Some iPhone 18 Pro owners have reported an unusual crackling, popping or faint ticking sound from the device speaker, prompting complaints on online forums and Reddit.
iPhone 18 Pro speaker reports and symptoms
Users describe the noise variously as a crackle, a faint tick or pop, or random clicking, with many saying the earpiece speaker is affected. Both the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max appear to be experiencing the issue. Some owners hear the sound consistently; others notice it during app use, while scrolling websites, when receiving notifications, when the keyboard appears, or when making a cellular call. On affected units, toggling Airplane Mode on and off or quickly adjusting screen brightness are reported to trigger the sound.
Apple released iOS 27.0.1 yesterday to address a bug that could cause iPhone 18 Pro models to restart when Face ID authentication fails; the release notes did not mention a speaker fix, and early feedback indicates the update did not resolve the crackling. There are also reports of customers who returned an iPhone 18 Pro and received a replacement unit exhibiting the same issue. It is not clear what is causing the problem, and if it is a software bug a future update may address it.

