Apple has now officially released iOS 11.0.2, which fixes the iPhone 8's crackling audio issue that was discovered last week.
Apple is still not clear on exactly what might have caused the mishap, but it acknowledged last week that the problem affected a "small number" of iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus owners. Affected users speculated that it was a software issue, which now seems to be the case.
The issue caused several iPhones to emit a high-pitched crackling noise via the earpiece. It wasn't too bothersome, as The Verge notes, but still pretty annoying. The earpiece seemed to work properly under normal circumstances, though, even on affected units.
Is Your iPhone 8 Having Audio Crackling Issues?
It's best to update to the latest software update now because in addition to the audio fix, Apple has also added a couple of improvements. Per the release notes, the company says it has fixed "an issue that could cause some photos to be hidden" and "an issue where attachments in S/MIME encrypted emails would not open."
For those who have not updated yet and would like to check if their iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus is affected, simply place a call and try to wait for high-pitched noises to start coming out of the earpiece during the entire conversation. If no such sounds appear, then good. But if they do, update to the latest software immediately.
Another Antennagate?
If the patch does fix the issue, then that's a relief because a lot of users were worried that it could be a hardware defect. Hopefully, this isn't another iPhone 4 "antennagate" situation.
No phone is ever perfect, of course. Even the excellent Google Pixel was found to have speaker distortions, which have since been fixed via a software patch. Still, people are paying around $700 to $800 and perhaps even more for these phones. Expecting them to have no problems whatsoever is just fair, right?
The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus was announced back in September as two of Apple's slightly significant upgrades to last year's iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. If those two options just aren't cutting it, though, there's also a brand-new iPhone X with a controversial bezel-less design, but it won't ship until November.
Are you experiencing audio crackling issues on your iPhone 8? Have you installed the newest software update and checked if the issues still persist? As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
