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

Elbereth
Elbereth Member Posts: 48 Troubleshooter
edited November 2023 in 2019 Archives
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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Answers

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    edited April 2019
    The crackling static issue might be due to an Win10update auto-installed soon after acquiring the machine. In Control Panel's 'create a restore point' app, please make sure system protection is turned on immediately upon acquiring the machine or immediately after an ALT+F10 cold boot factory reset to get rid of the crackling sound. If/when the crackling re-appears, you can use the auto Win10update 'restore point' and block the problem Win10update until a future Win10update fixes the issue. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Elbereth
    Elbereth Member Posts: 48 Troubleshooter
    Thank you @JackE ...though i don't know why Acer didn't mention this..i will keep it in mind if/when my laptop is fixed as it is completely dead at the moment, only two weeks old too..!
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    What do you mean by "completely dead"? You can try the ALT+F10 coldboot reset by completely turning off the machine. Then turn it back on and immediately press and hold the ALT key while tapping the F10 key. Don't wait for the ACER logo to appear as it'll be too late. Follow directions as in the video below. If the re-set fails, return the machine to the vendor/seller as defective for a refund or exchange ASAP before the seller's RMA period expires. ACER warranty service will take longer. If the re-set succeeds, quickly make sure system protection is turn on before a Win10update has a chance to mess with the audio again. Jack E/NJ



    Jack E/NJ

  • Elbereth
    Elbereth Member Posts: 48 Troubleshooter
    @JackE ...i'm unable to do that.  When i press power button nothing happens, laptop completely dead, no power at all. So frustrating after all the ongoing stress with it...this one is only two weeks old...
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    >>>this one is only two weeks old...>>>

    Who has it now? Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Elbereth
    Elbereth Member Posts: 48 Troubleshooter
    @JackE ...Yes, i've had to buy a cheap one to be going on with as i have online commitments and can't manage without one.
    Have emailed Acer Store UK where i purchased the laptop from, hopefully they will respond tomorrow, they no longer accept telephone calls for some reason.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    >>>they no longer accept telephone calls >>>

    Do you mean these numbers no longer work or are answered? Jack E/NJ




    Jack E/NJ

  • Elbereth
    Elbereth Member Posts: 48 Troubleshooter
    @JackE ..No ..Acer Store UK 'Customer Care at 0371 760 1020* Mon - Fri 9am -5:30pm' ..they used to take calls directly which made things easier when buying from them but calls are now directed to call centre.
  • Elbereth
    Elbereth Member Posts: 48 Troubleshooter
    @JackE ...Please help..! My laptop was sent in for repair (it had lost all power and was completely dead) it has come back working but the crackling is worse than ever..!  Any advice..?  I had disabled all updates so am wondering if that has something to do with it...  Also, repair report states 'updated bios to V1.07' ...this is a foreign language to me.  So frustrated.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    You better give me the full Swift 3 model number. SF315-xx? Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Elbereth
    Elbereth Member Posts: 48 Troubleshooter
    @JackE ...SF315-52G-550X
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    Open Device Manager. Click 'audio, video, etc' folder. Right click Realtek properties. What version number do you see under Driver tab? Jack E/NJ


    Jack E/NJ

  • Elbereth
    Elbereth Member Posts: 48 Troubleshooter
    @JackE ....Driver Version: 10.0.17134.1
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    That does not look like a Realtek audio device driver version number. It looks more like a Windows10 operating system version number? Are you sure this was listed under the Realtek audio driver? Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Elbereth
    Elbereth Member Posts: 48 Troubleshooter
    @JackE ...I open Device Manager, click on 'Audio inputs and outputs' ..the two folders beneath that are:
    'Microphone Array (2-Intel Smart Sound Technology (Intel SST))' and
    'Speakers (2-Realtek High Definition Audio (SST))'
    ...When I right click on either of these and go into properties the driver for both is the same: 
    Driver Provider: Microsoft
    Driver Date: 11/04/2018
    Driver Version: 10.0.17134.1  
  • Elbereth
    Elbereth Member Posts: 48 Troubleshooter
    @JackE ..Also, I right clicked on Volume icon which brings up 'Speakers Properties' box. Inside that is a smaller box entitled 'Controller Information' which contains a logo of a blue crab, next to the crab is '2-Realtek High Definition Audio (SST)' and at the side of that is a properties tab, when I clicked on that tab the driver information is:
    Driver Provider: Realtek Semiconductor Corp
    Driver Date: 03/04/2018
    Driver Version: 6.0.1.8416
    ...What is the difference between the driver version in Device Manager and this please..?  Too confusing.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    Looks like a Win10update might've messed things up for you. Open Control Panel. Search 'restore point'. Click 'create a restore point' in left. Click 'system restore' button in popup. Click 'next'. Do you see and automatic restore point with a date/time stamp after you acquired this machine? Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Elbereth
    Elbereth Member Posts: 48 Troubleshooter
    @JackE ...in the System Restore box that is entitled 'Restore system files and settings' there is a large red circle with a white cross in it, it states that "No restore points have been created on your computer's system drive." …? 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    Go back to the box with the 'system restore' button. I suspect protection settings was turned off. If so, turn it on. Then we can try to get things straightened away. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Elbereth
    Elbereth Member Posts: 48 Troubleshooter
    @JackE ...yes I already did that.