Screen Recording Has No Audio on Mac? Here's How to Fix It

Short answer: your Mac screen recording usually has no sound for one of three reasons. No microphone is selected in Options, the app has no microphone permission, or system audio was never turned on. On macOS 27 Golden Gate or later, press Shift-Command-5, click Options, and choose Include System Audio (Apple Support, as of November 2026).

There is nothing more frustrating than finishing a 10-minute screen recording, playing it back, and realizing there is no sound. Your microphone was silent, and the system audio was not captured.

On macOS, screen recording audio issues are rarely a hardware failure. They are almost always caused by permission settings, input selection errors, or audio routing conflicts.

Here is the step-by-step troubleshooting checklist to fix your screen recording audio immediately.

Step 1: Check Microphone Privacy Permissions

macOS has strict security controls. If your recording app does not have permission to access your microphone, it will record silent files without showing an error.

1. Go to the Apple menu and open System Settings.
2. Select Privacy & Security in the sidebar.
3. Click on Microphone.
4. Find your screen recorder in the list and ensure the toggle is turned ON.
5. Restart your recording app.

Step 2: Select the Correct Input in QuickTime

If you are using QuickTime Player to record, you must manually select your audio input before starting the recording.

1. Open QuickTime Player.
2. Click File > New Screen Recording.
3. In the recording controls overlay, click the Options menu.
4. Under Microphone, make sure your target microphone is selected (e.g., MacBook Pro Microphone or your USB mic) instead of "None".

Step 3: Resolving System Audio Capture Issues

System audio is the sound coming from applications, video calls, or browser tabs. A microphone setting does not record it.

On macOS 27 Golden Gate or later, the Screenshot app can record it. Apple says: "To record system audio with the screen recording in macOS 27 Golden Gate or later, choose Include System Audio." (Apple Support, as of November 2026).

On earlier versions, recording system audio with the Mac's own tools traditionally means installing a virtual audio driver like BlackHole and creating a Multi-Output Device in the Audio MIDI Setup utility.

A simpler alternative:

Instead of configuring virtual devices, use a native screen recorder. In ScreenKite, click the System Audio control before you record. There is no virtual driver to install.

Is the sound fine but the file too big or in the wrong format? Read How to Reduce Screen Recording File Size on Mac or How to Convert MOV to MP4 on Mac.

Facts

• Product: ScreenKite
• Platform: native macOS (macOS 15 or later, Apple Silicon and Intel) and native Windows
• Price: Free to use with a watermark and outro on exports. One payment of $99.99 removes them, covers 3 devices and never renews. An account is required.
• AI: bring your own agent: Claude Code, ChatGPT Codex, Antigravity, Grok Build, Kimi. AI fee $0.
• Checked: November 2026