Some MacBook Pro with Touch Bar owners report pinging, popping case noise during heavy use...
A small proportion of users with the 2016 MacBook Pro are reporting hearing a pinging, or popping noise, described as similar to that of crushing a plastic bottle, seemingly related to thermal conditions in the laptop.
According to several threads in the Apple Community Support Forums, and reiterated on social media, users who put the new MacBook Pro under load are reporting the noise. Apple service seemingly has no organized policy on the matter -- but some have seen the problem.
Users are reporting that they can reproduce the noise at varying spots along the display bezel just above the upper case assembly containing the keyboard. At first glance, the problem seems primarily associated with the 15-inch model, but scattered reports claim that it is happening in the 13-inch as well.
Out of 10 Apple retail store service departments that we polled on Thursday morning, five have seen the problem at least once, with two Apple specialists out of five we asked saying the same. One Apple Genius noted that she believed it was related to thermal expansion, and seemed to be harmless, albeit annoying.
Reported responses to the issue by Apple service include blaming the noise on a fan impinging on a dent in the case, resulting in a $150 service bill for cosmetic damage. Others are replacing casing assemblies under warranty.
Long-term data collated by AppleInsider about service trends do not at this time suggest a major problem on the scale of 2011-era MacBook Pro GPU issues, or Retina display de-lamination, inherent to the entire line. Informal polling of 15 MacBook Pro users in the Washington D.C. metro area conducted this morning found none experiencing the problem -- but 15 users asked is hardly exhaustive.
According to several threads in the Apple Community Support Forums, and reiterated on social media, users who put the new MacBook Pro under load are reporting the noise. Apple service seemingly has no organized policy on the matter -- but some have seen the problem.
Users are reporting that they can reproduce the noise at varying spots along the display bezel just above the upper case assembly containing the keyboard. At first glance, the problem seems primarily associated with the 15-inch model, but scattered reports claim that it is happening in the 13-inch as well.
Out of 10 Apple retail store service departments that we polled on Thursday morning, five have seen the problem at least once, with two Apple specialists out of five we asked saying the same. One Apple Genius noted that she believed it was related to thermal expansion, and seemed to be harmless, albeit annoying.
Reported responses to the issue by Apple service include blaming the noise on a fan impinging on a dent in the case, resulting in a $150 service bill for cosmetic damage. Others are replacing casing assemblies under warranty.
Long-term data collated by AppleInsider about service trends do not at this time suggest a major problem on the scale of 2011-era MacBook Pro GPU issues, or Retina display de-lamination, inherent to the entire line. Informal polling of 15 MacBook Pro users in the Washington D.C. metro area conducted this morning found none experiencing the problem -- but 15 users asked is hardly exhaustive.
Comments
If anyone is collecting data, mine is 15" 2.9 i7 / 460 / 2TB / Grey.
Yeah, but are you in the DC area?
free us from this UltraFine hell
Hopefully this isn't a major recall issue. That would be annoying. For users and for Apple, I expect.
So what's this then? Ping-Gate? Pop-Gate? PingNPopGate? CantInnovateMyAssGate?
On second thoughts, CantInnovateMyAssGate would be for the MacPro redesign that's coming out next.
Even Mercedes and BMW have recalls (i.e, problems.)
There is no perfect quality control, though not everyone works as hard as Apple to a certain standard. Work to a certain standard, and that inevitable bad batch will be less widespread and very likely non-catastrophic.
The point isn't whether you'll experience problems, but rather, what Apple does to satisfy you, the customer, when you do bring a problem to them.
it's all about cradle-to-grave support.
Also probably also related key click/stick/repeat issues people have reported too. I have seen forum threads on multiple sites that date back to December 2016 for both these issues. Just starting to surface now in news sites.
I don't recall if there was any further discussion on the matter, or if anyone came up with a plausible reason for the MBP to have a tiered battery that would support the rumour.
here is also a different issue. The you move your macbook sideways and tilt it from left to right and vice versa then you will probably feel and hear the backlight plane shaking loose in the display assembly.
We experience this on 8/10 MacBook Pro 13 AND 15 inch.
The popping sound is only annoying when you put stress on the computer or when it heats up after having cooled down for a while. It is all of it nothing serious, it is just extremely annoying... I have had a MacBook Pro 15 BTO already serviced.
And it is going back again.. Those macbook seem to be slightly over-engineered and while I love the design and the way the work. I am royally annoyed by the sounds there are emitting when in use.