--- title: "Sony Headphones Connected to Mac but No Sound" description: "Sony headphones say Connected on your Mac, but sound comes from the speakers or not at all? Check the output, the app's own setting, volume and other devices." url: https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-connected-no-sound-mac language: en --- # Connected, but no sound Your Mac lists the headphones as connected, yet you hear nothing, or the sound still comes from the speakers. The pairing is fine; the audio is going somewhere else. Applies to: [MDR-1000X](https://opensoundconnect.app/headphones/mdr-1000x), [WH-1000XM2](https://opensoundconnect.app/headphones/wh-1000xm2), [WH-1000XM3](https://opensoundconnect.app/headphones/wh-1000xm3), [WH-1000XM4](https://opensoundconnect.app/headphones/wh-1000xm4), [WH-1000XM5](https://opensoundconnect.app/headphones/wh-1000xm5), [WH-1000XM6](https://opensoundconnect.app/headphones/wh-1000xm6), [WH-1000XX](https://opensoundconnect.app/headphones/wh-1000xx) · Updated 2026-11-03 ## Short answer When Sony headphones are connected to a Mac but there's no sound: 1. Open **System Settings → Sound → Output** (or **Control Center → Sound**) and select the headphones. 2. Check the speaker or output setting inside the app you're using, especially video-call and music apps. 3. Turn the volume up on the Mac and in the app, and make sure nothing is muted. 4. Pause playback on your phone or other computer, then switch the output away from the headphones and back. ## Choose the headphones as the output Being connected and being the sound output are two separate things on a Mac. The headphones can show **Connected** in **System Settings → Bluetooth** while macOS keeps playing through the built-in speakers or a display. 1. Open **System Settings → Sound**. 2. Under **Output**, click your headphones. 3. Play something to check. The quicker way is **Control Center → Sound**: the list below the volume slider shows every output, with a check mark next to the current one. If you see more than one entry with your headphones' name, or an aggregate or multi-output device made by audio software, choose the plain headphones entry. ## Check the app's own output Many apps choose their speaker separately from macOS. Video-call apps such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Webex, audio production apps and some games have an output or speaker setting of their own, and they keep using the old device even after you change the system output. - Open the app's audio settings and set the speaker or output to your headphones, or to the system default. - Quit and reopen apps that were already playing before the headphones connected. Some only pick up a new output when they start. - Try a second app, such as a video in Safari, to see whether the problem is one app or the whole Mac. ## Check the volume and mute - Press the volume-up key or drag the slider in **Control Center → Sound**. - Check the volume and mute in the app or the web player. - Check the headphones' own volume control, which can be set separately. If you hear sound, just very quietly, that's a different problem: see [Sony headphones too quiet on a Mac](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-low-volume-mac). ## Look for another device holding the audio The WH-1000XM4, WH-1000XM5, WH-1000XM6 and WH-1000XX can be connected to two devices at once, and they play from one at a time. If your phone or another computer is still playing, or was playing last, the Mac can be connected but silent. - Pause playback on the other device, then start it on the Mac. - On the WH-1000XM6, starting playback on a device makes it take over. - With Open Sound Connect, the **Wearing** page (⌘4) shows the headphones' device list under **Connectivity**, marking which device is **Connected · playing**, if your headphones report it. On models that report it, the **Playback device** control there can move playback to the Mac, and **Pin to this Mac** keeps it there. See [Sony headphones with a Mac and an iPhone](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-mac-iphone). ## Check the headphones themselves - **Taken off:** the WH-1000XM4, WH-1000XM5, WH-1000XM6 and WH-1000XX pause music when you take them off, using a sensor in the left ear cup. If you're testing them in your hand, put them on. This is the **Pause When Taken Off** setting. - **Charging:** the WH-1000XM4 and WH-1000XM5 can't play music while connected to a charger or computer. - **Cable:** Bluetooth turns off while the 3.5 mm cable is plugged in. - **Battery:** if they're nearly empty, charge them (on the WH-1000XM4 and WH-1000XM5, then unplug to listen). Open Sound Connect shows the battery level on **My Device** and in the menu bar. ## Reconnect If everything looks right and it's still silent: 1. In **Control Center → Sound**, select the Mac's speakers, then select the headphones again. 2. Disconnect the headphones in **Control Center → Bluetooth** and connect them again. 3. Turn the headphones off and on. 4. Restart the Mac. 5. If none of that helps, choose **Forget This Device** in **System Settings → Bluetooth** and [pair them again](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/connect-sony-headphones-to-mac). Open Sound Connect doesn't route audio; macOS does. The app controls the headphones' settings over a separate connection, so it can't send sound to them, but it can't block it either. If the headphones won't connect at all, see [Sony headphones not connecting to a Mac](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-not-connecting-mac). ## Common questions ### Why does sound come out of my MacBook speakers when the headphones are connected? The output is still set to the speakers. Choose the headphones in **Control Center → Sound** or **System Settings → Sound → Output**; macOS normally switches to them by itself when they connect. ### There's sound in Music, but not in my video call. Why? The call app has its own speaker setting. Open its audio settings and pick the headphones there. If the call works but sounds muffled, see [bad call audio on a Mac](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-bad-call-audio-mac). ### Can Open Sound Connect cause the missing sound? No. It uses its own control channel and doesn't touch the audio. **Disconnect Controls** (⇧⌘K) closes that channel and leaves your audio as it is. ## Where to next - [Sony headphones too quiet on a Mac](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-low-volume-mac): Low volume on a Mac: the system and app volume, the headphones' own control, balance, the equalizer and safe listening. - [Sony headphones not connecting to Mac](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-not-connecting-mac): Pairing mode, a competing device, a stale pairing, the Mac's Bluetooth and resetting each model, in order. - [Mac troubleshooter](https://opensoundconnect.app/troubleshooter): Choose a symptom and get the checks to try, in order, with a link to the full guide. --- Open Sound Connect is independent software. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sony. Sony, DSEE, DSEE Extreme and LDAC are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Group Corporation or its affiliates. Apple, Mac, macOS, Finder, Safari, Xcode and App Store are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions. The Bluetooth® word mark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. Other names are trademarks of their respective owners.