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

[Hmm_8888]

To all the mods, if you going to start merging threads, effectively burying them would you have the decency to remove the green check mark "has answer" which is false for this thread.

Or must we contact the site admin(s) and have them intervene?

@Ryan_G @Lazarus @Brad @rgaila @Rdianco 

[Dodger]

The periodic popping sound started today on my 2-year old Nest Mini while using YouTube Music.  I turned off the ultrasound sensing and this didn't help.  HOWEVER, clicking on the vertical three dots in the upper right corner of the Home app on the Recognition & Sharing page when ultrasound sensing was off and then selecting REBOOT fixed the problem for me, at least for the past couple of hours.

[marcolopes]

It will resurface soon!

[Metoo132323]

I did the same. And like in the Terminator, [it] will be back!

[arya_i]

I used to use my nest for pink noise therapy while I slept; but now I can't (and I don't even try), because the popping sounds are loud enough to interrupt my sleep in the night. This was also my own reason for a pair of Google Home Minis in my bedroom.

I also get a lot of unhelpful email notifications from this thread while we all wait for it to be fixed. 😅

I wouldn't turn down some sort of monetary rebate for the firmware regression that basically cheated us out of the return periods for our Nests.  I own at least 5; maybe more unopened.

[marcolopes]

I algo have a PAIR in my bedroom!

I bought them few months ago just to listen to music to "sleep" and wake up!

I've been plagued with this NONSENSE POPPING noise since day 1! (noticed almost immediately)

NOTE that i have those 2 devices PAIRED in STEREO, and the latest FIRMWARE update only updated ONE of them! (yes, i tried to UNPAIR them to test the device that has the LATEST UNLISTED firmware, and still POPS!)

What puzzles me is that google doesn't even updates firmware evenly! My devices have almost consecutive serial numbers...

Here is the thread i opened about the subject  (still with no replies from anyone!) https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Speakers-and-Displays/Google-Nest-Mini-firmware-384934/m-p/57...

[Linlen]

I think it could be to do with airflow..

im going to move my nest mini further away from a very slight ventilation system air flow and see what happens. 
I notice the main hub is sensitive when the extractor fan in the kitchen is running.. Let’s see 🙂

[tsengf]

Nope, try again.

[Hmm_8888]

Lol. Maybe blame the popping noise on Elon posting a comment on X? 

[Metoo132323]

@Linlen Dude, seriously??!!  You're in the wrong thread. This is thread is about the Google Nest Mini, not the hub. 

[marcolopes]

NO!!! Been crazy debugging this for months now!

Tried to HEAT the Nest Mini with a hair dryer in MAX POWER for a LONG time!!! It was BURNING!

No extra popping or any other failure... HEAT is not a problem here.

[Metoo132323]

What a b***y nightmare this forum layout has become.  Ugh, this new forum layout is driving me crazy! I keep my settings on "newest to oldest," but it seems like posts are showing up in a random order. And don't even get me started on the printer-friendly version - it's a total mess!  I'm using Chrome on Windows.

Perhaps we need to move to another forum. What do you all think?

[marcolopes]

I have it configured to present by DATE (newer ones first) and works well (but yes, this layout is a MESS!)

Posting in Reddit has already been done multiple times...

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Speakers-and-Displays/Google-Nest-Audio-crackling/m-p/384407
https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Speakers-and-Displays/Nest-Audio-Crackling/m-p/62449
https://www.reddit.com/r/googlehome/comments/nz2qtc/nest_audio_audio_crackling/
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...

[Metoo132323]

I have too have it configured. I feel it doesn't work well though. It wasn't sorting yesterday but today it is. The layout here isn't intuitive or logical, much like many of the replies and "answers". 

Edit: it's not working. See pic. It's locked on threaded view and older posts show up everywhere in between.

[marcolopes]

One thing that still puzzles me is the VOLUME of the popping... that is not correlated with the device volume...

Ex: Yesterday inadvertently i decreased the volume of my bedroom Stereo pair to ZERO, and i forgot about it! Latter, when in bed, i started to listen the POPS... first on the left speaker, later on on the right one, and i said to myself "well, this is new! now it pops when not streaming?" (i checked the device and it was STREAMING Spotify with no volume).

So, it's nothing new here, but why does it pop "loud" when the volume is LOW or there is no volume at all??

[pluri]

I'm not 100% sure but I believe that the volume control is done digitally on the audio data that is extracted and decoded from the streaming. The audio data is scaled based on the volume and then passed to a DAC that drives the audio amplifier connected to the speaker. The same scaled audio data can be in alternative passed to an external paired bluetooth speaker without going through the DAC.

If the pops were caused by an issue before the volume control (streaming service, Internet, WiFi, audio decoding ...) we shall hear them scaled with the volume and also hear them on the external paired bluetooth speaker but both these are not the case.

So it appears that the pops are caused by something that is after the volume control, it could be the DAC or the audio amplifier or some part of the fw. that is controlling them.

[BobSurunkle]

I discovered exactly the same thing - volume to zero whilst making a phone call and loud popping continued.

[marcolopes]

I said it before...

The "popping" is not correlated with the DEVICE VOLUME

Even if the volume is ZERO (and the device is streaming), the popping still occurs in all it's glory!

[tsengf]

We're trying to get the attention of the mods and clearly, they are not responsive. Since they are merging topics with this one, let's get their attention by opening new threads on the "popping" issue.

[marcolopes]

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Speakers-and-Displays/Nest-Mini-Popping-noise-feature-volume/...

[BobSurunkle]

I've experienced this for several weeks and may have found a fix.

As stated previously, try disabling the ultrasonic sensor and then reboot the device.

This didn't fix it for me, so I restarted the ultrasonic sensor and rebooted again....hey presto, not a single 'pop' for five or six hours so far and it must have been happening every 20 minutes or so.

[marcolopes]

Sure... wait 24 or 48 hours and it will POP again in all it's glory!

We have done that already...

Disabling ultrasonic sensor DOES NOT FIX this problem!

[BobSurunkle]

Well I can only report on my findings but I thought it was worth mentioning that I re-enabled the ultrasonic sensor and then rebooted a second time, no-one else seems to have done that!

Perhaps they have and maybe the popping has come back but time will tell for me.

It's perfectly reasonable to assume that this phenomena may be to do with the ultrasonic sensor as that's the biggest single difference between the Nest and original Home Mini, that doesn't appear to suffer from this problem.

Disabling (and re-enabling) the sensor might be a temporary fix but it's better than nothing and at least confirms a connection, don't you think?

[marcolopes]

Give me your feedback in the next few days!

[tsengf]

I also experienced that the popping frequency is significantly less (not sure if this is due to the most recent firmware update) or something else.

I'd like to suggest those of us who are trying to root cause the issue to post your firmware version as well.

[marcolopes]

I can't relate to that... popping is still there... it's random, do more or less is hard to tell.

I have 3 devices...

1 with 375114 firmware

2 with 384934 firmware

They all have similar manufacture dates.

Why 2 of them were updated to an unlisted firmware, and one remains with the "current official" firmware, it's beyond me!

[BobSurunkle]

Interesting, mine are set as a stereo pair and in a group with two Home Minis in another room.

I have firmware 384934 running on one and 375114 on the other.

The Cast firmware is different too: 384934 has 2.58 as a prefix and 375114 has 2.57.

Should the popping start again, I suppose I could seperate the units and see if it's only one or both that do it.

[marcolopes]

Done that! Been there!

Separated the devices, they BOTH pop.

"New" UNOFFICIAL firmware does not resolve the issue.

[BobSurunkle]

Hi tsengf,

It's been over a week and although the popping is still there, it's barely audible and far less frequent than before. Toggling ultrasonic sensing off and back on with a reboot each time seems to have helped me.

I think anyone experiencing this issue for the first time should at least try this 'fix'.

I bought my units second-hand but would be really annoyed if I bought them new or for nearly full price, as new ones seem to be affected too.

As I write this, I've been listening for an hour and not heard a single pop.

[tsengf]

Hi @BobSurunkle, I disabled the ultrasonic sensor yesterday. Today, I enabled it followed by a reboot using the app. I just streamed music and it popped twice within 10 minutes of listening. I'm on FW 384934. I suspect you will hear the popping if you give it more time.

I was previously on FW 375114 with the same popping issue.

[BobSurunkle]

Oh, fair enough, but worth a try.

Thanks for confirming that the issue exists with both firmware revisions.

I think I did hear some popping earlier but it was barely audible, whereas it had sounded like someone popping bubble-wrap before.

[marcolopes]

Fair enough, and is great to have someone new on board to "fight" against this nonsense problem and Google's absolute SILENCE!

Please keep debugging and posting your findings.

[marcolopes]

Exactly...

There is no workaround for this problem (even if disabling some option "worked" it would not be a FIX, but a temporary workaround)

Wish it was that simple...

[Rawa]

The only way to fix this is by throwing out all nest hardware and buying something else. The issue has existed for years. A fix is not coming. Don’t buy Alphabet's stuff. They do not care. As proven by the longevity of this issue. 

Judge them by what they do, Not what they promise. I gave all my 5 units to my nephew. He likes to open electronics up and disassemble them to see what’s going on inside. Best use these nests have ever seen. 

Replaced them with Sonos. More expensive but at least they work without silly issues like these. Low bar to clear. I know. 

[marcolopes]

It's been popping a LOT in the last few days...

It's horrible...

Been giving feedback to google all the time 😕

[marcolopes]

This topic is among the TOP ones (sorted by replies)! https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Speakers-and-Displays/bd-p/SpeakersDisplays?sort=replies

And even that does not seem to make a difference (at least to Google!)

[DJB31st]

This is STILL an issue in 2024!

[marcolopes]

Hey @Muddi I have a suggestion!

Since GOOGLE can't (or WON'T) resolve this problem (and that's a fact), I suggest that GOOGLE posts the Nest Mini Firmware under and OPEN SOURCE license (let's say, on GITHUB) so someone else can analyze this problem.

I would look into it myself if i have to!

Let's face the fact... Google as nothing to lose... except letting this NONSENSE problem drag indefinitely!!!

(lately the popping has been really annoying, specially at night, rendering any attempt to listen to relaxing music into a very annoying experience)

[Metoo132323]

@marcolopes Is @Muddi even participating in this thread?

[tsengf]

I suspect mods are purposely not responding to this thread.