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

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

QuickTime and basic screen recorders cannot capture system audio (the sound coming from applications, video calls, or browser tabs) out of the box.

To capture system audio without specialized software, you traditionally have to install virtual audio drivers like BlackHole and create a Multi-Output Device in the Audio MIDI Setup utility.

A simpler alternative:

Instead of configuring virtual devices, use a modern screen recorder built on Apple's ScreenCaptureKit API (available on macOS Ventura and newer). ScreenCaptureKit allows apps like ScreenKite to capture system audio natively with a single click, bypass virtual drivers entirely, and keep your audio in sync.