Speakers crackling? How to tell where the noise comes from and fix it

Crackling has three possible sources: the speakers themselves (pushed past their limit, or damaged), the connection (a loose plug, a worn cable, Bluetooth interference), or the computer (a setting, a driver, or a computer too busy to keep the sound flowing). The quickest way to tell them apart is to play the same sound through wired headphones. If the headphones crackle too, it's the computer. If they sound clean, it's the speakers or their cable.

First, find out where the crackle comes from

1. Listen through wired headphones in the same computer, at a low volume, and compare them with the speakers.
2. Play something else. Crackling in one video or song only is usually in the recording. A test tone is a clean reference, because it has no recording noise of its own.
3. Play from another device, like your phone, through the same speakers. If they still crackle, it's the speakers. If not, look at the computer.
4. Notice when it happens. Crackling that comes and goes with what the computer is doing points to the computer. Crackling that gets worse as you turn up the volume, especially on bass, points to the speakers. Crackling when you touch or move the cable points to the connection.

Run the crackle test

The sound test has a crackle test for this. It cycles through low notes, which make a speaker cone move the furthest, so a worn or damaged speaker struggles with them first. They start quiet and rise steadily over 20 seconds. Set your computer to the loudest volume you normally use and keep headphones off your ears, because it gets loud. Press I hear crackling as soon as you hear it, and the result shows how far into the rise it started:

• Crackling at a moderate level: that points to a fault, such as a damaged speaker, a loose connection or a problem on the computer.
• Crackling once it got loud: the speaker may be worn, or simply at its limit at that volume. If it used to play this loud cleanly, something has changed.
• Crackling only near the top: that's the speaker's limit, not a fault. Small speakers, like a laptop's, distort when pushed this hard.
• No crackling at all: the speakers handle low notes cleanly at that volume, so crackling you hear elsewhere is more likely the computer or the recording.

Then run it again through headphones, with the volume turned down and the headphones held away from your ear. The sound test's notes on crackling sum up what each combination means.

Check cables, plugs and ports

If the crackle changes when you touch the cable, it's the connection. With a test tone playing, gently wiggle each plug in its socket and bend the cable near each end. If the noise comes and goes, you've found the spot.

• Push plugs fully in and clean the socket. Dust and lint stop a plug making full contact. With the device off, lift fluff out of the socket with a wooden toothpick, never anything metal.
• Try another port. On a desktop, the front sockets connect through a separate cable inside the case, so try the ones on the back. With USB speakers, use a port on the computer itself rather than a hub.
• Swap the cables between speakers. If one speaker crackles, swap the left and right cables. If the crackle moves to the other speaker, it's the cable or the sound coming in. If it stays put, it's the speaker.
• Check speaker wire at an amplifier. A stray strand of wire touching the next terminal can cause crackling and cut-outs. Twist the strands tight and push them fully in.
• Tell hum from crackle. A steady hum that doesn't follow the sound is usually electrical, such as a ground loop between devices on different outlets, or a laptop charger. Plug everything into one power strip, or unplug the charger for a moment.

Bluetooth speakers: get closer and reduce interference

Bluetooth crackles and drops out when the signal is weak or crowded. It uses the 2.4 GHz radio band, which it shares with many Wi-Fi networks, microwave ovens and other wireless gadgets, and USB 3 devices can give off interference in the same range.

• Move the speaker closer, with nothing between it and the computer or phone. Walls and people weaken the signal.
• Move USB 3 drives and hubs away from the computer, and don't put them on top of a laptop.
• Use 5 GHz Wi-Fi if your router offers it, which leaves more room for Bluetooth at 2.4 GHz.
• Pair it again. Remove the speaker from your Bluetooth list, pair it again, and update its firmware through its app if it has one.

If sound turns thin and muffled rather than crackly when a call starts, that's a different problem: the device has switched to a hands-free mode for its microphone. See why Bluetooth headset mics sound bad.

On Windows 11: turn off enhancements and update drivers

1. Turn off audio enhancements. Open Settings > System > Sound, select your speakers under Output, and set Audio enhancements to Off. Enhancements are extra processing such as bass boost or virtual surround, and turning them off is one of Microsoft's own first fixes for sound problems.
2. Change the format. On the same page, under Output settings, pick a different Format, such as 24 bit, 48000 Hz, and test again. In the older Sound control panel, it's Default Format on the Advanced tab of your speakers' Properties. A format the driver handles badly can cause clicks and crackles.
3. Update or roll back the sound driver. In Device Manager, expand Sound, video and game controllers, right-click your sound device and choose Update driver. The audio driver from your laptop or motherboard maker's support site is often better, since it's made for your hardware. If the crackling started after an update, open the device's Properties, then the Driver tab, and choose Roll Back Driver.
4. Run the audio troubleshooter from Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.

Free up a busy computer

The computer sends sound to the speakers in small chunks, one after another. If it's too busy to deliver a chunk on time, you hear a click, pop or short dropout. This crackling comes and goes with what the computer is doing, such as a game or a big download, and sounds the same through speakers and headphones.

• Close heavy programs and tabs. Check Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) on Windows or Activity Monitor on a Mac for anything using a lot of the processor.
• Plug a laptop in and choose a faster power mode. On Windows 11 it's in Settings > System > Power & battery > Power mode.
• Update your other drivers too. A slow network, graphics or storage driver can hold up the sound driver, which is why dropouts sometimes stop after a Wi-Fi or graphics driver update. Free tools such as LatencyMon can show which driver is causing the delays.

On a Mac: restart and check the format

• Restart the Mac. Crackling that starts suddenly, through both the speakers and headphones, is often cleared by a restart, which also restarts the Mac's sound system.
• Check the format in Audio MIDI Setup. Open it from Applications > Utilities, select your speakers or audio device on the left, and try a common Format such as 48,000 Hz. This matters most for USB and other external audio devices.
• Turn off extra audio software, such as equalizers, sound enhancers or virtual audio devices added by recording and meeting apps, then test again.

Turn off bass boost and lower the volume

A speaker cone can only move so far, and bass needs the most movement. Bass boost, a loudness setting or an equalizer with the low end turned up pushes small speakers to that limit long before full volume, and you hear a rattling crackle on drum hits and deep voices. Turn these off in your speakers' app, your laptop maker's audio app or your music app's equalizer. On a laptop, a volume a few steps below maximum often removes crackling on loud, bassy parts.

When a speaker is damaged

If a speaker buzzes, rattles or sounds fuzzy at moderate volumes, from every device and with every cable, the speaker itself is damaged. Common causes are a torn cone or surround (the flexible ring around the cone), a coil rubbing inside after a knock, liquid, or long periods of very loud playing. Crackling that follows one speaker when you swap the cables is another sign. Check the left and right test to hear each speaker on its own.

No setting can fix a damaged speaker. Check the warranty first. Laptop speakers can usually be replaced by the maker or a repair shop, and for cheap desktop speakers, a new pair often costs less than a repair. Headphones crackling instead? The same checks apply, and if one side goes quiet, see headphones only working on one side.

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