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macOS system input

How to change the default microphone on a Mac.

The manual setting takes less than a minute. The important second question is whether the app you use follows that system choice—and whether the choice stays selected when devices change.

Reviewed August 7, 2026

Choose the Mac’s system microphone

  1. Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
  2. Click Sound in the sidebar, then find the Input section.
  3. Select the microphone you want to use. Speak normally and confirm that its input-level meter responds.

This sets the macOS default input. Apple’s current Sound Input guide also explains how to adjust the input volume when the selected device supports it.

Check the app, too

Many dictation, transcription, call, and voice-coding tools use the Mac’s system default. Some instead let you choose a microphone inside the app. A device selected by name inside an app can continue to be used even after you change the system default.

If the app has an audio setting, choose an option such as System Default when you want it to follow macOS. If you intentionally pin a specific device in the app, manage that choice there; Mic Check cannot override an app-specific input.

When the right microphone will not stay selected

Mic Check protects the system default input rather than capturing audio. You rank the microphones you want. The highest-ranked connected choice wins; if it disconnects, the next connected choice becomes the fallback. When the preferred input returns, Mic Check restores it.

Devices you did not rank do not become preferred merely because they connect. That is useful when you want to listen through Bluetooth headphones without letting their microphone replace the MacBook or desk microphone you chose.

Choose once. Keep the choice.

See how Mic Check watches the system default and restores the highest-ranked connected input.

See how Mic Check works