Static sound Acer Swift 3 - Ongoing Issues remain unresolved...Just want some support

Dear Acer Community ~

I bought an Acer Swift 3 (15.6inch i3 4GB/16GB Optane Silver 1TB £459.99) from Argos.

Within a few days it began to make a sporadic electrical static sound which happened mostly when pausing or playing videos on Netflix, BBC iplayer, Youtube, etc but also happened sporadically when there was no activity on the keyboard.

The faulty sound comes from the laptop speakers but is more noticable through amplified sound...i use 3.5mm jack cable audio output to mini cd system speakers. The sound is intermittent, crackly, sharp and disturbing. The laptop was tested through three different stereo systems with good quality cables (3.5mm jack) ..it was also tested through a mini rig speaker. Two other laptops have been previously used and again recently tested on each of those stereos and they work perfectly.

Argos said the issue was not their responsibility, Acer initially said the same as i did not buy it from them them. I was however provided with a replacement by Argos but annoyingly, within a few days, the static sound began again.

I got another exchange (my third laptop) and exactly the same happened..!

Somewhat bewildered i wrote up a short report and sent that in with the laptop to the Acer Repair Centre. Frustratingly it came back with a new fan (which was not the issue) and the faulty sound continued.

By this point i was finding it difficult that i was unable to deal with Acer Store UK directly given that they didn't supply me with the laptop. Argos didn't have a vested interest in the specifics of the issue so i sent back the laptop and got a refund.

I began to feel like i'd inadvertently stumbled upon a wide-ranging technical glitch and felt as though it was not being taken seriously, which is really worrying. So i visited the Acer Community Forum and discovered reports of similar issues, this fact was reported back to Acer Technical but sadly without any effect.

So, given that i love everything else about this laptop, i borrowed the extra money and bought the Acer Swift 3 (15.6inch i5 8GB 1TB Gold £899.99 -£200 offer code) from Acer Store UK

My hope was that the upgrade would steer me far away the issue with the previous laptops. To my complete shock, again after a few days, the new laptop started with the exact same electrical static sound. This time i made a recording of the issue and sent it via email to a member of the team at Acer Store UK, the laptop was then returned directly to him. I was informed that he identified the issue i reported but could not diagnose it with the facilities available to him and that the laptop is being sent to the service team for further assessment..i have asked to be contacted when the issue has been identified.

The above is a post i created on the 4th April 2019 ..i had a couple of responses but none that helped me to understand what might be going on.

I'm adding this comment to my original post, today is 20th April 2019 ~
I have been testing my new replacement laptop for two weeks with all updates disabled and the electrical static sound has not occurred, can anyone help me to understand what this means..? It obviously does not resolve the issue as i will have to enable updates at some point. In addition to this extremely frustrating ongoing situation my laptop suddenly went off yesterday and is completely dead, no sound at all when i press power.

All of this has been going on since January and seems completely unnecessary. Is there an Acer Head Office that i can write too..? It is now bank holiday weekend so i cannot ring to sort this out until Tuesday, and yet again i am without a laptop..!

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Elbereth

@JackE ….do you mean this...?

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/10/4mrvhh9oyo2y.png

JackE

Yes. I think you should try the updates for all three outdated sound drivers recommended by DriverBooster if possible. Jack E/NJ

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/n0/tdguva84fkml.jpg

Elbereth

@JackE ...Okay, will do that. What is this 'Smart Sound Technology' further down the list...?

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/oe/7n9s2iwacrat.png

JackE

Replace that one as well and any other sound/audio devices it might've found among the 32 listed. Jack E/NJ

Elbereth

@JackE ...so I updated those four items and sadly the issue remains, am quite worried about it. Is there anything else I can try...?

JackE

Yes. But I need to know if the vendor sold this as a refurbished or a brand new machine? Jack E/NJ

Elbereth

@JackE ...I bought this laptop brand new direct from Acer Store UK

JackE

If you haven't done so already on this particular machine that you now have in hand, I suggest a full erase-everything ALT+F10 cold boot factory reset ASAP as mentioned earlier in this thread https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/669513/#Comment_669513

I really don't think replacing the other remaining drivers 20+ drivers will make a difference.

If this doesn't resolve the issue, it is likely a sound hardware failure. I'm not sure how the UK store will handle this but if it were mine, I'd quickly request a brand new replacement if you've only had it for a few weeks with this problem. Jack E/NJ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpzLJRAZldA

Elbereth

@JackE ...I will do a full factory reset and let you know the outcome. Acer Store UK said there is nothing they can do as I am out of the warranty exchange period... it would have to go in to the technical team for repair. So frustrating to have such a serious issue with a brand new expensive laptop.

JackE

Maybe too late for a store exchange or refund. But a new machine should still be covered by a one-year ACER warranty repair. Jack E/NJ

Elbereth

@JackE ...I've already been through that process, Acer say they aren't aware of the issue and can't resolve it. So, i am trying my best to cope with an under-performing laptop without getting too stressed. Anyway, (before going down the factory reset route) i've discovered that if each time i log in i alter the advanced speaker properties settings from 24 bit to 16 bit the static crackling doesn't occur, obviously i should not have to do this, and it is not a long term solution, but curious nonetheless, would you know what this means..?

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/3b/udhw5t4w3esy.png

madfry

I don't have the exact same model, but my laptop is a SF315-55G that also has the Intel SST. For the first few weeks, it does have that crackling sound problem, but after I manually updated the drivers using the device manager, it has disappeared.

Elbereth

@madfry ...i have tried updates but nothing is resolving the issue apart from speaker properties settings as explained in previous message.

madfry

Ok. My honest opinion is, might as well send it in for warranty then.

My unit, which is the SF314-55G had some crackling issues early on, but after several updates of the Realtek drivers, all done within the device manager, the issues sort of disappeared. In the case of my unit however, I did do a clean format, and downloaded almost nothing from the Acer website, letting Windows 10 download everything, including the BIOS update.

Now everything works just fine, even the Intel SST mics can pick up my dictation (albeit with me speaking like an uptight snob) from several feet away, which was the whole point of the SST mics.

If the crackling issues cannot be resolved in software, then the hardware may be at fault here.

JackE

Elbereth

You've actually hit upon the advanced speaker properties fix (or workaround as some call it) that have helped many users with audio distortion and artifactss including me with a Switch series machine. It had actually slipped my mind. Thanks for reminding me. The recommendation was in fact to reduce studio to either DVD or CD quality which is more in line with the actual output potential of the installed audio hardware and far beyond my own personal ability to discern the difference even with high-quality headphones. Frankly, to expect bona-fide studio quality output however it's defined --- at least for what my machine cost --- is unrealistic anyway. BTW, the setting shouldn't have to be re-done every time you log in. Jack E/NJ

Elbereth

@JackE ...Thank you. Unfortunately i do have to alter/reactivate this setting every morning when i switch my laptop on so it still feels like i'm using an under performing machine.
Also, even when the 16 bit setting is in place my laptop still crackles horribly when i have been away from it then lift the lid and when i sign in.
When i have the time and energy i will ring Acer again to see if they are still unaware of this issue...baffling!

JackE

This is a long thread. The audio quality setting should not change like this on a reboot. Did you ever experiment with the Control Panel power button app to disable/enable fast boot. Jack E/NJ

Elbereth

@JackE ...sorry i don't understand...?

JackE

Open Control Panel. Search 'button'. Click 'change what the power button do' in the left pane. Click 'change settings that aren't currently available'. Scroll down and either check or uncheck the box for fast startup to enable or disable fast boot. Fast boot sometimes makes --- and sometimes fixes --- problems similar to this. Jack E/NJ