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I have a Macbook Pro 2015 running Mojave 10.14.6. I have absolutely no sound output both from internal speakers and headphones, even the startup sound doesn't play. Microphone input is fine. The sound settings are OK, connecting and disconnecting the headphones is recognized correctly, no red light from the headphones jack socket. No peripherals are connected, Bluetooth is turned off.

I tried:

  • Reboot, multiple times
  • Install the latest system update
  • Reboot to safe mode
  • Reset PRAM
  • Run sudo killall audiod
  • Log in a guest account

Any other ideas? Thanks!

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  • Can you test if bluetooth headphones/speakers work? If bluetooth itself works but audio is not transmitting, it would probably rule out a hardware issue.
    – Joonas
    Aug 28, 2019 at 7:00
  • @Joonas thank you, haven't thought of that! A bluetooth speaker works.
    – Eva
    Aug 28, 2019 at 7:04
  • So it's likely a hardware issue, right? :-( Thank you!
    – Eva
    Aug 28, 2019 at 7:16
  • I'm not sure what that proves. I mean... In my mind that would make a hardware issue more likely, but I can't say for certain. Perhaps the software part that handles non-bluetooth audio is acting up (if that's a thing). I don't know. To begin with, the fact that it didn't work when logged in to the guest account... That makes a software issue less likely. Not sure what the next step is. I don't know if there is a better procedure to figure out the source of the issue...
    – Joonas
    Aug 28, 2019 at 7:21

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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I know you've already reset the NVRAM (what you're referring to as PRAM), but the first thing I'd try is to reset both the NVRAM and SMC in that order. Before following the steps below, ensure you have no external hardware connected and make sure you use the built-in keyboard.

Reset the NVRAM

Your Mac uses Non-Volatile Random-Access Memory (NVRAM). Here’s how to reset the NVRAM on your particular MBP:

  1. Shut down your machine. Yes, a full shut down, not just logging out.
  2. Press the power button and then press the commandoptionpr keys. You have to make sure you press these keys before the gray screen appears or it won’t work.
  3. Hold those keys down until your Mac reboots again and you here the startup chime for the second time.
  4. Let go of the keys and let your Mac reboot normally.

Note: When you log back in you may need to readjust some of your system preferences (e.g. speaker volume, screen resolution, startup disk selection, time zone information, etc).

Once done, proceed to resetting the SMC as well.

Reset the SMC

To reset the System management Controller on your particular MBP, follow these steps:

  1. Shut down your computer
  2. Keep the power cable plugged in
  3. Press at the same time shiftoptioncontrol (on the left side of the keyboard) and the power button and hold all these down for at least 10 seconds
  4. Let go
  5. Turn your computer back on with the power button.

After resetting both the NVRAM and SMC, use your Mac to determine if you still have no sound output.

If it doesn't, then it's time to test your hardware with Apple Diagnostics.

Run Apple Diagnostics

Follow the steps below to run Apple Diagnostics:

  1. Fully shut down your MBP
  2. Restart your MBP
  3. Immediately press the D key and keep it down until you see the Diagnostics screen appear
  4. Wait for Diagnostics to finish (this typically only takes a few minutes)
  5. Once complete, one of two things will appear on the screen:
    • a No issues found message
    • a brief description of any errors found plus further instructions
  6. If the diagnostics test does find errors, take a note of what they are

Note: If pressing and holding the D key at Step 3 doesn't work, start again at Step 1 and, at Step 3 press and hold both the OptionD keys instead. This will try and run diagnostics from the internet instead, so you will need to allow more time for it to complete.

Regardless, take a note of what happens and let me know how you went.

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  • Thank you! I performed the NVRAM and SMC resets, no change. Diagnostics didn't find anything (apart from a slightly decreased battery capacity, but that's not relevant).
    – Eva
    Aug 28, 2019 at 8:59
  • A few questions: (1) When you booted into Safe Mode, did you also test the sound output while you were in Safe Mode? (2) Have you got access to another Mac? If so, which model? (3) How long has this problem existed and did it coincide with something else (e.g. new hardware, new software, etc)? (4) When you say The sound settings are OK, can you elaborate on what that means? (5) Do you happen to have a Windows Bootcamp installation?
    – Monomeeth ♦
    Aug 28, 2019 at 11:21
  • 1. of course I did, it's the same. 2. no, I don't 3. two days, I'm not aware of anything that might have caused it 4. I mean that sound is not muted and all control elements are active and behaving normally - e. g. the volume control slider is not stuck in one position or anything like that 5. unfortunately not
    – Eva
    Aug 28, 2019 at 13:22
  • Also there's no unexpected output device listed, just the internal speaker or headphones, when they're connected.
    – Eva
    Aug 28, 2019 at 13:31
  • And I forgot to mention that it happened on this computer already a few months ago. The sound was very quiet for maybe a day and then stopped altogether. It recovered after several reboots. At that time I thought that unchecking the "Reopen all windows on startup" box before reboot was what did the trick. I tried it now, but no luck. Also this time there wasn't the "quiet sound" phase, or I'm not aware of it (but I'm not using sound on the Mac very often).
    – Eva
    Aug 28, 2019 at 13:39

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