Use headphone jack as "line in" on MacBook Air 2017?

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Use headphone jack as "line in" on MacBook Air 2017?

Hi all, as a podcaster using two USB mics into my MacBook Air, I'm looking to add another line in option for a third mic or a mixing board to record audio. Previous posts on this subject are 5-7 years old and in those, in addition to some YouTube vids from the same timeframe, the headphone jack on MacBook Pros from that era seem to have this capability. Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcm49M28lSI

The "use audio port for..." dropdown in sound settings does not appear in my settings menu. I tried plugging simple lavalier mic into the headphone jack, my Mac does not recognize it as a line in. So, questions:

Does the headphone jack in the 2017 MacBook Air have the capability to function as a line in, and if so how do I configure it?
If the answer to the above is "no", will Catalina add this functionality?

Thanks in advance for your help...

MacBook Air 13", macOS 10.14

Posted on Jun 29, 2019 8:03 AM

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Answer 1

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Lanny

Level 6

13,225 points

Jun 29, 2019 7:12 PM in response to wordstoeatby

IAW the specifications, no.
Speculation about Catalina is not allowed in this forum. But seeing that the issue is related to hardware, software won't be a solution.

CONNECTIONS

Wi-Fi 802.11ac

Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.0

Ethernet Optional Apple USB Ethernet Adapter or Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter

Modem None

USB 2 - up to 5 Gbps

Thunderbolt 1 - up to 20 Gbps

Display Thunderbolt digital video output

Infrared None

Audio In 2 - Built-in microphones

Audio Out 1 - 3.5-mm headphone jack, 2 - Built-in speakers

Security Slot None

Note that past capabilities for audio input on the headphone jack was related to the use of the mono-microphone on the Apple headphones that shipped with iPhones.

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Answer 2

Lyssa

Level 8

41,405 points

Jun 29, 2019 9:04 AM in response to wordstoeatby

Hopefully someone with more knowledge can pop in, but I think the 3.5mm connector needs to be one with 3 rings for the Mac to recognize it. A lot of microphones just have the 2 rings.

~Lyssa

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Use headphone jack as "line in" on MacBook Air 2017?

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