Troubleshooting Audio Interference on the Lenovo Legion 5: A Frustrating Experience

As an avid gamer and audio technician, I was thrilled to get my hands on the Lenovo Legion 5, equipped with an AMD Ryzen 7, RTX 3060 graphics card, and a 512 GB SSD. However, my excitement quickly turned into frustration due to a perplexing audio issue that has left me scratching my head.

After purchasing my laptop just two weeks ago, I noticed that when I plugged in my headphones using the 3.5mm jack, I encountered a persistent crackling and static sound whenever I played music on Spotify or streamed videos on YouTube. This annoying interference continued for several seconds after stopping playback, even affecting startup sounds when programs utilizing audio, like Discord, launched. It felt as though I could hear unwanted interference from the sound card, and at about a third of the music volume, it was far too distracting to ignore.

In an effort to resolve this, I explored numerous potential fixes available online. I tried disabling audio enhancements, unplugging the charger, and even updating the BIOS, but to no avail. While using Bluetooth headphones was a temporary solution, the audio quality was subpar, and as someone who values sound clarity, I needed to use my Beyer DT770s, which are wired.

I then tested using a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter with my headphones, and remarkably, there was no static sound—this suggested that the issue lay specifically within the 3.5mm port itself.

After returning the initial device, I received a replacement from Currys. Unfortunately, the problem persisted with only one difference: the static only occurred when the laptop was plugged in and the WiFi router was active. Turning off the router while keeping the charger plugged in eliminated the static, but switching the router back on reintroduced the annoyance.

What’s particularly perplexing is that neither my partner’s laptop nor my work laptop—also a Lenovo—exhibit this kind of interference. It raises the question: Should this kind of issue be commonplace in a device of this caliber?

With my experience so far, I’m left feeling frustrated and unsure whether to return the laptop once more and continue saving for an alternative gaming machine. Has anyone else faced a similar audio dilemma or have insights on how to alleviate this frustrating problem? Your feedback would be greatly appreciated!