.6) No bluetooth devices or usb plugged in.

BUT! When I'm working from my studio I have it plugged into a external usb audio box and it NEVER HAPPENS.

Link for the box I'm using is below. This isn't a fix for the problem when you're trying to use the laptops speakers but does lead me to believe that if you use a external audio interface you may not experience any issues.



https://www.amazon.com/Peavey-30013...1_1?keywords=peavey+usb&qid=1547740596&sr=8-1

 

[benbollinger]

The Apollo Twin also shows no issues with external speakers. Just tried it for the last couple hours.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=universa...iversal+audio+apollo,aps,145&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

 

[Jason z]

When I play and pause music or audio on my 2018 15inch, there is a brief hissing/white noise sound which last about 10 sec. It’s very faint and it also happens when my AirPods are connected. Does anyone else have this problem?

 

[Duncan68]

Well, I have 10.14.3 installed and I still get dropouts with time sync enabled. I don't think this is ever getting fixed.

 

[Premal212]

Well, I have 10.14.3 installed and I still get dropouts with time sync enabled. I don't think this is ever getting fixed.

****ing great....

Looking at the competition, that all looks crap as well. God dammit, just stuck

 

[loby]

Anybody know if the latest Security Updates fixed the issue with the cracking speakers in macOS High Sierra? I updated too Mojave to see if that will resolve the issue. Probably it will not...but hoping that "maybe" with macOS High Sierra.

 

[zedsdeadbaby]

Anybody know if the latest Security Updates fixed the issue with the cracking speakers in macOS High Sierra? I updated too Mojave to see if that will resolve the issue. Probably it will not...but hoping that "maybe" with macOS High Sierra.

I'm afraid to dive in... Apple ruined my trust of them rolling out reliable updates after 002 and 003 kicked off crackle for me...

 

[soiramk]

Anybody know if the latest Security Updates fixed the issue with the cracking speakers in macOS High Sierra? I updated too Mojave to see if that will resolve the issue. Probably it will not...but hoping that "maybe" with macOS High Sierra.

Did Mojave resolved your issues?

 

[noughtme]

To those who have had their Macbooks replaced or repaired, did that solve the problem?

I only have the single pop play/pause issue so I'm loathe bring in my Macbook and be without it for a few days or weeks if I need to send it in.

 

[zedsdeadbaby]

For anyone still on 10.13.6 I'm stress testing the new security update released yesterday on a new partition with a clean install of 10.13 I did with Internet Recovery, and Security Update 2019-001 installed... (Did an internet clean install partition last week, crackle started within 50 mins. Been over an hour and so far now weirdness... So far so good, but not making any assumptions yet without some stress tests.)

I'm going to leave it playing audio overnight and see what happens. If anyone does decide to jump on it I'd highly recommend cloning with CCC or something similar before installing... Anyway, will post back after some tests..

Also... I found a really great free application called Suspicious Package that lets you inspect packages before you install them... (Similar to Pacifist)

Apple made changes to these system files in the update:

AppleAVBAudio.driver
AppleTimeSyncAudioClock.driver
BridgeAudioSP.driver
iSightAudio.driver
com.apple.audio.AudioMIDISetup.axbundle
com.apple.AVKit
Audio -> Tunings -> DSP -> Graphs / Strips
AudioDSP.component
CoreAudioAUUI.bundle
USBHost.transport
AVBAudioConfiguration.App
launchservicesd
AppleAVEBridge.kext
AppleSMBIOS
AppleSMBusController
AppleSMC
AppleAUUC.kext
BridgeAudioCommincation.kext
BridgeAudioCoontroller.kext
IOAudioFamily.kext
AudioUnit.Framework
AudioVideoBridging.Framework
AVFoundation.Framework
AVKit.Framework
CoreMIDI.Framework
IOKit.Framework
AudioServerApplication.Framework
AudioServerDriver.Framework
BridgeOSSoftwareUpdate
dyld
libAudioIssueDetector.dyld (I think this may be a new feature....)
libSMC.dyld
coreuadiod


I downloaded the 2019-001 update from: Download Security Update 2019-001 (Sierra)
And used a free app called Suspicious Package, (similar to Pacifist), to see what's inside the installer... Never used it before, damn handy little app...

Suspicious Package Link

Some screenshots from Suspicious Package...

 

[loby]

Did Mojave resolved your issues?

