New defect discovered in iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max speakers

1 October 2026, 09:21·6·Technology

Owners of Apple's latest flagship models, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, have encountered a new technical issue. According to ixbt.com, users are complaining about unusual extraneous sounds coming from the device speakers, such as crackling, buzzing, and random clicking. This situation causes a series of inconveniences in daily use, hindering important calls and the consumption of multimedia content. This was reported by Ixbt.com reports.

According to observations by experts and affected users, this defect is clearly manifesting not in the main music speaker, but in the upper earpiece speaker used during calls. The nature of the problem varies; some owners note that they hear strange sounds almost continuously, while others only notice the defect during specific actions.

Conditions for the defect to occur

Based on reports from users on social networks and forums, the crackling sounds are clearly noticeable in the following situations:

when launching applications and scrolling through web pages;
when notifications arrive or the keyboard is opened;
during calls made over the mobile network;
when toggling airplane mode or abruptly changing screen brightness.

The common feature of these situations is that they repeat regularly, limiting the full use of the smartphone and causing justified dissatisfaction among buyers.

Software updates are not helping

To resolve the situation, Apple previously released the iOS 27.0.1 update to fix a reboot issue caused by a Face ID error. However, many users state that this software package did not solve the speaker crackling problem.

Some buyers have submitted their defective devices to official service centers for warranty replacement. Unfortunately, it was found that the replacement smartphones also retained the exact same sound issue. This indicates that the scale of the problem may be wider than expected.

Future measures and uncertainty

Currently, Apple has not yet officially acknowledged the existence of this defect. The causes of the problem remain a mystery—whether it is due to a software bug or a hardware defect is still unknown.

If the issue is software-related, it can be fixed via a future iOS update. However, if the problem lies in the hardware, it may require more serious measures and potential service campaigns. Users are currently awaiting an official statement.