Strange popping sound in my nest mini

[limuremu]

Hello, I’ve just got my best mini about a month ago, and it’s been great so far. That being said, in the past week I’ve been hearing this sort or popping or cracking sound, similar to what you would hear if you had dust on a vinyl record and tried to play it. I haven’t heard it happen when the assistant is responding to me, but they don’t happen on a schedule or anything, more randomly. I’ve unplugged it and plugged it back in, rebooted it through the Home app, and tried plugging it into a different outlet. I’m pretty sure it’s not my wifi, and I’d like to avoid a factory reset if possible but I’m running out of options. Any help?

[Juni · Accepted solution]

Hi folks,

Our team is already aware of this and currently investigating this issue. Since this is the same discussion, we'll move this conversation to the main thread and we'll continue to update it as soon as we have some news to share.

Please note that once done this thread will be locked.

Regards,

Juni

[knowing_fm]

Oh, sorry about that - I have found that this has worked for me. I can't offer any solution to your question unfortunately. Sorry!

[marcolopes]

It does NOT resolve the problem!!! Discussed many times here...

[marcolopes]

Wrong! The popping continues. Ultrasound option has nothing to do with the problem.

[88457c3610]

I've tried all the above and more. There is no fix. Google know about this. See the concluding Nest support exchange attached. 

Maybe we'll get a bug fix, maybe we won't. Dunno

[88457c3610]

 

[Chromolume]

I've been experiencing this within recent weeks also. Like everyone else said, rebooting and factory resetting does nothing.

[barkmann44]

+1.  Popping started after the latest firmware update as far as I can tell.  Factory reset did not resolve my issue. Currently on firmware 356012.  Google please fix.

[marcolopes]

Another clue that corroborates a "firmware" induced problem!

[88457c3610]

It could be they had to remove "Sonos IP" from their firmware. I've read this a few places. Anyway, our speakers will keep popping away for the foreseeable I think

[marcolopes]

I've read that too... it could be a real problem.

And since it has been reported 3, 2, 1 year ago, it does not look good!

The only thing that puzzles me is that most users on this thread started to notice this problem recently!

[misforturob]

I have the same problem, popping sound when playing audio happening on four different Nest Mini devices in two households. Started sometime in the week beginning 26th June. Very annoying!

[marcolopes]

How long do you have them? Because this is a reported problem from 3, 2, 1 years ago!

[Klonky]

This is happening to me on all my nest speakers. Have disabled ultrasonic sensor 

[marcolopes]

It won't help. And disabling a function to avoid a BUG is not a FIX, it's a temporary workaround (it doesn't matter anyway, because it wont resolve anything)

[Pilot]

Of these paired Nest Audios (not minis), only the left pops (retraction, just heard it on the right) either one randomly "pops". The sound is reminiscent of a digital signal interruption (similar to what I have heard on a toslink which activates to an amplifier). I first noticed on 12 Sep 2023. This has to be a firmware issue:

[marcolopes]

Agree!  And it's an OLD issue... (I spent the last few hours researching)

Many users complaining in several threads from 3, 2, 1 years ago...

What can we make of that?

[WhyWhy99]

That Google could care less? We have second quality products? Google does not even bother to have any customer service, just some bot that autoposts nonsense?  All of the above?

[Pilot]

It looks like this has been happening for a while then (2 years ago on reddit, one year ago, as well as more recently)!

People are suggesting it's WiFi interference and that changing the channel helps.

Then again, is it just coincidence that the "pop" sounds exactly the same when I press on Spotify's progress bar and the stream has to skip a few seconds?

It is also interesting that if I do the same on Spotify but with the Nest Audio playing over bluetooth (i.e., not google-casting), the "skip-in-song" pops are sometimes barely audible at max volume (they are really loud at max volume when casting). The "random pops" do still happen and sound the same, however!

My bet is there is an issue with how the Nest speakers line handles stream "interruptions"? (With google-casting, it's easier to mock a big "interruption" - by skipping within the song). A case of "buffer invalidation" perhaps? The WiFi may be introducing latency on some days, which could explain why some people have had luck with switching channels.

I am not holding my breath for a fix, in any case 😄 (Also, there ought to be a law at some point against "canned responses" by vendors on their support forums)

[marcolopes]

Why are you "not holding my breath for a fix"??

This happened since day 1? It seems not!

So, it's a firmware related issue that was introduced sometime, and customers are now surfacing because they are annoyed with this! In my case, i detected this in the first DAY of testing a Nest Mini, because i mainly use it to play music!

[tsengf]

Jumping on this thread. I hear a static pop every couple of minutes when streaming internet music. "Hey google, play XYZ radio station". I thought maybe I had a hardware issue with the Google Nest Mini (gen 2) so I tried it on another Nest Mini. I hear the same popping sound on the test Mini. It does not appear to be a hardware issue with the Mini device. It's either the firmware or potentially an issue with my WiFi router. I have tried a different router which did not make a difference. I did not play with any router settings.

[tsengf]

I reached out to device support and referenced this thread of discussion. They seem unwilling to acknowledge the problem. Here is their reply.

From hardware support:
I understand. But we'll need to ask for a video showing the issue so that we can use the video to request a replacement for your device if ever our senior team can confirm that it's a hardware issue that's causing the problem. We'll also need to get its serial number to check the warranty status. You can upload the video of your device showing the issue to photos.google.com or the Google Photos app. At least 45 seconds should be enough.

[Pilot]

Wow.

Here's a suggestion to support: Rather than asking customers to play Stanley Kubrick, why don't you read over the multiple threads here and on reddit?

