Use AirPods for sound without using the AirPods microphone.

Choose AirPods for output and another mic for input

1. Connect your AirPods to the Mac.
2. Open System Settings, click Sound, and choose the AirPods in the Output section.
3. In the Input section, choose the MacBook microphone or the external microphone you want to speak into.
4. Speak normally and confirm that the selected input’s level meter responds.

Those are separate system choices. Changing the input does not require changing the AirPods output. Apple documents the current input controls in its Mac Sound Input guide.

Make sure the speaking app follows macOS

A call, dictation, transcription, or voice-coding app may use the system default, or it may hold its own microphone selection. If the app has an input menu, choose System Default when you want it to follow the Mac setting. If the app is fixed to “AirPods Microphone,” changing macOS alone may not change what that app hears.

If AirPods take the input again

You can repeat the manual Sound-settings steps each time the system default changes. Mic Check instead watches the system default input and restores the highest-ranked connected microphone. AirPods can remain the output; Mic Check does not touch the output choice.

If the protected microphone disconnects, Mic Check can use the next connected microphone in your ranking. When a higher-ranked input returns, it becomes the system default again. AirPods that are not in the ranking remain available for listening without becoming a preferred input.