Loud noise after plugging in charger

[Ahmed98]

Good morning all,

Recently bought the 8th gen 13-inch spectre x360 (512Gb SSD/16Gb RAM), and couldn't help but notice an extremely loud buzzing noise that would usually be triggered by plugging in the charger. Initially you can hear a relatively low (but still audible and annoying) crackling noise coming mostly from just above the keyboard (Doesn't seem to be related to the fans, sounds perhaps like some of the electrical wiring is responsible for it), but eventually the fans start to kick in and start producing an extremely loud noise (even under minimal load) and the noise becomes unbearable.


I've already updated the BIOS and tried to disable the USB charging thing on the BIOS, but both of them have been of no avail.

Worth noting that the problem usually kicks in after plugging in the charger, and then continues onwards for a pretty long time even after unplugging it.

If it's of any relevance, model's number is ae000.

Thanks in advance.

[EddyK]

Hi Ahmed98,

Does it occur only when you plug it in? What about normal usage? Or when you turn on the backlight of the keyboard? 

Probably a motherboard issue so I suggest contacting support or exchanging it.

Regards,

kem579

[jacekbartek]

Hi,
 I have the same problem on Hp ProBook 450 G5.  

[Ahmed98]

Quite a late reply, but I finally managed to get another spectre after quite some time (I had bought overseas, and since HP does not allow exchange from a different country to the one I had bought the laptop from, I had to send it back there, get a refund and buy another one from that same country).

Shockingly enough, the new one was even worse, and would promptly heat up after start up and the fans would spin at a very high speed despite minimal CPU load. The case worsens with attachment to the charger.

Quite frankly I'm at a loss, HP's exchange terms mean I have to resend it back to where I bought it from, which is obviously quite a sizeable delay that I'm in no need of.

All I have to say is that I'm deeply upset at the quality of the product (and not a cheap one at that), I would have expected far stricter quality control measures from HP. Very much doubt I'll be buying an HP laptop in the near future, and I'll be certainly recommending others to stay well away.

[jorkki]

A new computer usually loads tons of updates during the first day or two.

That can cause heavy activity and the fan running at high speed.

If the computer does not calm down you can check with the Task Manager (Right click on the Windows icon to find) which processes are using the CPU and disk resources. If you google with the name of the offender you can find lots of information what it is about.

You can also check if the computer is currently doing updates from Settings->Update & Security->Windows Update

[Ahmed98]

I did initially think the updates may have been using up the CPU, and that it would calm down after a short while, but it didn't.

When I checked the task manager, CPU usage was quite small, nowhere near enough to get the fans spinning or tbe laptop heatibg to the be degree they were.

[jorkki]

Seems you are not alone:smileysad:

Maybe you could try some of the band aids here:

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Operating-System-and-Recovery/HP-Spectre-x360-13-inch-2017-he...

[EddyK]

Hi Ahmed98,

You could definitely try referring to the thread Jorkki posted. However, that thread refers specifically to the 7th gen Intel core version of the Spectre x360 - some of which had burning motherboard issues. 

This issue is definitely not unheard of. Users consistently complain on the forums about the heat and fan noise coming from the Spectre series as a whole.

I first came to this forum a year and a half ago because I was frustrated with HP's computer cooling management with the Spectre 13.:smileyfrustrated:

I replied because it seemed like you were talking about coil whine with the initial laptop but now it seems like fan noise is the only issue. 

If it really is unbearable and you have already tried all OS/software steps, your only choice is to go for a different computer.:smileysad:

Just in case, I'll post my usual stuff to this type of issue.

• Check fan always on in BIOS
• Make sure Windows updates are complete
• Try turning on/off HP CoolSense or Cool Control

Hopefully you'll find a solution,

kem579

[Ahmed98]

Another late reply, but here it goes anyway. So having sent it back to the country I bought it from again, it was sent to the insurance services there (In less than a month, well within the replacement time limit). The insurance kept delaying the issue until more than a month had passed, and they then called saying that they couldn't replace it since the time limit for that had passed.

They then said they'd attempt to repair it, extend the warranty, and that we'd have to settle for that. After calling HP afterwards, they eventually told us they wouldn't do anything about it, which I found quite ridiculous.

All in all, extremely dissapointed with the service from HP, probably the single worst experiences I've ever had in dealing with a company's support service. Would seriously recommend against buying any HP product considering the utterly woeful service and support provided. Almost a year's worth of issues and delays, and I have to settle for practically nothing because of HP's inadequacy and indifference.