Reports of iPhone 18 Pro speaker crackling are growing in user forums. Some iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max owners hear a crackle or pop coming from the phone, and the latest software update has not stopped it.
Owners are posting about the problem across Reddit discussions. People describe it as a crackle, a faint tick or pop, or random clicking. Many say the noise comes from the earpiece speaker, and both the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone 18 Pro Max appear to be affected.
Apple introduced the iPhone 18 Pro lineup at its September 9 event, so these units are only a few weeks old. Our 2026 hardware roundup covers what else Apple launched alongside them.
The crackling shows up during everyday use on affected iPhone 18 Pro units
Some owners hear the sound all the time. Others only notice it in specific moments, and the triggers differ from person to person. Owners report hearing it in situations like these:
- While using apps
- While scrolling websites
- When a notification arrives
- When the keyboard pops up
- During a call on a cellular connection
Reports also say that turning Airplane Mode on and off brings the sound back on affected phones. So does changing the screen brightness quickly. That gives owners a fast way to check their own iPhone 18 Pro without waiting for it to happen on its own.
One owner described short, static-like spits and first wondered whether it was the haptics. Another, who upgraded from an iPhone 17 Pro Max, said it was the first thing they noticed on the new phone.
iOS 27.0.1 left the speaker problem untouched
Apple released iOS 27.0.1 on September 28 to stop iPhone 18 Pro models from restarting when Face ID authentication fails. We covered the details in our iOS 27.0.1 Face ID fix post. The release notes do not mention the speaker, and early feedback in the forum thread says the update did not help.
Anyone who wants to reinstall the update manually can download the iOS 27.0.1 IPSW firmware files for their iPhone.
A few owners say they returned their iPhone 18 Pro because of the noise and received a replacement with the same problem. The cause is unknown. If it turns out to be a software bug, a future update could fix it.
Our Take
The reports are anecdotal, the cause is unknown, and some owners say their iPhone 18 Pro sounds fine. The replacement reports are the part I’m watching closely, because a swap that brings the same noise back points away from a one-off defect.
If you bought an iPhone 18 Pro recently, test the earpiece on a call and in a quiet room, and try the Airplane Mode toggle. iPhone 15 Pro Max owners dealt with similar complaints before, when built-in speakers caused audio issues on that model.
