--- title: "Sony Headphone Microphone Not Working on Mac" description: "Nobody hears you through your Sony headphones on a Mac? Check the input in Sound settings, microphone access, your meeting app and the cable. XM4, XM5 and more." url: https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-microphone-not-working-mac language: en --- # Your Sony mic, heard again Music plays fine, but on a call nobody can hear you. The fix is almost always on the Mac: which microphone it uses, and which apps may use it. 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 Work through these in order: 1. **Choose the input.** Open **System Settings → Sound → Input** and select your headphones. Speak and watch the input level move. 2. **Allow the app.** Under **System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone**, turn on your meeting app or browser. 3. **Check the meeting app.** In Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet or Discord, pick the headphones as the microphone, or the system default. 4. **Use Bluetooth, not the cable.** Over the headphone cable, the headphones' microphone isn't used on any model. ## 1. Select the headphones as the Mac's input macOS keeps the output (what you hear) and the input (the microphone) separate. Your headphones can be the output while the Mac still listens through its built-in microphone, or the other way round. 1. Open **System Settings → Sound**. 2. Under **Input**, select your Sony headphones. 3. Speak: the **Input level** meter should move. If it doesn't, raise the **Input volume** slider. If the headphones aren't in the **Input** list, they aren't connected as a headset. Disconnect and reconnect them in **System Settings → Bluetooth**, then look again. If that doesn't help, see [Sony headphones not connecting](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-not-connecting-mac). As soon as the Mac uses the headphones' microphone, Bluetooth switches to a mode for calls and music sounds worse until the microphone is no longer in use. That's normal: [why calls sound bad](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-bad-call-audio-mac) explains it, and how to avoid it. ## 2. Give your apps microphone access macOS asks the first time an app wants the microphone. If you chose **Don't Allow**, the app hears nothing, whatever microphone you pick. 1. Open **System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone**. 2. Turn on the app you call with: Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Discord, or the browser you use for Google Meet. 3. Quit and reopen that app. ## 3. Check the meeting app's own settings Meeting apps choose their own microphone, and don't always follow the Mac. In the app's audio or voice settings, select your headphones as the microphone (or the option that follows the system), then use its test to check. [Sony headphones for meetings](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-meetings-mac) shows where the setting is in Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and Discord. Also check that you aren't muted in the app, and that only one app is using the microphone: quit other call apps and close browser tabs with calls in them. ## 4. The cable carries no microphone Every 1000X model comes with a headphone cable, but the headphones' microphone isn't used over it. Sony's Help Guides say to take wired calls on the phone and talk using the phone's microphone. Bluetooth turns off while the cable is plugged in, so the Mac can't use the headphones' microphone either. The USB-C port (micro-USB on the MDR-1000X and WH-1000XM2) is for charging, not audio. While they charge, the WH-1000XM4 and WH-1000XM5 can't be used at all; the WH-1000XM6 and WH-1000XX can. For calls, connect over Bluetooth. More in [USB-C and wired listening](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-usb-c-wired-mac). ## 5. Rule out the headphones' other connections If the headphones are also connected to your phone, a call on the phone can take them over. Disconnect them from the phone, or turn its Bluetooth off for a moment, and try again on the Mac. [Sony headphones with a Mac and iPhone](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-mac-iphone) explains how each model shares a connection. On the WH-1000XM4 and newer, [Speak-to-Chat](https://opensoundconnect.app/features/speak-to-chat) also reacts to your voice: it pauses or quiets your audio when you talk. That's not a microphone fault, but if audio cuts out every time you speak, turn it off. Sony also says to turn it off for calls over the cable. ## What Open Sound Connect can and can't do here Open Sound Connect has no microphone controls: choosing the microphone, its level and call audio are handled by macOS and your meeting app. What it can do is turn Speak-to-Chat off from your Mac on the **Voice** page (⌘3) and in the menu bar, and show whether the headphones are connected. If the headphones play audio but don't appear in the app, see [headphones not detected](https://opensoundconnect.app/support/headphones-not-detected). ## Common questions ### Why is my Sony headphones' microphone not in the Input list? The headphones aren't connected to the Mac as a headset right now, or they're connected to another device. Reconnect them in **System Settings → Bluetooth** and check **System Settings → Sound → Input** again. ### Does the microphone work with the cable plugged in? No. On every 1000X model, the microphone isn't used over the cable and Bluetooth turns off while it's plugged in. Unplug the cable and use Bluetooth for calls. ### Can I use the MacBook's microphone with the headphones? Yes. Choose the headphones under **Output** and the MacBook's microphone under **Input**. Music and the other people stay in the headphones' better-sounding mode, as explained in [why calls sound bad](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-bad-call-audio-mac). ## Where to next - [Bad sound on calls](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-bad-call-audio-mac): Why audio turns muffled when the headphones' mic is in use, and how to keep the good sound on calls. - [Meetings: Zoom, Teams, Meet, Discord](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-meetings-mac): Speaker and microphone settings for Zoom, Teams, Meet and Discord, plus a scene that sets up your headphones for calls. - [USB-C and wired listening](https://opensoundconnect.app/guides/sony-headphones-usb-c-wired-mac): Why USB-C doesn't carry audio, how to use the 3.5 mm cable with a Mac, and what changes when you do. --- 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.