Sound on a Mac, fixed in plain English.
18 fixes for macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 27 Golden Gate.
Find the sound settings on your MacOutput, input and volume are in Sound in System Settings; Audio MIDI Setup has the advanced device options.No sound from your Mac's speakersThe Mac is sending sound to the wrong output or the volume is muted.Your Mac is using the wrong microphoneAnother device (Bluetooth headset, monitor or iPhone) became the default input.Headphones plugged in but no sound on your MacThe Mac hasn't switched its output to the headphone jack or the plug isn't fully seated.Your Mac microphone is too quietThe Input volume is set low for that microphone.Choose which speaker or headphones play your Mac's soundmacOS chose a different output device (monitor, Bluetooth speaker, AirPlay) than the one you want.No sound from a monitor or TV connected by HDMI or DisplayPortThe monitor's speakers are not selected as the Mac's output.Change the volume of just one appmacOS has no built-in per-app volume mixer.Your Mac is too quiet even with the volume turned all the way upA low app volume, an unbalanced output or a quiet source limits loudness.Add the volume control to your Mac's menu barSound only shows in the menu bar when you turn it on in Menu Bar settings.Boost the bass or change the EQ for music on your MacmacOS has no system-wide equaliser; EQ is available inside the Music app.Turn your Mac's volume up or downVolume is set with the volume keys (F11/F12), Control Center or Sound settings.Your Mac's sound stopped after sleep, or cuts out at randomThe Core Audio service has hung and needs a restart.Get sound back when your Mac is muted or the volume keys don't workOutput is muted or the volume is at zero, or the selected output has no volume control.Get your USB headset, DAC or audio interface to show up on your MacThe device isn't recognised by the Mac, often because of a bad port, cable or hub.Why you can't change the volume of an HDMI monitor from your MacmacOS can't control the volume of digital HDMI or DisplayPort outputs; the monitor or TV controls it.Your AirPlay speaker doesn't show up on your MacThe Mac and the speaker aren't on the same Wi-Fi network, or one of them is asleep or needs a restart.Play sound through two speakers or headphones at oncemacOS only uses one output at a time unless you build a combined device.