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Any news about this? Has Apple officially acknowledged this problem?

Yes they did. But they don’t seem to know if it’s hardware or software issued. I got my 2nd replacement iPhone X, and it still has it - tho not that bad as the first one
 
Ok so here we go - an answer for my issue, and perhaps this will help others. I’m sure to take a bunch of grief for this but I don’t really care what any of you think of me - so go ahead and fire away if you want. My phone is fine.
My problem is that when this very expensive phone arrived, I was petrified that I would scratch the screen or break the glass back cover and incur costly repairs. So I removed the original clear plastic protective cover but cut it so that a portion of the cover stayed on the screen while waiting for my Zagg sapphire screen protector to arrive - they had been backordered. I did not realize that the earpiece/second speaker IS ACTUALLY IN THE DREADED NOTCH AND IS NO LONGER PLAINLY VISIBLE. I thought both bottom ‘grill’ areas (on either side of the lightning cable port) were each speakers. So where I cut the original plastic cover was about a mm from the earpiece/speaker in the ‘notch’. The edge of the cut cover was vibrating intermittently, and depending upon how the phone was positioned, the sound was muffled by the cut edge of the original protective cover.
So I am still waiting for the Zagg Sapphire screen protector to arrive, therefore I further trimmed back the cut edge of the original screen cover portion so that it is well away from the notch and voila - all is well. I have listened to all kinds of music (unfortunately), blue tooth headphones, free standing blue tooth speakers, and phone calls via various speakers and no longer have vibrating or muffled sound. I hope this might help one or two of you at least.
 
Ok so here we go - an answer for my issue, and perhaps this will help others. I’m sure to take a bunch of grief for this but I don’t really care what any of you think of me - so go ahead and fire away if you want. My phone is fine.
My problem is that when this very expensive phone arrived, I was petrified that I would scratch the screen or break the glass back cover and incur costly repairs. So I removed the original clear plastic protective cover but cut it so that a portion of the cover stayed on the screen while waiting for my Zagg sapphire screen protector to arrive - they had been backordered. I did not realize that the earpiece/second speaker IS ACTUALLY IN THE DREADED NOTCH AND IS NO LONGER PLAINLY VISIBLE. I thought both bottom ‘grill’ areas (on either side of the lightning cable port) were each speakers. So where I cut the original plastic cover was about a mm from the earpiece/speaker in the ‘notch’. The edge of the cut cover was vibrating intermittently, and depending upon how the phone was positioned, the sound was muffled by the cut edge of the original protective cover.
So I am still waiting for the Zagg Sapphire screen protector to arrive, therefore I further trimmed back the cut edge of the original screen cover portion so that it is well away from the notch and voila - all is well. I have listened to all kinds of music (unfortunately), blue tooth headphones, free standing blue tooth speakers, and phone calls via various speakers and no longer have vibrating or muffled sound. I hope this might help one or two of you at least.

Are you suggesting there is a separate plastic film just over the notch???
Because if not anyone complaining of speaker problems and still has the usual film on it is a moron.
 
Returned mine. It had no screen protector and the ones I’ve tried at the Apple Store neither.
The best way to test your phone is to play the tone « Slow Rise » in the settings. Some iPhones will crackle when playing the ringtone, and others won’t.
 
Returned mine. It had no screen protector and the ones I’ve tried at the Apple Store neither.
The best way to test your phone is to play the tone « Slow Rise » in the settings. Some iPhones will crackle when playing the ringtone, and others won’t.

During the silence or the tone itself?
 
I have another X coming tomorrow.....if it crackles I am giving up and buying an 8+ just
 
I have this issue only on youtube app
Music plays normally and other videos on safari
I don’t know what is this thing.
I hope they will fix it with an update
I have the device for 2 days
 
I'm still going along with my original findings. There is some kind of residue on these speaker grilles not allowing sound to pass through completely. Maybe its from the protective clear adhesive film surrounding them new. Whatever it is it can be temporarily dealt with successfully using rubbing alcohol. The film does however return anywheres from 1-3 days. Try Dark Shines Slow Rise tone test and put your finger an inch or two over top of the speaker grill. If the grille is completely free of debris you can actually feel tons of air pressure pouring through. Before its cleaned you can not and this is what creates the rattle/vibrations or distortion. Just my opinion but I can re peat with success every few days.
 
i replaced the first x and the 2nd one has same problem and little worse...

anybody else tried putting rubbing alcohol method above?
 