[marcolopes]

And here they are!

1 YEAR AGO!! https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Speakers-and-Displays/Google-Nest-Audio-crackling/m-p/384407

2 YEARS AGO!! https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Speakers-and-Displays/Nest-Audio-Crackling/m-p/62449

2 YEARS ago!! https://www.reddit.com/r/googlehome/comments/nz2qtc/nest_audio_audio_crackling/

3 YEARS ago!! https://www.reddit.com/r/googlehome/comments/l02opq/google_nest_recently_makes_an_intermittent/

https://www.reddit.com/r/googlehome/comments/ks4mn6/google_nest_audio_makes_crackling_noise/

https://www.reddit.com/r/googlehome/comments/l02opq/google_nest_recently_makes_an_intermittent/

https://www.reddit.com/r/googlehome/comments/up4eb6/nest_audio_mini_crackling_noises_while_playing/

https://www.reddit.com/r/googlehome/comments/evv9e4/solution_found_for_google_home_hub_popping_sound...

[Anonymous]

I sent in a video months ago and was told the senior team was aware of the issue. I was also told by support it was a software issue by one rep and then offered a new device by another but I cancelled when another rep told me newer devices were also having the issue....no joke.

I wasnt going to pay 49.00 if they couldnt find the issue was under warranty..there was a disclaimer in an email I was sent from them about that...again no joke.

[marcolopes]

Can't be router related! We all have different routers, that's for sure! I live in Portugal, and just no ISP has almost 10 totally different routers currently in use by the customers!

[Bartacuz]

Having the same issues with my google home speaker / nest audio / nest mini 's . Super irritated about this issue. It's been going on for months, new mesh system setup, doesnt matter, it's an hardware/software issue for sure. GOOGLE PLEASE FIX THIS SH*T OR IM TRHOWING EVERYTHING OUT

[Biffasmum]

Same issue here in Melbourne since I’ve had the Nest Mini. I listen to internet radio and Spotify. Same single popping sound every 2-3 minutes. Changing settings made no difference, but if I reboot through the Home app the problem goes away temporarily and returns maybe days later. 

[marcolopes]

So does the whole ecosystem problems! But they soon return! https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Speakers-and-Displays/Let-s-Discuss-Using-Google-Assistant-an...

[MTeliska]

I'm jumping on this topic. I have 12 Google mini's through out my home. They crackle and pop all the time. I thought it was the Wi-Fi router. I ended up buying a new router. Same thing nothing has changed. 

[marcolopes]

Are they all from the same "batch"? Is there a way of knowing it? (did you buy them all at the same time?)

[Hmm_8888]

@marcolopes , Don't go there. You know very well this is either a Google network issue of a firmware issue.

[marcolopes]

Yes... i was just trying to cover all possibilities.

So, are you guys sending reports directly to google or exposing this BUG here?

[barkmann44]

My nest mini's were recently updated to firmware version 375114 ... HOWEVER THE POPPING SOUNDS ARE STILL PRESENT.   Golf clap, google.

[tsengf]

I am and have been on firmware 375114 for some time. There are more popping sounds on some days than others. Upon the insistence of Google support, I sent them a video of the popping today (9/29/2023). They also requested the serial number of my mini. I told them this behavior is not specific to a particular mini so I sent them the serial number of all my minis. It seems like they are still unwilling to acknowledge this issue. I think the more folks report this to Google, the better chance they will prioritize this. I reported the issue using the following instructions from Muddi.

Hey everyone,

A quick update. Our team is aware of this behavior on the Nest Mini. To help the team to further look into this, please send feedback on your device by saying, "Hey Google, send feedback," followed by the keywords: GHT3 popping sound on Nest Mini

[Anonymous]

Sent them a video on July 16th and was I told via email "I forwarded this recording to one of the Senior Supports we have here and been advised that it is also happening on the newer speakers. Even if they replace it, they mention that it may still happen. What they advise me is to leave it as it is and give it more time for them to resolve it. Also please send us feedback about it on the Google Home app." and haven't heard anything about it since.

[tsengf]

Thanks for the information. Yeah, I'm not looking for a replacement as all my minis experience the same issue. This issue is also consistent with what folks are saying on this thread. For me, the popping has been happening for quite some time (perhaps longer than 6 months). I've just ignored it since I figured that firmware updates would be rolled out and get resolved automatically. It's too bad this issue is still ongoing.

[tsengf]

Support requested me to send them some more information. Below are the instructions given to me. I sent them the feedback after I heard the popping sound. They said they will provide an update soon.

From support:

I just got an update with our senior team. They're still working on a stable fix for the issue. They're also asking you to replicate the issue wherein it would give a popping sound. Once it does the issue again, please send feedback by saying "Hey Google, send feedback" then indicate the keywords"GHT3 34502 Google Nest speakers produces random popping/clicking sounds".

[Hmm_8888]

That means they have no clue what's up and we've been misled by the Google support forum team.

[MTeliska]

Yep!! 

[tsengf]

I responded to support last night as a result of not hearing anything back for two weeks. They replied with the message below. I am aware that the ultrasound sensing is not the root cause of the problem as reported by some users. I will give it a try but not hoping for much.

== response from support ==

Thanks for your response. I apologize for the late update. Our senior team just provided an update. Most users affected with this issue were able to get the problem fixed by turning off the ultrasound sensing of their Google Nest Mini. Please try switching it off, here are the steps.

1. Open the Google Home app .
2. Tap Favorites or Devices .
3. Tap your device's tile.
4. Tap Settings and then Recognition & sharing.
5. Turn Ultrasound sensing off.