Why can't I detach audio in imovie?

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Level 1

20 points

Why can't I detach audio in imovie?

I read the whole of this question thread from 2015 and none of the solutions worked so I am asking it again.

I uploaded a video file from a camera and detaching the audio worked fine.

I uploaded a second video file from my iPhone, and when I select the menu to 'detach audio', the command is greyed-out (inactive).

I tried adding a dummy audio track to the timeline as one of the posts in the above thread said you need to do this before iMovie will allow you to detach the audio, but it doesn't solve the problem.

The only thing I want to do is remove the audio from this video clip. That is all I am using iMovie for but after 20 minutes of trying I have not achieved this task.

I'm using iMovie 10.2.5 on OS X 10.15.7.

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jan 2, 2022 3:02 PM

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Answer 1

Rich839

Level 8

47,706 points

Jan 2, 2022 5:03 PM in response to billtubbs

It could be a corrupt preference causing the detach audio feature not to function. Try deleting preferences and see if that solves it. To delete preferences open iMovie while holding down the Option and Command keys and select to delete preferences in the box that appears. iMovie will open in a new library. Reopen your old library to get back to your projects. Now see if you can detach audio. Deleting preferences is a safe procedure that will not cause data loss or disruption to your project.

Also, you can try putting the clip into a newly created project and see if the detach audio feature works there.

I'm sure you've done this, but to cover the bases, make sure that the clip has audio in it.

-- Rich

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Why can't I detach audio in imovie?

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