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.

[mactabby]

My issues (discussed much earlier in the thread) were random, very loud popping in multiple audio contexts. Spotify was just the most obvious. Console logs showed the Mac Audio system being overloaded (cpu-wise, not volume-wise) and causing the pops. I spent months back and forth with Apple support and got nowhere. At some point in the last 6 months it just stopped, possibly when I upgraded to Sonoma. I can now listen to any and all audio and do not have the problem. 

[Ivelina]

Hey folks,

We will be locking the thread for new comments as the topic is gathering comments about somewhat different issues and we're not able to keep track and provide relevant steps and tracking. Most of the comments so far report that they are experiencing this behavior not only with the Spotify app but with other services on the Mac machines. We want to highlight the solutions listed by at Yordan again before we close the thread:

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. We hope these help and that the issue gets resolved in the near future.

If you have a different issue than what we describe here, feel free to start a new thread.

[kassjaned]

Plan

Premium

Country  - U.S.

Device

(Macbook Pro 14-inch 2021)

Operating System

(iOS Sonoma 14.4.1)

My Question or Issue

Spotify is making a loud popping noise on my Macbook. Issue isn't present on my phone. No other websites or apps on my laptop make the sound, so I don't think it's the speakers. I've tried clearing my spotify cache, updating my laptop and spotify, restarting, etc. Nothing is making it go away. The noise is way louder than the music and frequent enough that I'm just not using spotify on my laptop anymore.

[OscarDC]

Hey @kassjaned,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community.

The issue you're describing could be related to some damaged cache stored on your device that may be affecting the proper behavior of the app. We understand you’ve already tried some troubleshooting steps including reinstalling, but to be sure that we're on the same page - did you use the steps for a clean reinstall mentioned in this article?

If the issue persists, we'd recommend clearing any entries which contain Spotify from the host files on your computer as this process will replace any possible damaged files. To do so, you can follow the instructions mentioned in this post.

If the issue persists, include in your next response the Spotify version you're currently running to continue investigating the case.

We'll be on the lookout.

[briannasiann]

Hi!

I am having the same issue as @kassjaned and would be interested in getting an answer. I have done a clean reinstall and cleared all entries which contain Spotify from host files, as suggested, as well as clearing caches numerous times, removing all the downloaded songs, updating and resetting my computer, and even taking my laptop to a repair store to check that it isn't an issue with the speakers. It isn't. 

I only bought this laptop a couple of months ago, so I'm confused and frustrated.

My device is a 2022 13-inch Macbook Air, operating on Sonoma 14.5. I am running Spotify for macOS (Apple Silicon)
1.2.41.434.g39a25e2c. If you have any ideas, I would love to hear them. I have been using Spotify for at least 7 years, and I would hate to have to leave the platform over the issue.

Thank you 🙂

[OscarDC]

Hey @briannasiann,

Thank you for joining the conversation.

We appreciate all the info you included in your post. To continue investigating this issue, would you mind checking the troubleshooting mentioned in the top answer of this article to see if it makes any difference?

If the issue persists, could you check if the Web Player also makes the popping noise? This will give us a better look at the issue.

We'll be on the lookout. 

[briannasiann]

Hi @OscarDC,

The troubleshooting option in that article either didn't work at all or only worked for about 5 minutes before the popping started again. The Web Player, so far, does not make a popping noise. 

Thanks again.

[#9]

hi ı have MacBook Pro m2 sonoma 14.5 and I have sound issue , while ı am using spotify sound is popping and this is very disturbing and I checked my speakers they are totaly fine and I went to apple store to check my computer and they say your computer doesnt have any problem so they say the problem must be from spotify side . so how can I solve this problem because I love using spotify

[briannasiann]

Hi! I'm in the same boat, too. Super frustrating that this is still happening.

Have you tried everything that has been suggested in this article so far? Otherwise I'm waiting on @OscarDC or another moderator to help. I would given the Spotify Web Player a try in the meantime. If you're having the same issue as me, I've found that the Web Player works without crackling, but the features on Web Player are far more limited. I'm paying a decent amount of money each month to have better sound quality amongst other features, and I can't use any of them because I'm stuck on Web Player due to this issue. I'm seriously considering quitting my Spotify Premium subscription until this can be sorted out, because I can't justify spending this amount of money without benefits. Hope to hear from someone who can help soon.

[hoppeellie]

hey! i am experiencing this popping noise while listening to music on the Spotify app via my MacBook Pro 13" M2 2022 running Sonoma 14.5.

i feel for the other users who are dealing with this, as it makes listening to music unbearable! hopefully a permanent fix comes soon, as it's only Spotify that is causing issues and i'd rather not acquire any hardware damage from the suspicious crackling sounds. 

[migo33]

Hi mate,

It seems like the popping noise is coming from the Mac not Spotify. I get the same 'pops' during zoom/Teams meetings and sometimes YouTube.
The issues has reduced quite significantly over time and I suspect that is has to do with apps updates such as moving to the Mac silicon architecture.

[wilkinson]

Also experiencing this as of ~last month. Just flagging this is still an issue as of Spotify for macOS (Apple Silicon) 1.2.42.290.g242057a2 - other applications are unaffected.

[jccart]

did anyone ever find the cause of this ? it sounds like the levels are too high somewhere I have had this type of problem when my pro interface was outputting audio too hot for my consumer amp . I have a slightly different issue where whenever I start listening to Spotify on my macbook pro a few seconds in it glitches for a fraction of a second and sometimes sends a weird digital static type noise through the speakers happens every time then plays fine for however long I listen that occasion 

[KFB2]

Plan

Free/Premium

Country

United Kingdom

Device

Macbook Air M2 2022

Operating System

Safari, Chrome

My Question or Issue

When I play music through my macBook Air, it makes crackling sounds! I've tried installing it and reinstalling it and also clearing cache. Any suggestions?

[dothestrand]

I'm currently having this issue - Macbook Air 13ins 2020, Sonoma 14.6.1.

The speakers do not crackle at any other time than when I'm using the Spotify app. I have tried all of the suggestions in this forum but to no avail. I don't really like using the web player as I like to sort my playlists in a certain way and there's no way to do that.