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User profile for user: natebernstein
natebernstein Author
User level: Level 1
12 points

MacBook Air sound via USB hub/external speakers dropped inexplicably

Hi. I recently switched my home-office setup from an iMac to a MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023, OS 13.6), external display and USB/HDMI/Ethernet hub. I've had a pair of Bose speakers that I used with the iMac, which have been working perfectly via the new setup for a few weeks. This morning I restarted my computer and can't get any sound out of the Bose speakers.


I checked Settings>Sound and made sure KT_USB_AUDIO (the hub) is selected as audio output source. I can switch to other sources, like the MacBook and external display speakers, and those work fine. I also checked connections/power on the Bose speakers and they look fine. I also could hear noise/static via those speakers when I unplugged/replugged connections a couple times, which indicates to me they are not dead.


This literally was working perfectly yesterday afternoon. The only thing I did was unplug the MacBook from the hub and bring it downstairs at the end of the workday (as I do every day), plug it back in this morning and restart the MacBook. Microsoft AutoUpdate also updated a few apps early this morning before I plugged into the hub. And now no matter what I try I can't get sound out of the Bose speakers.


Any ideas?

Posted on May 16, 2024 6:44 AM

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1 reply
User profile for user: natebernstein
natebernstein Author
User level: Level 1
12 points

May 20, 2024 7:29 AM in response to natebernstein

Tried a simple test by plugging the speakers directly into the MacBook Air headphone jack instead of the docking station and am getting audio out of the external speakers. Seems like maybe the hub failed? A bit of an inconvenience to have to also plug in/unplug the headphone jack each time I dock and undock the computer but at least speakers are working again.

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MacBook Air sound via USB hub/external speakers dropped inexplicably

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