Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Mojave; no audio in target display mode

I use a 15" 2017 MacBook Pro connected to a Late 2013, 21.5" iMac in target display mode. Ever since upgrading both computers to Mojave the sound from the MacBook does not come through the iMac like it did previously.

  • I can still control the "volume," though there's no sound
  • I can mute
  • I can unmute
  • I have checked to make sure the output device is set to "iMac"
  • Audio does come through the MacBook still, if I choose to route it there
  • Audio does come through the iMac natively

    While in TDM I've used screen sharing to control the iMac—if I play something through iTunes from the iMac, while in TDM through screen sharing, audio does come from the iMac.

  • I have swapped the ends of my Thunderbolt cable (I've seen this work for some people elsewhere) with no luck
  • I have tried every combination of each port on both computers, so it is not a faulty port
  • I have tested the Thunderbolt cable in TDM on a machine in my workplace and audio works as it should, so it's not the cable

In other words, everything is working exactly as it should but it seems like the iMac is refusing to output audio from the MacBook. For emphasis—this is a new issue as of Mojave and was not a problem before updating.


Aaaand go.

iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013), macOS Mojave (10.14), in conjunction with a 15" 2017 MBP

Posted on Oct 17, 2018 7:28 PM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Oct 17, 2018 7:34 PM

You could try resetting the SMC on both Macs.

How to reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support

14 replies

Nov 15, 2018 7:05 PM in response to minimumsix13

I also have this issue, and it occurred when I updated my 2014 MBP to Mojave. I have switched between two different 2012 iMacs (both 27”) and the behavior is the same. If it helps, one of the iMacs was running Mojave and one was not. So it appears the issue is related to having Mojave installed on the MBP.


I attempted to reset the SMC as suggested above as well, to no avail.


I’m curious if this is a known issue with Mojave and if Apple is working on a fix?

Dec 3, 2018 6:13 AM in response to minimumsix13

I have the exact same problem with a 2015 macbook pro and a late 2012 27" imac. I used Target display mode regularly and everything worked fine- including audio- until I updated both macs to Mojave. I had a Looooong service call with Apple support a few days ago, reset SMC, reset PRAM, swapped cables to different ports etc etc but to no avail. I am awaiting a follow up call from Apple today and will post any outcome but if anyone else has any suggestions I'd be happy to hear them!


I am also curious if this is a known issue with Mojave and if Apple is working on a fix?

Jan 14, 2019 10:22 AM in response to minimumsix13

I also started having this issue on my iMac (2013) with MacBook Pro (2014), presumably after update to Mojave. Resetting SMC/PRAM didn't work for me. I filed a bug report (rdar://46977998) to Apple and will see what they come up with.


If others are willing to file a report, that'll be great so we can let Apple know this is really an issue.

https://developer.apple.com/bug-reporting/

Feb 10, 2019 3:03 PM in response to kdyun

Hi did you get any response from Apple? I had the same, sent a bug report to them. I’ve just gone up to 10.14.3 on my MacBook Pro 2018 my iMac 2013 was still running 10.14.2 looking to update also but thought I’d test again and no such luck still not working in TDM really annoying. Is everyone still having this problem?? I can see the iMac speakers to select just nothing comes out even after I’ve pushed the volume up very frustrating 😞

Mar 5, 2019 7:26 AM in response to kdyun

We are running 10.14.4 Beta (18E194d) now and the whole Target Display Mode Function is broken completely. It simply doesn't work anymore. Using a MacBook Pro connected to iMac -> When you activate Target-Display Mode you can see that the MacBook tries to activate it, but then it just doesn't happen. It seems pretty anoying and frustrating because we have 35 people in the office that work on two screens using target display mode. We are seriously thinking about switching to Microsoft which is almost impossible, but we don't see any reason to buy 35 new monitors, if a function is shaky and it takes Apple forever to repair something that worked just fine for 8 years!!! Unbelievable. Since many here, we reported that bug in the last year. Now even with beta it's getting worse. No words... :-(

Mojave; no audio in target display mode

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.