Internal Microphone - no signal

marainthepark Said:

”Internal Microphone - no signal: My internal microphone has suddenly stopped working.[...]”

———-

Try Reseting the Core Audio:

Typing the following command in Terminal:

sudo killall coreaudiod

To Get to Terminal:

1. Open: Trash
2. Click: Applications (On Left Side)
3. Click: Utilities
4. Open: Terminal

marainthepark Said:

"Internal Microphone - no signal: Thank you for all of these suggestions. Unfortunately none of them have worked. In system preferences, I can't see any option to set the microphone as the default."

-------

Three Final Thoughts...

• Create a New Administrator User:

Also, create a new Administrator user. (System Preferences > Users & Groups). Sign into it and see if this still occurs. If not, then it is something configured in your current user. So, transfer all your files to the new Administrator user, rid of this current user, and then use the new user from then on. You should be set to go.

• Restore from a Time Machine Backup:

Did you back up your Mac prior to installing this update? If so, restore from it, seeing if that fixes this. This is a pure example of why to backup your Mac prior to any major change to your system (update being such a change). How to Use Time Machine: Create a Time Machine backup of your Mac, so that you can have something to restore your Mac from, should anything go wrong with the reinstall.

• The Ultimate Solution --- Reinstall the macOS.

Nothing would be lost. It's just that all system files that have been deleted or moved, would be replaced or relocated, respectively.

1. First, back up your Mac with Time Machine
2. Then, Reinstall the macOS, either by

• creating and using a USB Bootable Installer for macOS or...
• reinstalling macOS from macOS Recovery - Apple Support

marainthepark Said:

“Internal Microphone - no signal: My internal microphone has suddenly stopped working. It registers no input when I speak into it. Does anyone know how to fix this? It's not a security problem - all the apps have the right permission, even in system preferences it doesn't register any audio signal.”

———-

Reinstalling the Microphone:

Is there a microphone even seen? If not, you may need to go about reinstalling the macOS. If you removed the plugin somehow, then reinstalling it would be your only option.

Revealing the Microphone’s Connection:

First off, see if the microphone is even seen: 

1. Hold Down: the Option key
2. Click: the Apple menu
3. Choose: System Information or System Report
4. Select: Audio from the list on the left
5. Look For: any internal or external microphones:

Screenshot of What to Look For:

marainthepark Said:

”I tried this terminal command and then restarted but nothing happened.”

———-

Thank you for the followup replies.

A few more thoughts...

Unmute the Volume Input:

Try these methods Methods to unmute the Volume Input:

I . Reset the SMC and NVRAM

II. Terminal: Open it, and use the Following Command:

• Use Spotlight: Hold Down Command Press theSpacebar > Type: Terminal > Open Terminal > Using this command in Terminal

• Use Recovery Mode: Boot the Mac > Hold Down Command + R > Go To: Utilities Menu > Select Terminal

osascript -e "set volume input Volume 0"

III. System Preferences:

• Verify Volume is Unmuted: Open System Preferences > Sound > Input Tab > Drag Input Volume Bar to the Far Right.

• Set Mac as the Default Input Volume Device: Open System Preferences > Sound > Input Tab > Set your MacBook Pro Microphone as your default device for sound input.

marainthepark Said:

"Internal Microphone - no signal: Thank you for all of these suggestions. Unfortunately none of them have worked. In system preferences, I can't see any option to set the microphone as the default."

-------

You are welcome.

That is not showing up as an option, because there is only one enlisted item. So, ...

With the window open, make a noise (Clap your hands once) and see if the input level increases.

Did that make a difference?

What you would see: