Mic Not Working on Mac? Fixes for Zoom, Teams, Chrome & FaceTime

Split the problem in two before changing anything: is it the microphone, or the app? Open the tonal.fm mic test in Safari or Chrome, allow the microphone and talk. If the waveform moves and the meter says Good level, the hardware and macOS are fine and the problem is in the app you are trying to use: skip to the app section below. If the browser can’t get the mic at all, start with permissions. If it can, but the meter stays flat, work through input device and volume.

The mic test also lists every microphone your Mac sees, so you can switch between the built-in mic, a headset and a USB mic and compare them in a few seconds. Nothing is uploaded.

macOS asks the first time an app wants the microphone. Click Don’t Allow once and that app gets silence from then on, with no further prompt. To fix it on macOS Ventura (13), Sonoma (14), Sequoia (15) and later:

1. Choose Apple menu › System Settings.
2. Click Privacy & Security in the sidebar, then Microphone.
3. Turn on the app: zoom.us, Microsoft Teams, Discord, or your browser (Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge).
4. Quit the app completely (Command-Q) and open it again.

On macOS Monterey (12) and earlier the same list is under System Preferences › Security & Privacy › Privacy › Microphone. Apple’s own apps, such as FaceTime and Safari, may not appear there; Safari asks per website instead (section 4). If an app is missing from the list, it has never asked: open it, start a call or its mic test, and allow the prompt.

Seeing an orange dot in the menu bar? That is Apple’s recording indicator: some app has the mic right now. Open Control Center to see which one.

Open System Settings › Sound, then click Input. The list shows every input your Mac can use: MacBook Pro Microphone, a headset, a webcam, a USB mic, and any virtual devices. Select the one you mean and talk. The input level should light up as you speak.

• • Level never moves: wrong device selected, a hardware mute switch, or a dead cable. Try the built-in mic to rule out the Mac.
• • Level moves a little: drag the input volume slider up. Some USB mics ignore this slider and have a gain knob on the body instead.
• • You plugged a mic in and nothing changed: macOS doesn’t always switch input to a new device. Select it here, or in the app.

On Macs that support it, Control Center also shows a Mic Mode button while an app is using the mic (Standard, Voice Isolation, Wide Spectrum). Voice Isolation filters out background sound, including any music you want the call to hear; switch to Standard if that is the problem.

Web apps like Google Meet, Teams on the web or our mic test need two permissions: macOS must allow the browser (section 2), and the browser must allow the website.

• Chrome: click the icon at the left end of the address bar and turn Microphone on. The full list is in Settings › Privacy and security › Site settings › Microphone, where you can also pick which mic Chrome uses by default.
• Safari: choose Safari › Settings, click Websites, then Microphone, and set the site to Allow or Ask. Deny means the site can’t use it.
• Firefox: click the permissions icon in the address bar and clear the Blocked entry so Firefox asks again, or open Settings › Privacy & Security › Permissions › Microphone › Settings…
• Edge: same as Chrome: the icon at the left of the address bar, or edge://settings/content/microphone.

Reload the page after changing a site permission.

Every call app keeps its own microphone setting. If System Settings shows your voice but the call doesn’t hear you, this is the usual cause.

Also check the app’s own mute, which is separate from macOS. For the sharing side of each app (sound with a screen share, music modes), see our call app sound reference for Mac.

AirPods and other Bluetooth headphones have two modes. One is for listening in high quality; the other carries sound both ways so you can talk. Apple says that when an app uses the headphones’ microphone, the Mac switches to the second mode and audio quality and volume drop until the mic is no longer in use. That is why music sounds flat the moment a call starts.

• • Want good sound in your ears? Pick the Mac’s built-in mic (or a wired or USB mic) as the input in the app and keep the headphones as the speaker. The headset stays in its listening mode.
• • Headset mic not picked up? Make sure it is connected (not just paired), then select it under System Settings › Sound › Input and in the app’s own menu.
• • Quality stuck low after a call: Apple’s fix is to quit apps using the headset mic, close Sound settings, and reselect the headphones in Control Center › Sound.

BlackHole, Loopback, Soundflower, an Aggregate Device made in Audio MIDI Setup, and apps like Patch all add inputs that look like microphones. A virtual input only carries what an app sends into it. If Zoom or Chrome picked one by mistake, or the app feeding it isn’t running, the call hears silence while your real mic works fine. Aggregate devices add a twist: an app may only listen to the first two channels, which can belong to the wrong device.

The fix is the same either way: pick your real microphone in the app. If you added a virtual device on purpose, open the app that feeds it and check that it is running and sending.

If what you actually want is for the call to hear your voice plus music, a video or a browser tab, Patch, our Mac app, does that: it mixes your microphone with the apps you choose into one virtual mic, Patch Mix, that you select in Zoom, Teams, Meet or Discord. It’s Mac only and paid after a trial, and it won’t fix a mic that macOS can’t hear; get the steps above working first. More in how to play music through your mic.

Try these in order; most problems are gone by step 2.

1. Quit the app (Command-Q, not just close the window) and reopen it. Unplug and reconnect a USB or wired mic.
2. Restart the Mac’s audio service. In Terminal, run sudo killall coreaudiod and enter your admin password. macOS starts the service again by itself. Caution: every app loses sound for a moment, so leave any call or recording first. If you’d rather not use Terminal, restart the Mac instead.
3. Reset microphone permissions so every app asks again: tccutil reset Microphone. This clears the choice for all apps, so you’ll see the prompts again and must click Allow in each one.
4. Update macOS and the app. Call apps fix device bugs often.

Suspect the hardware when a mic stays silent in every app, in the mic test and in Voice Memos, with permissions on and the input volume up. Narrow it down:

• • An external mic that fails on your Mac but works on another computer or phone points at the Mac’s port, adapter or settings; one that fails everywhere is the mic or its cable.
• • A built-in MacBook mic that hears nothing with the lid open, while external mics work, needs a repair. Check the mic holes for dust or a case covering them first.
• • Crackle that comes and goes as you move the cable is a worn cable or plug.

For a built-in mic, Apple Support or an Apple Authorized Service Provider can run a proper diagnosis.