Mac Microphone Not Working? Check These 7 Things First

Your Mac’s microphone is not working. People on the call say they cannot hear you, or a recording comes out silent, or dictation does nothing.

The microphone itself is rarely the problem. On a Mac there are several separate places where a microphone can be switched off or bypassed, and any one of them is enough. Check them in this order.

Why a Mac Microphone Goes Silent

For an app to hear you, four things have to line up. macOS has to be using the right microphone. That microphone’s input volume has to be above zero. The app has to have permission. And the app has to be listening to the same microphone macOS is.

When one of those is wrong, macOS does not warn you. The app just gets silence.

1. Check That Your Mac Has a Microphone

MacBooks and iMacs have built-in microphones. The Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro do not. With those, you need an external microphone: a headset, a USB microphone, a webcam, or a display that has one.

If you are on a desktop Mac with nothing plugged in, that is the answer.

2. Select the Right Input

Open System Settings > Sound and click Input. Select the microphone you want to use.

Now speak. The Input level meter below the list should move as you talk. If it moves, the microphone works and the problem is with one app (skip to step 4). If it stays flat, keep going.

3. Raise the Input Volume

On the same screen, look at the Input volume slider. If it is all the way to the left, the microphone is effectively off.

Drag it to about three quarters and speak again. Some microphones and audio interfaces also have their own mute switch or gain knob, so check the hardware if the slider is greyed out.

4. Give the App Permission

macOS blocks every app from the microphone until you allow it. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone.

Find the app in the list and turn its switch on. Then quit and reopen the app, because most apps only pick up the change when they start. If the app is not in the list, it has not asked yet: start a call or recording in it and accept the prompt.

For a website, the browser needs permission here, and the site needs permission inside the browser too. In Safari, check Safari > Settings > Websites > Microphone. In Chrome, click the View site information icon at the left of the address bar, choose Site settings, and set Microphone to Allow.

5. Check the Microphone Inside the App

Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Google Meet, and most recording apps have their own microphone setting, and it does not have to match the one in System Settings.

Open the app’s audio settings and choose your microphone by name. Also look for a mute button in the call window itself. It is the most common reason of all.

6. Watch Out for Bluetooth Headsets

When AirPods or another Bluetooth headset connect, macOS may switch the input to the headset’s microphone. If the headset is muted, out of range, or its microphone is blocked, people hear little or nothing.

There is a second effect. While a Bluetooth headset’s microphone is in use, the headset drops to a lower audio quality, so what you hear sounds thin and muffled. Choosing another microphone as the input (step 2), such as your Mac’s built-in one, usually fixes both. Pick it inside the calling app too, then close System Settings, because the Sound screen itself keeps the headset’s microphone active.

7. Restart the Sound Service

If the input level meter does not move for any microphone, the Mac’s sound service may be stuck. Restart it from Terminal:

sudo killall coreaudiod

Enter your Mac password. All audio stops for a few seconds and then returns. End any call or recording first. Our guide to sudo killall coreaudiod explains what it does.

If the meter still does not move, restart the Mac. If the built-in microphone is still flat after that, record a few seconds in Voice Memos as a final check, then contact Apple Support.

Test It Without a Call

Asking a friend “can you hear me now?” is a slow way to debug. Soundshine Doctor is a free Mac app that shows the selected microphone, its input level, and whether it is muted, all on one screen.

When the microphone is muted or turned down to zero, a Restore microphone button appears that turns it back on. End your call first, because Doctor will not change the microphone while an app is using it. A ten-second test measures how loud you are and whether the signal is clipping, and it saves no audio. Run it after you leave the call. It also lists which apps are using a microphone at the moment, which helps when one app has taken over a headset.

Doctor uses its own microphone permission for that test. It cannot grant permission to another app for you: step 4 is still yours to do. It needs macOS 15 or later.

Download Soundshine Doctor free. No account, and Doctor never records audio.

Related guides: Mac sound not working and MacBook speakers crackling.