iPhone 18 Pro users report unusual cracking noises – cause remains unclear

Shortly after the iPhone 18 Pro launched on September 28, 2026, complaints about unusual noises coming from the speakers began to mount. In the MacRumors forums and on Reddit, affected users report crackling, popping or brief “pop” sounds – on both the iPhone 18 Pro and the larger iPhone 18 Pro Max.

Particularly strange is that there is currently no clearly verifiable trigger for the phenomenon. According to some users, the noise occurs not only during audio playback or phone calls, but also when scrolling, opening the keyboard or even quickly changing the display brightness. In some cases, the popping can apparently be triggered by repeatedly turning Airplane Mode on and off.

It is unclear how many devices are affected by the problem. Some users report having complained about the issue and received a replacement device, only for the same problem to occur again. At the same time, there are also numerous users who have noticed no abnormalities whatsoever with their iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max.

Within the community, a software bug in iOS 27 is currently considered the most likely cause. This theory is supported by the fact that the problem occurs on different devices and in a variety of situations. Hopes were initially pinned on the iOS 27.0.1 update, but according to several user reports, it did not resolve the issue. Hardware problems therefore cannot yet be ruled out. Apple has not commented on the issue so far.