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Speakers are on mute permanently, no headphone sound either

Hi,


So I open my macbook pro (OS X Lion) and now it takes a whlie to load and the battery bar takes a while to show up. The speakers icon is normal (true) , until the battery bar shows up and then it is false (turns off). It does this completely on its own and I can't unmute it. The internal speakers are selected in System Prefrences in both input and output, but the settings are missing, there is a blank space where the settings for the internal speakers would be. There is a null sign as seen below. I've tried restarting tons of times but it doesn't help. Once in a while, the speakers come back when I turn on my mac. But most of the time it is on a weird permanent mute.

User uploaded file


User uploaded file

MacBook Pro (13-inch Early 2011), Mac OS X (10.7.4)

Posted on Aug 18, 2012 5:54 PM

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2 replies

Aug 18, 2012 6:00 PM in response to lefauxie

Take each of the following steps that you haven't already tried.

1. If anything is plugged into the audio-out (headphone) port, unplug it.

2. Select  System Preferences Sound Output. Check the settings. The internal speakers should be selected as the output device, the Mute box should not be checked, and the volume slider should be at least halfway to the right.

3. You may need to darken the room for this step. Look inside the headphone port. If a red light is coming from the port, the internal switch is stuck in the position for digital output. You may be able to free it by inserting and removing a headphone mini-stereo jack of the proper size. Inserting any kind of tool in the port may cause damage that won't be covered by your warranty.

4. Boot in safe mode by holding down the shift key at the startup chime. It will take much longer than usual. You don't have to log in; just reboot as usual (without holding any keys) when the login screen appears. (Note: If FileVault is enabled under OS X 10.7 or later, or if a firmware password is set, you can’t boot in safe mode.)

5. Reset the PRAM. Shut down completely, then start up while holding the key combination command-option-P-R. Release the keys when the machine restarts automatically.

6. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store.

Back up all data on the internal drive(s) before you hand over your computer to anyone. If privacy is a concern, erase the data partition(s) with the option to write zeros* (do this only if you have at least two complete, independent backups, and you know how to restore to bare metal from any of them.) Don’t erase the OS X 10.7 or later recovery partition, if present.

*An SSD doesn't need to be zeroed.

Speakers are on mute permanently, no headphone sound either

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