When MacBooks get stuck in mute, the majority of the time it’s a setting somewhere that’s been changed and causing havoc. This may not be something you’re aware of happening so, even if you haven’t touched the settings before, just have a go trying our top tips on getting your MacBook off mute.
Using hot keys (F10/F11/F12)
First try pressing the mute key F10, sound down key F11 and sound up key F12 a few times, does the speaker icon appear in the middle of your screen? Do the lines underneath the icon move up and down with F11 and F12. If they do but no sound is coming out, have a look at your headphone input with a torch to look for any debris. If you can see fluff or debris caught in the headphone socket, use a small plastic or wooden instrument like a tooth pick to try and free the debris.
Audio MIDI setup
Click the magnifying glass in the top right corner of your screen and search ‘utilities’ click the folder named utilities in the drop down. In the utilities folder select Audio MIDI setup. In the Audio devices window Click the Built-in Output.
Make sure that no box is checked under “Mute” on the lower right hand side. Then Click the cog icon at the bottom of the Side Bar and click ‘Use this device for Sound Output’ if it allows you to.
Reset SMC
The SMC (system management controller) can be be reset to restore your system preferences back to the factory settings, this can change any hard to find settings back to normal without the hassle of searching for it. To do this follow the steps below:
- Shutdown your Mac.
- Connect the charger.
- Hold Shift+Control+Option and the Power button at the same time for approx. 10 seconds
- Release the keys
- Reboot your Mac and check the sound
If you still can’t get onto your Speakers working after this, you can try a very similar process, resetting the PRAM.
Resetting PRAM
resetting Parameter Random Access Memory is very similar to resetting the SMCE but covers slightly different system preferences. Do this as follows:
- Turn off Mac
- Start your Mac and hold Command+Option+P+R before the gray screen appears.
- Once you hear the Mac chime release all keys.
- Check keyboard once Mac has booted up
Still muted?
If you’ve got this far without any luck, unfortunately your Mac is going to need some expert help to get it back to normal. At Hero Tech Support in Southampton we offer free pick up, free diagnosis and free delivery all across Hampshire as well as free phone and email support.
Get in touch and see what we can do to help!