I have done a test with Logic Pro X on Mojave and I have not seen any dropouts etc. I upgrade to Mojave right before this new version came out and did not see the issues I had with High Sierra...but...when playing music with iTunes for a long period of time (over 45 minutes), I noticed dropouts (music fade for a second) every once-in-a-while.

I will do a check again with the new version 10.14.3 (18D42) to see if this occurs.

I am REALLY interested in seeing if High Sierra is fixed. Will time machine back to High Sierra and test it out. I (and I am sure "we" on this forum) are hoping that it resolves the issue in High Sierra.

Will check and post.
[doublepost=1548311093][/doublepost]

For anyone still on 10.13.6 I'm stress testing the new security update released yesterday on a new partition with a clean install of 10.13 I did with Internet Recovery, and Security Update 2019-001 installed... (Did an internet clean install partition last week, crackle started within 50 mins. Been over an hour and so far now weirdness... So far so good, but not making any assumptions yet without some stress tests.)

I'm going to leave it playing audio overnight and see what happens. If anyone does decide to jump on it I'd highly recommend cloning with CCC or something similar before installing... Anyway, will post back after some tests..

Also... I found a really great free application called Suspicious Package that lets you inspect packages before you install them... (Similar to Pacifist)

Apple made changes to these system files in the update:

AppleAVBAudio.driver
AppleTimeSyncAudioClock.driver
BridgeAudioSP.driver
iSightAudio.driver
com.apple.audio.AudioMIDISetup.axbundle
com.apple.AVKit
Audio -> Tunings -> DSP -> Graphs / Strips
AudioDSP.component
CoreAudioAUUI.bundle
USBHost.transport
AVBAudioConfiguration.App
launchservicesd
AppleAVEBridge.kext
AppleSMBIOS
AppleSMBusController
AppleSMC
AppleAUUC.kext
BridgeAudioCommincation.kext
BridgeAudioCoontroller.kext
IOAudioFamily.kext
AudioUnit.Framework



AudioVideoBridging.Framework
AVFoundation.Framework
AVKit.Framework
CoreMIDI.Framework
IOKit.Framework
AudioServerApplication.Framework
AudioServerDriver.Framework
BridgeOSSoftwareUpdate
dyld
libAudioIssueDetector.dyld (I think this may be a new feature....)
libSMC.dyld
coreuadiod


I downloaded the 2019-001 update from: Download Security Update 2019-001 (Sierra)
And used a free app called Suspicious Package, (similar to Pacifist), to see what's inside the installer... Never used it before, damn handy little app...

Suspicious Package Link

Some screenshots from Suspicious Package...

Thanks for the info. I will be the genius-pig and go back to High Sierra to see if the issues are resolved and post on this thread to see if the issue is fixed. I REALLY need High Sierra to work due to some programs I have that do not run on Mojave. I actually like Mojave and the latest version so far "seems" to work, but again I need High Sierra right now.

Will do some testing and and post.

Thanks again for the info.
[doublepost=1548311623][/doublepost]

For anyone still on 10.13.6 I'm stress testing the new security update released yesterday on a new partition with a clean install of 10.13 I did with Internet Recovery, and Security Update 2019-001 installed... (Did an internet clean install partition last week, crackle started within 50 mins. Been over an hour and so far now weirdness... So far so good, but not making any assumptions yet without some stress tests.)

I'm going to leave it playing audio overnight and see what happens. If anyone does decide to jump on it I'd highly recommend cloning with CCC or something similar before installing... Anyway, will post back after some tests..

Also... I found a really great free application called Suspicious Package that lets you inspect packages before you install them... (Similar to Pacifist)

Apple made changes to these system files in the update:

AppleAVBAudio.driver
AppleTimeSyncAudioClock.driver
BridgeAudioSP.driver
iSightAudio.driver
com.apple.audio.AudioMIDISetup.axbundle
com.apple.AVKit
Audio -> Tunings -> DSP -> Graphs / Strips
AudioDSP.component
CoreAudioAUUI.bundle
USBHost.transport
AVBAudioConfiguration.App
launchservicesd
AppleAVEBridge.kext
AppleSMBIOS
AppleSMBusController
AppleSMC
AppleAUUC.kext
BridgeAudioCommincation.kext
BridgeAudioCoontroller.kext
IOAudioFamily.kext
AudioUnit.Framework
AudioVideoBridging.Framework
AVFoundation.Framework
AVKit.Framework
CoreMIDI.Framework
IOKit.Framework
AudioServerApplication.Framework
AudioServerDriver.Framework
BridgeOSSoftwareUpdate
dyld
libAudioIssueDetector.dyld (I think this may be a new feature....)
libSMC.dyld
coreuadiod


I downloaded the 2019-001 update from: Download Security Update 2019-001 (Sierra)
And used a free app called Suspicious Package, (similar to Pacifist), to see what's inside the installer... Never used it before, damn handy little app...

