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Noise from MacBook Pro Retina 13 late 2013

M

matteusz

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 17, 2013
2
0
Hi,

I wonder if noise from my MacBook Pro Retina 13 late 2013 is normal. I can hear it only in quiet room (first time I heard it in the middle of the night). It’s very quiet noise. I don't know what to compare this noise. For me it’s sounds like clicking the spring. I can hear it when scrolling the webpage by trackpad, start mission control by gesture (or F3 key), changing the full screen apps by gesture or when minimize Safari or other apps. I think it depends on the graphic system work. It’s a little lauder when I use 1680x1050 scaled resolution than use 'best for display' resolution. I think the noise occurs when graphic system do some operation. Is it possible?

I was in Authorized Service Provider but technician heard nothing. There I can't hear this noise too, because this noise is very quiet and there is not total silence. Diagnostic tools show that everything is ok. But I still hear it in total quiet room. I tried to record this noise by iPhone but it can't do that.

Can you do me a favor and check this on your MacBook? Sit in totally quiet room, please. Set the scaled resolution 1680x1050 then bring ear closer to the keyboard and scroll a webpage (which have a lot of graphics) by gesture on the trackpad, start mission control or open notification center. Can you hear then any noise? Please listen carefully, because this is very quiet noise.

I’ll be very gratefully for your help. I wonder if only my MacBook making this noises or all MacBooks Retina late 2013 making this.

Regards,
Mateusz
 
Did try your test , happened to be in a silent room now, machine is silent.

I have the late 2013 rMBP 13 2.4 8/256.
 
Sounds like a fan is hitting something. On all Mac notebooks the fan or fans are always spinning. They just change the speed at which they spin depending on the temp of the system as a whole or parts of the system, CPU/GPU/LB.

I'd take it in and ask to have the bottom taken off to see if there is something resting on the fan/s.
 
Thank you OSMac for test.

shootist said:
Sounds like a fan is hitting something. On all Mac notebooks the fan or fans are always spinning. They just change the speed at which they spin depending on the temp of the system as a whole or parts of the system, CPU/GPU/LB.

I'd take it in and ask to have the bottom taken off to see if there is something resting on the fan/s.
Click to expand...

I’m almost sure that isn’t the fan noise. The MacBook works without any noise other then situation I’ve described above. I can’t hear the fan noise in normal work.

Is it possible the fan change speed in short time when I do gestures to scrolling webpage?

Fan noise at full speed during test in Authorized Service Provider seems to be normal.
 
I have a late 2013 retina macbook pro, and I am experiencing the same noises. They are hard to describe but perhaps best described as electrical noises inside the computer. They certainly are not fan noises. I know what the fan sounds like. I'm on my 4th replacement from Apple. All the others had bad screens and or creaking cases. I guess Apple can't make computers anymore. It's all about iphone and ipads.

Anyway, yea I don't know if the noises mean I should return this one too. I'm within 14 days.
 
I'd return it and get a refund. 4 would be enough for me to not want another.


pendragon1984 said:
I have a late 2013 retina macbook pro, and I am experiencing the same noises. They are hard to describe but perhaps best described as electrical noises inside the computer. They certainly are not fan noises. I know what the fan sounds like. I'm on my 4th replacement from Apple. All the others had bad screens and or creaking cases. I guess Apple can't make computers anymore. It's all about iphone and ipads.

Anyway, yea I don't know if the noises mean I should return this one too. I'm within 14 days.
Click to expand...
 
I hear the noise, too.
How exactly does this influence your macbooks performance?
Whats the reason for returning it?
Do you think there is something like a perfect thing?
A lot of people on this forum are really really neurotic....
 
Meister said:
I hear the noise, too.
How exactly does this influence your macbooks performance?
Whats the reason for returning it?
Do you think there is something like a perfect thing?
A lot of people on this forum are really really neurotic....
Click to expand...

You're right, it doesn't affect the performance, I guess it's just not what you'd expect from a $1500 laptop.

I once had a plastic white Macbook which uttered a constant buzz from its CPU and I was denied a replacement, so it's not that bad. However my 2011 Macbook Air does not produce ANY sound at all.
 
Last edited:
6apxat said:
You're right, it doesn't affect the performance, I guess it's just not what you'd expect from a $1500 laptop.

I once had a plastic white Macbook which uttered a constant buzz from its CPU and I was denied a replacement, so it's not that bad. However my 2011 Macbook Air does not produce ANY sound at all.
Click to expand...

It sucks paying a pretty penny & not bring happy. Hope mine does ok when I get it
 
6apxat said:
You're right, it doesn't affect the performance, I guess it's just not what you'd expect from a $1500 laptop.

I once had a plastic white Macbook which uttered a constant buzz from its CPU and I was denied a replacement, so it's not that bad. However my 2011 Macbook Air does not produce ANY sound at all.
Click to expand...

What exactly do you expect from a 1500,- laptop?
A very faint clicking noise once in a while is hardly grounds for replacement.
There is a lot of people now that try to replace everything even for the slightest "defect" they might notice. They actualy go looking for something all the time.

I am very maticulate with my stuff because it is expensive!
And i did notice this clicking noise, but thats no ground for complaint whatsoever.

Every single Tech-gadget-machine ive ever owned had its quirks.
I see them as unique because they are and i actually like this.
Ive never returned any of them, unless they stopped working properly!

By god ! just make use of your devices instead of nitpicking about tiny tiny quirks.

(A permanent loud CPU buzz sounds more serious though)
 
Meister said:
What exactly do you expect from a 1500,- laptop?
A very faint clicking noise once in a while is hardly grounds for replacement.
There is a lot of people now that try to replace everything even for the slightest "defect" they might notice. They actualy go looking for something all the time.

I am very maticulate with my stuff because it is expensive!
And i did notice this clicking noise, but thats no ground for complaint whatsoever.

Every single Tech-gadget-machine ive ever owned had its quirks.
I see them as unique because they are and i actually like this.
Ive never returned any of them, unless they stopped working properly!

By god ! just make use of your devices instead of nitpicking about tiny tiny quirks.

(A permanent loud CPU buzz sounds more serious though)
Click to expand...

Thanks for your point.
Maybe people wouldn't expect it to be perfect if it wasn't marketed as such. I don't expect much from lenovo/hp/dell etc. :)
Anyways, Macs still seem to be the best computers on the market.
 
Last edited:
Try to adjust the brightness level. I've heard it is related to the led backlight of the lcd (noticable on low brightness).
 
I have a MBP 15' late 2013.
I'm experiencing the same problem. In my experience, it gets "clicky" when is loading something (like opening a new tab or scrolling on Facebook feed).

Also, it clicks louder when changing screen resolution.

Quite annoying at night, but I'm afraid people at Apple Customer Service won't even notice during the day... is not so loud.

So, anyone knows how to fix it or why does it happen?

Thanks a lot.
 
I have the same problem too. I've brought my rMBP to an Apple Store but that "genius" heard nothing because of the noisy ambient. Does anyone find out the reason and come up with a solution?
 
all rmbps I've seen have this noise. some people just don't hear it because it's high frequenzy.
 
Meister,
is not that sound we're talking about. This one is not a continuous sound but something like a little ball falling, or like a spring.
 
xuso said:
Meister,
is not that sound we're talking about. This one is not a continuous sound but something like a little ball falling, or like a spring.
Click to expand...
The one I am taking about isn't continous either. It's like a spring or high clicking sound. Very brief and high. Happens frequently when the fans are running high. Lot's of people have reported this and I hear it, too. I think that some are just not sensitive enough, since it's quite high and subtle.
 
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