Participant

Question

Audio crackling at low volume

58 replies
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I've got a brand new Quest 3s and I noticed when playing music on spotify at 50% or lower that there is a crackling sound on the beat, tried youtube and it's the same. quest is up to date, i've tried powering off, restarting numerous times but still the same. My daughter also has a new quest 3s and i had a quick check and that's the same too. is this a common fault, software or hardware? can it be fixed?

speaker crackling

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Maccyb123

Honored Contributor

I have the 3s also but I don't have the issue.. I have heard that others have it though.. It might be a hardware issue but it might be software too. Though it happening on two headsets makes me think it might be a bad batch. I did see one solution where the user backed up everything, as you should, and factory reset his headset and it fixed it. It's a bit of a pain in the a?? but might be worth trying it on one of the headsets. You might be looking at replacements if it's the same. Just before doing anything make sure there are no accessories attached that might be causing a vibration in the speakers, and check the audio on a variety of apps to make sure the crackling isn't related to an app rather than the headset. It can be very annoying so good luck and let's know how you get on. 🤞🤞🍀

Maccyb

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disturbeatsAuthor

Participant

do you have any idea how long meta support usually take to reply, it's been 10 days since i sent the original message over to them but i've had nothing. think i'd be better off taking a different route to get help?

Choleni

Honored Contributor

Hi disturbeats 🙂

Normally, if you send a PM MetaStoreHelp they are replying quickly.

Unfortunately, they have some trouble with their tools currently and PMs won't work.

Reach out to support via email, chat or WhatsApp HERE

Good luck 🤞

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disturbeatsAuthor

Participant

thanks for the reply, my 3s is just as it was out of the box so nothing interfering there, i'll hold off doing factory reset until i get a spare few hours, to me it sound like a loose connection somewhere. spotted a few more posts with similar problems but none seem to have been solved. i've messaged support but as yet no reply.

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disturbeatsAuthor

Participant

thought i'd just post an update incase it helps anyone, so meta told me as it was within the 30 days for me to return it to where i bought it and get it swapped, i done that yesterday and unfortunately i have exactly the same problem with this one too so either it's a software problem, lack of an adjustable eq or just low quality speakers. hopefully meta come up with a fix in the near future

Choleni

Honored Contributor

disturbeats

Hm, if it was a software problem, Maccyb123 should have the same issue, but he don't have that. Means to me, this is nothing that can be fixed with an update.

So, you can either - again - bring the Quest back and try it with a third headset, maybe there was a bunch of headsets with that issue, and you'll have more luck with the next one.

Or you decide, "I can life with that and just turn up the volume to have no crackling.🤷‍♀️

Btw. what happens if you plug in headphones, can you turn down the volume then without crackling?

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disturbeatsAuthor

Participant

Choleni the only headphones i have are sony bluetooth and neither of them connect so haven't been able to test that.

Maccyb123 yes im on v83. maybe it's the music im listening to. 1 thing i did notice is that with spotify the volume control is separate from the headsets volume and if i set the headsets volume to 100% and spotifys to say 20/25% the sound is much better but having spotify on 100% and the headsets on 20/25% the crackling is very much noticeable. As for youtube the volume is linked with the headset so on 20/25% the crackling is there.

2 of the songs i've had the problems with are below if that helps.

Eden Burns - Ivercargirl

Overmono - Paradise Runner

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Maccyb123

Honored Contributor

disturbeats OK, that is a good specific example. I'll try it right now with those exact songs and let you know in a few minutes! 😁 P. A. I'll use your exact parameters too!

Maccyb

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disturbeatsAuthor

Participant

Just thought i'd drop a little update, so I returned the 3s to currys for a refund and bought one from EE, just set it up and it's exactly the same so now that's 4 all doing the same, i'm sick of hoping the next one isn't going to have the same problem so I think i'm going to just have to put up with the crackling and put it down to poor quality speakers. 1 last thing i might try is getting hold of my brothers 3s which i think is over a year old so that would squash the faulty batch theory.

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Maccyb123

Honored Contributor

disturbeats oh no.. You seriously must be the unluckiest person I've ever come across. Whatever you do don't buy any lotto tickets for the time being. We have a local group of 13people here, 5 Quests and 8 Quest 3s including myself. We do regular Synth Rider sessions together to keep us motivated.. Nobody has any crackling on their devices. You'll probably remember my post playing the songs you requested. I don't know what to say. I can imagine you're frustrated to say the least. I just thought of one more outside the box possibility . Is there any device in your home that can be causing some kind of electrical interference with the speakers, including other speakers, TV, radio, air conditioners or anything electrical? If not, I give up my friend! Lol.

Maccyb

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disturbeatsAuthor

Participant

i mean i have tvs, phones and other electricals in the house but i get the problem whichever room im in and i've tried most. i'll give it a go as far away from electrical equipment as i can but i've kind of lost hope now. Maccyb123 where are you located and how long have you and your friends had the quests? maybe us brits got some inferior headsets or some parts have been swapped out for cheaper alternatives over time.

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ScottChegs

New Participant

I just wanna add that my 3S also has a horrible crackling sound. I notice it with low frequency sounds e.g in a game when there is some kind of deep rumbling sound fx i'll here the crackling sound as if the speakers cant handle it even though the headset volume is set around 30% - 40%.

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Maccyb123

Honored Contributor

Scott.Chegs Hi Scott, read through the conversation and you might find something useful. disturbeats found a kind of solution to his problem and maybe read some of my comments with possible reasons for the issue. I have the 3s myself and don't have the problem myself and my group with the device don't have it either. But it's definitely affecting some people. We discussed some possible environment issues that helped reduce the issue for the OP. I would check that out and see if it helps you. Good luck! ☘️☘️🤞🤞

Maccyb

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ScottChegs

New Participant

I've discovered that it's just my right speaker that's crackling and if I press in the right place on the speaker arm the crackling goes away but eventually it comes back until I press again. So I'm going to contact support and see about getting it warrantied.