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

Maybe when you pick it up you could do some "detective" work for us.

(1) Inquire if it's "end-of-life" for these cables?
(2) Are they failing due to heat against it?
(3) Is it that they get pulled loose/fray/break?
(4) Or.....I wonder if just re-seating it, resets stuff that the laptop sees and it's "new" again?
(5) Is this just "normal wear and tear"?

What is the Apple policy on "normal wear and tear" anyway, certainly we all are not listening to our "iTunes" so much that we "wear" out that cable.....are we?

Will do. Once I get my MBA back, I'll let you know what the report says. I don't expect them to tell me what caused it to fail, though.

My problem didn't happen until several weeks after I installed Snow Leopard

One pretty compelling argument against it being a hardware / ribbon cable fault - the exact same fault just happened this evening on my Mac Mini (1.83 Core Duo, 10.6.1) aswell.... Have the Air booked into Apple store next week (appalling customer service by store even trying to get it booked in, but that's another story) so they will get to look at two for the price of one.

In owning eleven macs in the last 5 years, and having been something of a Mac evangelist, I've never, ever, been this disappointed in Apple. Flashy new iMacs and Mac Mini servers look great and all, but if I can't trust the machines anymore, to me they're worth precisely nothing at all...

I had this problem and fixed it by re-seating the connectors and readjusting the routing of the audio cable inside the machine. I'm certain this was the cause of the problem in my cause.

After I opened the Mac and moved the battery aside, I could see that the audio board is attached to the motherboard via a flat cable that's routed under the battery, with two serious right angle folds in it. I wiggled and re-seated the connectors and fiddled with the routing of the cable until the audio was consistently working. I tested with the Mac apart by powering the Mac on just long enough to get the screen lit, listening for the tone, and then powering it off by pressing and holding the power button. This took a few tries -- I'd screw down the audio board and test it, then screw down the battery and test it, then reattach the back and test it.

Eventually I'll get around to replacing the cable, as this sort of flakiness is definitely due to either a broken wire within the cable or a loose connector on the cable ends. While I was in there I also tightened the screws on the hinges, they were definitely loose and making my screen flop around like a newborn's head.


I removed the battery (nine screws) and the audio board on the left (two screws). The screws are different sizes so I saved myself future sorrow by laying them out on a piece of paper, map-like, as I removed them.


The bad boy. I pulled the cable away from the case and temporarily straightened it out, relaxing the bends in the folds and giving it a healing massage (candles, Enya). After I did this my audio came back to me.


For good measure I re-seated the connectors on the cable ends. I wasn't able to take the top connector all the way off because there's a plastic tab from the hard drive mounting above it. I wiggled the connector as much as I could, then I made sure it was firmly seated.


I flipped the audio board over and re-seated the connector there, too. Initially I thought the problem was with the audio board components touching the bare metal of the case, so I shoved a piece of iPod Shuffle packaging in there before I screwed it back down (how it got there will be a mystery to future generations).

I hope this helps.

Guys,

Like yourself, one day I noticed that my audio disappeared out of the blue. When trying to increase or decrease the volume, there are no filled in sounds bars and the no-sound symbol shows up. I panicked.

Today, I fixed the problem by replacing the audio cable that I ordered from iFixit. Just search for Macbook Air Audio Cable at their site.

After the installation of the new audio cable, my sound is back.

My theory:

If you're like me, you sometimes hold the MacBook Air by the bottom right corner (where your right hand rests while typing) while the screen is open. It's tempting to do this because the computer is so thin and light. The problem is, the audio cable gets squished between the aluminum and the battery. The pressure from your thumb plus maybe the battery heat kills the audio cable over time. The audio cable is right underneath the right hand rest part so I suggest never holding the MacBook Air by that corner ever again!

