High Pitch Noise Coming From Pinebook Pro

[User 11436]

Hi,

I've had a quick search of the forums but can't find anything on this topic, so I thought I'd make a new post to see if anyone else has this issue.

Ever since new, I've noticed that my PBP makes a high pitch whine when powered on. It kind of sounds electrical. I don't know what it's coming from, but I don't think it's the speakers. The noise seems to decrease in pitch slightly when the power cable is unplugged. Is this normal?

Ben

[Wizzard]

I noticed that too, sometimes. Seems like a kind of interference between speakers and another parts.

[linusfargo]

Crosspost:
https//forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=8242

[FrancisTheodoreCat]

Crosspost:
https//forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=8242

The noise on my PBP is definitely not audio circuit related as inferred in that thread. I went so far as to unplug the speaker connectors and the whine is still there.

Only happens when the CPU is loaded, just like good old fashioned power supply coil whine. Seems to be worse when the laptop is running off of the power adapter. On battery, it's almost silent. Probably something in the battery charging circuit. Could probably pinpoint whichever inductor is the culprit and treat it to some epoxy to fix it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Mine is from the first forum preorder batch, if that's useful to anyone.

[bcnaz]

Hmm....
Seems Luke mentioned something about a whine back in September,
that they did not notice it until someone tested a PBP at a quiet warehouse, as no one could hear it at the assembly plant.
They had to replace a part on every already built unit. ?
IF possibly your unit was missed in the re-fit ?
BUT, it may be something else, just I remember reading that way back....

[FrancisTheodoreCat]

Ah, yup @bcnaz , from the October update:

The third, and last, technical issue was first found after all units were assembled and moved out of the factory. Someone from the shipping team realised that the laptop emits an annoyingly high pitched noise when charging. This did not affect the operation of the Pinebook Pro, but we were certain that users would be displeased with this imperfection. So, the laptops were brought back to the factory over the weekend and the tiny component making the noise was removed and replaced. The reason for this issue being caught this late is quite simple – the high pitched noise isn’t loud enough to be heard on a factory floor with all sorts of machinery operating. It’s only noticeable at ambient noise levels; e.g. at home with the TV off.

Looks like mine slipped through the refit process. Oh well, not too plussed about it.

[jsperson]

Anyone know if usb-c charging causes the whine as well? If this is a solution it would definitely be worth spending a few bucks on an alternate charger.

[swulff]

Just received mine an hour ago and I have the whining noise as well. I am not too bothered about it but I would be interested in any solution if one is available

Edit: Actually, having used this for a while, the whine is quite annoying definately noticeable even in ambient noise.

Does anyone know of a way to fix it?

[mamboman777]

It's mentioned in this update: https://www.pine64.org/2019/10/05/octobe...ping-news/

I wonder if your unit didn't receive the fix?

[jsperson]

It's mentioned in this update: https://www.pine64.org/2019/10/05/octobe...ping-news/

I wonder if your unit didn't receive the fix?

If there was a fix, mine missed it too. Everyone in my household - especially the dog complain. It's intermittent - most often when charging, but right now I'm running on battery and the dog took off as soon as I turned it on. It seems unrelated to CPU speed, but I can definitely identify storage access in the tone. Sometimes changing the screen brightness will alter the pitch.

Any hack to fix it would be welcome. Is the part that was replaced at the factory user replaceable?