M1 MacBook Air speakers muted by Blue Yeti Mic

Hey All, my mistake as my laptop is not the m1 macbook air...

but I have been experiencing similar problems on my macbook pro with an intel chip..

This leads me to believe it's a mixture of an issue with the OS or the dongle it'self..

Interestingly enough, after playing more with my yeti... I have a fix that works well for me and my situation...

1. Make sure dongle is not plugged in..
2. Plug in yeti microphone into the dongle via USB.
3. Plug in the dongle into macbook...

This for some reason works for me!!!

I do experience this bug still through if the dongle is already plugged in and I attempt to plug in the yeti via USB..

Interesting stuff, but do let me know if this works for others!

Hey there, Portlandpadre!

Thanks for reaching out in Apple Support Communities! From your post, it sounds like you're having trouble with the speakers on your new MacBook Air. We'd be delighted to lend a hand so you can get back to enjoying your Mac!

Since this only happens with this device connected, we'd like to have you connect to another audio device to test if the same issue persists. If it doesn't, that could point to an issue with the Blue Yeti.

Should this continue, use the troubleshooting steps in the following support article to help with your speaker and volume:

If you can’t hear sound from your Mac speakers - Apple Support

Next, you can reset the NVRAM on your Mac just in case this is isolated to the Mac settings:

Reset NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac – Apple Support

Feel free to post an update for continued support.

Best wishes!

The Apple Specialist above posted the link, but I'll post here, too. Go here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063

Basically you restart while pressing Option, Command, P, and R all at the same time until you hear the start-up chime for a second time. Make sure the Mic is plugged in during this process. I say this only because that is what worked for me.

Fingers crossed, this will work for you, too.

Hello - I also appear to be experiencing the same bug. It really does appear to be a Mac OS bug from my testing.

I've tried to summarize the behavior bellow.

Computer:

 Model Name: MacBook Pro

 Model Identifier: MacBookPro16,3

 Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Core i5

 System Firmware Version: 1554.80.3.0.0 (iBridge: 18.16.14346.0.0,0)

 System Version: macOS 11.2.1 (20D74)

 Kernel Version: Darwin 20.3.0

Microphone:

Yeti Blue Blackout (https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Yeti-USB-Microphone-Blackout/dp/B00N1YPXW2)

USB Dongle:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WPTG7NX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

HOW TO REPRODUCE....

1. start up macbook pro
2. listen to youtube video (sound should be working fine..)
3. plug in yeti blue microphone (Doesn't matter if there is headphones plugged into bottom!!)
4. all output audio sources are muted!!
5. open system preferences > Sound
6. attempt to unmute or increase output microphone built-in volume
7. you can unmute or increase temporarily, but the mac will then auto mute or decrease the volume!!

Temporary work around!!

Before starting up macbook ensure that your microphone is plugged in.

Restart/power on your macbook (No need to reset NVRAM or PRAM like stated....)

Additional Testing:

If I keep the microphone plugged in on reboot, I am then able to switch between hardwired headphones directly into the yeti blue and my built in speakers! Am able to change the output devices in the System Preferences > Sound

Although... If I for example unplug the microphone and plug it back in, I experience the unwanted behavior of all of my output devices being muted again.

I hope this helps some people around a workaround but would really want apple to look into why their operating system is behaving this way with an external microphone and why it's impacting all output volume devices!

Hi Portlandpadre: I am having the same issue. I plug in my Yeti Mic and it forces all output to mute itself and if I try to unmute if forces it back on. This happens with ALL the output devices, the speakers as well as my AirPods Pro. I was using the mic successfully in conjunction with the speakers or AirPods since Christmas (when I got the mic), right up until I updated to Big Sur 11.2.1. I suspect there is a glitch in the new OS update.

I was able to correct it by resetting the NVRAM (as suggested below) but only if the mic is plugged in at the time of reset/startup. And if I unplug it afterwards and plug it in again, the whole problem repeats itself. It's so frustrating and unnecessary.

Don't let Apple blame this glitch on Yeti. It's clearly their OS glitch to fix and I hope they fix it.

I'm having the same issue. In my case, it doesn't seem to matter what I do. If the Yeti is plugged in, the volume is muted. I've tried shutting it down with the Yeti plugged in, and powering back on. I've tried plugging it back in after reboot. From what I've read, the M1 resets it's NVRAM after a full shutdown for 30 seconds, so I've tried that too. Nothing works. The Yeti does seem to work on an older Macbook Air I have with an Intel processor, and standard USB port.

Anyone have any other ideas? This is super frustrating.

I am having the exact same problem - every time I plug in the Blue Yeti, it mutes all output devices on my Mac Pro and my MacBook Pro. I searched for a resolution and cannot find one. The only solution is to reboot, which is very unworkable.

Has anyone made any progress.

Thanks, Fordvw

I contacted Yet to report the problem and they had no answer for me, but allowed me to send all the info to their engineers, including a video of what was happening. We'll see what comes of it.

Oddly enough my muting issue stopped happening. I have no explanation for why it stopped. I did nothing differently that could explain why it stopped so I am stumped. I also am assuming it could start up again for no reason. Fingers crossed, it won't.

It's just so weird.

Fordvw,

One possible thing to check is your connector. Do you use an adapter that goes from USB-A to USB-C? I use a dongle adapter, and while that should not be the issue, I did take it off and reconnect it a few times.

The other weird thing was that it started working on one port while not working on another (and now it works on both). Maybe try switching ports back and forth until it stops?

I apologize for the unscientific nature of these suggestions, but that is something I did and it began to work correctly. The muting problem hasn't happened for me for about two weeks now.

It's voodoo I tell you, VOODOO!

UnitD,

I have an older MAcPro with only USB -A style connectors, so there is no dongle. Same case with my MacBook Pro. The problem is there with the USB-A connector. However, I will try going to USB-C and back to A to see what happens.

I did try to fiddle with the Audio MIDI utility and that did nothing. I'll report back once I try it.

Thanks...

I just found a workaround:

Go to the Audio Midi App

Select Built In Output

Unmute

Go to Preferences: Sound

Unmute

This has worked for me, but it is apian to do every time I switch the microphone.

Let me know if that works for you.

Best, Ford

I would suggest contacting Yeti support and give them a detailed rundown of the issue you are having. The more people tell them that this is a problem, the higher priority they might give it. They seemed to be clueless that it was happening when I contacted them.

Mine continues to be working, yet, I still have no idea why the problem stopped. I would say trying everything people have been doing in this post to see what might stick.

I had the same issue with my Yeti Blue mic using BigSur 11.2. The "restart with it plugged in" workaround worked for me. When I updated to 11.13.1, I was able to plug and unplug without rebooting and my should was working.

Eric~F

please view my comment below, however a NVRAM or PRAM update isn't needed rather just a reboot whilst the device is plugged in will work, however, unplugging it will produce the same bug