Several iPhone 8 and 8 Plus Owners Report Hearing 'Static Noise' in Earpiece During Calls
Several MacRumors readers who purchased Apple's new iPhone 8 Plus have reported hearing intermittent crackling noises while taking calls on the device. MacRumors forum member vask first posted about the issue on Friday and a number of iPhone 8 Plus owners from Australia, the U.S., and across Europe have since contributed to the thread describing similar experiences.
According to iPhone 8 Plus owners, "very annoying" static sounds can sometimes be heard from the handset's earpiece during regular cellular calls, but the issue doesn't occur when using headphones or if speaker phone is enabled, which could indicate a software issue rather than a speaker defect. The audible crackling has also been reported when using FaceTime, increasing suspicions that the problem doesn't lie with network carriers. Forum member Jgpsolo describes the issue like so:
It is a high-pitched crackle like an audio pop that happens in the earpiece top speaker intermittently during calls. Some calls are fine and others crackle. It is not audible on earphones or on speakerphone, only through the earpiece. The caller on the other end doesn’t hear it.
I don’t know whether this is hardware or software related, but one thing that made me think it’s software related is that if you switch on to speakerphone for a few seconds then back to earpiece, the crackles resolve for the duration of the rest of the call. If this was a hardware issue with the earpiece, doing this shouldn’t make a difference.
The problem occurs "with or without WiFi calling, with 4G voice (VoLTE) on or off, with phone noise cancelling enabled or disabled under accessibility, and even with third party VoIP apps (like Acrobits Groundwire), with several different carriers," according to forum member ManuCH in Switzerland.
Some users have tried performing a hard reset on their iPhone 8 Plus, with mixed results. Apple's support team has advised some owners to restore their phone to factory settings and set up again via iCloud backup, again with variable results. Other users have even reported the same problem on like-for-like replacement devices after exchanging what they thought were faulty handsets.
Apple is apparently aware of the issue and is currently looking into it. We'll update this article as soon as we know more.
Popular Stories
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed.
Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles."
If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself.
Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
The first iOS 19 beta is less than two months away, and there are already a handful of new features that are expected with the update.
Apple should release the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September.
Below, we recap the key...
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup.
If you skipped the iPhone...
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
Apple today released iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1 come two weeks after the launch of iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
There have been complaints about ...
Apple today released tvOS 18.4.1, a minor update to the tvOS 18 operating system that came out last September. tvOS 18.4.1 comes two weeks after Apple released tvOS 18.4, and it is available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD models.
tvOS 18.4.1 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the Apple TV. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software....
Apple has quite a few security features that it's added to iPhones, iPads, and Macs over the years. Now more than ever, it's important to make sure you're taking advantage of the built-in security tools that are available to keep yourself and your data safe, so we've rounded up a list of the most important options.
If you don't already have these enabled, you might want to consider turning...
