Apple says fix coming for 'crackling' iPhone 8 audio

Apple on Tuesday issued a statement confirming a small number of iPhone 8 handsets suffer from an audio glitch that causes a "crackling" noise during phone calls, saying a fix for the problem is in the works.

In the days following last week's iPhone 8 launch, a number of new owners have reported the audio bug to Apple's Support Pages forum (1, 2) and Reddit's iPhone subreddit, saying their new device emits a "crackling" or "static" noise from its ear speaker.

Apple commented on the matter in a statement to The Verge, saying, "We are aware of the issue which is affecting customers in a small number of cases. Our team is at work on a fix, which will be included in an upcoming software release."

The company failed to elaborate on the bug's cause.

A number of users have experienced the issue, however, and in each case the iPhone 8 in question emits a high-pitched crackling sound while on a phone call or FaceTime Audio call. The problem does not manifest in every call, and is not present when using the earpiece as a loudspeaker for speakerphone connections. Further, both iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus units are affected by the issue.

The symptoms suggest software, not hardware, is to blame for the crackling noise, meaning a firmware update will likely rectify the situation.

Apple failed to offer a timeline on the coming fix, though the company just today released iOS 11.0.1 to squash a number of bugs.

36 Comments

sc_markt 23 Years · 1218 comments

About 7 years ago

Got an iPhone 7 and ever since I updated to iOS11, I've been getting crackling sounds when I play my music. Haven't heard any crackling in my phone so far...

jumpcutter 11 Years · 100 comments

I am glad I did not buy this "quality" product from Apple. There is always a bug or problem with anything new from Apple. For the amount of money customers pay for this "phone" it should work with no problems. This proves that Apple's quality control is non existent. Tim is this what you mean that the iPhone's cost was "value priced for the technology it provides"? Apple should make sure the phone part works, instead of AR or the great camera, which makes this product nothing more than an expensive broken toy. This is a great disappointment.

tzeshan 14 Years · 2350 comments

iPhone 8 and 8 Plus seems the worse quality iPhones. We must appreciate the great leadership of Tim Cook who could not maintain the quality of which Apple is praised for. Instead he place a lot of attention on political issues which has nothing to do with Apple.

tbsteph 17 Years · 95 comments

jumpcutter said:

I am glad I did not buy this "quality" product from Apple. There is always a bug or problem with anything new from Apple. For the amount of money customers pay for this "phone" it should work with no problems. This proves that Apple's quality control is non existent. Tim is this what you mean that the iPhone's cost was "value priced for the technology it provides"? Apple should make sure the phone part works, instead of AR or the great camera, which makes this product nothing more than an expensive broken toy. This is a great disappointment.

Life isn’t perfect. Apple could get there product quality to 99.99% and still some would experience a problem.

dysamoria 12 Years · 3430 comments

tzeshan said:

iPhone 8 and 8 Plus seems the worse quality iPhones. We must appreciate the great leadership of Tim Cook who could not maintain the quality of which Apple is praised for. Instead he place a lot of attention on political issues which has nothing to do with Apple.

Yeah, Apple product suffers because Tim Cook is promoting human rights... [rolls eyes till it hurts]. You're scapegoating. If you would pay attention, you'd see that human rights has plenty to do with Apple because Apple employs humans.