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Metallic vibration from 2016 MBP 15"

jacg

jacg

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 16, 2003
975
88
UK
My new 2016 MacBook Pro 15" with touch bar makes a metallic vibration sound when I tap firmly on the chassis. It even makes the sound sometimes when I am angrily typing. There's nothing moving about inside when I move the laptop from side to side.

I made a short video of the sound here.

Would any other 15" owners mind giving theirs a tap to see if the problem is common?

I'm also getting quite poor battery life (4-5 hours) so it's getting replaced.
 
Wow, that's weird. I certainly do not have this issue and I would return your unit. I tapped my unit and all I got was a dull thud noise.
 
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I let an Apple Senior Technician hear it over the phone and he passed me onto someone to set up an exchange.

I thought 10.12.2 had fixed my graphics glitches but it hasn't. Battery still poor if anything touches the 460. Aperture is so broken it has pushed me over the edge towards Capture One 10 (probably not a bad thing, but another £280 on top of all those adaptors and new power packs). Been an expensive upgrade and now I face another lengthy and challenging migration...
 
jacg said:
My new 2016 MacBook Pro 15" with touch bar makes a metallic vibration sound when I tap firmly on the chassis. It even makes the sound sometimes when I am angrily typing. There's nothing moving about inside when I move the laptop from side to side.

I made a short video of the sound here.

Would any other 15" owners mind giving theirs a tap to see if the problem is common?

I'm also getting quite poor battery life (4-5 hours) so it's getting replaced.
Click to expand...

I can only say WOW!

Great job Apple, did you do a quality control before shipping it?
Steve J. is rolling in his grave...
 
Newtons Apple said:
It was so dark and the OP what pounding pretty hard. Wonder if it was something on the desk or drawer below that was making the noise.
Click to expand...

Sorry about the poor lighting but it was the sound I was trying to capture. The laptop was on my lap on this occasion but the sound is even easier to illicit when it is on a hard surface (but I didn't want people to think it was a desk, etc). The sound is coming from inside the chassis. Definitely not pounding. Firm tap is all that is required, especially on a hard surface.
 
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jacg said:
Sorry about the poor lighting but it was the sound I was trying to capture. The laptop was on my lap on this occasion but the sound is even easier to illicit when it is on a hard surface (but I didn't want people to think it was a desk, etc). The sound is coming from inside the chassis. Definitely not pounding. Firm tap is all that is required, especially on a hard surface.
Click to expand...

If on your lap and it made that noise then something is loose for sure.

Hope you get it sorted out with Apple.
 
I have exactly this problem. Didn't do it when I first got the machine, but after a while it started.

Heating it up with heavy loads causes it to stop - my best guess is expansion/contraction due to heat cycling has loosened something.

My replacement should have arrived today, but DHL screwed up - I'll get it Monday.
 
I would take a look at the photos on i fixit website of tear downs inside it might give you an idea exactly what's under where your hitting. Just a thought.
 
Thought I would contribute to this, as after seeing the OP's original post I checked my 2016 TB 15" MacBook Pro and discovered I had the exact same issue.

I took it back to the Apple Store where I purchased it and told them the problem. They found it very strange and we checked a few of the models there. Two of the 15"'s on display had the exact same issue, but one did not. They swapped me out a new one and we opened it up and checked it. It seemed much more solid - no weird vibration / metallic clanging sound as per the OP's original video. I've been using the new one for two days (only on a desk, occasionally on the couch) and when I tap underneath the speakers (quite hard) the same sound can be now be heard, although nowhere as prominent - I hope it stays that way. There seems to be a clear as issue with these 15" models, given that some of the the in store displays had the same issue but I have no idea what it is. Seems like something perhaps insn't screwed in as tight as it should be.
 
My replacement MBP arrived on Monday, and… it has an even worse ratting, this time in the screen. I didn't even take it out of the plastic!

Replacement #2 is on the way…

 
Kenndac said:
My replacement MBP arrived on Monday, and… it has an even worse ratting, this time in the screen. I didn't even take it out of the plastic!

Replacement #2 is on the way…

Click to expand...

Wow, that's bad luck. You'd think if Apple were aware of this issue, they'd at least check the replacements. Mine arrives today...
 
Mine does not make that noise at all, I tried it last night. Mine was manufactured on Jan 02 2017.
 
What a mess this has been... I hope all these problems get straightened out before the next release. Im going to avoid these MacBook pros for now ....
 
The replacement is better, but only just. I still get a tinny, metallic twanging sound, but it takes a bit more force on the new one and doesn't resonate for as long.

A laptop that costs this much and looks so incredible, should not sound like junk. People have found lots of reasons to hold off on this revision, and I think there is evidence to include this reason if you are thinking about upgrading in the next year.
 
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