MacBook Air no audio output device found ???????? *please help*

This exact same thing has happened to my MacBook Air (original 1.6 GHz, 80GB HD model).

No sound (volume icon in menubar is grey) and the OS doesn't see ANY audio hardware.

Just spoke with AppleCare; was told by the helpful agent that I'd have to bring the MacBook Air into a local store that provides authorized Apple repair.

My MacBook Air is out of warranty by about four months.

I'm going to check out the rest of the posts in this topic and another topic that apparently has a photo walkthru of replacing an audio cable.

In what are probably unrelated problems:
- Flash video only ever plays for about 3 seconds in a web browser before stalling (latest versions Safari, FireFox, Chrome, Camino and latest version of Flash)
- my screen hinges are very loose causing the screen to wobble back and forth
- the internal 80 GB Hard Drive makes clicking noises that Apple says requires replacement

This MacBook Air is the poorest quality Mac of ALL the Macs I've owned going back 17 years:
- my 17-inch MacBook Pro, purchased in September 2008, has been carted to and from work everyday and shows NO SIGNS of wear and hasn't exhibited any physical problems other than having to replace the original battery about a month ago due to no longer holding a charge.
- The MacBook Air is about the same age and has only left the house 3 or 4 times - it lives on my night-table and is only used for 30 minutes first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
- Every other Mac I've purchased is still like new - laptops AND desktops

-peter

Exactly the same to me. No sound, no video (including those on Apple site). 1st gen MBA, 80 GB.
I tried everything. The SMC reset worked once, then it lost again sound after a few minutes. Afterwards, nothing worked. Reinstallation of SL, plugging and unplugging headphones, deleting plist, repair permissions, toying with settings, zap PRAM. Nada. Nothing.
I suspect it's the cable, probably because of overheating.
Very poor quality product. Obviously a design issue.

Its hardware.

I've just replaced the audio ribbon cable and got my sound back. Quite why this ribbon cable fails I don't know. Its located right underneath the battery which I suppose gets warm when its charging, but surely it can't be that!
Anyway the cable cost about £34GBP delivered and it took about 30-45 minutes to fix with the help of www.ifixit.com.

Happy Days!

My audio just went, after my MacBook Air's visit to the shop. Last time round they forgot to connect the battery, I was hoping they hadn't seated the audio board properly but no, they tested at the Genius Bar and said the board had gone.

At this point, I went in a proper strop, criticising the design and reliability of the machine with just a couple of rude words, mentioning how the logic board, the hinges, the hard drive (and coincidentally the Time Capsule that backed it up) had all failed in the last year. Then I apologised for my language, told him i knew it wasn't his fault etc etc.

Cut a long story short... I'm getting full credit for a replacement. Good on them. I was miffed a few months ago when I had to pay towards the hinge repair (I was on a deadline, couldn't manage a delay of even a couple days back and forth) but this more than makes up for it. It seems they're either accepting there is a generic problem with the audio, or else accepting the (convincing) evidence that my machine is a lemon.

But I think I have to put the money towards a MacBook Pro. Much as I love the MAcBook Air concept, I think the execution is flawed.

my MacBook Air sound card stopped working today after 18 months, doesn't seem to be any other ways of locating the hardware and have tried the SMC reset and resetting the PRAM... do i need to bring it to an apple service center? is this a common hardware failure and manufacturing fault?... i will not want to pay to fix something i did not break at least give me an excuse that i broke it because i did not over use this machine ever as i am basically on my other machines ten times the usage time and this never happens!

*** I happen to have bought my MacBook air from kuala lumpur and had some guy from some apple reseller called MACHINES looked at it and they quoted me 450-500 pounds 2145.00 ringgit (that's their local currency) to have the whole logic board changed. I am definitely being taken for a ride. This is horrible. I am so going to chuck the MacBook air in the bin if it's going to cost 500 pounds for having it fixed. Calling apple customer care and sending MacBook feedbacks to the US and hopefully something can be done. **** this **** for a hole in the ***.

Brought mine in. No sound and loose hinges. Apple replaced the whole display AND the sound board for FREE. My Macbook is well past warranty and not on Apple Care. Brought it to the NYC SoHo store. Spoke to a nice person there who said they'd check it out and then they fixed the whole thing for no charge. Good thing too because I was ready to fight about the sound card. Seems like an serious design flaw. Good luck everyone.

Have a 1.8Ghz Air (Rev 1, I believe) I bought refurb thru Apple 11 months ago. I think I'm in the boat, BUT my sys profiler sees audio ("Intel High Def Audio, internal speaker"). Just the Sound sys pref that says "No output devices found".

I skimmed through the posts, and it seems like a lot of people aren't seeing audio even via sys profiler. So I would think my problem is not the same, right? Anyone else like me, with "half" the problem?

(For the record, I've been able to get audio back via a standard reboot. Then lost it again.)

I had the same problem. I replaced the audio cable with complete resolution. Go to fixit.com. They have great illustrations. The part arrived in 5 days. It took 45 minutes open and close. Oddly everything is working better. Battery life is better, processor and wireless is better. There must be shorts in the ribbon that cause a host of issues. Thank you Fixit.com There are many forums describing this problem.

Hiya,

I know this is from a couple of years ago now - but I just tried your solution but it didn't work for me unfortunately. I do have the sound ICON in my menu bar, but no sound, and no output device found in System Preferences/Sound. Also like everyone else, it was a very sudden, sound just GONE this morning.

Have you since come across any other solutions for this?

Best,
Clair

My rev A MacBook Air has also developed this problem in the last month. The out of warranty hinge was replaced free at the beginning of 2010. The audio ribbon problem is incredibly frustrating. I opened it up and re-seated the audio ribbon cable, and that fixed the problem for just 24 hours. It would be great if Apple would come out and recognize this as a common problem and offer to repair it as they did the hinges. Us early adopters are paying a price for our loyalty.

Hi This has happened to me as well - no sound!! I am a technophobe and could not dismantle anything from Ikea let alone apple. Has anybody taken this cable fault to an apple dealer and got it repaired for a reasonable price?

Thanks for any help

Dear All,

I have experienced the same thing on a 2.2GHz Macbook Pro 15" Intel Core Duo, and here is the story...No audio devices found at all. Re-installed Snow Leopard and ran all updates. Still, no audio devices found. Took the battery out and depressed power button for 10 seconds. Still, no devices. Finally, ran the quick diagnostics test. After the test completed, I rebooted to find that audio was restored! To get into diagnostic mode, on 10.5 (Leopard) or earlier computers, you can simply start the computer while pressing "D." On 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or later, you must use a full retail version install disc (not the upgrade disc). Simply put the full retail installer disc of Snow Leopard in your computer and restart while holding "D." Run the diagnostic test, restart and see if your audio is restored!