Suspicious Package Link

Some screenshots from Suspicious Package...

Zedsdeadbaby, look forward to your posts. Thanks for letting us know in advance if you find that it "fixed" the issue. If it does..."we" have to give credit to apple for at least going back to a previous OS and fixing it. They usually don't do that and we just have to accept upgrading to the new...but hopefully this time they did something "thinking-different".

 

[zedsdeadbaby]

I have done a test with Logic Pro X on Mojave and I have not seen any dropouts etc. I upgrade to Mojave right before this new version came out and did not see the issues I had with High Sierra...but...when playing music with iTunes for a long period of time (over 45 minutes), I noticed dropouts (music fade for a second) every once-in-a-while.

I will do a check again with the new version 10.14.3 (18D42) to see if this occurs.

I am REALLY interested in seeing if High Sierra is fixed. Will time machine back to High Sierra and test it out. I (and I am sure "we" on this forum) are hoping that it resolves the issue in High Sierra.

Will check and post.
[doublepost=1548311093][/doublepost]


Thanks for the info. I will be the genius-pig and go back to High Sierra to see if the issues are resolved and post on this thread to see if the issue is fixed. I REALLY need High Sierra to work due to some programs I have that do not run on Mojave. I actually like Mojave and the latest version so far "seems" to work, but again I need High Sierra right now.

Will do some testing and and post.

Thanks again for the info.
[doublepost=1548311623][/doublepost]
Zedsdeadbaby, look forward to your posts. Thanks for letting us know in advance if you find that it "fixed" the issue. If it does..."we" have to give credit to apple for at least going back to a previous OS and fixing it. They usually don't do that and we just have to accept upgrading to the new...but hopefully this time they did something "thinking-different".

Thanks for updating...

DEFINITELY check again... After leaving my machine playing iTunes while I went out, indeed... I spoke too soon :/

I left iTunes running for a few hours, the I got back in I was greeted with the same crackling as before... It didn't happen within the first hour this time, but it did happen within a few hours...

I realize HS isn't Mojave, however the dropouts you describe after roughly 45 mins of music playing in iTunes are totally consistent with the behavior I get in High Sierra...
They're clearly seem to be related in some way or another...

If you don't mind perhaps you could leave a very large iTunes playlist running overnight?

If the issues do overlap then you should hear some crackling within the first few minutes of checking audio in the morning...

If it doesn't crackle when you check in the morning then it should indicate something changed in the OS in Mojave that improved the issue... (This should be useful for both scenarios, HS and Mojave; as it would narrow down if the issue is OS-specific vs bridgeOS related...

Also I'm still pursuing this aggressively with Customer Relations, they specifically asked me to post a request for people to report the issue to support as much as possible if not previously done before...

The C.R. agent I spoke with was not able to pull up anything about 'crackling audio' / '2018 MacBook distortion' etc when searching. They said that at this point it may come down to Apple's internal bug tracking system possibly needing the issue to be reported enough times before it gets flagged as a priority issue...

 

[loby]

Thanks for updating...

DEFINITELY check again... After leaving my machine playing iTunes while I went out, indeed... I spoke too soon :/

I left iTunes running for a few hours, the I got back in I was greeted with the same crackling as before... It didn't happen within the first hour this time, but it did happen within a few hours...

I realize HS isn't Mojave, however the dropouts you describe after roughly 45 mins of music playing in iTunes are totally consistent with the behavior I get in High Sierra...
They're clearly seem to be related in some way or another...

If you don't mind perhaps you could leave a very large iTunes playlist running overnight?

If the issues do overlap then you should hear some crackling within the first few minutes of checking audio in the morning...

If it doesn't crackle when you check in the morning then it should indicate something changed in the OS in Mojave that improved the issue... (This should be useful for both scenarios, HS and Mojave; as it would narrow down if the issue is Kernel related (OS), vs bridgeOS related (non-OS Specific...)

