External monitor speakers not showing up in MacBook Pro audio preferences

Recently, I got a new monitor to connect to my Macbook Pro, however when I play sound, the sound comes from my Macbook instead of my monitor. The monitor speakers aren't recognised in the system preferences and I'm unsure how to bring the sound to my monitor speakers.



[Re-Titled by Moderator]


MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.7

Posted on Sep 9, 2023 8:19 AM

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Posted on Sep 11, 2023 5:10 PM

Hi ProdbyTS,


Have you confirmed the speakers on the external monitor work as expected with any other laptop or computer? You can also confirm if your monitor actually has speakers as some often have a hardware placeholder yet don't have the actual speakers.


You can also check and test the steps in the guide here: If your Mac switches to a different audio device, as well as the section "If you’re trying to listen through external speakers" from this guide page: If you can’t hear sound from your Mac speakers


If needed, check your audio ports as well. About the audio ports on Mac


Cheers.

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4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 11, 2023 5:10 PM in response to ProdbyTS

Hi ProdbyTS,


Have you confirmed the speakers on the external monitor work as expected with any other laptop or computer? You can also confirm if your monitor actually has speakers as some often have a hardware placeholder yet don't have the actual speakers.


You can also check and test the steps in the guide here: If your Mac switches to a different audio device, as well as the section "If you’re trying to listen through external speakers" from this guide page: If you can’t hear sound from your Mac speakers


If needed, check your audio ports as well. About the audio ports on Mac


Cheers.

Sep 10, 2023 12:48 PM in response to ProdbyTS

Hello ProdbyTS,


We have a great support article that might help with this. Please take a look at it here: Change the sound output settings on Mac - Apple Support. Follow this guidance:


  1. "On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Settings, then click Sound  in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)
  2. Click Output on the right, then select the device you want to use in the list of sound output devices. 
  3. All sound output devices available to your Mac are listed, including the computer’s internal speakers, devices plugged into your computer’s sound port (Audio port icon), USB speakers, and AirPlay devices.
  4. For any device plugged into the computer’s sound port, choose Headphones.
  5. Do any of the following to adjust your sound output settings:
  • Adjust the volume: Drag the Output volume slider.
  • If you have Sound in the menu bar, you can turn the volume up or down from anywhere.
    • To set a volume for alert sounds, drag the Alert volume slider in Sound Effects. The alert volume is relative to your computer’s volume, so if you lower the computer’s volume, alert sounds also play more quietly.
    • Stop sound output: Select the Mute checkbox.
    • Adjust the balance: Drag the Balance slider.

Depending on your Mac and the devices you use, you may be able to set other volume options using the Audio MIDI Setup app.

If you use apps that have volume controls (for example, Music or iMovie), their settings can only be equal to or less than the computer’s output volume. They don’t override what you choose in Sound settings."



We hope this helps. Let us know if we can assist with anything else at all. Take care.



Sep 10, 2023 12:26 PM in response to ProdbyTS

ProdbyTS wrote:

Recently, I got a new monitor to connect to my Macbook Pro, however when I play sound, the sound comes from my Macbook instead of my monitor. The monitor speakers aren't recognised in the system preferences and I'm unsure how to bring the sound to my monitor speakers.


[Re-Titled by Moderator]


Try the Audio MIDI Setup.app and compare your results...


Audio MIDI Setup User Guide for Mac



Thunderbolt cable...

Connect a display, TV, or projector to Mac



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External monitor speakers not showing up in MacBook Pro audio preferences

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