Crackling/Clipping Noise on Macbook

[MA225]

Crackling/popping/clipping/stuttering issue that I've seen in different forums. Can't find a fix for the mac. Just started noticing it today. 

Please help!

Macbook running macOS Catalina v10.15.6

Retina, 12 inch, 2017.

[sfarkhan]

I'm having the same issue on my M1 MacBook Pro 16" MacOS 12.3.1 (21E258), Spotify: Spotify for macOS (Apple Silicon)
1.1.81.604.gccacfc8c

Consistent popping that happens at the same point on songs. I can rewind and hear it over and over again and it's affecting multiple tracks. I have no other issues with audio on Youtube, VLC, etc.

[tjbeatty]

Brand new MacBook Pro with an M1 chip running Monterey (12.3.1) and I have the same horrible crackling issue. Makes listening on the app unbearable. Web app seems to run fine and headphones have no issues. 

[ivanszeftel]

I am having the same issue, clean reinstall did not work. Any advice? 

[meganderson9]

Having the same problem here as well - MacBook Pro with m1 chip. Started noticing the popping noise about a month ago. Have already reinstalled latest version of spotify for mac and installed all available iOS updates. Even happens in offline mode and on downloaded tracks. 

[chelseaalicec]

Having the same problem. Cracking/popping sound intermittently throughout Spotify tracks played from the App. It started about a month ago and seems to be getting worse. I've already reinstalled my OS (Macbook Pro with M1 chip, OS 12.3.1), erased and reinstalled Spotify (following instructions from this link), but it is still happening. Doesn't happen on other audio like YouTube or Zoom calls. Would love an answer!

[chelseaalicec]

Also just checked, and it happens to me on the Spotify web player!

[Alex]

Hey folks,

Thanks for reaching out about this in the Community!

Sorry to hear that there are such noise interferences when you play music on your Macbooks.

Could you try going to Applications->Utilities->Audio midi setup and changing the sample rate on the Built-in audio Output to 48000 or 96000.

Let us know if this helps.

[ascorti]

No, that did not solve the problem, though it feels like the "cracks" occur less often.

[ma4springer]

+1 to these. Having the same crackling/popping issue with the desktop Spotify App on M1 chip running Monterey (12.3.1). However, no issue with the web player or when bluetooth headphones synced. 

[acdcwillie]

Well, It's not only Spotify now. I've detected same issue on other apps, but not so frequent as Spotify. Reseting NVRAM seems to solve the issue but only for a while.

[Alex]

Hey @ascorti,

Thanks for trying this out.

Can you tell us if you hear this noise when playing from Youtube or the Spotify Web player, as some other community members have confirmed? This will help us get a better understanding of what might be causing the issue.

Keep us posted.

[ascorti]

Yesterday Spotify got updated and today the cracking noise is gone.

I also restarted my Mac and noticed that MIDI settings are back to 48 kHz (probably macOS reverted it for some reason).

Probably the update solved it.

[Vasil]

Hey @ascorti,

Thanks for letting us know!
If anyone else continues to experience this, do keep us posted.
We're always on the lookout for new responses.
Cheers!

[colionel]

Hello, 

I have the same issue on my Mac Book Pro M1 2021 :

I ca, confirm it only happens with Spotify : both on the web player and through the app.

• Only on Spotify : No cracking noise when i play the same song on Youtube.

• It only happens on the speaker, not with bluetooth headphones

• It's random (if i go back a few sec and play it again it doesn't crack at the same moment)

[Kiril]

Hey @colionel,

Thanks for your post and welcome to the Community!

First up, it's well worth running a clean reinstall to get rid of any cached files that might be causing trouble. This one is more thorough than the usual one, so see if it will make the crackling noises go away. 

If it doesn't help you, then please return with a short video recording showing us the experience you've received, as well as share with us your current Spotify version number.

Keep us posted, we'll be on the lookout for your reply.

[Jorgebz4]

Hey Alex, i change that and now it looks like it happens but less than before and the crack sound is now lower, but still i can hear it randomly and yes, it only happens on the Spotify mac app for me, i've tried with web players or youtube and that sounds good.

BTW, on Bluetooth speakers that doesn't happen, only on the build in speakers.

No spotify or mac os update at the date of this comment

[ivanszeftel]

This is not happening on youtube or other times when we use our macbook pro, just with spotify, both web and desktop apps. Can you please provide a solution? I already did:

- Clean reinstall of the app

- changed midi setup to 96.000

- reset of the macbook

nothing seems to be working and it is really annoying.... 

[Yordan]

Hi folks,

Thank you for your inputs so far.

This seems to be a hardware related issue that was also reported on Apple's forums. Here's a relevant thread that proposes some possible solutions which you may find useful, so feel free to check it out if you haven't already. Some of the fixes include:

• Typing the following into the terminal: xcrun simctl shutdown all then sudo killall coreaudiod.
• Changing the sampling rate to 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz.
• Deleting the com.apple.audio.DeviceSettings.plist and com.apple.audio.SystemSettings.plist files, then restarting the device.

More details can be found in the aforementioned thread.

Hope this gets sorted out soon, take care!

[lawrencejob]

Hi all! I recently bought a Macbook Pro 16" with M1 Pro and the first thing I installed was Spotify - I get the same periodic (every 30-60s, SUPER loud crackly pops) noises. Fully updated.. I can't tell - is it my Macbook or Spotify?

[AndresM]

Hi @lawrencejob,

Thanks for reaching out to the Community.

In this case, we recommend that you follow the suggestion posted by @Yordan, as apparently this is related to a hardware issue. 

Don't forget to check the thread and follow the steps there.

Remember the Community is here in case anything else comes up.