UPDATE: iPhone 8 Buyers Report ‘Annoying Static Sounds’ During Calls

UPDATE (9/27/17): On Wednesday morning, Apple issued a statement in which it acknowledged the iPhone 8 “crackling” sounds issue, indicating that it had received reports from a “small number” of iPhone 8 and 8 Plus users, and that the company’s engineers are currently working on a fix.

“We are aware of the issue which is affecting customers in a small number of cases,” an Apple spokesperson said, while adding that “Our team is at work on a fix, which will be included in an upcoming software release.

Of course, still unknown is what’s actually causing the sounds in the first place, which a growing number of displeased users on the MacRumors, Apple Support, and Reddit forums describe as a “crackling,” “popping” sound that in some instances dramatically diminishes the quality of their phone calls.

In either case, Apple claims that all it’s going to take to fix the issue is a software update; so at this point, iPhone 8 owners can only be thankful they’re not plagued by a hardware defect or anything serious like that. No timeline has been established for the update’s rollout, but Apple has historically released multiple updates within the days and weeks following a new iPhone and iOS release, so we shouldn’t be waiting too long.

[Original Story Continues Below:]

Several iPhone 8 and 8 Plus handsets are allegedly emitting “very annoying” static sounds through their front-facing earpieces when owners conduct routine phone calls, according to a growing number of complaints posted to the MacRumors’ Support forums. The issue was first published to said forums by a user who goes by vask on Friday, shortly after the handset launched. Since then, a somewhat concerning number of iPhone 8 Plus owners, in particular, from across the U.S., Europe, and Australia, have contributed reports of similar issues.

Interestingly, while most of these iPhone 8 Plus buyers report experiencing the static, crackling sounds when they conduct phone calls through the handset’s earpiece, the issue appears to correct itself when headphones are plugged in or speakerphone is enabled, which may suggest that whatever’s causing the noise is software-related, rather than a hardware defect.

“It is a high-pitched crackle like an audio pop that happens in the earpiece top speaker intermittently during calls. Some calls are fine and others crackle. It is not audible on earphones or on speakerphone, only through the earpiece. The caller on the other end doesn’t hear it,” explained forum member jgpsolo, while Switzerland-based forum member, ManuCH, added that the problem occurs “With or without Wi-Fi calling, with 4G voice (VoLTE) on or off, with phone noise cancelling enabled or disabled under accessibility, and even with third party VoIP apps over several different carriers.”

Is There a Solution?

At present, it appears that some of those affected have tried one of several potential fixes, garnering mixed results, such as performing a hard reset, erasing the iPhone and resetting it from scratch, and even outright returning what they thought was a defective device, only to be given a replacement that’s beset by the same issues, according to MacRumors.

The good news, at least, is that Apple is aware of the problem and is currently looking into how it can be fixed.