Facetime audio not working

Question

Level 1

10 points

Facetime audio not working

I've got a Mac Pro with El Capitan (highest compatible OS for my hardware) and I've got USB mic/speakers connected. For a couple years, I've used facetime on my Mac to make and receive calls via my iphone. I recently disconnected them to move my computer and after setting everything back up, the speakers don't work for Facetime. The sound only comes out of some tiny built-in speaker from my tower (the one that makes sound when your computer first turns on). The speakers do work for other apps like when I listen to music. I've also already gone into the sound settings in system preferences and made sure that the output device is the USB speakers. Is there a way to fix the Facebook app or change the sound settings?

Mac Pro, 10.11

Posted on Feb 5, 2019 3:11 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Eric Root

Level 10

685,251 points

Feb 9, 2019 12:21 PM in response to booter-ca

Handoff Continuity Troubleshooting

Handoff Continuity Troubleshooting (2)

iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac using Continuity - Connect

Reply

Answer 2

i_rina

Community Specialist

Feb 6, 2019 2:31 PM in response to booter-ca

Hey booter-ca,

Happy to hear you got it figured out! Thanks for letting us know.

Have a good week.

Reply

Answer 3

Eric Root

Level 10

685,251 points

Feb 10, 2019 12:38 PM in response to booter-ca

You are welcome.

Reply

Answer 4

brenden dv

Community Specialist

Feb 6, 2019 12:59 PM in response to booter-ca

Hey booter-ca,

I see that you're having some trouble with FaceTime not providing any sound when you set the output to be speakers, but other audio sources are working fine.

I would recommend as a first step, test the FaceTime audio while in safe mode. This can help tell us if the issue is possible login items. Be aware that internet access is limited in safe mode, but sometimes just starting in this mode and then restarting normally can resolve issues like this: Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support

If the sound still isn't working with FaceTime only, try creating a test user account and see if the issue persists. Creating a test user account can help determine if the issue is caused by third-party software: How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac

Keep us updated.

Take care.

Reply

Answer 5

booter-ca Author

Level 1

10 points

Feb 8, 2019 6:38 PM in response to i_rina

I guess I spoke too soon. It worked once after the PRAM reset but now it's worse...neither mic nor speakers work. I reset the system in safe mode, and couldn't do any calls because safe mode doesn't allow any audio input or output. Then I restarted the computer and tried again in my usual user account. No luck. So then I logged into a different user account and tried calling from there and no luck. I did a little more troubleshooting and was able to confirm that Facetime Call Using iPhone specifically doesn't work, but Facetime audio works fine. So I'm thinking maybe some kind of data transmission problem between the phone and computer?

Reply

Answer 6

booter-ca Author

Level 1

10 points

Feb 10, 2019 12:34 PM in response to Eric Root

Thanks, this worked... the first link suggested I log out of icloud on both my devices and restart, then log back in. Then turn off the Call using other devices and turn back on. So yeah, all fixed now

Reply

Answer 7

booter-ca Author

Level 1

10 points

Feb 6, 2019 2:16 PM in response to brenden dv

Hey, thanks for the suggestions. I think I solved the problem already by resetting the NVRAM / PRAM. It seems to work well now.

Reply

Facetime audio not working

Similar questions