Fix Audio Crackling and Popping on Mac: Full Guide

You're listening to music and hear a pop. Then a crackle. Then a stutter where the audio cuts out for a fraction of a second and comes back. It's not the song, it's your Mac. Audio crackling on macOS is common and has several different causes.

This guide goes through the usual causes of crackling, popping and stuttering on Mac and how to fix each one.

1. Restart Core Audio (the quick fix)

The quickest fix for sudden crackling is restarting the macOS audio service. Open Terminal and run:

sudo killall coreaudiod

Audio cuts out for a moment and restarts. Often the crackling stops right away. coreaudiod is the process that manages audio on macOS, and it can get into a bad state after sleep and wake, Bluetooth connections or app crashes.

If this fixes it, it was a temporary glitch. If it keeps coming back, read on.

2. CPU overload

Crackling often goes along with heavy CPU use. When the Mac is busy, it can't fill audio buffers fast enough, and the gaps sound like pops and crackles.

Check: Open Activity Monitor (Applications > Utilities) and look at the CPU tab. Consistently high CPU use is a likely cause.

Fix: Close apps you don't need, especially heavy ones like browsers with many tabs, video editors or virtual machines. If one process uses far more CPU than it should, restart it.

3. Bluetooth audio issues

Bluetooth is the most common source of crackling for wireless headphone and speaker users:

• Interference: Wi-Fi, USB 3 devices and other Bluetooth devices can interfere. Move closer to your Mac or away from the source.
• Headset mode switching: when an app turns on your headphones' microphone, macOS switches them to a hands-free (headset) mode. The switch itself can cause a brief pop.
• Too many devices: with many Bluetooth devices connected at once, disconnect the ones you're not using.

Fix: Remove the device in System Settings > Bluetooth and pair it again. On some macOS versions, holding Shift + Option while clicking the Bluetooth menu-bar icon shows extra options, including a Bluetooth reset.

4. Mismatched audio format in Audio MIDI Setup

If your output device runs at a different format than the audio being played, macOS converts it on the fly, and on some setups that can cause artifacts.

Check: Open Audio MIDI Setup (Applications > Utilities), select your output device and look at the Format setting, which shows the device's sample rate. Common values are 44.1 kHz (music) and 48 kHz (video and streaming).

Fix: Pick the format that matches what you play most: 44.1 kHz for music, 48 kHz for video. For a USB audio interface, check its documentation for the recommended settings.

5. USB audio buffer issues

External USB audio devices (audio interfaces, USB headphones) can crackle if the buffer is too small for the current system load.

Fix: In audio and music apps such as GarageBand or Logic, look for an I/O buffer size setting in the audio preferences and raise it. A larger buffer adds a little latency but gives fewer glitches.

6. After a macOS update

Some macOS updates introduce audio bugs.

Fix: Check for a point update (for example x.0.1 or x.1) that mentions audio fixes. Apple's support community and Reddit are good places to see if others have the same problem. If it's a known bug, a fix often arrives in a later point release.

7. Third-party audio drivers and virtual devices

Third-party audio drivers, virtual audio devices and audio plugins can conflict with macOS audio. Older software that relies on kernel extensions is a common culprit on recent macOS versions.

Fix: Check System Settings > Sound and Audio MIDI Setup for devices you don't recognise, and look for audio interface drivers or virtual audio tools you've installed. Uninstall or disable them one at a time to see if the crackling stops. If it does, look for an updated version that supports your macOS.

Narrowing it down to one app

SoundDial won't fix system or hardware crackling. It can help with a quick check, though: SoundDial gives every running app its own slider and mute button in the menu bar. Mute one app at a time while the crackling happens. If it stops when a particular app is muted, the problem is in that app (or what it's playing), not your Mac's audio in general.

Once your audio is clean, SoundDial, a per-app volume mixer for Mac, also lets you lower one app without touching the others or boost a quiet one up to 200%. It needs macOS 14.2 or later and costs €14.99 one-time purchase on the Mac App Store, no subscription.

Get SoundDial on the Mac App Store.