I too had the exact problem listed several times in this thread. No sound intermittently and then one day it just failed all together. Nothing to do with a software update! This is definitely a hardware problem people.
Despite serious reservations, I elected to order the new audio cable from ifixit.com and with the great detailed instructions and photos on their website I was actually able to fix it myself for a fraction of the price quoted by the local Apple repairer (Around $30 versus the quoted $130 to fault find plus parts and labour after that!!!). *I'm happy to admit that my MacBook Air now works perfectly again, however......................*

I am absolutely annoyed that Apple refuse to recognize this is obviously a common problem and it should be fixed by them whether you're still under warranty or not!!! Come on Apple wake up to yourselves and admit it's an issue and help out the thousands of others that will come across this problem in the near future and save them from the pain staking effort of having to pull apart their own computer to fix what is clearly *a manufacturer error*.

Cheers and beers all, and good luck!!!

I completely agree - if this is a widespread issue of hardware failing it calls into question the fitness for purpose of the hardware in the first place. Will see what they say in Belfast Apple store tomorrow and post back on this thread.

My Mini with the same problem has fixed itself, presumably after cooling down switched off overnight...

Message was edited by: peter.ryan

Apple store also say its a hardware fault. £60.95 to repair inc replacing ribbon cable and audio board. Will be without laptop for 14 days. I think I'll try the incredibly helpful detailed instructions above - big thanks Joe Holt and all willing info providers/helpers!! You should all be on commission from Apple!!

Message was edited by: peter.ryan

I had the same problem. The Built-in audio output on my MBA stopped working two
days ago. I had the laptop for less than 2 years but the warranty had expired. I went to the Genius Bar at 5th ave. Apple store in manhattan today. The guys there told me it was
a hardware problem and the sound card and cable need to be replaced. It will cost me more than $300. The guys were not helpful and rude. I am very disappointed with the experince. I took my MBA to the digital society, an apple approved tech support shop to have the problem fixed. They charge me half what apple store would have! I expected better quality than this from Apple.

I ended up replacing the cable. I bought one from welovemacs for a little bit more than ifixit because I am dumb. But it came overnight and 24 hours later my sound is fixed. The ifixit guides are outstanding. One word of caution, according to welovemacs there are three variants of the same cable, depending on the year model of the MacBook Air. Double check what the site has to say about the right one (my Air is one of the first productions off the line, note the "DATE 0208" on the sticker, so it was simple to figure mine out).

It sounds like the geniuses want to replace the sound board too, but everyone's experience in this forum indicates that it's just the cable. So spend the 40 or 50 bucks, grab some jeweler's screwdrivers, and go to town.

On a side note, I'm totally impressed with the innards of the MBA. I've owned all flavors of Mac laptops, and I completely expected this one to be untouchable inside, owing to it's micro size and the presumed necessity for all the electronics to be one monolithic chunk. Instead I think it's one of the more hackable Mac laptops ever. You can actually identify the speaker wires coming from the sound card. It looks trivial to replace the drive, battery, etc. Also, if you do tighten the screws on the hinges (you should, they wiggle loose quickly) apply some locktite while you're in there.

Same problem here. 1st generation MacBook Air, lost it's sound after 10.6.1. Pressing volume keys gives the "not allowed" symbol, Volume icon is grayed out. Videos stop after a few seconds. Done all the things suggested (PRAM zap, plist files etc.), not even 10.6.2 fixed it.

I'm starting to believe it's a hardware failure. My MacBook Air is one of the original overheating ones (when playing Flash or iTunes video) and needs a constant CoolBook Air presence to keep heat under control.

The problem is so widespread I'd say it's inherent to MacBook Air design and should be fixed for free.

Same problem here. Just happened after update OS10.6.2 yesterday. Tried everything with no avail. Will try to have cable replaced

Ditto (failed slowly over the last week). Plus the loose hinge problem (flops like the above-mentioned baby's head). Plus my battery is shot (down to 839mAh capacity). Ugh.

Message was edited by: Hans Tobeason

I had an audio output problem that seemed to occur suddenly, for no apparent reason. The day before I had been using the audio jack to connect to my speakers for a webinar.

If you have a sudden unexplained audio output issue, check your audio output jack. If you see a red light in the jack, that is may be your problem. Insert an audio device into the jack until the red light disappears. I had to do this multiple times. Finally, the light was out and the audio returned to my computer.