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Does your 16 inch MacBook Pro have pop/cracking sound issue?


  • Total voters
    379

covedrop

macrumors member
Nov 16, 2019
51
52
Just look at it this way: now you know exactly what to look for instead of finding out really late.
The sooner you can ask for a replacement the better. But i'm the same. I can't wait for it to arrive but i'm also scared that it will be one of the flawed ones. And the journey it had to take to get to my house is so long. But in ist cases it will be fine. This forum is just the place where most of these issues get reported.

Lots of people have said that their replacements also have the issue. It's hard to say for sure but I think most people who don't have the issue aren't actually doing anything that will repro it. I've heard of one person who's had 3 replacements and all had the same issue. Also heard of people testing in-store and all the units had it.

Thankfully, since it doesn't happen in boot camp running windows (this is another anecdotal thing) it seems like it might be a MacOS thing... but I'm not sure. Maybe the required functionality doesn't actually do anything in windows. /shrug
 

darwichee90

macrumors member
Feb 26, 2017
55
27
Just look at it this way: now you know exactly what to look for instead of finding out really late.
The sooner you can ask for a replacement the better. But i'm the same. I can't wait for it to arrive but i'm also scared that it will be one of the flawed ones. And the journey it had to take to get to my house is so long. But in ist cases it will be fine. This forum is just the place where most of these issues get reported.

Yes exactly,

But it's just that it feels that almost everyone has this problem, which means i have to keep switching it out, and i also wont settle with one with the popping sound problem, now since i'm aware of the problem. Was really looking forward to the 16 inch :)
 

MikeVera

macrumors regular
May 5, 2014
131
38
UPDATE

So I just tested this more in Windows......

When skipping around the videos in Youtube it does not make the popping sound. HOWEVER, I did notice a slighter quieter (albeit same sound), if I closed out edge while the video was playing.

So It seems that, unfortunately , it does sometimes occur in Windows, just at a much reduced frequency. Still sounds like a a software issue if there is no issue with the skipping here.

Doesn't the T2 chip that caused the nightmares on the 2019 15 inch laptops with all the Bridge OS errors control audio?
 
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dmstasinos

macrumors member
Oct 29, 2019
81
99
i really wish i wasn' that kind of a person that allways have to pre-read every topics about the 16 inch, before buying it.

The only thing i can think of now is the popping sound , and weither mine will have that or not, and the dimming problem.

I am that kind of a person too. But when i ordered mine in August this problem was not known. Wait for it and if you spot this issue return it immediately and get another one.
 

CloudsNeverDie

macrumors regular
Apr 11, 2015
212
279
Most likely it's a hardware issue, the DAC output must have an uncorrected output level offset producing a sharp voltage transition, and hence clicking sound, when the DAC is turned on or off. Apple can probably work around it with a software update keeping the DAC powered on at all times, rather than putting it to sleep between audio segments. That might cost some battery life though.
 
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Danny Nava

macrumors newbie
Nov 21, 2019
10
4
This user says an update resolved the issue for them
 

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Tic0

macrumors newbie
Nov 16, 2019
11
3
Most likely it's a hardware issue, the DAC output must have an uncorrected output level offset producing a sharp voltage transition, and hence clicking sound, when the DAC is turned on or off. Apple can probably work around it with a software update keeping the DAC powered on at all times, rather than putting it to sleep between audio segments. That might cost some battery life though.

Well, I think you don't need to keep the DAC powered on at all times then though. Simple and more power efficient way would be to just turn the DAC off after one second when the audio stopped.
 

aibo82

macrumors 6502a
Apr 11, 2010
507
468

Well seeing as I'm looking to upgrade my much loved mid 2012 Retina I have been closely following this issue!

And guess what your Video makes my mid 2012 produce the same thing, when I pause or quickly select the timeline while playing the video in random spots its like a loud pop.

Are we sure this is just the 2019 16" that has this issue? and FYI I am running Mojave on this laptop still too.

so an ideas? as i'm eager to order a new machine and place this one in a museum

Cheers
 

Carlo0101

macrumors newbie
Nov 21, 2019
11
1
Well seeing as I'm looking to upgrade my much loved mid 2012 Retina I have been closely following this issue!

And guess what your Video makes my mid 2012 produce the same thing, when I pause or quickly select the timeline while playing the video in random spots its like a loud pop.

Are we sure this is just the 2019 16" that has this issue? and FYI I am running Mojave on this laptop still too.

so an ideas? as i'm eager to order a new machine and place this one in a museum

Cheers

Try to play an empty mp3 in background, problem is solved system-wide even on your older mac like on new 16?
 

Erlendks

macrumors member
Jun 18, 2017
36
8
Well seeing as I'm looking to upgrade my much loved mid 2012 Retina I have been closely following this issue!

And guess what your Video makes my mid 2012 produce the same thing, when I pause or quickly select the timeline while playing the video in random spots its like a loud pop.

Are we sure this is just the 2019 16" that has this issue? and FYI I am running Mojave on this laptop still too.

so an ideas? as i'm eager to order a new machine and place this one in a museum

Cheers

I even got it on my iPhone 11 Pro.
 
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mdnz

macrumors 6502a
Apr 14, 2010
515
2,036
The Netherlands
If this is the same issue as the 2018 model be prepared to wait for a very long time to get it fixed. It's still not fixed on the 2018 models 1,5 years later.
 
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darwichee90

macrumors member
Feb 26, 2017
55
27
If this is the same issue as the 2018 model be prepared to wait for a very long time to get it fixed. It's still not fixed on the 2018 models 1,5 years later.

I also had a popping sound on my late 2017 and the only way they could solve that was by exchange the whole top case. it sounds 100% exactly same popping sound.
 

bevsb2

Contributor
Nov 23, 2012
4,463
13,683
I also had a popping sound on my late 2017 and the only way they could solve that was by exchange the whole top case. it sounds 100% exactly same popping sound.

As the owner of a 2018 15", I followed the thread on crackling speakers for quite a while. In 2 years my speakers cracked only once when a notification came through while I was on Youtube. Unfortunately many others with the problem never got any resolution whether replacing the top case or replacing the computer multiple times. It's the same sound but some have suggested that it is a different cause. If that is the case hopefully Apple will come up with a fix for this.
 
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MikeVera

macrumors regular
May 5, 2014
131
38
I ended up just returning. As I was rebooting to test the popping sound in windows, I had two BridgeOS crashes (anyone’s who’s owned a recent 15 inch knows about this).

Gonna wait a bit and see if these issues get resolved, especially since my unit did end up having a fair amount of audible coil whine as time when on.
 

darwichee90

macrumors member
Feb 26, 2017
55
27
I found out why they replace my whole topcase when i had this issue with popping noise, with my Late 2017.

Found this comment on youtube:

"this is fundamentally a design flaw by Apple, there is a small space in the lid where when the metal deforms (due to temperature fluctuation) a bit the material between the space makes a popping noise. the only fix is to replace the entire display, but the same problem could return again, which means you have to keep on changing the display or wait until the next model comes out... and hopefully, they fix the design issue"
 

Tic0

macrumors newbie
Nov 16, 2019
11
3
I found out why they replace my whole topcase when i had this issue with popping noise, with my Late 2017.

Found this comment on youtube:

"this is fundamentally a design flaw by Apple, there is a small space in the lid where when the metal deforms (due to temperature fluctuation) a bit the material between the space makes a popping noise. the only fix is to replace the entire display, but the same problem could return again, which means you have to keep on changing the display or wait until the next model comes out... and hopefully, they fix the design issue"

Though a totally different popping than the audio/DAC related popping on the 2019 models.
 

globalmatt

macrumors member
Jul 9, 2016
71
56
I found out why they replace my whole topcase when i had this issue with popping noise, with my Late 2017.

Found this comment on youtube:

"this is fundamentally a design flaw by Apple, there is a small space in the lid where when the metal deforms (due to temperature fluctuation) a bit the material between the space makes a popping noise. the only fix is to replace the entire display, but the same problem could return again, which means you have to keep on changing the display or wait until the next model comes out... and hopefully, they fix the design issue"

That's a totally different issue to this one I think.
 
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darwichee90

macrumors member
Feb 26, 2017
55
27
It would be interesting to ask a random person that voted "NO", to tell them specific what to do, to produce that popping noise.

To really see if this is something that all 16 inch have or not.
 
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