Fix No Sound on Screen Recording on Mac

There’s nothing worse than finishing a screen recording on your Mac, only to discover it’s completely silent. It’s a frustrating moment, but the good news is the fix is usually simple. More often than not, the problem boils down to one of three common culprits: selecting the wrong audio source, missing microphone permissions in your System Settings, or an accidentally muted input.

Diagnosing Why Your Screen Recording Has No Sound

When you hit play and get silence, don't panic. The problem is rarely a major technical failure. Instead, it’s almost always a simple oversight in your setup. The best approach is to run through a quick mental checklist: start by checking the recording app itself, then move on to your Mac's system-wide settings. You’ll usually find the source of the silence in just a minute or two.

Figuring out the why helps you solve the problem for good. Whether you’re recording a software demo for your team or creating a tutorial for a class, crisp audio is essential. This handy visual guide walks you through the diagnostic flow, from the simplest checks (is the mic muted?) to system-level permissions.

As you can see, the issue is almost always isolated to either the recording app's configuration or your Mac's own privacy settings, which makes troubleshooting pretty straightforward.

For a faster diagnosis, you can use this table to match your symptom to the most likely cause.

Quick Diagnostic Chart for Mac Screen Recording Audio

Use this table to quickly find out why your screen recording has no audio and what to check first.

This chart should help you pinpoint the issue quickly so you can get back to recording.

Common Audio Capture Mistakes

I've seen it a hundred times: a user on macOS forgets to explicitly enable their microphone within an app like QuickTime or in the native Command-Shift-5 screen capture tool. It's a classic example of a simple setting being buried or just not obvious enough. Even on a platform as well-designed as macOS, the user interface for recording audio can be surprisingly unintuitive.

The core of the problem often isn't what's broken, but what wasn't selected. Your Mac is likely working perfectly; it just needs to be told exactly which audio source to listen to.

Most quality recording tools, Screen Charm included, give you clear options to select an audio source before you start. Simply forgetting to pick your MacBook's built-in microphone or an external USB mic is the number one reason for a silent video. If you're new to this, our guide on whether screen recording captures audio offers a deeper dive into how it all works.

Checking Your Mac's Core Audio Settings

Before you start pointing fingers at your recording software, it's a good idea to check your Mac's own system-level audio first. I've found that more often than not, a "no sound" problem traces back to a simple setting in macOS, not the app you're using.

Think of it this way: you wouldn't blame a lamp for not working if it isn't plugged into the wall. If your system doesn't see your mic or has it muted, no amount of fiddling inside Screen Charm will fix it.

Verify Your Sound Input Device

First things first, let's make sure your Mac is actually listening to your microphone. This is ground zero for any Mac audio troubleshooting.

• Open up System Settings and head to the Sound section.

• Click over to the Input tab.

• You should see a list of available microphones. Make sure the one you want to use is selected (this could be the built-in "MacBook Pro Microphone" or an external one you've plugged in).

• Try speaking into the mic. You should see the Input level meter bounce in response to your voice.

• Check the Input volume slider. A good starting point is around 75%—high enough to pick up your voice clearly without being too loud.

Here’s what you should be looking at. If that little meter is moving when you talk, you're in good shape.

Getting this right is the most critical first step. For a deeper dive, you can find a solid guide to configure Mac's general audio input that covers all the bases.

Grant Microphone Access in Privacy Settings

Okay, so your Mac can hear your mic. But has it given your recording app permission to use it? This is a huge, and very common, stumbling block. Apple's privacy features are great, but they can easily lead to silent recordings if you’re not aware of them.

After helping countless people with this issue, I can tell you the fix is often hidden in plain sight. A single toggle switch in Privacy & Security is usually the culprit.

Here’s how to check it. Navigate to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone. You'll see a list of every app that has asked for mic access. Find your software (Screen Charm, QuickTime Player, etc.) and make sure the toggle next to it is flipped on. If it's off, macOS is doing its job and actively blocking the app from hearing a thing.

Alright, let's dive into the settings of your screen recording software itself. Once you've ruled out any system-level problems on your Mac, the app is the next place to check. It's incredibly common for a silent recording to be caused by a simple missed setting right here, especially when you're in a hurry to start capturing.

Audio issues are a huge headache for macOS creators. In fact, choosing the wrong audio input accounts for a whopping 30% of all reported recording problems on the platform. It’s a frustratingly common snag, as detailed in this breakdown of frequent recording pitfalls on YouTube.

Check Your Mac's Built-In Tools

First, let's look at the tools that come with your Mac. Both the Screenshot toolbar and QuickTime Player have audio options, but they're a bit tucked away and easy to overlook.

If you use the Command+Shift+5 Screenshot tool:

• When the control bar pops up, click on the "Options" button.

• Look for the "Microphone" section. This is often the culprit—it frequently defaults to "None."

• Make sure you select your "MacBook Pro Microphone" or whatever external mic you're using.

If you prefer QuickTime Player:

• Open a new screen recording by going to File > New Screen Recording.

• In the small window that appears, find the tiny downward arrow right next to the red record button.

• Click that arrow and pick your microphone from the list.

The big takeaway? These native macOS tools often default to no microphone. You have to actively select an audio source every single time you start a recording.

Configuring Apps Like Screen Charm

This is where third-party apps like Screen Charm really shine. They give you much clearer and more reliable audio controls, so you're less likely to end up with a silent video by accident.

When you open Screen Charm, you'll see separate, obvious toggles for both your microphone and system audio.

This is a critical distinction. The microphone toggle captures your voice, which is what you need for narrating a tutorial or adding commentary. The system audio toggle, on the other hand, records sounds coming from your Mac—like a video playing, an app notification, or game sounds.

