Start here: is the problem the Mac or one app?
Open our mic test in Safari, Chrome or Firefox and speak.
- The meter moves: the microphone works and macOS lets your browser use it. If another app can’t hear you, the cause is that app’s permission or its own microphone choice. Go to fix 3.
- The test is blocked: the browser itself isn’t allowed. Go to fix 3, then fix 4.
- The meter stays flat: your Mac is probably listening to a different input, or the volume is down. Start with fix 1.
1. Choose the right input
A Mac can have several microphones at once: the built-in one, a headset, a display with a microphone, AirPods, or an iPhone used as a webcam. Apps follow the input you choose here unless they have their own setting.
- Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Sound in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.
- Click Input.
- Select the microphone you want from the list of input devices.
A display with a built-in microphone shows up as its own entry. If you use a headset with one combined plug, your Mac’s headphone port accepts its microphone too.
2. Set the input volume
On the same Input screen, speak and watch the input level meter. If it barely moves, drag the input volume slider to the right. If it hits the end often, drag it to the left. Raise it for a quiet voice, and lower it for a loud room or a loud instrument.
3. Allow the app in Privacy & Security
macOS asks each app for permission the first time it wants the microphone. If you said no then, the app stays blocked.
- Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Privacy & Security in the sidebar.
- Click Microphone.
- Turn on the app you need. For a website, turn on the browser you use, such as Safari, Chrome or Firefox.
Quit and reopen the app after you change it, so it picks up the new permission.
4. Allow the website in your browser
Your browser also keeps a choice for each website.
Safari: choose Safari > Settings, then click Websites. Select Microphone in the list on the left. Find the site under Configured Websites and set it to Ask or Allow. Use When visiting other websites to set the rule for every other site. These settings don’t sync between your Apple devices, so set them on each Mac.
Chrome: click the icon to the left of the web address, open Site settings and set Microphone to allow.
5. Check Mic Mode in video calls
In apps that support it, such as FaceTime, your Mac can filter the sound before the app gets it.
- While the app is open, click Video in the menu bar, then Mic Mode.
- Choose the mode you need:
- Voice Isolation filters out background sounds. That helps on a noisy call, but it also removes music or an instrument you want people to hear.
- Wide Spectrum includes the sounds around you.
- Standard goes back to the normal mode.
The options vary by app. If people hear your voice but not the guitar you’re playing, Voice Isolation is the likely reason.
6. See which app is using the microphone
When an app is using the microphone, or used it recently, the recording indicator appears in Control Center. Open Control Center while you speak in your call. If there is no indicator, the app isn’t reading the microphone at all. Go back to fix 3 and check its permission, then check the app’s own audio settings.
If nothing helps
Restart your Mac and try the mic test again with a different microphone, for example a wired headset. If a second microphone works and the built-in one never moves the meter, contact Apple Support about the built-in microphone.
Check that it worked
Speak into the mic test once more and look for a steady level while you talk. Then open the app you had trouble with and check its own audio settings list the same input you selected in step 1.