I tested 4 demo phones in 3 stores.

I am sure there would be some variation so that few may not have this issue though based on what we see is good enough that we can assume majority should have this issue. Hope apple push out the fix sooner than later.
 
Got my iPhone X about a week ago. Serial number starts with "F". Earpiece speaker had sound clipping and crackling at high volumes. Its so irritating its not even funny. Going through Verizon, they sent me a replacement that suffered from the same issue (Serial starting with G), but it was not as bad. The bummer was the the replacement phone had some weird red color push in the bottom right corner of the screen, so I sent it back. Now they are referring me to Apple support. Such BS for dealing with a brand new phone. I am contemplating demanding a third unit from Verizon, but we all know how that goes. Unsure if they will play ball. its hard to tell if this is a software issue that can be fixed wit an update, or if they are defective speakers.

**Update**

Verizon will be sending me out a third unit here within the next week. I'm crossing my fingers hoping that there is not any issues...smh.
 
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Dont replace it just wait for now to see if apple does anything like tune eq or max volume. I see all x ive seen has the issue. Mine has perfect screen i dont want to lose this. If apple dont fix this within my return period i have to seriously think wheater i have to return.
I love everything else.



Got my iPhone X about a week ago. Serial number starts with "F". Earpiece speaker had sound clipping and crackling at high volumes. Its so irritating its not even funny. Going through Verizon, they sent me a replacement that suffered from the same issue (Serial starting with G), but it was not as bad. The bummer was the the replacement phone had some weird red color push in the bottom right corner of the screen, so I sent it back. Now they are referring me to Apple support. Such BS for dealing with a brand new phone. I am contemplating demanding a third unit from Verizon, but we all know how that goes. Unsure if they will play ball. its hard to tell if this is a software issue that can be fixed wit an update, or if they are defective speakers.

**Update**

Verizon will be sending me out a third unit here within the next week. I'm crossing my fingers hoping that there is not any issues...smh.
 
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Another iPhone X with same issue here. Rang Apple. Ran diagnostics. Nothing wrong. He said sounds like phone will need to be replaced.

So angry that now I’ll be without a phone until a warranty replacement is available.

It sounds like physical interference from components inside the phone. Like something is either vibrating on something, or two seperate components are hitting each other.

I wish they could fix it without lowering the maximum volume of the phone. But fact is, it’s probably not possible. At this rate Apple won’t even acknowledge this as a problem. At least not that I am aware of.
 
My speaker sounds to on highest volumes. Really bad for a device this pricy. However since I don't need to have it on highest volumes I don't see it as a deal breaker. I will wait and see what Apple does about this firstly
 
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Dont replace it just wait for now to see if apple does anything like tune eq or max volume. I see all x ive seen has the issue. Mine has perfect screen i dont want to lose this. If apple dont fix this within my return period i have to seriously think wheater i have to return.
I love everything else.


So I got a replacement. The speaker is noticeably better. Pretty much flawless. Here’s the kicker. The new phone displays a blue push or hue when tilted off axis (refer to apples statements regarding OLED TECH). The old phone with the speaker crackle displayed a magenta hue when off axis. Odd. The one with the blue hue when tilted off axis it a tiny bit warmer in color as well.

In addition, I compared the two ear piece speaker grates and noticed the one with all the distortion was smaller than the one without! The one with distortion is noticeably not as wide or thick as the one on the phone without distortion. My question here is...I thought apple stated Samsung is making all the displays. Shouldn’t they be the same? Why differences is hue/color push? Why difference is size of speaker grate? This may be causing not all sound to exit the speaker, thus diverting it back into the phone and causing ****** audio.
[doublepost=1511912471][/doublepost]



A limited but increasing number of iPhone X owners claim to be experiencing so-called "crackling" or "buzzing" sounds emanating from the device's front-facing earpiece speaker at high or max volumes.

iphone-x-earpiece-800x565.jpg

Over two dozen users have said they are affected in a MacRumors discussion topic about the matter, while similar reports have surfaced on Twitter and Reddit since the iPhone X launched just over a week ago.

On affected devices, the crackling sounds occur with any kind of audio playback, including phone calls, music, videos with sound, alarms, and ringtones. The issue doesn't appear to be limited to any specific iPhone X configuration or iOS version.

