Top 5 Ways to Fix Microphone Not Working on Mac

Working from home is the new norm these days. Shopify, Salesforce, Twitter, Spotify, etc. Many companies like these allow employees to do their work from home. You can make a lasting impression when your device’s microphone, speakers, and webcam work as intended during virtual meetings and conferences. A sloppy microphone performance can be embarrassing, as others won’t be able to hear you. If you’re having such a problem on Mac, keep reading.

Microphone not working properly on a Mac can give a bad impression of an ongoing job interview or meeting. The guide below will walk you through the various steps to find and fix the problem.

1. Configure Microphone Settings

This is the most common way to fix microphone issue on Mac.

You can check the microphone input level before using your microphone. If it’s too low, your Mac won’t detect any sound.

Follow the steps below to configure microphone settings from the System Preferences menu.

Stage 1: Click the Apple icon in the menu bar and choose System Preferences (find it in Apps or via Siri or Spotlight Search). Then click Sound in the Hardware group.

Step 2: Click Login from the tab at the top of the window. Now, click Internal Microphone in the list of devices or click the name of any external USB microphone you have installed to adjust the microphone settings for your Mac’s internal microphone.

Stage 3: Move the Input Volume slider to the right to maximize the microphone volume, or to the left to decrease the volume.

After adjusting the microphone, close the Audio settings window.

2. Enable Microphone Permission

If you have not enabled microphone permission for an application, you will not be able to use the microphone of the selected application no matter how hard you try. Apple allows you to customize the microphone permission from the System Preferences menu.

Follow the steps below to make the necessary changes.

Stage 1: Click the Apple icon in the menu bar and choose System Preferences.

Step 2: Go to Security & Privacy > Microphone.

Stage 3: Enable microphone permission for the apps you intend to use.

Now open the app where you are having microphone problems and check again.

3. Try Enabling Dictation

This method may or may not work for everyone. You may not know how it works, but some reports claim that enabling macOS Dictation can help fix some internal microphone issues.

All Mac computers have a dictation setting that takes over and launches things that enable your microphone and get it working again for speech-to-text functions.

Here’s how to enable it.

Stage 1: Click the Apple logo in the upper left corner of your Mac’s menu bar.

Step 2: Select System Preferences from the drop-down menu.

Stage 3: Select Keyboard from the menu.

Step 4: Click the Dictation tab at the top of the window.

Step 5: Change dictation to On.

This forces your Mac’s microphone to work for you, even if another app is causing problems.

4. Reset Your Mac’s PRAM

Your Mac’s Parameter RAM, or PRAM, stores all Mac settings, preventing your microphone from working properly. Resetting your PRAM might work – if nothing else got it into gear.

Here’s how it’s done.

Stage 1: Shut down your Mac completely.

Step 2: Hold down Cmd + Alt + P + R as you turn your Mac back on.

Stage 3: Hold all keys for 20 seconds.

Step 4: Release all keys and let your Mac restart normally.

Now test the microphone again and make sure it works. If it still doesn’t work, try the method below.

5. Restart Your Mac in Safe Mode

It is a simple yet effective way to fix microphone problems. It’s always a good idea to apply safe mode. The method checks for specific issues and logs out your Mac in safe mode to fix microphone issues.

Follow the steps below to restart your Mac in Safe Mode.

Stage 1: Shut down your Mac.

Step 2: On your Mac, immediately press the Power button and hold the Shift key until the login screen appears.

Stage 3: After that you may want to enter your password several times and the Mac will start in Safe Mode.

Enjoy Seamless Meetings on Mac

If none of the cheats are working for you, your Mac may have a hardware problem. In such cases, you should make an appointment at the nearest Apple store. If it fixed the microphone issue, let us know which tip worked for you in the comments.

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