WH-1000XM4 screeching

[CountOrlok]

Hi,

I got a pair of WH-1000XM4's on launch and the last few months I've been getting a deafening screaming from the left ear phone. Normally they are kept on a stand, but if I take them off and put them down, it seems to start when I put them back on. From reading about it online it appears this is the ANC mic causing feedback that is causing the problem.

I now think I may have damaged something in the left cup as the volume seems off centre a lot of the time. Does anybody know of a fix or is it a case of just going to QC45s

[ingeeexx]

I just had the same problem with my hardware recently, but luckily it's fine now

[Piscie]

Hey @CountOrlok, if you're sure that you've damaged something in the left earcup, then I'm afraid a physical repair is needed to fix this. I'd recommend reaching out to the Sony reps directly to let you know all the details about the repair process.

However, if it's not a physical thing, you can first check if your headphones are up to date or not. Here you can find the latest version

Also try to reset and initialize them

Hope it works

[73deYPE]

It seems like many have recently got this problem I doubt it very much that everybody should have done physical damages to their headphones. 

My headphones also started to squeal when they were just laying on the table. I think it might have something to do with moisture that could build up if you wear them for a long time. But its strange it have started now almost 2 years after I bought them. So I lean to that there has recently been some firmware upgrade that makes the headphones noise canceling more sensitive to moisture. The squealing stops at once you turn of the noise cancelation But that's just a theory. 

[SkyNet404]

That's an interesting theory! But have you tried the steps shared above as well? 
Also, I was reading about this on Reddit and someone mentioned that ANC uses an active circuit inside the unit, which actually makes it produce certain level of noise. However, that level is different from one unit to another, which is weird. 

[CountOrlok · Accepted solution]

Just to confirm this theory, I changed the ear pads today, while doing that, removed the white rubber 'cap' type protector on the NC mic and then removed the mic from where it sat. I cleaned out both the rubber part and the removed the small black cotton filter from the mic. Cleaned all and reassembled and they are good as new.

My theory is that the the glue had melted, it looked like syrup when I removed it and this caused the mic to loop into the speaker