Microphone settings in Mac OS x

Learn how to check if your microphone is set correctly, fix the settings if it isn't.

Note: This guide was updated for OS X El Capitan 10.11.6., but was originally written for OS X Mavericks 10.9.2. You may notice small differences (the only one we found was the Apple icon, which changed a bit).

Follow the steps below to determine what the problem is and fix it:

Step 1Click on the Apple icon present in the top left corner. A menu will be displayed as shown in the image below.

Step 2Click “System Preferences”.

Step 3: In system preferences select “Sound” either by clicking the icon or searching for it in the text box in the top right corner.

Step 4: Under “Sound” select the “Input” tab.

Step 5: The list of recording devices will appear. Make sure “Internal Microphone” is selected. Try speaking into the microphone, and check that the blue bars move next to the input level when you speak, (see screenshot).

Step 6: If the blue bars move and increase when you talk, it means your microphone is set up correctly (What should you do if your microphone still doesn't work even though it is set up correctly?)

Step 7:If the blue bars do not go up when you speak into the microphone, continue with the instructions.

Step 8:Slide the volume input control all the way to the right to set it to maximum volume.

Step 9: Now check again to see if you see the blue bars moving when you speak into the microphone: if they go up, your microphone is now configured properly. If the microphone still does not work, continue following the instructions.

Step 10:Turn off your computer and turn it on again. If that doesn't help, try resetting the PRAM or creating a new account.

Reset PRAM

Step 1Turn off the computer and turn it on again.

Step 2: Press and hold the “Command” (⌘), “Option”, “P” and “R” keys (all together) before the gray screen appears. Press and hold the keys until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound again.

Step 3: Once you reset the PRAM, you need to re-configure the microphone settings. Return to the beginning of this guide and follow steps 1-9 again to test your microphone.

Create a new account

Create a new account from “System Preferences”, in the “Users and Groups” panel as shown in the image below:

Sign out and then sign back in with the new account. You will need to log out of the current account instead of doing the quick user switch. Once you log in to the new account, try testing the microphone (following steps 1-9).

If it works, then the problem is with your user account. If it still doesn't work, the problem is either with the device, or there is an issue with your operating system that this guide didn't cover (even though we try, we can't cover everything). Try the Apple Support Forums for additional assistance.

What to do if your microphone is set up correctly (with the blue bars moving when you talk into the microphone) but it still doesn't work in some program?

If you could see the blue bars move when you speak into the microphone, that means it's set up correctly, and your Mac can “listen” to you. To verify that, use our microphone test and verify that the browser is indeed receiving input from your microphone.

The program, however, is not configured correctly. You could be listening to the wrong microphone, or perhaps its volume is too low. Try playing with the program settings, or contact your support team if you're not sure how to do this or need help.