Out of the blue, Apple updated its MacBook Pro earlier last month, with the latest Intel processors and a new Butterfly keyboard mechanism to fix issues with its previous-gen keyboard. However, in an attempt to solve recurring keyboard woes, Cupertino seems to have hit another pitstop – this time with the speakers on the MacBook Pro.
Several users have reported that built-in speakers on the new 13-inch, as well as 15-inch MacBook Pro, are producing random crackling sounds during audio playback. They have flocked to Apple Support Communities, YouTube, and Reddit to report the issue.
The crackling sound is being heard from the speakers in different use-cases, such as while watching a video in VLC media player, using GarageBand or watching videos on YouTube. There is no word on whether the crackling issue is faced at certain frequencies or volumes as there a number of variables to consider with the audio output.
Here are a few YouTube videos to give you an idea of the crackling sound being heard by the users on MacBook Pro (2018) models:
As pointed out by MacRumors, this crackling problem is similar to what MacBook Pro had experienced back in 2016 while running Windows via Boot Camp. It is said that the audio crackling got so loud on certain occasions that it totally damaged the speakers and it had to be replaced or repaired.
The audio woes on the 2018 MacBook Pro models don’t appear to be so extreme just yet and users speculate that the T2 chip, audio drivers, or interference due to lack of proper shielding may be the cause for the same.
Apple has reportedly been made aware of the issue and a fix may be under development. The Cupertino giant hasn’t yet acknowledged the issue publicly but we can expect a fix to roll out with the stable builds of MacOS Mojave in the coming weeks.
