How to Fix a Mac Microphone Not Working

Troubleshoot and fix microphone issues on your Mac. Resolve input settings, privacy permissions, and hardware configurations in minutes.

1. Verify the selected input device. Open System Settings and navigate to Sound. Click the Input tab and ensure the correct microphone is selected from the list. Speak into the microphone and watch the Input level bar to confirm it detects audio signal.
2. Grant microphone permissions. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone. Locate the application experiencing issues and ensure the toggle switch is set to On. If the application is not listed, it lacks the necessary system-level access to request hardware input.
3. Check for software conflicts. Close all other applications that might utilize the microphone, such as Zoom, Teams, or browser tabs. Sometimes a background process holds an exclusive lock on the audio input driver, preventing other software from accessing it.
4. Reset the Core Audio daemon. Open Terminal from your Utilities folder. Type sudo killall coreaudiod and press Enter, then provide your administrator password when prompted. This command forces the Mac to refresh its connection to all audio hardware.
5. Perform a hardware diagnostic test. Shut down your Mac. For Apple Silicon models, press and hold the power button until the Startup Options screen appears, then press Command + D to enter Diagnostics mode. Follow the on-screen prompts to scan for hardware failure related to the microphone array.