Volume Control Locked

Question

Level 1

18 points

Volume Control Locked

I can't change my volume, it's staying muted. I try to turn it up or down and the volume screen pops up but there's a symbol underneath the volume saying I can't change it.

Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Mar 31, 2011 7:32 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

jonah1068

Level 1

24 points

Jul 18, 2015 4:21 AM in response to Rachel Mac

Sorry this is late. If you open system preferences and go to sound, you can turn up the volume, and then you can start using the buttons again. Not sure exactly why this happens, but it works. Hope this helps!

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Answer 2

Ali2007

Level 1

0 points

Apr 16, 2014 8:16 PM in response to Rachel Mac

So, this just happened to me, (thanks to my daughters hello kitty headphones :S) I tried everything plugging headphones in and out etc. NOTHING WORKED!! I pushed the buttons to pause/play or the forward song button.. viola! No more locked sound... I honestly wasnt even trying those buttons I was fed up with trying stuff and it showed me that my music changed to a song i didnt like so automatically i pushed those buttons not even sure which one exactly.. magically fixing the problem.

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Answer 3

BGreg

Level 6

17,552 points

Mar 31, 2011 7:43 PM in response to Rachel Mac

Welcome to the Apple discussions.

Reset the PRAM as that's where the volume information is stored. Sometimes PRAM can become corrupted:

1. Shut down the computer.
2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
3. Turn on the computer.
4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
6. Release the keys.

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Answer 4

maligned

Level 1

10 points

Apr 8, 2011 4:12 AM in response to Rachel Mac

I have the same problem, and I tried this tip multiple times in multiple different ways with no success. Also, there is a red light sometimes lit from inside my headphone jack. Also, I run full disk encryption. Do these issues make a difference?

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Answer 5

pammylu

Level 1

9 points

Aug 24, 2017 9:52 AM in response to Rachel Mac

Check the "Helpful answer" in this thread from Jonah1068. It's the only answer that fixed the problem for me.

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Answer 6

Rachel Mac Author

Level 1

18 points

Mar 31, 2011 10:29 PM in response to BGreg

Worked perfectly, thanks!

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Answer 7

CT

Level 7

23,987 points

Apr 8, 2011 4:58 AM in response to maligned

Yes.

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Answer 8

maligned

Level 1

10 points

Apr 8, 2011 6:13 AM in response to CT

Hmm...any other tips?

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Answer 9

Jul 6, 2011 3:12 PM in response to Rachel Mac

I'm having the same problem. A week or so ago I followed the steps to reset the PRAM and it worked. But now, I'm having the same problem again and resetting the PRAM doesn't work. Any ideas?

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