No Sound After macOS 27? Fix Headphones, AirPlay, Bluetooth

Audio is something you don’t think about until it stops. Since Golden Gate launched, users have reported a headphone jack that went silent after upgrading, AirPlay audio that won’t route properly, audio utilities that other users are warning each other about, and music producers opening Logic Pro to find their plug-ins missing. If you are chasing a related macOS 27 fault, see our fixes for external monitor problems and a Mac that won’t start after updating.

Mac audio passes through several layers: the output device, the Core Audio system process, any third-party audio drivers or utilities, and the apps themselves. The fastest route to a fix is working out which layer failed.

Which layer failed?

Match what you’re seeing to the likely layer before you start trying fixes:

Symptom	Likely layer	Start with
No sound anywhere, speakers included	Output selection or Core Audio	Steps 1 and 2
Sound missing in one app only	The app	That app’s own volume, then quit and reopen it
Silent 3.5 mm jack, speakers fine	The headphone output	The headphone jack section
AirPlay won’t route or cuts out	Core Audio, a routing utility or the network	The AirPlay section
Bluetooth headphones sound worse during calls	The headset’s microphone mode	The Bluetooth section
Sound broke after installing or updating an audio utility	A third-party audio component	The audio utilities section
Plug-ins vanished from Logic, system audio is fine	Rosetta or plug-in compatibility	The plug-ins section

Step 1: The 60-second checks

1. Check the output device. Open System Settings > Sound > Output and confirm the device you expect is selected. After an upgrade, macOS sometimes switches to a different output, such as a monitor’s speakers, a virtual device from a utility or a Bluetooth device nearby. Option-clicking the Sound icon in the menu bar lists the devices too, if you keep it there.
2. Check the volume and mute for the selected device, not just the menu bar slider.
3. Check the app’s own volume. Browsers can mute individual tabs; music, video and call apps have separate controls.
4. Unplug and replug headphones, USB audio devices and docks.
5. Play something in a second app. If sound works there, the problem isn’t macOS audio as a whole.

Step 2: Restart Core Audio

The most effective fix for “no output devices,” silent audio or devices that won’t switch is restarting the system audio process, coreaudiod. macOS relaunches it automatically within seconds.

With Activity Monitor: open it, search for coreaudiod, select it, click the stop button and choose Quit.

With Terminal:

sudo killall coreaudiod

Audio drops for a moment and comes back. Note that the older launchctl kickstart method many guides recommend no longer works on recent macOS versions; quitting the process is the way to do it.

Restarting Core Audio interrupts sound in every app, so stop any recording first. Some apps hold on to the old audio connection and need to be quit and reopened afterward.

If sound returns and then disappears again later, something is repeatedly breaking Core Audio. Usually that’s a third-party audio component (see the audio utilities section below).

The headphone jack is silent

What’s reported: after upgrading from Tahoe to Golden Gate, no sound through the 3.5 mm jack, while the speakers work.

Try, in order:

• Select Headphones manually in Sound > Output with the headphones plugged in.
• Restart Core Audio (Step 2) with the headphones connected.
• Test with a different pair of headphones, to rule out a bad cable or a headset with an inline control that macOS misreads.
• Open Audio MIDI Setup (Applications > Utilities), select the built-in output and check that its format isn’t set to an unusual sample rate or muted channels.
• Remove audio utilities temporarily (see the audio utilities section below). Virtual audio devices can take over routing.

If the headphones work in Safe Mode, a third-party audio component is interfering.

AirPlay audio won’t route, or cuts out

• Restart Core Audio while the AirPlay device is on.
• Switch the output to the Mac and back to the AirPlay device in Sound > Output.
• Remove per-app routing utilities temporarily. Users of at least one popular per-app audio utility have warned others not to run it on Golden Gate until it’s updated, and AirPlay routing is exactly what these tools intercept.
• Check the receiver. Update the firmware on AirPlay speakers, receivers and smart TVs.
• Same network, no isolation. Make sure the Mac and the receiver are on the same network and that guest or client isolation isn’t enabled on the router.
• VPNs and network filters can block local network discovery. Pause them and try again.

