Annoying Crackling Sound on Anker Soundcore Life Q20 while in Active Noise Cancelling

Hi there.

I bought a new Anker Soundcore Life Q20 around a week ago. Two days after I bought the headphone, there is an annoying crackling sound every time I put on the Active Noise Cancelling. I have tried reset the headphone from every devices, charge it to full, repeatedly turning on and off the headphone for several times, and the crackling sound is still there.

The problem goes on until now. I have bought it for the ANC only. I am very disappointed with this crackling sound that it does not came as promised in the advertisement.

Does anyone here has a solution that might not require the warranty claim? I can’t wait for another 7-14 days for it, and really want to fix it immediately. Thanks.

Contact support asap with proof of purchase

If it’s like a white noise with occasional crackling noise, then I have to say that I’ve experienced it on my Life 2 as well (predecessor to Q20). Not saying it’s normal but it has been a thing but not too crackly to make me worry. So I would wait for some other Q20 user to suggest something

I know what you mean, @ruzushi.

Seems to be a pressure-related problem. When I take a run up or down stairs, close a door behind me, tap the headphones, or have a train pass while I’m on the subway, there’s a head-splitting BLAST of digital noise/crackle.
I found on their support page that you can rest the headphones by holding Power and the Volume up (+) key for 5 to seconds until a purple light blinks.
So far, it seems to have done the trick. I haven’t been able to reproduce the noise by jumping, opening/closing the doors, taking heavy steps, or tapping the headphones.
Hopefully, this is the fix!
Please give it a try to yourself!

*RESET not rest

Found a solution which worked for me…
Had to turn off exclusive mode.
Go to: Sound - right click the device - go to properties - go to advanced tab - untick “allow applications to take exclusive control of this device”

After 2 years, the headset started to make noises. Before, only on landings and takeoffs. Now, I started riding the bus and realized that it was a headphone problem, as it is impossible to use it with noise cancellation turned on.

I contacted the company in Brazil who told me that they could no longer repair the phone, as it was out of warranty and there was no possibility of repair. I was offered the option to buy a new headphone at a discount, however, no headphones are currently available for sale. So, I contacted Anker in the USA:

"This is Shane, a manager at soundcore Customer Support.

I’ve read your emails and understand your concerns on this matter, we are so sorry that the troubleshooting didn’t work, it seems that your headphones are unusual.

Regarding the warranty, according to the agreement between Anker and our certified resellers, the resellers are responsible for fulfilling the warranty for the products of ours that they sell, but the reseller stated that your order is out of warranty now, there is nothing else we can do for an out-of-warranty order."

How I solved the problem:
However, during use I simply pressed the center of the speakers (in the area where you see the letters R and L) with my thumb and forefinger, feeling a displacement of the center of the speaker.
Do this while wearing the noise canceling headset over your ear, as you will hear a low rumble when the speaker is pressed.
This solved my problem, I believe it could be some kind of vibration that occurs in the housing, because now I don’t have that noise anymore and when I go through situations of greater vibration I notice the cancellation working and emitting a slight sound to cancel!

But, there is no way to trust a company where a device, after 2 years of use, presents problems and does not offer solutions: neither repair nor replacement!

I hope we can solve it!