Some iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus owners have reported hearing crackling noises during phone calls, the cause of which has not yet been fully determined.
Is the issue caused by the smartphone's hardware or software? In any case, users will simply have to wait for Apple to issue a fix for the problem.
iPhone 8 Crackling Noise During Calls
Several users on various online forums have complained about a crackling noise in the earpiece of the iPhone 8 during calls. The problem has been confirmed to be found across all carriers and all countries.
The crackling noise can be heard during both phone calls and FaceTime audio calls, but not in all of them. However, when the issue is present, users are subjected to a high-pitched crackle that makes taking phone calls very annoying.
Crackling Noise Caused By Hardware Defect, Or Software Problem?
Apple has acknowledged the presence of the problem, but said that there are only a "small number" of iPhone 8 units that are affected by it. The company said that it is working on a fix, but is the issue related to the smartphone's hardware or software?
When a user hears the crackling noise, it has been discovered that turning on the device's speakerphone feature solves the problem, even after switching back to the earpiece. The issue is also not present when users answer calls with headphones. Considering the fact that the crackling noise is not heard in all calls and is affected by operations done on the iPhone 8, the problem is likely related to the smartphone's software.
Apple has also apparently narrowed down the problem to an iOS 11 issue, with the company stating that it will be including a fix in the next software release for the mobile operating system.
In the meantime, users who are suffering the most from the crackling noise issue because they make a healthy amount of phone calls a day can try using headphones and switching between the earpiece and speakerphone to temporarily eliminate the sound.
The Apple Watch Series 3 Also Has A Problem
The crackling noise problem for the iPhone 8 is the second major bug that has been discovered for Apple's newest devices, with the first one related to the Apple Watch Series 3.
One of the major selling points of the Apple Watch Series 3 is its LTE capabilities. However, a software problem has made the smartwatch's LTE connectivity unreliable, with Apple claiming that it will soon be releasing a fix for the issue in an upcoming watchOS update.
