Microphone access and Mic Mode on macOS
On macOS 10.14 or higher, audio applications including Ableton Live require permission to access audio inputs. If you do not allow Live to access the microphone, you may be unable to record audio.
Enable Ableton Live to access the microphone on macOS
Mic Mode on macOS Monterey or higher
Enable Ableton Live to access the microphone on macOS
On macOS 10.14 or higher, audio applications require permission to access audio inputs. When opening Live for the first time, you'll see this notification:
Click "OK" to enable Live to receive audio.
Note: Although the notification says "microphone," it refers to all audio inputs, including the internal microphone, USB microphones, and any inputs on external audio interfaces.
If you clicked on "Don't Allow," you can still grant access in System Preferences, following these steps:
- Close Live.
-
Open System Preferences > Security and Privacy > Privacy > Microphone:
- Enable the switch next to Ableton Live.
- Launch Live.
Your audio inputs should now be enabled.
Mic Mode on macOS Monterey or higher
On macOS Monterey or higher, a Mic Mode for Live can be set. This setting may affect Live’s ability to successfully record audio.
To adjust this setting for macOS Monterey and Ventura:
- Open Live, go to Live > Preferences/Settings > Audio, and enable an Audio Input Device.
- Open Control Center from the macOS Menu Bar.
- Make sure the Mic Mode is set to Standard:
To adjust this setting for macOS Sonoma and above:
- Open Live, go to Live > Preferences/Settings > Audio, and enable an Audio Input Device.
- Click on the microphone icon in the macOS Menu Bar.
- Make sure the Mic Mode is set to Standard:
Please note: if Standard has already been set when you open Mic Mode, we would recommend changing the setting to Voice Isolation and then again to Standard just to make sure that the change is fully taken into account.
More information can be found in this Apple Knowledge Base article.