MacBook Pro (2021) Users Complain of Crackling, Popping Noise When Playing Sound

A number of affected MacBook Pro (2021) users have raised complaints about the issue since at least January.

By Jagmeet Singh | Updated: 11 May 2022 12:16 IST

MacBook Pro (2021) Users Complain of Crackling, Popping Noise When Playing Sound

Photo Credit: Apple

MacBook Pro (2021) models debuted in October last year

Highlights

MacBook Pro (2021) users facing the issue have reported it online
Both 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro (2021) are impacting some users
MacBook Pro users on earlier models had also reported similar issues

MacBook Pro (2021) users are complaining about hearing a crackling and popping noise when they play music or any sound. The issue seems to have impacted a number of users as there are multiple complaints detailing the problem on the Apple Community forum as well as on Reddit. It is also not limited a particular MacBook Pro (2021) model as while some users are facing it on the 14-inch version, the others have reported it on the 16-inch option. Apple has not yet publicly acknowledged the issue, though.

The user complaints on the Apple Community forum and Reddit suggest that the crackling and popping audio emerge randomly when a song, video, or any other sound is being played on the MacBook Pro (2021). It becomes prominent and more noticeable to users when the volume level is high or the machine is playing a high-pitch sound, though the odd audio appears even in low volume levels for some users.

A number of users have raised complaints about the issue since at least January. Some of them were able to even get replacements from Apple when they reached out to a service centre. However, replacing their existing units with new ones did not help as the issue still persisted for most users went for the replacements.

Although user complaints on the crackling and popping audio issue impacting MacBook Pro (2021) models are from earlier this year, 9to5Mac has brought it into the limelight with a report based on a video that covered the audio effect.

The issue seems to be due to software bug as replacing the hardware has not solved problems for many users. A Reddit user also indicated its roots in the software as they were able to fix the speaker crackling by killing a process called "coreaudiod" from the Activity Monitor app.

"After quitting the process your audio should cut out completely. The system will start the coreaudiod process again and it should work without crackling," the user wrote.

Gadgets 360 has reached out to Apple for a comment on the matter and will update this article when the company responds.

This is not the first time when we are seeing issues impacting the MacBook Pro (2021) models that debuted in October last year. In December, some MacBook Pro (2021) 16-inch users complained about its MagSafe 3 charging. Some users on both MacBook Pro (2021) 14-inch and 16-inch also reported accessibility issues with SD cards in the same month.

Crackling and popping audio problems are also not that new in the Mac world as they had surfaced on some previous MacBook Pro models in the past. In 2019, Apple had acknowledged through an internal memo that the crackling and popping noises emanating from the earlier 16-inch MacBook Pro were coming due to a software bug that it would patch in a future macOS update.

What's most interesting about Apple's new MacBook Pros, M1 Pro and M1 Max silicon, AirPods (3rd Generation), and Apple Music Voice plan? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch 2021 Laptop

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Value for Money

Good
Excellent, crisp 120Hz display
Powerful M1 Pro or M1 Max processor
Very good battery life
Good speakers and webcam
Relatively light and portable

Bad
Very expensive
Notch causes minor software bugs
Hardware is not upgradeable

Read detailed Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch 2021 review

Display size 14.20-inch

Display resolution 3024x1964 pixels

Touchscreen No

Processor Apple M1 Pro

RAM 16GB

OS macOS

SSD 512GB

Weight 1.60 kg

More Apple Laptops

Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch 2021 Laptop

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display size 16.20-inch

Display resolution 3546x2234 pixels

Touchscreen No

Processor Apple M1 Pro

RAM 16GB

OS macOS

SSD 512GB

Weight 2.10 kg

More Apple Laptops

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