Hello, is it anyone here ( or on this planet ) that can help with this issue on Catalina Mac OS 10.15.5 Beta 3 (19F72f).
I am using MacBook Pro 16 inches. 😟
How to Fix Cracking and Popping Sound ?
I'm gonna weigh in here. I started having this problem with my MacBook Pro 16" i9 late 2019 - along with a host of other problems which were generally linked to the inability of the cooling system to adequately handle the heat produced by the i9. I found various sources online reporting the problem and eventually there was talk of a software solution from Apple. This never came. Alongside the weird crackling and popping was another problem, reported in music producer blogs, that audio interfaces using USB2.0 would experience dropouts and various other glitches.
I took the computer into Apple and spoke to them multiple times about these issues, never receiving any acknowledgement that the problem existed or indeed that they were aware of the widespread nature of the issue. They tested my speakers multiple times - presumably with their own diagnostic software or in safe mode, and concluded that there was nothing wrong with the computer.
In light of my experiences - both the overheating and the audio glitching - which impacted my work as a developer and music producer, I decided to upgrade to the new M1 Pro based MacBook Pro, hoping that this would solve the problem. Alas after migrating, I am STILL experiencing issues with the audio. I can't believe that it has been SO long and NOTHING has changed. I was going to try a fresh install of MacOS without using TimeMachine out of desperation, but it seems that people are still experiencing issues even after completing this process. I am completely at a loss of what to do... The sound is completely unbearable to listen to! And the problem occurs almost every few seconds!
Same problem with the M1Max just appeared for me a few days ago. Crackling on certain frequencies while on low volume, doesn't matter if I listen to Spotify or Youtube. Tried everything here already, from resetting NVRAM to deleting those audio settings plist files, restarting a bunch of time, deleting custom audio drivers, updating to the latest OS. It's a persistent issue and I can't get rid of it.
Among those who have the problem: have you had the opportunity to work a few days on a different session from your main one?
I did the test successfully but only for a couple of hours (not enough time to draw an honest conclusion)
Cracking in my MacBook Pro 2021 is (almost) gone after updating today to 12.4 (Beta). While listening to a song on Spotify for 2 minutes, I counted 12 cracks. After updating to 12.4 Beta, just one minor crack. It's definitively a software issue. I always had the same problem with Apple Music and Spotify.
My machine: MacBook Pro 2019 (16 inches) Running: Big Sur 11.6.4 Processor: 2.3 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9 Memory: 64 GB 2667 MHz DDR4 Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB
I noticed I've had this issue if there is a specific process taking up a lot of CPU. If you open Activity monitor, you can see which process is taking over 100% CPU. By clicking the X to stop the process that is taking up the CPU, that mitigates the issue for me. Often for me it is the kernel_task, and it is related to my USB-C connected dongle/monitor. I will also notice that those connected cables can get hot. So when this happens I disconnect all usb-c cables except for power and let it sit for a few minutes. Afterward, the CPU taken up by kernel_task goes down to a more normal <10% and the crackling goes away.
My Macbook pro 14 have this problem too. I'am so disappointed. None of the other solutions work for me and i've the latest Monterey version (12.3.1). This occur when the CPU it's under stress, for me when i run Parallels. So disappointed.
I have MacBook Pro 14 M1 Pro 16GB and I have same issue. This is happening when memory is loaded above 50% (memory pressure 50%+). It is happening more often, in some less but it happens couple times per minute in EVERY app that is using audio.
I found that error in Console app:
CAReportingClient.mm:508 message {
"HAL_client_IO_duration" = 162424875;
HostApplicationDisplayID = "com.apple.WebKit.GPU";
cause = ClientHALIODurationExceededBudget;
deadline = 19130426;
"input_device_source_list" = "";
"input_device_transport_list" = "";
"input_device_uid_list" = "";
"io_buffer_size" = 4096;
"io_cycle" = 50;
"io_cycle_budget" = 92901625;
"io_page_faults" = 0;
"is_prewarming" = 0;
"is_recovering" = 0;
"issue_type" = overload;
lateness = 3349;
"other_page_faults" = 73;
"output_device_source_list" = "Internal Speaker";
"output_device_transport_list" = BuiltIn;
"output_device_uid_list" = BuiltInSpeakerDevice;
"safety_violation" = 1;
"sample_rate" = 44100;
"scheduler_latency" = 24041;
"smallest_buffer_frame_size" = 256;
}: (
1782411427842
)
Another error (after recent crackling):
CAReportingClient.mm:508 message {
"HAL_client_IO_duration" = 366291;
HostApplicationDisplayID = "org.mozilla.plugincontainer";
cause = PageFaultsOffIOThread;
deadline = 1299694;
"input_device_source_list" = "";
"input_device_transport_list" = "";
"input_device_uid_list" = "";
"io_buffer_size" = 512;
"io_cycle" = 2527;
"io_cycle_budget" = 12358250;
"io_page_faults" = 0;
"is_prewarming" = 0;
"is_recovering" = 0;
"issue_type" = overload;
lateness = 74;
"other_page_faults" = 40;
"output_device_source_list" = "Internal Speaker";
"output_device_transport_list" = BuiltIn;
"output_device_uid_list" = BuiltInSpeakerDevice;
"safety_violation" = 1;
"sample_rate" = 44100;
"scheduler_latency" = 12659958;
"smallest_buffer_frame_size" = 256;
}: (
1782411427870
)
Same issue, 2021 MBP M1 Pro, getting progressively worse. Laptop speakers are borderline unusable. Any fix I've tried has been temporary at best, it always comes back. Doesn't happen in headphones although there is a lot of bluetooth hiccuping with Airpod Pro Max.
Incredibly frustrating issue on very new high-end products.
I have a MacMini 2018, and am running 10.14.6. I encountered the crackling problem. you can tell it is a firmware problem in the Apple audio unit, because if you play music very softly you will hear the crackles. the crackles are fixed in volume and don't go up as you increase the volume. So this means that the noise is after the audio amplifier in the chain. The crackling stops when the audio stream stops, after a few second delay, when the audio unit goes to sleep (to save power). Killing the coreaudio process, which auto respawns almost immediately clears the problem. So it is a bug in the firmware for the custom apple audio chip which is in every MacMini and Laptop (they use the same custom Apple chips). It staggers my mind that Apple has had this bug since 2018 probably, and they just don't care enough to fix it. So obnoxious of an error for those of us who can still hear. Noise hurts your ear, and i didn't buy fancy Gelelec Studio Monitors to hear crackling! All the superstition about setting the time automatically doesn't sound plausible to me. It's a software error in the code that runs the low level chip. The engineer who worked on the chip is probably gone by now, and Apple doesn't fix problems unless thousands make a stink. Then they get off their ***** and fix things, because one thing apple cannot stand is public humiliation. — magicmouse less than a minute ago
Mac mini late 2018 and still cracking sound when CPU is being heavily used. 1 year and still not fixed, so disappointing for a computers so expensive, I'm about to get back to Linux. Mac is being more unstable every release.
@Kemmor — good find! I have a 2021 MBP 16" M1 Pro with this same issue, and get the same entries in my console every time the crackle happens. In this case IINA was running:
CAReportingClient.mm:508 message {
"device_is_aggregate" = 0;
"input_num_tap_streams" = 0;
"input_scalar_volume" = "1.000000";
"io_buffer_size" = 512;
message = StartHardware;
"output_avail_phys_formats" = "{ [32/96000/2 lpcm], [32/88200/2 lpcm], [32/48000/2 lpcm], [32/44100/2 lpcm] }";
"output_avail_virt_formats" = "{ [32/96000/2 lpcm], [32/88200/2 lpcm], [32/48000/2 lpcm], [32/44100/2 lpcm] }";
"output_bits_per_channel" = 32;
"output_bytes_per_frame" = 8;
"output_bytes_per_packet" = 8;
"output_channels_per_frame" = 2;
"output_device_source_list" = "Internal Speaker";
"output_device_transport_list" = BuiltIn;
"output_device_uid_list" = BuiltInSpeakerDevice;
"output_format_id" = lpcm;
"output_frames_per_packet" = 1;
"output_num_tap_streams" = 1;
"output_scalar_volume" = "1.000000";
"sample_rate" = 44100;
}: (
1799591297333
)
I'm interested to know if those with older hardware / macOS versions also get the same. Just open Console.app, filter on "Internal Speaker" and then wait for the problem to occur, and see if an entry appears simultaneously.
I get three types of entries on my machine while listening to Spotify:
CAReportingClient.mm:508 message {
"HAL_client_IO_duration" = 83708;
HostApplicationDisplayID = "com.spotify.client";
cause = PageFaultsOffIOThread;
deadline = 161036694;
"input_device_source_list" = "";
"input_device_transport_list" = "";
"input_device_uid_list" = "";
"io_buffer_size" = 512;
"io_cycle" = 24644;
"io_cycle_budget" = 11354125;
"io_page_faults" = 0;
"is_prewarming" = 0;
"is_recovering" = 0;
"issue_type" = overload;
lateness = 13;
"other_page_faults" = 42;
"output_device_source_list" = "Internal Speaker";
"output_device_transport_list" = BuiltIn;
"output_device_uid_list" = BuiltInSpeakerDevice;
"safety_violation" = 1;
"sample_rate" = 48000;
"scheduler_latency" = 11045416;
"smallest_buffer_frame_size" = 512;
}: (
1726576852993
)
CAReportingClient.mm:508 message {
"HAL_client_IO_duration" = 1210958;
HostApplicationDisplayID = "com.apple.CoreSpeech";
cause = PageFaultsOffIOThread;
deadline = 148418110;
"input_device_source_list" = "Unknown, Unknown";
"input_device_transport_list" = "Virtual, BuiltIn";
"input_device_uid_list" = "AOP Audio-1, BuiltInSpeakerDevice";
"io_buffer_size" = 512;
"io_cycle" = 122873;
"io_cycle_budget" = 11354125;
"io_page_faults" = 0;
"is_prewarming" = 0;
"is_recovering" = 0;
"issue_type" = overload;
lateness = 297;
"other_page_faults" = 57;
"output_device_source_list" = "Internal Speaker";
"output_device_transport_list" = BuiltIn;
"output_device_uid_list" = BuiltInSpeakerDevice;
"safety_violation" = 1;
"sample_rate" = 48000;
"scheduler_latency" = 15415416;
"smallest_buffer_frame_size" = 512;
}: (
1726576852994
)
CAReportingClient.mm:508 message {
"device_is_aggregate" = 0;
"input_num_tap_streams" = 0;
"input_scalar_volume" = "1.000000";
"io_buffer_size" = 512;
message = StartHardware;
"output_avail_phys_formats" = "{ [32/96000/2 lpcm], [32/88200/2 lpcm], [32/48000/2 lpcm], [32/44100/2 lpcm] }";
"output_avail_virt_formats" = "{ [32/96000/2 lpcm], [32/88200/2 lpcm], [32/48000/2 lpcm], [32/44100/2 lpcm] }";
"output_bits_per_channel" = 32;
"output_bytes_per_frame" = 8;
"output_bytes_per_packet" = 8;
"output_channels_per_frame" = 2;
"output_device_source_list" = "Internal Speaker";
"output_device_transport_list" = BuiltIn;
"output_device_uid_list" = BuiltInSpeakerDevice;
"output_format_id" = lpcm;
"output_frames_per_packet" = 1;
"output_num_tap_streams" = 1;
"output_scalar_volume" = "1.000000";
"sample_rate" = 48000;
}: (
1726576853029
)
Reported to Apple, though I doubt anyone will look into this. I read somewhere that starting fresh (resetting the os and not recovering from a backup) fixes this bug for good. So I think I will have to do that instead.
Same issues here on my 1 month old MacBook Pro 16” 1TB 16GB ram with latest Monterrey installed. It went to Apple Store for a fix but they couldn’t reproduce the intermittent issue so returned it to me unfixed. I then tried keeping a note of the time stamps of all the crackles and doing a full data dump to Apple Support but they found no issues within the data (I.e, they say must be hardware and not a software thing, but also that it’s weird because hardware normally just breaks and this is intermittent”. They’ve booked me another Genius appointment for today but I’m not holding my breath that the crackling will happen while I am there 🤦🏼♂️.
I have the same problem. I have a brand new MacBook Pro 16-inch (M1 Pro). It's horrible and I tried everything to fix it but nothing worked.
M1 Pro 16" here. Same problem. Strong pop/crack every 3 seconds or so while listening to music.
Running on battery. Nothing in Activity Monitor runs above 10% CPU and kernel_task isn't in the top 18 items.