Another Buzzing/Humming Flashlight Thread--Olight S35

Just got an Olight S35. It makes a faint humming/buzzing sound when on medium or high. It's slightly annoying and I was debating whether or not to send it back for a replacement. I have several other LED lights and NONE of them make the slightest sound. I put them all to my ear in a quiet room. I know that the noise probably does not indicate a problem but it is a little annoying.

I have seen several other threads here from others complaining about their light buzzing/humming but I haven't been able to determine if it's just any random LED lights that are buzzing or is it all lights within a certain make/model number that buzz.

In other words, do all Olight S35 lights make the buzzing sound or is it just a few of them and most do not, while a few lights of all makes/models of LED lights make the sound?

I like everything about this light except for the noise, but I don't want to return it for another guaranteed noisy light. If it's say less than 10% of lights that are noisy, I'd take the chance and send it back for a replacement. But if everyone says that their S35 is noisy, I won't bother and just keep it anyway.

It's induction hum, a small percentage of all our flashlights have it; there's someplace along the circuit path where a microscopic bit is slightly loose, so that when a current passes through it, it vibrates with the current and produces an audible sound. This makes no difference at all in the functionality or operation of the light, if the sound doesn't bother you, you can leave it.

In other words, it IS a defect!

If something is slightly loose causing the buzz, my light has a tiny flaw, making it slightly less sturdy than the light without the buzz/hum.

Sounds to me like a replacement might be a good idea if I want long-term reliability.

It's quite normal. 50% of my lights has some kind of noise. Take the quark mini for example, got lots of them, and they all "hum". I think you will end up with a new "hummer" if you send it in

The light's I own that dont't hum, seems to be quiet ones for everyone. Seen no complaints here on cpf.

My lights that makes sound --> lots of complaints here on cpf. Some say their xx light is quiet, but i suspect their hearing is turned bad with age, so they cant hear the hi hz sound..

Well that is what I was trying to determine--if the hum is totally random or if there are specific light models that nearly always hum. I was just surprised that the review of the S35 in the reviews section didn't mention the hum if it was there.

My quark mini developed humming almost a year after purchase. It hasn't failed yet but, I am concerned that it will one day.

My Quark Mini has always had a quiet hum on the medium mode, I've read of quite a few other Mini owners who have the same issue, but again, it makes no difference functionally or operationally.

GrnXnham said:

Well that is what I was trying to determine--if the hum is totally random or if there are specific light models that nearly always hum. I was just surprised that the review of the S35 in the reviews section didn't mention the hum if it was there.

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As StarHalo said, induction whine (the putative source of the hum) is not believed to effect the functionality of a light.

As someone who has handled a lot of lights, I can see no way to predict its likelihood or severity on any given model. If you listen carefully in a quiet room (and have good hearing - young ears are better), you will find that a lot of lights have some degree of it. But the frequency and intensity tend to be quite specific for a given voltage source and drive level in any given light (i.e. noticeable on Med on one battery type, but not other modes/batteries, in one given sample). Personally, I only comment on it in a review if I come across a particularly severe example (and always with the caveat that it is n=1 sample in my case).

My "best guess" is that certain batches of certain lights are probably more susceptible to it than others - but if so, that is really just a batch effect, and it doesn't appear to correlate with any other known variable. There is no objective evidence to suggest lights with more noticeable hum are more prone to failure. If it is distracting in use, I'd recommend considering returning for another.

Ultimately, it is probably a schocastic event.

Well, I had an Olight S65 hum on High & Med mode, as I ship it back for a replacement/repair... sadly my parcel was M.I.A.

So right now I still in doubt whether to get another S35 or not, cuz it also hum :shrug: