Some Macbook Owners Say Their Computers Are Making “Popping” Sounds

Image courtesy of Apple

Some owners of Apple’s latest MacBook Pro offering say their costly devices came with an unwanted addition: an unusual popping sound.

9 to 5 Mac reports that owners of the new computer have begun complaining on Apple’s support page, Reddit, and social media that the laptops make a strange “popping” sound from somewhere within.

The unusual sound, owners claim, is similar to what you might hear when squeezing a plastic bottle.

“Hello, so I have had this machine for a few days now and I love it, but so far I have noticed that sometimes the machine will make a kinda static like singular pop coming from the one of the speakers or at least the side of the laptop with a speaker on it,” one Reddit user wrote last month. “The sound is very [quiet] and random coming from only one speaker at a time and mostly the right.”

One owner writes on Reddit that they had one laptop replaced only to have the replacement make the same “popping” sound.

“It’s like an intermittent, popping noise. Kind of like the noise it makes when you get shocked on a doorknob,” the owner wrote. “It’s sometimes very soft, and sometimes very audible.”

Although some users say the issue occurs when listening to music or playing games, others say the popping sound occurs out of nowhere. Still, more say the sound seems to occur when the computer is warming up or cooling down.

“It isn’t the noise that bothers me, but I’m worried that it is an indication of the batteries slowly coming unglued,” an owner says on Apple’s support forum. “It feels and sounds like sticky tape popping, to me.”

In one case, an owner said on Reddit that their MacBook was replaced because the speaker had blown because of bad bootcamp audio drivers.

Another MacBook owner says they had the same issue with a 2014 model that was eventually repaired for speaker issues.

Some owners have shared their concerns with Apple on Twitter, describing the “popping” sound as occurring multiple times each day.

https://twitter.com/oliverfarrell/status/850398857380933633

As for Apple, the company’s support Twitter account has replied to some messages, asking users to contact them in a direct message or restart their computer in safe mode, adding that it was “not the experience we want you to have.”

While Apple doesn’t appear to have replied to inquiries on the support page, some owners say they have talked to techs either via online chat or at Apple Genius Bars.

“I took my laptop in to the genius bar for this popping noise,” one owner says. “They said it is caused by this small dent on the bottom casing hitting the fan.”

The owner was told to replace the entire bottom casing at the cost of $130.

“I really don’t think that’s the only problem. But hey… they’re the ‘geniuses,’ So check the bottom of your laptops…” the owner writes.

However, the customer says that after getting the MacBook Pro back it still made the popping sound.

We’ve reached out to Apple for comment on the issue, and will update this post when we hear back.

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