Experiencing crackling, buzzing, or popping sounds in your Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones can be quite frustrating. These audio glitches can significantly diminish your listening experience, turning your favorite tunes or podcasts into a jarring mess.
It’s crucial to tackle these issues promptly to ensure you get back to enjoying crystal-clear sound quality.

Tips to Deal with Crackling, Buzzing or Popping Noise Issue on Sony WH-1000XM5 Headphone
1. Charging your Sony WH-1000XM5 Headset
Charging your Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones might seem like a basic step, but it’s often overlooked. A low battery can be the root cause of those annoying crackling and buzzing sounds. Ensuring your headset is fully charged can often clear up these audio hiccups.
- To properly charge the headphones, use the cable provided in the box.
- Connect one end to the headphones and the other to a USB power source.
- It’s best to use a wall charger or a computer USB port for this.
- Avoid using fast chargers not specifically designed for these headphones, as they can damage the battery.
- The charging process is pretty simple.
- Once plugged in, you’ll see a small light indicating that the headphones are charging.
- This light turns off when the headphones are fully charged.
- It usually takes about three hours to charge the headphones from empty fully.
2. Restarting Connected Devices on your Sony WH-1000XM5
You’ll find that sometimes, the issue isn’t with your headphones but with their connected device. Your smartphone or computer could be the culprit behind those pesky sound issues. A simple restart of these devices can work wonders in clearing up audio glitches.
- Restarting a smartphone is really easy.
- Press and hold the power button until you see the power-off option on the screen.
- Then, select ‘Restart’ or ‘Reboot’, depending on your device.
- This process can refresh the system and eliminate minor software bugs that might be affecting the sound quality.
- For a computer, the process is similar.
- Click on the ‘Start’ menu, select ‘Power’, and then choose ‘Restart’.
- This action closes all running programs and gives the computer a fresh start.
- It’s a quick fix that often solves temporary audio problems.
3. Resetting WH-1000XM5 Device to Default Factory Settings

Resetting your Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones can be a great fix for various sound issues. This process can solve problems like intermittent sound, complete loss of audio, or those bothersome crackling and buzzing noises.
- To start the reset process, first make sure your headphones are off.
- Find the power button on your headphones and press and hold it. You’ll need to keep holding this button for about seven seconds.
- Keep an eye out for the blue light. It will flash, indicating that the reset is complete.
- Once you see this light, release the power button. Your headphones are now reset and ready to use.
After resetting, you’ll need to pair your headphones with your device again. This is because the reset process clears all previous pairing information.
4. Initializing WH-1000XM5 Headphones
Initializing your WH-1000XM5 device is a step beyond a basic reset. This process not only clears any pairing information but also restores the headphones to their original factory settings.
- To begin initializing, ensure your headphones are turned off.
- Next, press and hold both the power button and the custom button simultaneously.
- Keep holding these buttons for about seven seconds.
- Watch for the blue light to blink twice. This is your indication that the initialization is complete.
- Release the buttons once you see this double blink.
After initializing, you’ll notice all your personalized settings are gone. This means you will need to pair your headphones with your device again and reset any custom settings you had. It’s a small price to pay for getting your headphones back to their optimal performance.
Keep in mind initializing is a more drastic step. It’s usually recommended when you’ve tried other troubleshooting methods, like charging and resetting, but still face issues. If these problems persist even after initializing, it might be time to seek help from Sony support or a professional technician.
Wrapping Up!
Hearing crackling, buzzing, or popping sounds in your headphones is a terrible feeling. It turns what should be a pleasant listening experience into something you just can’t enjoy.
If you’ve tried all the suggested fixes and nothing works, don’t worry – Sony support is there to help guide you to a solution.