iPhone 18 Pro users report unusual speaker crackling

Owners of the new iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are reporting unusual audio issues, including crackling, clicking, popping, or faint ticking sounds coming from the earpiece speaker.

Reports on platforms such as Reddit and MacRumors indicate the sounds occur during various activities, including cellular calls, web browsing, receiving notifications, using the keyboard, or scrolling through pages. Some users have noted that toggling Airplane Mode or rapidly adjusting screen brightness can trigger the noise, suggesting the issue may not be strictly related to audio playback.

While Apple recently released the iOS 27.0.1 update to address Face ID and touchscreen bugs, early feedback suggests this update does not resolve the speaker anomaly. The cause remains unconfirmed, with uncertainty regarding whether the defect is hardware-based or a software bug. Notably, some users reported that receiving a replacement device did not resolve the problem, as the new unit exhibited the same symptoms.