Some owners of Apple’s new iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are reporting an intermittent crackling, ticking, or popping sound from the earpiece speaker, according to reporting by MacRumors’ Juli Clover.
Complaints have surfaced on the MacRumors forums and on Reddit. Users describe the noise as a crackle, a faint tick or pop, or random clicking. Many point to the earpiece rather than the bottom speaker. Both the iPhone 18 Pro and the larger Pro Max appear to be affected, though the issue does not seem to hit every unit.
The sound is not limited to one activity. Some people hear it consistently. Others notice it while using apps, scrolling websites, receiving notifications, when the keyboard appears, or during cellular calls. On affected phones, toggling Airplane Mode on and off, or changing screen brightness quickly, can also trigger it.
Apple released iOS 27.0.1 on September 28 to address a separate bug that could restart iPhone 18 Pro models when Face ID authentication fails. The release notes did not mention a speaker fix, and early feedback cited by Clover indicates the update has not resolved the crackling. Some buyers who returned an affected phone received a replacement with the same behavior.
What is causing the noise is still unclear. If it turns out to be a software issue, a later iOS update could address it. Apple has not publicly commented on the reports.
MacDailyNews Take: Likely a software issue: On October 3, 2017, Apple’s iOS 11.0.2 fixed a bug that made some iPhone 8 and 8 Plus earpieces produce a faint, high-pitched static or crackling noise during calls.
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