The sound can stop working on your MacBook at any time for a variety of causes. Because it has so many possible causes, it's hard to pin down exactly when your MacBook can lose audio, but this article will step you through the possible reasons and fixes. Show
The reasons you can't hear sound coming out of your MacBook's speakers are many, but they may include the following:
The following solutions can get your MacBook's sound working again, and they go from easiest to most complicated. Try them each in order to see if the audio comes back.
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Having the sound on your Mac not work can be frustrating, and understandably so—not to mention if it happens during a work or school presentation. It could come down to a host of factors, like your Mac’s sound being muted. Whatever the case is, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your Mac is broken. So, don’t rush to call Apple Support just yet—there are a few things to check before taking your device to the nearest Apple store. This article will outline all the steps you need to take to find and fix the volume issue on a Mac device.
Check for internal issues1. Fix internal sound settingsThe most obvious cause of your Mac’s sound not working could be found in sound settings. That’s why you have to find out if your Mac’s internal speakers are working. In fact, this applies to all types of speakers, so try these steps to find out:
2. Check if the sound works in other appsIf audio is not working on your Mac, check if it changes when you use other apps. If the problem seems to be restricted to a particular application, try playing around with its settings. For example, video-conferencing apps such as Skype and Zoom often have speaker malfunctions. Check its audio and video settings and make sure that the speaker is on all the way to the right on the slide bar. 3. Check for malware infectionIf nothing seems to resolve the problem and audio still doesn’t work on your MacBook, it’s either experiencing a hardware malfunction or is infected with a virus. How do you tell if either of these are the case? Look out for signs such as:
If any of these sound familiar, your laptop may be infiltrated with malware. If you’re still unsure, follow our guide to check for viruses or malware on your Mac. Simply deleting the source file is not enough—the virus will have spread across the entire system. It sticks to different files to make it harder to pin down and remove. You can use a Mac malware scanner to detect and exterminate it. 4. Update your operating systemIt’s important to keep your Mac’s operating system up-to-date, mainly for security reasons. But having an old OS version can also result in all sorts of malfunctions—including sound problems. You can check if you’re running the newest version of your operating system by doing the following:
Still not sure how to go about it? Here’s what to do: 5. Fix audio on MacBook with TerminalIf you’ve used Terminal before, you’ll be familiar with the variety of functions it performs. It’s brilliant for fixing technical problems and has a solution for volume issues on your Mac. Follow these simple steps to fix sound issues with Terminal:
If you use Google Chrome, you might find that the newest versions interfere with the controller. To fix that, you first need to disable Chrome. Here’s what you need to do to reset Core Audio as a Chrome user in Terminal:
6. Reset NVRAM to fix the SoundNon-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) stores important baseline settings on your Mac, like timezones and language. It also controls volume. NVRAM is the reason why the sound on your computer remains muted after you’ve shut it down and turned it back on. Therefore, resetting NVRAM often resolves sound problems. Here’s how to reboot NVRAM:
MacBooks released after 2018 are equipped with a T2 security chip that gives computers additional protection and allows them to have touch ID. If you own one of these, look out for the Apple logo when resetting NVRAM—make sure it appears twice. 7. Use Activity Monitor to resolve sound problems on MacIf you’re confident that the sound problem on your Mac doesn’t arise from a wonky cable, poorly established browser settings or a misplaced output device, you might want to restart the sound controller. It can be done quite easily through the Activity Monitor. To access the program, follow the steps below:
Want to learn more about this program? Here’s how to open and use Activity Monitor on your Mac. Check for external issuesHave you tried playing a song in a different app? Try various websites and audio files. If your MacBook Pro still has no sound, go through the fixes outlined in the sections below. 1. Check Bluetooth device connectionBluetooth headphones and speakers are useful gadgets, but we all know how annoying they can be when you have to pair them with the input device. Make sure they’re actually turned on and connected. Here’s how:
Follow these steps to fix Bluetooth issues on Mac. 2. Check sound settings in ChromeIf you’re trying to play something in Chrome and there’s no sound, you may have the setting turned off. Here’s how you can turn it on:
That should sort out any sound issues you’ve experienced when playing something in the Chrome browser. 3. Troubleshooting for external speakersDoes it seem like your Mac’s external speakers aren’t working? If you’re using external speakers, the first thing you should check is whether the device is properly connected to your computer. The cable must be tightly attached to the USB or audio port, and the port itself has to be clean. We tend to collect dust in them over time, so make sure to regularly clean it with cotton buds, toothpicks, and compressed air to enable proper connection. If you don’t think that the cable is the source of the issue, follow the steps below:
Of course, if you aren’t using external speakers, this isn’t something you should worry about. 4. Troubleshooting for display audioBefore going to System Preferences, make sure that the display’s cable is properly connected to your laptop’s ports and that there are no headphones plugged in to the audio port. Once that’s done, go to System Preferences → Sound and set the settings in the Output section for Display audio as the output device. 5. Troubleshooting for digital receiverTo fix the sound for digital receivers, check that you’re using the right connector—you need a special optical digital cable. Next, check the receiver's settings (you’ll find the instructions on how to do that in your device’s manual)—they have to be set up for digital input. Follow the instructions below:
That’s it, your audio issues should now be resolved! Sound issues sortedIn this article, we covered all the bases to help you figure out what may be the cause of your sound problems and showed you how to fix them. However, if you’re still having issues after trying everything we’ve advised, it would be best to contact Apple Support. |