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Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Crackling Speaker/headphone
It is 2018, this laptop is just a few months old. I hear an over modulated crackle noise on speakers and headphones. I suspect a software update is the cause. I have read the articles going back to 2015 on DELL laptops having this identical problem and it is definitely a software issue. 3 years! And it still hasn't been fixed.
Nobody needs bloated software on a laptop. I mean special effects, echo, equalizer, etc. I do some video editing on the laptop and do not need the audio hardware sounding different than what I am working on.
The basic audio software drivers are all I need and it fix the problem 100%. Here's the answer from a the same problem 3 years ago on an older laptop (I copied and pasted it):
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Your laptop would have have a Realtek audio driver pre-installed. Assuming that driver is still installed, switch to the Windows native audio driver to test the speakers.
1. Open the Device Manager (type devmgmt.msc in the Windows search box).
2. Expand the "Sound, video & game controllers" and right click on "Realtek High Definition Audio".
3. Select to "Update Driver Software".
4. Click on "Browse my computer for driver software".
5. Click "Let me pick from a list of drivers on my computer".
6. Put a check in the box "Show compatible hardware" if not already checked.
7. In the list of devices, click "High Definition Audio" (the native driver).
8. Click "Next".
9. On the Update Driver Warning box, click "Yes" (install the driver).
10. Restart the laptop if prompted. If not prompted, then no need to restart.
[To get back to the Realtek driver, do it again but reverse the names in steps 1 and 6.]
If the speakers crackle even with the native driver then it could well be hardware failure. Contact tech support to have it repaired.
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I spent over $800.00+ for a laptop that has no CD drive, no keypad, 8GB memory instead of 12GB, no way to remove battery, no access to hardware, a touchscreen that is really useless because it is not needed, you'd think they could have used the money they saved skimping out those features to make a better audio system that works. Now that I think of it, 800 dollars, this laptop REALLY **bleep**. I got ripped off.
You may ask why I have a "stripped down" expensive laptop. That's because the In-Store "Warranty" replaced my HP laptop with a DELL, because they could not give me an exact replacement. Or get 50% of your money back as warranty coverage. Of course I chose to get someting back in value at 100%.
Saltgrass
3 Apprentice
3 Apprentice
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4.3K Posts
0
April 1st, 2018 10:00
KierBean
7 Posts
0
April 1st, 2018 14:00
It says "Dell Inspiron 15 7000" on the sticker, but it is specifically the "Inspiron 7570" when I went to the DELL Support site to get the newest drivers and BIOS (using my service tag number). I updated the drivers and BIOS the other day.
Everything seems to work fine now, using the native Windows audio drivers (including headphone jack detection). No more crackling sounds as I use adjust the volume control slider. No more garbled audio when playing video games or doing video editing. I tried available default (or reset) settings for the drivers beforehand, but that didn't work.
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I have a strong feeling if I reinstall the laptop OS back to factory condition, before any updates, it will work fine. I have 5 computers that I use regularly for different tasks. I normally 'clone' hard drives that have a fresh factory install for future emergencies on all my computers. With this particular laptop I did not do it, being that there is no quick access to a hard drive (I have a backup USB drive for that).
ByrchWynd
1 Message
0
June 15th, 2018 00:00
Thank you! This was driving me nuts. When I first got it, it was sounded great (my Inspirion 15 7000) then somewhere along the way, after a few months it suddenly was crackly. Not I thought I had Realtek High Definition Audio, but looking it was just Realtek Audio. And the Dell Sound center was gone. Really bizarre. Anyhow, I tried your fix, chosing the High Definition and now, finally for the first time in 6 months, no crackling. Thank you!
Ron954
2 Posts
7
July 20th, 2018 07:00
Uninstall the APP called SmartByte! This is the problem!
Mwilliams44
1 Message
0
July 21st, 2018 09:00
THANK YOU! I can not believe this whole time it was an app I didn't even know I had. This has been driving me insane and finally I have speakers that work properly and don't sound like the tin-can windows driver either!
Amirr49
1 Message
0
July 25th, 2018 11:00
hi, I have the app on my laptop, I do not know how the application can be installed on my laptop, is it the SmartByte application that causes my laptop speaker sound crackling?? do I have to uninstall the app from my laptop so that my laptop speaker does not sound crackling again?? tq
My laptop dell inspiron 15 7567
Justin1n23
4 Posts
0
August 15th, 2018 00:00
OH MY GOD YOU SON OF A GUN! IVE BEEN FIGURING HOW FOR MONTHS WHY MY MIC SOUNDED SO LOW. THANK YOU OMG AJAWIDNAWP}FMNWAFMAWP}VNAPCMAW
{DD
nomad13
1 Message
1
August 26th, 2018 11:00
Uninstalling SmartByte also works for me!
Jay_Jayyyyy
1 Message
0
August 29th, 2018 05:00
Thank You So much, I am so happy.
Dhoy
1 Message
0
September 4th, 2018 17:00
Me too. I just resolved the crackling sound from spreaker by uninstalling the smartbyte.
codewaffle
4 Posts
0
October 17th, 2018 17:00
me too. Uninstalled smart byte -- the cracking went away instantly.
heztor
1 Message
0
October 18th, 2018 22:00
uninstalled the smartbyte thing and the sound was fine, but after the last DELL update... same thing again!
I've looked for it but it's not installed anymore! what now?
ManicGames
1 Message
0
November 11th, 2018 11:00
Question about this, I uninstalled the smartbye app but to me it sounds like the sound is slightly lower than it was before. Is this the case for everyone and that the Smartbyte app was trying to push the sound past the physical limitations of the speakers used? I'm fine with the slightly lower sound, but it just caught me by surprise.
ts1010
1 Message
1
November 17th, 2018 18:00
I have an Inspiron 7352 that is almost 3 years and it started developing the same audio issues (crackle, popping, etc.). Nothing worked to fix it (the audio driver swap, the bios update, etc.). I wasted numerous hours looking for a fix and nothing worked. I also have the very same audio problem (it is even worse) on a brand spanking new Inspiron laptop that my employer has provided me. This is beyond me! How come Dell laptops have this widely spread audio problem and the company has not bothered to fix it? I got so frustrated with Dell laptops, I went out and bought a very nice and new Asus laoptop instead, and I completely ignored the displayed Dell laptops while I was shopping at the store for a new laptop. If Dell has this audio noise issue for years and does not seem to care to fix it, then as a customer, I am avoiding buying Dell products. Shame on Dell for providing faulty products like these. By the way, the keyboard on my own Inspiron has already developed problems as 2 keys are not functioning. This never happened to me on other laptop brands. It seems to me that Dell has become a complete disappointment.
Onatauo
28 Posts
0
November 18th, 2018 10:00
I think if enough people complain, Dell will fix their crappy audio drivers.