A growing number of Apple users are reportedly hearing an unusual popping sound coming from their MacBook Pro laptops – and nobody seems to know why.
Numerous annoyed customers took to the Apple support discussion board, as well as other forums, to complain about the popping noise, as spotted by 9to5Mac. According to complaints, the issue mostly pertains to the latest 15-inch MacBook Pro model.
The mysterious sound has been compared to the “clicking” or “creaking” noise you hear when “slowly squeez[ing] a plastic bottle” but it remains unclear what is causing the issue. One thing the complaints share is that the sound tends to occur during more intensive tasks like gaming, and image and video editing.
“When I use the laptop in my lap and the fan comes on, I notice occasionally ‘clicking’ occurring on the right side, near the top of the speaker grill. It almost sounds like what you would hear when metal expands/contracts when heated (like an oven),” one user says. “I can’t reproduce it on demand, but […] it will start doing it randomly.”
Some MacBook Pro owners experiencing the issue speculate the noise might be coming from the display hinges.
“I was having this problem too. Late 2016 MBP with annoying popping sound that seemed to come from the hinge,” another user said. “It happened frequently when opening the laptop, and then later while using it rather randomly, but seemed like it might have been related to warming up from use.”
Apple seems to be unsure of the cause too. Some users report that company technicians replaced internal parts like the logic board, but the issue continues to persist. Others claim Apple blamed the noise on a small dent on the bottom casing.
What’s particularly annoying is that Apple insists the dent isn’t covered under warranty, according to some users.
“I took my laptop in to the genius bar for this popping noise. They said it is caused by this small dent on the bottom casing hitting the fan. They told me I had to replace the entire bottom casing for $130. Not covered under warranty because it’s user inflicted damage [or] a wearable part,” another MacBook Pro owner said.
Have you heard the mysterious pop from your MacBook Pro? Fill us in down in the comments.
Disqus comments