Making sure you've enabled the right one for the job is key. For a more detailed guide on this, check out our post on how to capture system audio on Mac.

Digging Deeper: Advanced Mac Audio Troubleshooting

So, you've triple-checked your system settings and scoured Screen Charm’s configuration, but your recordings are still silent. When the usual suspects are cleared, it's time to roll up our sleeves. The problem might be a more stubborn conflict buried in macOS or even one of its built-in limitations.

This is where I usually turn to the Audio MIDI Setup utility. You'll find it tucked away in your Utilities folder, and it’s a powerhouse for diagnosing tricky audio problems. It gives you a detailed look under the hood at every audio device connected to your Mac, letting you spot device conflicts or fix incorrect audio sample rates, which are a common culprit for weird distortion or no audio at all.

The Challenge of Capturing Your Mac’s System Audio

One of the most common hurdles Mac users run into is trying to record the computer's own internal audio—think the sound from a YouTube video or a game. By default, macOS intentionally blocks this to protect privacy and copyright. To get around this, you need what's called a virtual audio driver.

I personally recommend a free tool called BlackHole. It creates a virtual "loopback" device that you can select as an input source in an app like Screen Charm. Essentially, it works like an internal audio cable, routing your Mac's speaker output right back into its microphone input so it can be recorded.

Setting it up involves a few key steps:

• First, install a virtual audio driver like BlackHole.

• Next, open Audio MIDI Setup and create a "Multi-Output Device." You’ll configure this new device to send audio to both your regular speakers and the new virtual driver.

• Finally, jump back into your recording app and select the virtual driver as your microphone.

This little setup is a game-changer for creating high-quality demos and tutorials where the application sounds are just as important as your voice.

For those really stubborn audio bugs that just won't go away, sometimes the best solution is a hard reset of your Mac's entire sound system. It's the audio equivalent of "turn it off and on again."

To do this, you’ll need to open the Terminal app and type sudo killall coreaudiod. You'll be prompted for your administrator password. This command safely restarts the Core Audio service, which can instantly clear up persistent glitches without you having to reboot your whole computer. Think of it as giving your audio hardware a completely fresh start.

Tips for Capturing Perfect Audio Every Time

Fixing problems is one thing, but preventing them in the first place is even better. Let's shift gears and talk about building some simple habits that will save you a world of frustration and ensure your audio is crisp and clear from the get-go.

The absolute first thing you should do, before hitting record on that important hour-long presentation, is capture a quick 5-second test clip. Seriously. Just say a few words, stop the recording, and play it back. This tiny step instantly confirms that your mic is on, selected, and working correctly. It’s the best way to avoid that sinking feeling of realizing your epic recording was completely silent.

Adopt Pro Recording Habits

Want to know what the pros do? They monitor their audio. Always. Pop on a pair of headphones while you record so you can hear exactly what your audience will hear. This is your secret weapon for catching distracting background noise, like a humming air conditioner or a distant siren, before it ruins your take.

A few other things I’ve learned over the years:

• Create a Quiet Zone: Your ears tune out a lot of ambient noise, but your microphone won't. Before you record, close the door, shut the windows, and kill any fans or appliances that create a low-level hum.

• Mind Your Distance: Try to stay a consistent distance from your microphone. If you get too close, you'll get those harsh "popping" sounds (plosives). Too far, and you'll sound faint and distant, forcing you to crank the volume later and introduce noise.

The single biggest leap in audio quality comes from upgrading your hardware. While your Mac's built-in mic is convenient, a dedicated external USB microphone will make your voice sound dramatically richer and clearer.

Even an entry-level external mic can make your recordings sound polished and professional. If you're ready to take that next step, it helps to understand the fundamentals of how to record your screen with voice narration to get the best possible results.

A Few Lingering Questions About Mac Screen Recordings

Even after walking through the main troubleshooting process, a few specific questions tend to pop up again and again. Let's tackle some of the most common ones I hear from people trying to get their Mac audio just right.

Why Can't I Just Record My Mac's System Audio Directly?

This is a big one. By design, macOS intentionally blocks the direct recording of its internal system audio. It’s a built-in measure for privacy and copyright protection, which makes sense, but it can be frustrating when you just want to capture the audio from a video or a game you're demonstrating.

To get around this, you need a little help from a virtual audio driver. The go-to free tool for this is BlackHole. It cleverly creates a virtual output that your screen recording app can see as an input source, essentially tricking your Mac into routing its own sound back into your recording.

How Can I Record My Voice and System Audio at the Same Time?

So, you want to narrate over a video or game? This requires merging two separate audio sources—your microphone and your Mac's internal sound—into a single track. The best native macOS tool for the job is the Audio MIDI Setup utility, which lets you create something called an "Aggregate Device."

Think of an Aggregate Device as a custom input that groups your microphone and a virtual driver (like BlackHole) together. Once you've set it up, you just select this new device in your recording app, and it will capture both your voice and the system audio simultaneously.

What's Causing My Recording Audio to Sound Distorted or Choppy?

If your audio is crackling, choppy, or just plain weird, it usually points to one of two culprits: your Mac is overloaded, or you have a sample rate mismatch. Screen recording, especially at high resolutions, can be surprisingly tough on your Mac's CPU.

The first thing to try is the simplest: close any apps you aren't using to free up some processing power. If that doesn't fix it, it’s time to check your sample rates.

A very common cause of distorted audio is when your microphone's sample rate doesn't match your project settings. Dive into the Audio MIDI Setup app and make sure everything is aligned—for instance, set both your mic and your virtual driver to 48.0 kHz.

Ready to skip the audio headaches and create polished, professional-looking product demos? Screen Charm streamlines the whole process with dead-simple controls and a killer auto-zoom feature. Grab a one-time license and start making amazing videos today at https://screencharm.com.