Even with ear buds, the sound still comes from my computer. Help!

I always use my ear buds (with a cord) when I'm on my macbook air. One day, the buds were connected, but the sound was coming from my computer. I've been using the buds for years; I bought a new pair thinking it was the buds, but the same thing happened when I plugged them in. Help!


MacBook Air, macOS 14.4

Posted on Mar 27, 2025 7:20 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Mar 30, 2025 4:45 PM

In the Sound System Settings, make sure the EarBuds are shown as an Output device option, and make sure to click on them to highlight & select the EarBuds to be the output source. If earbuds are not seen by the system, then you have a hardware issue of some sort (bad earbuds/cable, port, etc.).


Check the Privacy & Security System Settings to make sure the earbuds have permission to access the audio (not sure this is needed).


If it is an M-series Mac and these are USB based earbuds, then make sure you have given approval to allow the USB earbuds permission to connect to the system. Sometimes the pop-up notice to request approval for external devices to connect can be missed or not even pop-up at all.

If your Mac asks you to allow an accessory to connect - Apple Support




2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 30, 2025 4:45 PM in response to pattie533

In the Sound System Settings, make sure the EarBuds are shown as an Output device option, and make sure to click on them to highlight & select the EarBuds to be the output source. If earbuds are not seen by the system, then you have a hardware issue of some sort (bad earbuds/cable, port, etc.).


Check the Privacy & Security System Settings to make sure the earbuds have permission to access the audio (not sure this is needed).


If it is an M-series Mac and these are USB based earbuds, then make sure you have given approval to allow the USB earbuds permission to connect to the system. Sometimes the pop-up notice to request approval for external devices to connect can be missed or not even pop-up at all.

If your Mac asks you to allow an accessory to connect - Apple Support




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Even with ear buds, the sound still comes from my computer. Help!

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