If the sound on your Mac has stopped working, there are several possible explanations and solutions. The first thing to check is that the sound definitely is not working. Below we'll explain what to check.
With no digital audio output connected, there is no way to change the volume or hear a sound. In that case, the solution is to plug the cable back into the socket and remove it again. Try it a few times, if necessary, to ‘trip’ the sensor and make the Mac recognize the digital audio device is no longer connected. QuickTime has a useful feature to record Mac’s screen. QuickTime recorder is able to capture screen and record audio on Mac for simple onscreen activities. But there are lots of restrictions or drawbacks for the QuickTime recorder. You can also find the best alternative to record in iMovie, capture music files and take snapshots from the. No sound recorded when using screen capture. Please check your settings in Debut. Open Options by clicking the Options button on the toolbar; On the Devices under Audio, at least one of the following should be selected; Microphone - Select this option to capture sound from a microphone; make sure that the correct device is selected from the.
No sound on Mac? Check these things first
- Zoom screen sharing allows you to share the desktop, window, application or audio/video. Zoom allows you to also send computer audio to the remote attendees when sharing a video or audio clip. Zoom desktop client for Mac or Windows; Note: Computer sound cannot be shared while multiple screens are being shared.
- Your Mac comes with its own screen-recording feature on macOS Mojave and higher. Open the app or window you want to record, then press Shift+Command+5 to open the system’s screen capture tool.
1. Check the volume
As simplistic as it may seem, the first thing to check is that the volume hasn’t been muted intentionally. Tap the volume up (F12) key to turn up the sound level.
Pro tip: If you hold down Option+Shift when you press F12 or F11 to increase or decrease the volume, it will move in smaller increments than the full step changes that occur when you use the keys on their own.
2. Is it an app problem?
It may be that there’s no sound on your Mac because it won’t play audio in a specific app. If, for example, you can’t hear sound from a video in Safari, make sure the audio isn’t muted by clicking the volume control in the video. You should also check other sound sources, like iTunes and QuickTime movies, to find out if they can play sound.
Tip: if you’re fed up with websites you visit automatically playing video with sound when you’re working, go to Safari>Preferences and click the Websites tab. Click Autoplay, and in the bottom right of the window, choose Stop Media with Sound.
Screen Recording On Mac Has No Sound Louder
3. Run Maintenance scripts
If you’ve determined your Mac’s sound definitely isn’t working, consider running CleanMyMac X’s Maintenance scripts. These optimize the performance of your Mac by running a number of routines such as repairing disk permissions, verifying your startup disk, and rebuilding the launch services database.
Here's how to run Maintenance scrips:
Download CleanMyMac X here (it's free to download).
- Launch the app.
- Click Maintenance.
- Choose Run Maintenance Scripts and click Run.
4. Check for hardware issues
Next, check there’s nothing plugged into the headphone/line out port and look to see if there’s a red light on that port. If there is, it could be there’s a problem with the port or something blocking it. Try blowing on it to clear dust, if that’s the case.
5. Are you running the latest version of macOS?
If there’s still no sound on your Mac, Apple’s advice is that the first thing you should do is make sure you’re running the latest version of macOS.
To check which version of macOS your Mac is running, click the Apple menu and then About this Mac. The window that opens will have the name of the version of macOS currently installed at the top. Now the latest version is macOS High Sierra. If you’re not running High Sierra, you should consider installing it by going to the App Store app and clicking on it in the sidebar on the right-hand side of the main window.
If you don’t want to install High Sierra, at least make sure you’re running the latest update to whichever version of the OS is installed. To check that, click Software Update in the About This Mac window. That will check for updates and let you know if there’s one available. If there is, install it.
Before installing either a new version of the OS or an update, back up your Mac using Time Machine or whatever backup tool you normally use.
How to check your sound settings
If you’re running the latest macOS version and your sound still isn’t working, the next step is to check your Sound settings.
- Click on the Apple menu and choose System Preferences.