"Love the phone but I was wondering if anyone has had any issues with the speakers slightly sounding a little crackling whenever max volume," said one MacRumors forum member with the alias ShadowYYZ. "Noticeable on certain songs and even my ring tone which was bought from the iTunes Store."

For those unaware, the iPhone X's earpiece doubles as a speaker that combines with the traditional speaker at the bottom of the device to deliver stereo sound. Both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 series also have stereo speakers.

MacRumors hasn't been able to reproduce the issues described. Apple didn't immediately respond to our request for comment on the matter.

While the sounds could be the result of distortion, especially since they occur at higher volumes only, several users are convinced that there could be a bigger software or hardware issue affecting the earpiece.

"I listen to a lot of music on the speakers of the iPhone X and I noticed the slight crackle right away," replied another MacRumors forum member who goes by the username Benz63amg. "Since so many of us seem to experience this crackle then my assumption is that it's software related rather than hardware."

A few months ago, several iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus owners experienced a similar "static noise" issue with the earpiece during phone calls. Apple acknowledged the issue and fixed it in iOS 11.0.2.

Since the crackling sounds on iPhone X don't appear to be limited to phone calls, it's unclear if the issues are related.

Apple has been replacing affected iPhone X units free of charge, according to customers who contacted the company. Apple also appears to be collecting diagnostic information so that its engineers can investigate the matter, as it routinely does with any potential software or hardware issues.

Like the green lines affecting some iPhone X displays, this is an isolated issue affecting a very low percentage of the millions of devices being manufactured. The majority of iPhone X owners do not appear to be affected.

If you experience this problem, we recommend booking a Genius Bar appointment with the Apple Support app or contacting Apple via phone, email, online chat, or Twitter to have your iPhone X replaced. Apple is known for providing good customer service, and it is often genuinely helpful in these situations.

Article Link: Several iPhone X Owners Experiencing 'Crackling' or 'Buzzing' Sounds From Earpiece Speaker



So I got a replacement. The speaker is noticeably better. Pretty much flawless. Here’s the kicker. The new phone displays a blue push or hue when tilted off axis (refer to apples statements regarding OLED TECH). The old phone with the speaker crackle displayed a magenta hue when off axis. Odd. The one with the blue hue when tilted off axis it a tiny bit warmer in color as well.

In addition, I compared the two ear piece speaker grates and noticed the one with all the distortion was smaller than the one without! The one with distortion is noticeably not as wide or thick as the one on the phone without distortion. My question here is...I thought apple stated Samsung is making all the displays. Shouldn’t they be the same? Why differences is hue/color push? Why difference is size of speaker grate? This may be causing not all sound to exit the speaker, thus diverting it back into the phone and causing bad audio.
 
Very interesting. Could you post photos so we can compare against affected phones?
[doublepost=1511922684][/doublepost]
So I got a replacement. The speaker is noticeably better. Pretty much flawless. Here’s the kicker. The new phone displays a blue push or hue when tilted off axis (refer to apples statements regarding OLED TECH). The old phone with the speaker crackle displayed a magenta hue when off axis. Odd. The one with the blue hue when tilted off axis it a tiny bit warmer in color as well.

In addition, I compared the two ear piece speaker grates and noticed the one with all the distortion was smaller than the one without! The one with distortion is noticeably not as wide or thick as the one on the phone without distortion. My question here is...I thought apple stated Samsung is making all the displays. Shouldn’t they be the same? Why differences is hue/color push? Why difference is size of speaker grate? This may be causing not all sound to exit the speaker, thus diverting it back into the phone and causing ****** audio.
[doublepost=1511912471][/doublepost]



So I got a replacement. The speaker is noticeably better. Pretty much flawless. Here’s the kicker. The new phone displays a blue push or hue when tilted off axis (refer to apples statements regarding OLED TECH). The old phone with the speaker crackle displayed a magenta hue when off axis. Odd. The one with the blue hue when tilted off axis it a tiny bit warmer in color as well.

In addition, I compared the two ear piece speaker grates and noticed the one with all the distortion was smaller than the one without! The one with distortion is noticeably not as wide or thick as the one on the phone without distortion. My question here is...I thought apple stated Samsung is making all the displays. Shouldn’t they be the same? Why differences is hue/color push? Why difference is size of speaker grate? This may be causing not all sound to exit the speaker, thus diverting it back into the phone and causing bad audio.

I’m going in today to have my phone assessed and organise in a replacement
 
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