A growing number of MacBook Pro owners are complaining of a mysterious “popping” sound coming from their machines.
The sound doesn’t appear to be generated by certain tasks or uses, though some say it is more common during intensive tasks like gaming.
It might be the prettiest high-end laptop Apple has ever made, but the new MacBook Pro has been bombarded with all kinds of complaints since making its debut. Users have bemoaned the lack of ports, its 16GB RAM limit, and more.
Now a growing number of users are taking to online forums to complain about a strange “popping” sound that seems to appear at random. The issue is more common with the 15-inch model, and some users speculate it could have something to do with the machine’s fans or hinges.
“I think the problem is actually from the hinges, as there is some natural flexing in the aluminum back of the display,” writes one user on the Apple Support Communities forum. “I think the heat has affected the glue or some plastic mount in the display assembly.”
Another user claims they are able to reproduce the sound by pressing “right at the bottom of the screen assembly in the middle.”
Others say that the sound appears when their machine is under heavy load, while others report that they are unable to identify a cause.
“The sound occurs rarely, there may be several days or more straight that I don’t hear it, though when it occurs, it may happen 2-3 times in a half hour period,” one writes. “There is no association I can make with what I’m doing at the time, so I’m unable to recreate it.”
The sound has been described as a hollow popping noise, “similar to if you slowly squeeze a plastic bottle until it crinkles.”
Some users have already taken their complaint to Apple, and in some cases, they’ve had components like the logic board replaced. Others paid to have the bottom casing of their machine replaced out of warranty after Apple noticed dents that were supposedly interfering with fans.
However, none of these things fixed the popping issue.
“I just got my macbook pro back, with a brand new (dent free) bottom casing, and it STILL makes the popping noise,” one owner writes. “Really annoyed that I have to go back to the store to resolve this issue.”
The popping noise doesn’t appear to affect usage of the MacBook Pro, though it’s likely very frustrating. Here’s to hoping Apple looks into this and finds a proper fix for the problem.
Via: 9to5Mac