Also I'm still pursuing this aggressively with Customer Relations, they specifically asked me to post a request for people to report the issue to support as much as possible if not previously done before...

The C.R. agent I spoke with was not able to pull up anything about 'crackling audio' / '2018 MacBook distortion' etc when searching. They said that at this point it may come down to Apple's internal bug tracking system possibly needing the issue to be reported enough times before it gets flagged as a priority issue...

That is odd, for I had a trouble shooting ticket, so my issue (and complaint) should be on file. When I talked to Apple support, I asked if they have my issue logged in their files, and the tech said that he saw it.

I will try with Mojave as you suggested first and see if the issue is resolved before going back to High Sierra to check.

Did you install yesterday's security patch on High Sierra and still have the crackling speaker issue?

 

[lnikj]

That is odd, for I had a trouble shooting ticket, so my issue (and complaint) should be on file. When I talked to Apple support, I asked if they have my issue logged in their files, and the tech said that he saw it.

Tech I spoke to before returning mine knew about audio issues.

 

[mdnz]

post a request for people to report the issue to support as much as possible if not previously done before...

The C.R. agent I spoke with was not able to pull up anything about 'crackling audio' / '2018 MacBook distortion' etc when searching.

That's obviously complete nonsense. Why are Apple representatives trained like this? I don't get it. People have been calling for MONTHS and when he is searching in the system he can't find anything about it? Ridiculous.

 

[zedsdeadbaby]

That's obviously complete nonsense. Why are Apple representatives trained like this? I don't get it. People have been calling for MONTHS and when he is searching in the system he can't find anything about it? Ridiculous.

I hear you. I've probably made over 20 calls about the issue myself. If I don't cite my case number right off the bat some support agents are aware of the issue others aren't. I've also spoken to several different customer relations people, same story.

I had a Relations follow up call yesterday, the guy spent well over an hour going through the case with me and said he wasn't able to turn up much when checking internally, but could if checking outside of Apple... When I asked him why, he said Apple's policies only allow them to acknowledge 'internally' logged issues and said the only way to give an issue priority is if enough people call in and file a support case or complaint.

I even referred to threads where various users report bringing their machines to the Apple store only to have them replaced because the store didn't know how to address the issue, then have the same issue start happenning on the replacement machines...

At that point I said 'I don't understand why it seems like Apple has some kind of black box policy about major issues like this'. The only answer he could give me was that he's basically locked down by Apple policies that don't even let them acknowledge their community forum..

AFAIC he did want to escalate the issue but couldn't because of corporate Apple nonsense... That's why he suggested I post here encouraging people to file support cases if they haven't, or log complaints if their cases went unresolved.

The TLDR is that I've had several agents say the same thing, Apple's corporate policies don't allow them to reference 'outside' sources, (i.e. threads like this...)

I don't really get it myself, which is why I referred to it as a black box policy...

 

[tehStickMan]

Yes, apple doesn't want anything even internal claiming they know of an issue. It's so when they get sued, they can pretend they didn't know.

 

[zedsdeadbaby]

Yes, apple doesn't want anything even internal claiming they know of an issue. It's so when they get sued, they can pretend they didn't know.

I want to believe this, but considering Apple's stock's plummeted 30% since October I can't imagine they actually want any more negative publicity for their shareholders than there already is..

Plus you can request your AppleCare support history. (Granted I haven't done this yet, no idea if they redact anything. If they did I'd imagine that puts them on wobbly legal ground...)
https://appleinsider.com/articles/1...ersonal-data-using-apples-data-privacy-portal

Either way I'm gonna request it at this point... Engineering's blown my case off twice now and might as well collect my case info as an insurance policy.

Anyway I think it comes down to a severely outdated support structure run by antiquated corporate policies that need an overhaul. Who knows... Either way it's frickin ridiculous that you pull teeth just to get shot down by support.

 

[loby]

Yes, apple doesn't want anything even internal claiming they know of an issue. It's so when they get sued, they can pretend they didn't know.

When a company becomes the #1 in the world, unfortunately they have to do these type of things. It is what it is...when you become the slave of the shareholders.

Here is an update: I reinstalled High Sierra (going back to my November 21st time machine) and installed all of the updates, including the resent security update for Jan. 2019.

