Top 5 macOS Sound Tricks You Should Know

Imagine how frustrating it must be trying to play your favourite movie without any sound playing back. An even worse scenario is trying to play a video during an important presentation, only to be failed by the sound. 

Audio problems can occur at any time to everyone and that is why you should be prepared for them. Sometimes you might like to adjust the audio to fit the scenario you’re in. The latter situation also requires preparedness. To help you stay prepared, here are the top 5 macOS Sound tricks you should know:

No sound playback

The most common issue with the sound on macOS and even other computers is no audio playback when playing videos or music. This issue can be very frustrating but the root cause is usually something very minor that can be fixed almost instantly. To find the root cause of the problem, try out playing the audio with various devices. 

For example, try playing the sound using headphones or a Bluetooth speaker. If the audio does not play on either, it means the problem might be more deeply rooted. 

However, if it plays on headsets or a speaker, that indicates you should switch the default audio device from external to the internal speaker. You can do this by heading to the Apple menu and then select System preferences. Afterwards, click on sound and then output to change default audio devices.

Mac does not pick up mic sound

Another problem most common on computers including Mac is losing the audio feed. This can be frustrating because people on the other end of a video conference might think your mic is muted when that is not the case. The mic sound problem is most common when you use different devices such as headphones and sometimes internal mics. 

How can you fix the problem of your internal microphone not working? The fix for this issue is quite simple. You can head to the Apple menu and locate system preferences. Afterwards, click on sound and select input. 

You can then adjust the preference to be an internal mic or whatever device you’re using. If the same problem recurs, do the above steps again and ensure that the preference is consistent with the mic you are using.

Audio driver issues

When these two fixes above do not work, the problem might be much more deep-rooted and need some technical work. You might need to update or sometimes appropriately reset audio drivers into your Mac for the sound to start working flawlessly again. 

Do not worry as you can do this yourself. All that is needed is an internet connection to get it fixed.

Firstly, open the terminal and then insert this code:

 "sudo kill -9 ps ax|grep 'coreaudio[a-z]' | awk '{print $1}'." 

The audio drivers will shut down and reset themselves without impacting computer performance. Sometimes, restarting the computer also fixes this problem because it automatically resets the audio drivers.

Adjusting audio levels

In some cases, you might play a song or movie only to find that the pitch is not that great. Perhaps it sounds too bassy or the treble is too high. These sound effects can ruin your whole experience but fortunately, there is a way to fix it. You do not need a sound engineering degree to get this done. 

You can head to settings or the app you’re using. Locate the preferences section and then click on sound and then playback. Afterwards, you will have to enable a sound enhancer for this trick to work. A screen full of audio sliders will appear and then you’ll have full control of adjusting the levels of each effect. 

No audio on earphones

Whether you are using original Apple earphones or headsets from another brand, they should work. Regardless of whether they connect to the 3.5 mm jack or via Bluetooth, all appropriate functional headsets must work on Mac. If they do not, this indicates that there is a problem with the preferences of the Mac you are using. 

To fix this issue, head to the Apple menu, click on system preferences. Select sound and then output. Ensure that an external headset is selected to hear the audio on the earphones you are using. Sometimes you might have to restart the app you’re using for these updated settings to start taking effect.

The bottom line

Most audio problems on Mac computers do not require intensive technical intervention. You can fix them yourself right where you are in whatever situation you’re in. Do not be slowed down by sound problems by following these tricks. Mac users can also adjust audio levels of sound effects such as bass and treble for an enhanced experience. All of this does not require technical skills, only Mac interface familiarity is required.