One AirPod Not Working (No Sound) When Connected To Mac
Last updated on August 17th, 2022 at 07:54 pm
Posted in Bug Fixes by Patricia on December 21, 2021
One AirPod no sound on Mac
Is one AirPod not working when connected to Mac? There’s no sound, or almost no sound, in the left or right AirPod when the Bluetooth earbuds are connected to MacBook? You might be dealing with a macOS Monterey glitch!
One AirPod Not Working With Mac
This issue has been signaled to us by Rita:
“Only one AirPod has sound when I connect my AirPods Pro to MacBook! Started after Monterey update! Pls help!”
We’ve also encountered it when trying to listen to music airdropped from a MacBook Air to a pair of AirPods Pro.
Time to relax, this isn’t a hardware issue, especially if audio plays normally from other devices like iPhone, iPad or Apple TV!
How To Fix One AirPod No Sound
If you’re encountering similar issues you’re most likely dealing with a macOS Monterey audio balance bug:
- Connect AirPods to Mac and open System Preferences.
- Click on Sound.
- In the Output section, select AirPods from the list of available devices for sound output.
- Check the Balance settings. If the cursor is to the left or right side, one AirPod is muted or won’t sound as loud as the other. Center the Balance cursor.
Video: How To Fix AirPod Not Working
Watch a demo of this macOS Monterey fix:
Extra Tip For AirPod Not Working
Some users complain that the audio balance resets itself every time the AirPods connect to Mac. If this is the case for you too, use the alt (option) Key + F12 combo!
It’s a keyboard shortcut that brings up the macOS Sound settings allowing you to quickly tweak the balance!
Credits: Thanks Nils for sharing this tip in the comments.
Does this do the trick for you? Have you managed to fix one AirPod not working? Use the comments section to share your feedback.
Related: AirPods audio cutting out when connected to MacBook running macOS Monterey? Here is what you can do to fix it!
😍 thank you so much it worked I wasted a lot of time trying to restart mac and update Monterey etc……but finally by just reading a few lines from this post I figured it out by just sliding the audio bar from right to balanced. thank you for the help :)
You’re welcome. Glad we could help!
This works thank you so much
Always happy to help!
It worked, thank you very much!
You’re welcome. Glad we could help.
this works, thanks!
but still every time I change the volume its glitching back to one ear only
Thanks for the feedback. Have you tried restarting your Mac? Also make sure that you’ve updated to the most recent macOS Monterey release.
AMAZING! I ve spent so much time searching for a a good solution and all I could find was unpair/restart. You deserve a medal :)
Thanks for the nice words. So happy that we could help.
It worked!! Small but bothering bug in Monterrey. Thanks!
You’re welcome. ;)
Thank you so much ! you are a life savior. I was really getting annoyed.
You’re welcome. Always happy to help out.
Oh God. It was really that easy. Apple customer support couldn’t figure this out. Thanks a ton.
Haha… you’re welcome!
THANK YOU!!! I tried resetting my AirPods plenty of time only for it to be working on just one side – either left or right. You’re a life saviour!
You’re welcome. Thanks for confirming the fix.
thank you so much. idk how this even happened in the first place but I was freaking out ahha. way more helpful than apple support.
You’re welcome. Thanks for your comment.
Thankyou very much!! You’re a lifesaverrr
You’re most welcome! Thanks for the nice words.
Gosh! I wish I would have read this article earlier. I literally wasted my time resetting my AirPods Pro and restarting my MacBook, trying to fix the problem. My AirPods are working perfectly now after following the instructions in this article. Thank you so much!
Better late than never. You’re welcome! ;)
life saving, no idea how it was changed
Thanks for confirming.
thank you so much.. it’s working… may Allah gives you His Bless
You’re welcome. Thanks
Thank you so much!! this worked so fast! :D
Glad it did! You’re welcome.
worked perfectly! thanks for sharing!
Happy to help!
Thanks for the article. It worked after trying what you said. It was so annoying because I was thinking that my Mac Monterey bluetooth drivers was broken (technically might have been :) )
Glad we could provide such an easy fix!
OMG THANK YOU!!!!! I spend the last hour trying to fix and almost took my mac in to apple support. This was too easy!!
You’re welcome! Glad to help out!
Many thanks for that. Worked like a dream :)
Thumbs up!
You’re a wizard, thanks :)
Would love to! You’re welcome!
It really helped. Thanks a lot for the post.
You’re welcome!
thanks soooooooooooo much~
Anytime Kenny!
I just had the issue on macOS 12.1, it solved the problem. Thank you very much !
You’re welcome. Thanks for the feedback.
Thank you for this!!! So simple yet Apple didn’t even offer this solution.
You’re welcome. Share this article with them and help them improve their support.
That worked for me last week but now when I get to that screen, it says “the selected device has no output controls”…What can be done here?
What macOS version are you using? Is this happening on the same computer that worked last week?
Gee, thanks. I had this problem a while and finally your article helped
Apple support useless as always
You’re welcome. Glad we could help!
Thanks for the help! Ive no clue why that would even have happened in the first place but i’m glad this troubleshooting ACTUALLY worked.
You’re welcome. Always happy to help.
Solved my annoying problem in an instant. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome. Thanks for confirming.
This is the only thing thats actually worked! Thank you very much
You’re welcome, thanks for the feedback!
hi everytime i reconnect my airpods the audio balance resets itself. So i have to balance it everytime i connect my airpods. Is there a solution for that?
I have the same problem on my 2021 M1 MacBook Pro and I’m still struggle to fix it! The only hint I can give is that option+F12 key opens the sound settings direct which makes it quicker to fix the Balance every time…
Thanks for the shortcut Nils. I will update it in the main content of the article. In the meantime, macOS 12.4 is out. You might want to consider updating and let us know if the problem persists.
Thanks for the feedback. A helping tip has been pointed out by Nils: use the option (alt) key + F12 key comobo to open the sound settings directly and adjust the balance faster.
Also, update to macOS 12.4 which has just been rolled out and let us know if it helps.
Thank you, this worked perfectly! Is it a problem that occurs, when you do it for the first time, or is it a MacBook Problem, as I think this shouldn’t happen to AudioDevices in the same EcoSystem from Apple.
Yes, it shouldn’t happen. It might be a macOS related bug. Let us know if the fix is permanent for you or if you have to adjust the balance every time.
THANK YOU!! Nothing else worked and this did!
Glad it did. You’re welcome!
Spent a lot of time talking to Apple Support and still couldn’t figure it out – this worked!! Thanks so much!
You’re welcome! Thanks for confirming!
Thank you so much! When I was listening on Spotify, my AirPods randomly glitched and the sound switched to one ear. I had no idea how to fix it and it’s been happening for about 2 days. I didn’t want to restart my computer and I was thankful enough to find this website :D.
You’re welcome. Happy to help!
Thank you so much!!!! As a new Mac OS user I thought it was me, but turns out it was this OS bug! It was fine on my phone but not on my laptop, SOOO glad I came across this post, worked instantly. THANK YOU!!!!
You’re welcome Deena. Glad we could help! Enjoy your new Mac!
amazing! it worked like a charm!
Great! Thanks for confirming.
worked like a charm
Great. Happy to help.
Thank you! This worked!
Great! You’re welcome!
Thank you so much!! Short and to the point and the only website that actually helped
You’re welcome. Happy to help.
Your tip solved my issue with Earpod. I appreciate your help.