USB Audio Input not working

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doge Author

Level 1

20 points

USB Audio Input not working

Help!

I am baffled.

MacBook 13" Catalina. USB AUdio devices (tried two types, 96kHz/)

Plug in - device recognised for IN and out by Audio-Midi and apps, sets 96kHz OK

Output a tone from audio app (Signal Inspector or other) - audio output works OK

Input audio from external audio source - input dead, checked systems > preferences > sound - settings all OK. Still no audio input to apps

Restart Macbook.- Audio IN now works!!!

How to get audio in working without re-start???

MacBook

Posted on Nov 29, 2019 8:30 AM

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Answer 1

leroydouglas

Level 10

199,086 points

Nov 29, 2019 11:53 AM in response to doge

doge wrote:

Thanks, tried that one, twice. But no luck.

One thing I have noticed is that using system. preferences > sound panel when switching from the INPUT tab to the OUTPUT tab (where the USB device both shows up) there is a long delay before it happens, compare to switching from INPUT to OUTPUT which is immediate. As though some background process is being shut down or restarted?

More ideas please

To trouble shoot further you can:

Try a SafeBoot https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262

Takes noticeable longer to get to the login screen, does a 5-15 minute disk repair before it fully boots up, and certain system caches get cleared and rebuilt, including dynamic loader cache, etc. Login and test. Reboot and test.

This test will tell you if third party interference; extensions etc are not loaded in safe boot mode.

Test issue in another user (or guest user) account https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204443

This will tell you if it a universal issue or isolated to your user/admin account.

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Answer 2

leroydouglas

Level 10

199,086 points

Nov 29, 2019 10:32 AM in response to doge

How to get audio in working without re-start???

Port definition gets re-defined with each reboot.

You can also try resetting NVRAM/PRAM http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379

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Answer 3

doge Author

Level 1

20 points

Nov 29, 2019 11:50 AM in response to leroydouglas

Thanks, tried that one, twice. But no luck.

One thing I have noticed is that using system. preferences > sound panel when switching from the INPUT tab to the OUTPUT tab (where the USB device both shows up) there is a long delay before it happens, compare to switching from INPUT to OUTPUT which is immediate. As though some background process is being shut down or restarted?

More ideas please

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Answer 4

doge Author

Level 1

20 points

Nov 29, 2019 12:07 PM in response to doge

And now togo on further. If I get it working by re-boot. Then I have found that an output on channel 1, which I loop around by a 3.5mm stereo cable on the USB device, comes back as channel 2!! Maybe the cable is at fault - or maybe it's something else?

Again if I unplug the USB device, then plug back in, it does not work.

Could it be that the Apple driver is not recognising my device? I prefer not to install any other driver as this may cause a conflict when using other audio devices...

Incidentally I have Parallels and Windows 10 installed, but it not running during these experiments, but could it be grabbing the USB input port? I have been in the control centre and told it to assign the USB to the Mac not to Windows.

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USB Audio Input not working

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