The same things occurs around 45 minutes after playing iTunes music...crackling of speakers like static.

I think it is a lost hope that High Sierra will be fixed or resolved. If this issue is ONLY effects the MacBook Pro 2018, then their only solution is "upgrade to Mojave". Apple told me that they were aware of the issue and that upgrading to Mojave should fix it, if it doesn't..send it in for repair."

This is the only solution unfortunately it seems. Update to Mojave.

I used the time machine backup that I did in Mojave before returning to High Sierra and updated to the resent security patch.

It SEEMS to have resolved the issue so far...BUT...I don't want to say it is resolved UNTIL more testing.

Should not Apple do the same as me BEFORE putting out an update...?

Anyway.....will report back if I find an issue.

Again, I am not an Apple hater. I just want my expensive product to work. Is that hard to ask for?

 

[zedsdeadbaby]

Apple told me that they were aware of the issue and that upgrading to Mojave should fix it, if it doesn't..send it in for repair."

Same story...

The irony is that support says "We don't recommend updating your OS if 3rd party software compatibility is an issue." Engineering however will apparently try and force it on you...

I just want my expensive product to work. Is that hard to ask for?

Hear that... I just want the machine to work, preferably with HS. Definitely not a lot to ask!

 

[Premal212]

Has anyone who has sent it in for repair managed to get it fixed? I have been following this thread for sometime, it's mainly replacements or returns, don't know anyone who has sent it in and got a new logic board or airport card for bluetooth issues.

Tempted to send my in... wait and wait, replace and replace, if it still isn't fixed, just get Apple to send a few device in a few years time.

 

[Slothmun]

So I've been following this thread for a fair while now. I have a MBP 13" which has these strange static noises when audio starts to play. I only really noticed it as the work I do is mostly in the terminal. It was easy to reproduce - open settings and press the escape key. Repeat every 5 secs. You will hear a strange static/pop noise before the system sound plays.

I think my first contact with Apple support was back in November 2018. I contacted them online and they advised that there would be an update coming along to fix sound issues like this. A while later, after hearing or seeing nothing and after a few updates, I raised it again. This time they advised that I go to a "Genius" bar to get them to have a look at the machine. I guess this other guy thought it was a hardware issue. So this was my "Genius Bar" experience:

1. So the 1st visit I dropped it off describing the issues and how to replicate it. Also mentioning this thread.
2. A week later I get a call saying they can't find any issue. I explain how to replicate it again. They still don't find it.
3. I go in again. (A little rant. Why the hell is the "Genius Bar" so loud, they have music playing and some guy doing some presentation on how to use a calendar???) So I explain that we won't be able to hear it in this environment, so I show them how to replicate and they go in the back office (probably where they do the "repairs"). Guy confirms he can hear the audio issues and starts the repair process. The part was the top case (including battery) and I assume speakers and maybe the keyboard.
4. Repair is complete another week later. I go in and take it home. (mistake was to not check before leaving). Can reproduce the issue within 1 min of turning it on.
5. I book another visit to the "Genius" bar. They obviously did not read the notes and didn't check the device. The problem does not appear on their "diagnostics" and so they did not check beyond that.
6. I go in again. They "triage" the issue. They told be to expect to hear back in 48 hours. I tell them to please phone me as I live a fair distance from the Apple store, have no car, and the bus costs money to come in each time.
7. 2 whole weeks later and I hear nothing. A strange repair case appeared on my account. I phone them and apparently they are replacing the unit?

The guy who told be the unit was being replaced, also told me they escalated the issue to the engineering team. All he could say was that they are looking into audio issues like this, and are looking at a possible firmware fix. He also said to expect the new unit to have this issue. lol. I asked if there was any way to track the issue with the engineering team. He said no and they could only do it internally, and the issue was not in the public domain, yet.

So I don't actually have the replacement yet, it will take another 1-2 weeks. I have the 16gb version that is built to order. I don't expect the replacement to be any different.

 

[ATEspo]

Just picked up a Touch bar MBP 13" 2 days ago and when I first turned it on to setup I heard a hissing sound (almost like white noise) coming from the right speaker but after the initial update it went away. I haven't used it much since then so I don't know if its been back or not, but I will play around with it the next few days in a quiet environment to see if its back. What is the solution if it is still making noise? Exchange it for another one at the Apple Store? I'm only on day 2 of ownership, so I have 14 days to take it back...