Your FaceTime call connects, but the other person cannot hear you, your voice cuts out, or the wrong microphone is active. Start with FaceTime’s input menu, then move through macOS Sound, privacy access, mute controls, connected devices, and hardware checks. The steps below use Apple’s current Mac paths and avoid outdated fixes.
Choose the microphone FaceTime is actually using
The most common cause is FaceTime listening to the wrong input when AirPods, a headset, a display, a dock, or iPhone Continuity Camera is connected.
Open FaceTime, click Video in the menu bar, then choose the microphone you want FaceTime to use.
Select the MacBook’s built-in microphone, your headset, your display mic, your external mic, or your iPhone only when that is the input you want callers to hear.
Choose Use System Setting when you want FaceTime to follow the audio devices macOS is already using; Apple documents this option as using the audio devices selected in the Output pane in Sound settings. To control exactly which microphone callers hear, pick that microphone directly in FaceTime, Video.
Set the MacBook input and raise its volume
Open the Apple menu, choose System Settings, click Sound, then open Input. Select the microphone you want in the list of sound input devices.
Stay in Input and drag the Input volume slider up. This fixes the right-mic-wrong-level problem where FaceTime has the correct input but your voice is too quiet.
If Sound settings keeps switching back to a headset microphone, unplug the headset. Return to Apple menu, System Settings, Sound, Input, then select the microphone again.
Allow microphone access in Privacy and Security
Use this when a calling app or test app cannot use the microphone because macOS privacy access is blocking audio input. Apps and websites that request microphone access are controlled from the Mac’s privacy settings.
Open the Apple menu, choose System Settings, then click Privacy & Security.
Click Microphone and turn microphone access on for the app that needs it.
FaceTime does not always appear like a third-party app in this list, so treat this as a permission check, not the only FaceTime fix.
Ignore older instructions that send current Macs to System Preferences, Security & Privacy, Privacy, Microphone. That path belongs to macOS Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina, and Mojave; current macOS uses System Settings, Privacy & Security, Microphone.
Quit FaceTime and restart the Mac
Reset the app first, then restart macOS if the microphone still fails.
- 1.In FaceTime, click FaceTime in the menu bar and choose Quit FaceTime.
- 2.Open FaceTime again and start or join a call to test the microphone.
- 3.If FaceTime is not responding, press Option-Command-Esc, select FaceTime, then click Force Quit.
- 4.Open the Apple menu and choose Restart.
- 5.If the Mac will not restart, press and hold the power button for up to 10 seconds until it turns off, then press and release the power button to turn it back on.
Unmute yourself and reset Mic Mode
During the FaceTime call, move the pointer over the call window.
Click the Mute button again to unmute yourself.
On a video call, click Video in the menu bar, open Mic Mode, and choose Standard. On a FaceTime audio call, click Audio in the menu bar and choose Standard.
Use Voice Isolation when callers hear background noise instead of your voice.
Use Wide Spectrum when FaceTime is filtering out room sound you want callers to hear on a supported Mac.
On macOS Sonoma 14 or later, open the Video menu or Audio menu in the menu bar during a video call, then choose the mic mode from Mic Mode.
On macOS Ventura 13 and macOS Monterey 12, Apple documented Control Center, Mic Mode; use the menu-bar path on current macOS.
Keep Standard selected while testing so audio processing does not confuse the result.
Fix AirPods, headset, or external mic problems
Connected audio devices can take over FaceTime, use the weaker microphone side, or switch away from your Mac during a call.
- 1.Wear your AirPods and make sure they are connected, then open System Settings and click the name of your AirPods in the sidebar.
- 2.Open Microphone and choose Automatically Switch AirPods, Always Left AirPod, or Always Right AirPod.
- 3.For AirPods 3, AirPods 4, or AirPods Pro, use the pop-up menu next to Mute & Unmute or End Call to choose the press action you want.
- 4.For AirPods Max, select the option next to End Call or Mute & Unmute.
