From about 2 October my MacBook Air developed the same problems as described above: no sound output and (flash) video playback issues.
Pressing the volume buttons on the keyboard flashes up the level indicator on the screen but it does not change, and also a little "O" with a line through it appears underneath. The Sound Preference panel says "No Input Devices Found" and "No Output Devices Found", and the volume slider is grayed out, set a max, with a grayed Mute box ticked.
Flash video on various sites plays only for a second or two before stopping, although the file continues to load in.
The only software I've installed around the same time this problem first occurred was CoolIris. I have since removed it using its Remove option in one of the menus.
I have also had system crashes when trying to wake from sleep. The machine gives the blue screen and either locks up, or freshly reboots to the Login Screen (with previously logged in users now logged out, ie a restart).
I think, but am not 100% certain, that I updated iTunes after the problem first appeared.
Well, I brought it in for the sound and they said the drive was failing, so they fixed that first. Replaced the drive. And by the way, on the older Airs, you can't swap out the 80 gigs for a bigger drive.
Then, the logic board. No dice. Haven't told them yet. Right now, I'm still trying to back everything up, again. No fan of Time Machine, either. I'm going to look into Carbon Copy Cloner and hope it works on the terrabyte Time Machine thing. Getting very edgy.
My audio disappeared about 6 weeks ago. Didn't really bother me to start with, but took it to the Genius bar after about 4 weeks of no sound. They kept it for a week and replaced I/O door assembly, PCBA Audio Board, Audio Flexy Assembly. Mine was still just in warranty so it didn't cost a penny, the bill would have been £96.60 if I had to pay.
The genius wasn't surprised at my problem, neither were other members of staff that I spoke to.
Is the action of the USB door assembly wearing components out ?????
Is the MBA getting too hot and melting components ?????
I had the same problem just happened to me. I have headphone sound but no internal speaker sound. The sound states no output device found...I read everything here but I found a non-hardware solution on a different forum - maybe try this before sending laptop to repair shop.
They claim that if you are using headphones, sometimes the digital output gets stuck and if you put the headphone jack in the slot a few times it will fix the sticky port and then your speakers will work...I only had to stick the jack in once and my sound is back - no rebooting or anything...worth trying - good luck.
I had all the symptoms you guys have. At first, my Apple Technician said he'll replace the Logic board, he said something about ordering a Thermal Module, and he said when he installed it, it didn't work. He later swapped around parts from another MacBook into my MacBook Air and found that the Audio Flex cable needed to be replaced instead. Check and see if your Display (Lid) opens firmly and doesn't wiggle once it is erected 90 degrees to the machine (opened). If it does move slightly, you might need to get your Display replaced under warranty to prevent damage to the Flex Cable.
Just mention the flex cable to your technician when you take it in because to tell the truth, I wouldn't have a single clue what that is..... All I know is that this thread is exactly what was wrong with my MacBook Air, and now all the faults are fixed.
I have the same problem. How do you let Apple know they have sold a faulty product to this many people? I liked Apple until I read this. I fight with this thing on daily basis. For the money we fork out on these things, we should get a little more attention when the same thing happens to lots of people.
I have had the same problem when I started my Garageband on my MBA (earlier version). It displayed an error and then my audio never get to work again. I am out of warranty, anyone had any idea how much it is to get it repair? I am from Singapore. Thanks.
My wife's MBA has just done the same as the rest of the posts here...no sound..no icon. One poster stated he used an Imic in the USB port. We tried that and it worked. Hopefully it will last until our next trip to the states and we can get it fixed.
I had the same problem as the rest of you: lost sound; lost the volume icon; attempting to adjust volume gives the "no" symbol; the audio menu shows no onboard sound device; and youtube and other videos will not play.
The problem is the Audio board flex cable (part no. 922-8380). It's the cable that runs from the internal speaker assembly to the logic board. I ordered this cable from iFixit for $20, replaced it, and everything is back to normal. There is no need to replace the audio board, logic board, etc. The problem is the cable. At first I thought perhaps internal heat melted the cable, but it doesn't run near the processor where the machine gets hot. I'm just guessing but I think the problem is that the cable has to be sharply bent in two places to fit properly, and most likely the tiny wires inside are breaking. I examined my old cable with a magnifying lens, but even with magnification it's impossible to tell if the wires are broken because the plastic coating discolors at the bend points and obscures the wires inside. I think that some people are getting sound intermittently if the wires are damaged but not completely separated, or perhaps it depends on precisely which of the 5 or 6 wires have parted. Anyway, if your MBA is out of warranty the DIY repair is not difficult, and the only tool required is a #0 screwdriver.
I have further evidence that the flex cable and/or connections between the internal speaker assembly and the logic board are indeed the cause of many if not all of the problem.
Rather than replace the cable I used the tried & true method of simply reseating it on both ends. This is not for the faint-hearted, but about as easy as it gets if you are willing to open up your Air (look at the helpful pictures on ifixit.com first). I didn't bother removing the hard disk even though I could not completely unclip the audio cable with the disk in place, but I was able to wiggle it more or less free and then reseat it firmly.
Note that I found that a lot of the screws holding the back cover and the battery in place were loose so I made sure to use a dab of lock-tite on each one. I'm wondering if the loose screws contributed to the unseating of the audio cable.
I noted that there was a lot of debate as to whether this is a hardware or software problem, and I wanted to point out that it's quite possible that it is both and that there may be more than one underlying cause. But for those of you who, like me, had their MBA sound start failing with increasing frequency until it finally stopped working altogether, I would say you almost definitely have a hardware problem. Software can fail intermittently, but it usually doesn't get worse over time.
I'm guessing that if the cable or cable connections are flaky, the logic board is losing communication with the audio assembly and causing the audio software to fail, flash video to stop working, etc. I suspect that once this fault happens, it is unable to recover until the next restart.
Just happened to me last night on an original macbook air. Of course I'm out of warranty so I'm not even going to bother going to apple since even when it was in warranty and I had the hdd reporting failures they told me they couldn't repair it for free because my air had a slight dent on it, I mean the thing is made of lightweight Aluminum and travels everywhere with me, I actually use my mac.
Guess I'll be replacing this with a windows based laptop after this experience.
As a followup to my last post about reseating the flex cable. Unfortunately my fix only lasted a day, so I now think the cable itself is bad. Probably my moving it around a bit caused it to work temporarily.
Also, I would retract my suggestion about using lock-tite, especially for the internal screws. I decided to try reseating the cable fully by moving the hard disk enough to completely release that end and I ended up stripping one of the internal battery screws that I had used lock-tite on a couple of days ago. Not good.
I don't really know what the right answer is for those screws - literally every single one of them were slightly to mostly loose! I guess you just have to open up and retorque them from time to time, but I am no longer using lock-tite!
BEWARE OF APPLE MAC BOOK AIR - The computers are dodgy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is scandalous
Well I have had exactly the same problem with the sound not only that all the problems listed bellow too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved my first apple and it lasted for years. I have had the air less that an year and all the computer parts failing one by one!!!!