Bluetooth headphones sound bad or drop

• Turn Bluetooth off and on, or restart the headphones, before you re-pair.
• Forget and re-pair the device: System Settings > Bluetooth, click the info button next to the device, choose Forget This Device, then pair again.
• Check the microphone input. When a Bluetooth headset’s microphone is active in a call app, many headsets drop to a lower-quality audio mode. In Sound > Input, select your Mac’s built-in microphone to keep headphone playback in high quality.
• Reduce interference. USB 3 hubs and docks near the Mac can interfere with Bluetooth.

Using Parallels? During the Golden Gate beta, users reported Bluetooth audio not reaching Windows virtual machines. Update Parallels Desktop, and use the Mac’s built-in output for the VM until a fix is confirmed.

Audio utilities and virtual devices broke sound

Tools that create virtual audio devices, route audio per app, add a system-wide EQ or record system audio install components deep in the audio system. They’re the most likely thing to break with a new macOS release.

Find them:

ls /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL
systemextensionsctl list

The HAL folder holds audio driver plug-ins that create virtual devices. Each item there comes from a third-party app.

Fix:

1. Quit the utility and check whether sound returns after restarting Core Audio.
2. If it does, look on the developer’s site for a macOS 27 update before using it again.
3. If quitting isn’t enough, use the developer’s uninstaller, then restart.

Don’t delete files from /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL by hand unless you know which app they belong to and there’s no uninstaller.

Open Audio MIDI Setup too. Some tools leave behind aggregate or multi-output devices that can quietly take over routing. Remove only the ones you recognize and no longer use.

Plug-ins missing in Logic Pro or other audio apps

The most common cause: Rosetta. Apple’s macOS 27 release notes state that if Rosetta was previously installed, it isn’t automatically restored after upgrading. Intel-only Audio Unit plug-ins then simply don’t load, and because they run inside the host app, there may be no prompt to install Rosetta.

Fix:

softwareupdate --install-rosetta --agree-to-license

Then reopen Logic Pro and let it rescan plug-ins. You can also check plug-in status in Logic’s Plug-in Manager.

Remember that this is a temporary fix: Intel-based plug-ins won’t load in macOS 28. Use this year to find Apple silicon versions or replacements.

Other causes:

• Plug-ins not yet certified for macOS 27. Check each developer’s compatibility page. Pro audio retailers routinely advise waiting for vendor confirmation after major releases.
• License managers that need an update before plug-ins authorize.
• Audio interfaces with drivers. Interfaces that require a driver or control app need a macOS 27 version from the manufacturer; class-compliant interfaces usually work without one.

When nothing helps

1. Test in Safe Mode. If audio works there, a third-party component is the cause.
2. Try a new user account to rule out user-level audio settings.
3. Run Apple Diagnostics if the speakers or the jack fail in Safe Mode too.
4. Report it in Feedback Assistant with your Mac model, output device and what you’ve tried.

To start in Safe Mode on an Apple silicon Mac, shut down, hold the power button until the startup options appear, pick your disk, then hold Shift and click Continue in Safe Mode. On an Intel Mac, hold Shift while it starts.

To run Apple Diagnostics on an Apple silicon Mac, shut down, hold the power button until the startup options appear, then press Command-D. On an Intel Mac, hold D while it starts.

What to collect before you report

A report with details gets read. Gather these first:

• Your Mac model and macOS version (Apple menu > About This Mac)
• The output device you’re using, and whether the problem happens on others
• Whether the problem shows up in Safe Mode and in a new user account
• The output of the two commands in the audio utilities section
• What you’ve already tried, in order

The short version

• Check Sound > Output first; upgrades can switch the default device.
• Restart Core Audio with sudo killall coreaudiod. It fixes more than a reboot does.
• Audio utilities and virtual devices are the usual culprits. Quit them, then wait for macOS 27 updates.
• Missing plug-ins in Logic: Rosetta isn’t restored after upgrading. Install it manually.
• Audio interfaces and plug-ins need vendor confirmation for macOS 27.
• If it’s still silent in Safe Mode, run Apple Diagnostics and report it.