Users of the latest generation MacBook Air are complaining about uncontrollable volume fluctuations on their machines. Some users report that a volume enhancement app, Boom, can be a temporary workaround to the issue.
Users of the latest generation MacBook Air are complaining that the volume goes into uncontrollable fluctuations on the machine, when viewing videos. Users have been positing feedback and venting their frustration on the Apple Support pages, and from what has been posted, the issue extends to Apple’s own apps such as QuickTime, as well as third-party apps like the Google Chrome browser.
The chain of responses started when a someone with the handle sumner89 reported “I have just purchased a new 2013 13″ MacBook Air, and the volume seems to fluctuate by itself when I play back any videos. Does anybody know what causes this? Is there a fault with my Mac?”. Another user, ddfall, explains the issue he is facing, “I also have this problem with my new MacBook Air 13 – 2013 Haswell. The audio problem persists in QuickTime, iTunes, Chrome and VLC. The volume gradually gets louder during playback, then cuts out for a few seconds (completely) and then comes back but at a lower level. This repeates every few minutes. Normal audio > louder > complete drop > back to normal.”
To complicate matters, another user audiojedi reports, “I just downloaded a copy of Mavericks in the hope that this issue had been solved on the new OS but I am still having the same audio issues as before. Very disturbing.” This clearly points to something more than just an OS bug, since the new OS has not solved it either.
No official update has been rolled out by Apple, but some users on the same discussion thread are reporting that a third party volume enhancement application, Boom, is a temporary workaround for the issue. “ Just want all to know that the BOOM application I have installed is still working well at correcting this problem. I have now watched several videos from various sources and applications, and none of them manifest the problem with BOOM installed and turned on”, says user PlotinusVeritas.
Apple had, back in June 2013, updated the MacBook Air with the latest generation Intel Haswell processors which promise full-day battery life under some usage scenarios. (Read details here)
Source: Apple Support Communities