- 5.To stop supported AirPods from switching away from your Mac, go to System Settings, Bluetooth, click the Options button next to your AirPods, and set Connect to This Mac to When Last Connected to This Mac.
Use another microphone when the MacBook lid is closed
This fixes a hardware limit: on Apple silicon Mac laptops and Intel Mac laptops with the Apple T2 Security Chip, the built-in microphone is turned off in hardware whenever the lid is closed.
Open the MacBook lid to use the built-in microphone.
To keep the MacBook closed, connect an external microphone and choose it in FaceTime, Video.
You can also choose the external microphone from the Apple menu, System Settings, Sound, Input.
Try iPhone or an audio interface as the input
Use this when the built-in microphone is unavailable, an external mic is the better input, or audio is routed through a USB microphone or audio interface. FaceTime can use the input selected in macOS.
To use an iPhone as the microphone, open Settings on iPhone, go to General, then AirPlay & Continuity, and turn on Continuity Camera.
On the Mac, open FaceTime, click Video in the menu bar, and choose your iPhone. Keep the iPhone locked, in landscape orientation, and stationary with its screen off.
Apple limits the System Settings, Sound, Input route to a Mac that does not have a built-in or external microphone, so a MacBook usually will not list the iPhone there. Select the iPhone in FaceTime instead.
If the iPhone is the wrong input, tap Disconnect on the iPhone and confirm. This removes the iPhone from camera and microphone lists in apps and from Sound settings input devices.
For a USB microphone, audio interface, or multichannel device, connect the device and open Audio MIDI Setup.
In the Audio Devices window sidebar, select the device, then Control-click it or use the Configure Selected Device pop-up menu and choose Use This Device for Sound Input.
If the external mic or audio interface still fails after microphone access is allowed, check the device maker for software updates and compatibility information.
Update macOS, test hardware, and handle managed Macs
Open the Apple menu, go to System Settings, choose General, then click Software Update.
Install available updates for your Mac.
Open FaceTime, choose FaceTime, then Settings, select General, and click Sign Out.
Sign back in with your Apple Account email address or phone number and password.
Quit FaceTime, then test the microphone in another app that records or uses audio input.
When the microphone fails outside FaceTime too, treat it as a system, input-device, or hardware issue instead of a FaceTime-only issue.
For suspected hardware failure, run Apple Diagnostics. Shut down, disconnect external devices except keyboard, mouse, display, Ethernet, and power, then on Apple silicon hold the power or Touch ID button until startup options appear and press and hold Command-D; on Intel, turn on the Mac and immediately hold D, or hold Option-D if that fails.
For a work or school Mac, contact your organization administrator when microphone access is managed or blocked. Managed Macs can receive privacy policies that control microphone access.
Do not try to uninstall FaceTime as a standalone app; Apple’s supported repair path for built-in macOS apps is reinstalling macOS from macOS Recovery after backing up if possible.
If Apple Diagnostics reports a problem or the microphone fails in every app after these checks, the next step is hardware service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can people hear me in other apps but not in FaceTime?
FaceTime is using a different input or Mic Mode. Open FaceTime, choose Video, select the correct microphone, then set Mic Mode to Standard.
Why does my MacBook microphone stop working when the lid is closed?
On Apple silicon Mac laptops and Intel Mac laptops with the Apple T2 Security Chip, the built-in microphone is turned off in hardware whenever the lid is closed. Open the lid or use an external microphone.
Can I use my iPhone as a FaceTime microphone on Mac?
Yes. On iPhone, turn on Continuity Camera in Settings, General, AirPlay & Continuity. On Mac, open FaceTime, click Video in the menu bar, and choose the iPhone, keeping it locked, in landscape, and stationary with its screen off. Apple reserves the System Settings, Sound, Input route for a Mac that has no built-in or external microphone.
Should I reset NVRAM or delete TCC files to fix FaceTime microphone problems?
No. Use Apple’s supported microphone input, permission, update, diagnostics, and macOS reinstall paths instead of NVRAM reset, deleting TCC.db, disabling SIP, or killing tccd.