I have a MacBook Pro 16" bought in March 2020 - The speakers are great, until they become noticeably quiet even when turned up to full volume. The only fix so far is to restart the computer, then the speakers output full volume. Why are they suddenly becoming quiet? It is very noticeable.
MacBook Pro with Touch Bar
I had the same issue, running the following command from the Terminal resets it without a reboot but I'm not sure why it happens.
sudo killall -9 coreaudiod
It seems to be related to using external devices (e.g. headset or USB output devices) where the output level of these devices is lower it seems to retain that level when reverting to the internal MacBook Pro Speakers device. However, reconnecting the external device and adjusting the volume doesn't fix it.
I had the same issue, running the following command from the Terminal resets it without a reboot but I'm not sure why it happens.
sudo killall -9 coreaudiod
It seems to be related to using external devices (e.g. headset or USB output devices) where the output level of these devices is lower it seems to retain that level when reverting to the internal MacBook Pro Speakers device. However, reconnecting the external device and adjusting the volume doesn't fix it.
Hello tbarger,
Welcome to Apple Support Communities.
From reading your post, it appears your MacBook Pro speakers are very quiet and after restarting the MacBook Pro they will working normally, correct? We're here to help you take a look in to that!
Great working on troubleshooting. Next let's attempt PRAM on the MacBook Pro:
Reset NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac
If the issue persist, to isolate the issue is hardware or software. Create a new user account and test speakers. In the event the speakers are working properly, backup to time machine and reinstall the macOS:
How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac
How to reinstall macOS from macOS Recovery
If the speakers are continuing with the same issue in the test user account, we would encourage you to Contact Apple Support for further assistance.
Hopefully this helps!
Thanks for the reply! I've narrowed this down a bit more... After I use my AirPod Pros with my MacBook as the speaker output, when I switch back to MacBook speakers the volume is extremely low no matter how high up I turn it. So far the only fix to restore the sound is to restart my computer. After the restart, the speakers go back to their normal power of volume until I connect my AirPods to the computer again.
Hello tbarger,
Sounds as you have done some troubleshooting of restarting the MacBook Pro. Have you been able to attempt some of the steps in the other thread? If the issue persisting, we would encourage you to Contact Apple Support for further assistance.
Take Care!
MacBook Pro 16" - Speakers become quiet