- Click on the Sound pane.
- Select the Output tab and choose built-in speakers. If that’s not available as an option, contact Apple Support.
- Check if the volume slider is low; if so, slide it to the right and recheck the sound.
- Make sure the Mute box isn’t checked.
If you check your sound settings, you see a USB device selected rather than built-in speakers, and you can’t change it, disconnect all USB devices from your Mac and try again.
Is there an app interfering with the sound?
Some applications, like screen recorders, install their own audio output drivers so that when you record the screen, you can direct your Mac’s output to the recording app. It’s possible that if you’ve installed an app like that, its driver could be interfering with your Mac’s sound output.
- Go to System Preferences and choose Sound.
- Click on the Output tab.
- If there’s an output option that looks like a software app and it’s selected, that may be why the sound is not working on your Mac.
The best thing to do in that instance is to uninstall the app. You could just drag the app to the Trash, but that won’t uninstall it properly or remove all the files the app has placed on your Mac. To do that, you should use a dedicated uninstaller like CleanMyMac X.
CleanMyMac X makes it very easy to completely uninstall any app so that it doesn't leave any fragments or stray files behind. By using CleanMyMac X, you can be sure you’ve deleted all the files associated with the app and that it hasn’t left anything behind. You can download CleanMyMac X for free here.
Restart the sound controller
If no software audio drivers interfere with your Mac’s sound output, nothing plugged into the headphone jack, USB, or Thunderbolt ports, and your sound still doesn’t work, the next step is to restart the sound controller. This requires launching Activity Monitor and quitting a process, but don’t worry, it’s not too scary!
- Go to Applications > Utilities and double-click on Activity Monitor to launch it.
- In the search bar, type 'coreaudiod’ to locate the Core Audio controller.
- Click on coreaudiod, then click ‘X’ in the toolbar to quit it.
- Coreaudiod will restart.
Why is the volume low on Mac?
If you've faced issues with the speaker volume on your Mac, it's likely a software-related problem. Maybe some app conflicts with your speaker settings, or maybe there's something else. The first thing you can do to troubleshoot the issue is to reset NVRAM/PRAM. These are small parts of your Mac's memory that control sound volume, time zone, display resolution, and other settings on your Mac.
To reset NVRAM/PRAM, shut down your Mac, and press Option-Command-P-R on its start-up. Release the keys after about 20 seconds. After your Mac restarts, check if the volume is back to normal.
Mac volume not working and stuck on mute?
If the volume control is not working on your Mac, either using the keyboard or the slider in the menu bar or System Preferences, it could be ’stuck’ on mute. The most common occurrence of this problem is on pre-2015 Macs that had digital audio output support in the headphone jack.
On those Macs, there was a sensor in the port that detected whether a headphone jack or a digital audio device was plugged in. The Mac would then change the output to headphones or digital output accordingly. However, sometimes the sensor failed to recognize when a digital audio device had been unplugged, and so the audio output remained locked on digital output, with no way to change it. With no digital audio output connected, there is no way to change the volume or hear a sound.
In that case, the solution is to plug the cable back into the socket and remove it again. Try it a few times, if necessary, to ‘trip’ the sensor and make the Mac recognize the digital audio device is no longer connected. If that doesn’t work, there could be some gunk blocking the socket. Try blowing on it to remove any dust. If that doesn’t work, buy a can of compressed air and, carefully, spray the socket to bow out the dust.
If that still doesn’t do the trick, buy a foam-tipped swab (don’t use a cotton bud as these leave tiny threads behind) and dip it in rubbing alcohol. Put the swab into the headphone jack and clean it, wiping away as much of the link as possible.
Bluetooth sound not working on Mac
Your Mac can play audio wirelessly via Bluetooth, so if you have Bluetooth speakers or headphones, you can use those to listen to music or anything else on your Mac. Sometimes, however, they don’t work.
Make sure Bluetooth is switched on
- Go to System Preferences and click the Bluetooth pane.
- If it says, Bluetooth turned off, turn it on.
Make sure your headphones or speakers are connected.
- Look in the list of devices in the main window to see if your headphones or speakers are listed.
- If not, put them in pairing mode (you’ll need to refer to their instructions to find out how to do that) and when they appear, click Connect.
- If they are listed but not connected, make sure they’re switched on and Control-click on them in the main window and choose Connect.
Tip: If you check the box labeled Show Bluetooth in the menu bar in Bluetooth preferences, you can connect from the menu bar item.
Once your headphones or speakers are connected, click on the volume control in the menu bar and choose them. If you don’t have the volume control displayed on the menu bar, go to System Preferences, choose Sound and then the Output tab and select the Bluetooth speaker or headphones. While you’re there, it’s a good idea to check the box labeled Show volume in the menu bar — it’s in the Sound Effects tab.
To conclude, there are a number of reasons why the sound is not working on your Mac. If you follow the guide above and take it one step at a time, you should be able to fix the problem. If none of the steps above work for you, the next step is to contact Apple support and, if possible, make an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple Store. If that’s not possible, Apple will advise you on the best course of action to get your audio working again.
I’m trying to screen record my production sessions in Ableton Live 9 using Quicktime's screen record mode. The video recording works flawlessly, but the audio from my Komplete 6 interface is not being recorded.
It seems that many Mac users failed to record screen with audio by using QuickTime Player. Actually this built-in recorder on Mac can only record the audio through external speakers and built-in microphone. It’s not able to record the system sound.
Here in this article we will share how to record screen and audio at the same with QuickTime Player on Mac. If you want to record iPhone/iPad screen with QuickTime, it’s also possible. Keep reading to get the detailed guide.
Part 1. QuickTime Screen Recording with Audio on Mac
It’s easy and free to record video on Mac with QuickTime Player, but if you want to record the internal audio on Mac as well, to achieve this you need a way to route the audio playing to QuickTime and a free program called SoundFlower can do you a favor. It’s an extension to Mac devices that allows audio information to pass into other applications. So please follow the steps below to record Mac screen with internal audio by using QuickTime Player.
Step 1. Download SoundFlower from https://soundflower.en.softonic.com/mac and set it up.
Step 2. After SoundFlower is installed successfully, restart your Mac computer to refresh all controls. Then go to system preferences and visit the sound tab. Click the sound output option and select SoundFlower (2ch) as your active output for the later QuickTime screen recording.
Step 3. Use Finder to find QuickTime Player and launch it to start screen recording on your Mac.
Step 4. Click File on the top menu bar and choose New Screen Recording.
Step 5. There is a drop-down button besides the red recording button, click it to select Soundflower option in order to record the system audio.
Step 6. Now you can start recording your Mac screen by simply hitting the red circle icon on the screen. You are allowed to record the full screen or drag your mouse to customize the area you want to record. Once the recording process is complete, you can click the stop button on the top of the menu to stop recording. Before you save the recorded video and give it a name, you are able to preview it to confirm whether it meets your demand.
Step 7. After you finish QuickTime screen recording on Mac, you need to disconnect Soundflower from audio input so that you can get back your audio on speakers. Just go to System Preferences and select sound settings, in output section select Internal Speakers as destination.
Part 2. Record Screen with QuickTime on Windows
Apple has once supported QuickTime Player for Windows computer for a period of time, but QuickTime is not officially available for Windows 10, as Apple stopped support for Windows back in January 2016. If you are using Windows 7 or Windows Vista, you can still install QuickTime Player 7.7.9 from the official download page(https://support.apple.com/kb/DL837?locale=en_US) of Apple QuickTime for Windows. As I have tried by myself, it’s not possible to install QuickTime Player on Windows 10. And we really do not recommend you to install QuickTime on your Windows computer any more, because it will make your PC become vulnerable, since Apple does not update QuickTime for Windows any more. If you want to record Windows computer screen, please refer to Part 3 for the best Quicktime Player alternative.
