[Acer Swift 3 SF314-52] Occasional crackling/reverb sound while using the speakers

2456

Answers

  • MichielStrubbe
    MichielStrubbe Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer

    edited January 2018
    The full model is: Acer Swift 3 SF314-52-52MA Azerty
    Are there other steps beside downloading the driver that I should do?
      @ven98
  • ven98
    ven98 ACE Posts: 4,073 Pathfinder
    edited January 2018
    Download the latest BIOS available. Extract the file inside the archive. Before running the file, make sure the battery is fully charged and the device is connected  to AC. It may restart several times during the installation. Don't attempt to turn it off until the installation is completed.
    Always post the following characterisitcs of the device:
    -Model number
    -Part number(not required, but helpful)
    -CPU
    -GPU
    -Operating system

    Helios 300 and Nitro 5 users DO NOT update the BIOS to version 1.22 if you don't want the keyboard's backlight to turn off after 30 seconds even when the device is plugged in.


    Hit 'Like' if you find the answer helpful!   
    Click on 'Yes' if the comment answers your question!

  • MichielStrubbe
    MichielStrubbe Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer

    ven98 said:
    Download the latest BIOS available. Extract the file inside the archive. Before running the file, make sure the battery is fully charged and the device is connected  to AC. It may restart several times during the installation. Don't attempt to turn it off until the installation is completed.
    Thanks for the instructions, will do it as soon as my battery is full!

  • MichielStrubbe
    MichielStrubbe Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer

    Update: after installing Bios 1.07 and the latest realtek driver the crackling sound came back after few hours of using the swift 3.

  • ven98
    ven98 ACE Posts: 4,073 Pathfinder
    You have to contact Acer support in your region.
    Always post the following characterisitcs of the device:
    -Model number
    -Part number(not required, but helpful)
    -CPU
    -GPU
    -Operating system

    Helios 300 and Nitro 5 users DO NOT update the BIOS to version 1.22 if you don't want the keyboard's backlight to turn off after 30 seconds even when the device is plugged in.


    Hit 'Like' if you find the answer helpful!   
    Click on 'Yes' if the comment answers your question!

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,328 Trailblazer
    Out of curiosity, open Control Panel, search "restore point". On the left side click on restore system from a restore point. Do you see any Win10update restore points around the time/date the noise came back? Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • MichielStrubbe
    MichielStrubbe Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer

    There were no new restore points (last was 05/1/18).
    Today I found out that the problem almost always occurs when there are 2 audio programs are running at the same time (for example spotify and streamio, or spotify and youtube (on chrome)). I found that the crackling sound stops when I close all the programs and restart them..

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,328 Trailblazer
    >>>Today I found out that the problem almost always occurs when there are 2 audio programs are running at the same time>>>

    Hmmm? Two audios at once, eh? You must be a multi-listener. Could be harmonics. Maybe you should try to run 3 or more at the same time for a real multi-listening experience. 8^) Jack E/NJ  

    Jack E/NJ

  • MichielStrubbe
    MichielStrubbe Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer

    Hahaha no, I mean when the program is still running but the audio is paused on one of the  programs ;) 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,328 Trailblazer
    But a good observation nonetheless. Unless stated or otherwise mentioned by the geeks who wrote the codes, I kinda doubt each would've anticipated interference like this might be possible when another geek's software was also running at the same time even in 'pause' mode. Afterall, each geek thinks they wrote the best code. So why would anyone want to also run the other geek's code at all --- at the same time would be unthinkable! Geeks can be kinda funny that way. 8^) Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • ForumUser001
    ForumUser001 Member Posts: 14

    Tinkerer

    There were no new restore points (last was 05/1/18).
    Today I found out that the problem almost always occurs when there are 2 audio programs are running at the same time (for example spotify and streamio, or spotify and youtube (on chrome)). I found that the crackling sound stops when I close all the programs and restart them..

    Similar to how it happens for me -- when I have two Windows desktops open, the sound starts to crackle for me too. That's why I'm thinking it's a driver software issue. 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,328 Trailblazer
    >>>Similar to how it happens for me -- when I have two Windows desktops open, the sound starts to crackle for me too. That's why I'm thinking it's a driver software issue.  >>>

    So do you feel the Win10 desktop geeks are a step above the Win10 driver geeks or vice versa? 8^) Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Norde
    Norde Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer

    We rather feel that a software (or hardware) bug prevents us from using our ACER product properly and that you prefer to make silly jokes instead of helping us / tracing the problem.

    ACER "explore beyond limits (of lacking respect)" ?


  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,328 Trailblazer
    It's not meant to be a joke! Software developers don't always anticipate how well their own work will work with others on the same system at the same time. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • MichielStrubbe
    MichielStrubbe Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer

    I don't think it's the fault of software developers. Before I got the Swift 3 ( +- a month ago ) I had exatly the same work habits (=using multiple programs like spotify,youtube,streamio,vlc... who can produce sound at the same time) on my (very old and slow working) computer, but no crackling sounds. Now I do the same stuff, a lot faster, but after a few hours it begins to crackle.... So if it would be 'the fault' of the software developers of the programs, why there were no problems on an older computer with a slower driver?

    Today I found out that when I close all tabs and programs on the computer, and reopen them, the problem is gone for a few hours! A solution which is a bit faster than shutting the pc down. Maybe this can help someone..
    But this is still not a durable solution, so still hoping this  will get fixed!
  • PLux
    PLux Member Posts: 5

    Tinkerer

    Same problem here as well. Acer Swift SF314-52G, brand new. Before purchasing this one, i tested some Lenovo notebook with the same windows10 updates and same programs. Definitely seems to be an Acer issue. A bit disappointed, had i noticed this a little earlier i probably would've returned the notebook.
    I hope this is not a hardware issue and will get fixed soon! Rather annoying.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,328 Trailblazer
    As suggested earlier, if the latest audio driver and BIOS don't resolve the annoyance to tolerable levels, then either return the machine to the vendor for a refund or exchange --- or get warranty service ASAP if the warranty period hasn't expired yet --- or try some of the workarounds/temporary fixes that seem to have worked for some folks.  Jack E/NJ 



    Jack E/NJ

  • delold
    delold Member Posts: 14

    Tinkerer

    Got the same issue with Spin 5 52, just an observation: the issue seems to be less annoying, when the device power management is set to maximum power. There seems to be an issue with throttling and audio playback.

    The issue will disappear for a while after a reboot, but will reoccur again.
  • Norde
    Norde Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer

    It's clearly a hardware or driver issue, not to a third party software problem (i've got the same software environnement on 3 differents computer and only encounter this bug on ACER Swift 3).

    Instead of rebooting or closing all tab, you can also change defaut audio format (Sample Rate and Bit Depth) to temporarily resolve this sound problem (this is not a fix).


    -> i.e. these steps:

        Go to Start , enter Sound, and select Sound Control Panel from the list of results.

        On the Playback tab, right-click (or press and hold) the Default Device, and then select Properties.

        On the Advanced tab, under Default Format, change the setting, and then retest your audio device.



  • Dojistan
    Dojistan Member Posts: 2 New User
    Same problem. Definitely software related. Crackle, through any audio output, which can be cured by restart, reinstalling audio driver, disabling sound effects even (though not by exiting multiple programs), but it always comes back in a few hours or days. It's a brand new Swift 3, I'm very happy otherwise, but it will have to go back to retailers if this isn't resolved soon.