saxman112
Level 1 (14 points)
Notebooks

Q: Internal Mic Not Working

About a month ago, I ordered myself a refurbished late-2009 MacBook from this one site called Mac of All Trades.  Everything about it works perfectly, with the exception of the internal microphone.  It shows up under the input options in the sound options in system preferences, but it is not picking up any sound.  I've tried everything I've seen others do in an effort to try to solve this problem from going into Audio MIDI Setup, to flicking the mic to bring it back to life, but none of those work.  So I'm being led to believe that the mic itself is dead.

 

I'm wondering how much it would be to replace the mic in one of these.

MacBook (13", Late 2009), OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Sep 14, 2016 9:13 AM

Close
saxman112

Q: Internal Mic Not Working

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Limnos,

    Limnos Limnos Sep 15, 2016 7:01 AM in response to saxman112
    Level 9 (54,543 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 15, 2016 7:01 AM in response to saxman112

    I'm wondering how much it would be to replace the mic in one of these.

    Doing it yourself or paying to have it done?  I couldn't find any information on doing it in a late 2009 MacBook but in the MacBook Pro it seems to be quite an involved process: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2009+Microphone+Rep lacement/1359  Given the complexity of the task I imagine it would also be costly. You would have to find a third party place since the computer is too old for any Apple service place to work on it (up to 5 years old only).  If you want to do it yourself I could also see an issue being sourcing a replacement.

     

    Unless somebody else can make suggestions as to repairs you may find it easier and cheaper to use an external microphone. I had an old microphone with a 3.5 jack which I use with my late 2008 MacBook.  However, I am not clear as to the exact requirements of your model Mac.  With my MacBook I had to buy a $5 USB adapter for my microphone as on my computer the "audio-in" is line level, not microphone level.  Or you could just buy a USB microphone.