Part 3. The Best Screen Recording Alternative to QuickTime
As you have seen, to record screen with audio by using QuickTime Player, you have to perform few settings prior to recording as well as after recording, it’d be time-wasting and inconvenient. What’s more, since Apple discontinued QuickTime Player on Windows, it’s not possible and safe to record screen with QuickTime on Windows computer any more. So it’s necessary to get a QuickTime alternative to record screen with audio on Mac and Windows computer in an easier way. Vidmore Screen Recorder is a convenient and easy-to-use screen recording tool that allows you to capture any part of your computer screen, record HD video and audio, as well as take screenshots any time you like, on both Mac and Windows computer.
How To Stop Screen Recording On Mac
- Capture any screen any time you want. No matter you want to record computer screen, gameplay, webcam videos, online lectures, favorite music, or just a screenshot, you can achieve your purpose easily with this QuickTime alternative.
- Record any audio on your computer, system sound and your voice from microphone are both supported.
- Record full screen or select the area you want to record at ease.
- Add text, arrows, and shapes to your recording or screenshot with its real-time drawing feature.
- Set the task name, starting time and ending time as well as duration to make a scheduled recording.
Follow the steps below to record screen with audio on Mac with this alternative to QuickTime Player. If you are using a Windows computer, just download the Windows version and the steps are similar.
Step 1. Free download, install and launch this screen recorder on your Mac computer.
Step 2. In the home interface, select “Video Recorder” option.
Step 3. Then you can set the recording area as per your need, you also need to choose to record your Mac system sound or audio from your microphone.
Enable Screen Recording On Mac
Tips: For recording area, you can record the full screen by clicking “Full”, or clicking “Custom” to select either “Fixed region” or “Select region/window”.
Note: To customize the recording area, you should open the window you want to capture, then you can select the exact recording area.
As for audio settings, if you want to save online movies such as video from YouTube, you should turn on “System Sound” and turn off “Microphone”. For creating a video tutorial with your narration, you should turn on “Microphone”, whether to turn on system sound is at your demand.
Step 4. After all the settings are done, just click the “REC” button to start recording. During recording, you are able to use the edit button to edit the screen. You are also allowed to pause recording by click the Pauses button, and you can preview the recorded video after clicking the Stop button. By clicking the “Save” button, you can export and save the recorded video on your Mac.
Screen Recording On Mac Has No Sound Better
Part 4. Record iPhone screen with QuickTime
It’s also possible to record iPhone or iPad screen with QuickTime Player on Mac. Even though Apple users are able to record iPhone screen on iOS 11 and later with its screen recording function, but some people would not like to have the obvious red bar at the top of the screen when they are recording iPhone/iPad screen. One solution to avoid this is to record the screen on a different device, to keep the iPhone or iPad’s display normal and free of visual clues that this is a recorded video. To record iPhone screen with QuickTime, follow the steps below.
Step 1. Connect your iPhone or iPad with your Mac computer by using a USB cable.
Step 2. Run QuickTime Player on Mac and establish connection between your iPhone and QuickTime.
Step 3. Go to File and select New Movie Recording from the drop-down menu.
Step 4. Now click the drop-down button besides the red circle icon to select your iPhone as microphone and camera options.
Step 5. After all settings are made well, click the red record button to start recording your iPhone screen.
Step 6. Once the recording is complete, click the stop button and preview the recorded video. You can also edit the recorded video with QuickTime Player and save it to your device as you like.
Conclusion:
Screen Recording On Mac Has No Sound Cable
If you only need to record an easy video on your Mac and don’t mind the complicated process to install an extension in order to record the system audio on your Mac, you can use the free and built-in QuickTime Player as the recording tool. It would also be a good tool to record iPhone or iPad screen. But if you want to record a perfect video with audio without too much operation, Vidmore Screen Recorder should be a better choice.