How to Reset Audio MIDI Setup Settings on Mac

Essential answer

Audio MIDI Setup does not have a single “Reset all settings” button that restores every macOS audio preference at once. You can restore the most common default behavior by setting the Mac’s built-in output and input back to standard values, removing custom aggregate or multi-output devices, and quitting Audio MIDI Setup so macOS can rebuild its audio device list. This mainly affects device configuration in Audio MIDI Setup; it does not reset microphone privacy permissions, app-specific input choices, or sound effects preferences in System Settings.

What Audio MIDI Setup controls

Audio MIDI Setup is a macOS utility for viewing and configuring audio input and output devices, sample rates, channel layouts, and MIDI devices. For microphones and webcams, the relevant part is the audio device list. A USB webcam microphone or headset may appear here as a separate audio input device even when the webcam itself is managed by another app.

How to restore default audio device settings

• Open Audio MIDI Setup from the Utilities folder or by searching for it with Spotlight.
• In the left device list, check whether a custom device such as an Aggregate Device or Multi-Output Device is selected.
• Remove custom aggregate or multi-output devices that you no longer need by selecting the device and using the remove control.
• For the built-in output and built-in microphone, set the format to a standard value such as 44,100 Hz or 48,000 Hz if a nonstandard sample rate was chosen manually.
• Quit Audio MIDI Setup and reopen it to confirm that the device list is rebuilt.

A successful reset is complete when the custom audio device disappears from the list and the built-in output and input show ordinary default settings. If you are checking a USB microphone or webcam microphone, disconnect it, reopen Audio MIDI Setup, reconnect it, and confirm that it appears again as an available input device.

What this reset does not change

Resetting Audio MIDI Setup settings does not grant an app permission to use the microphone. Microphone access is controlled separately in System Settings under Privacy and Security. It also does not change the active input selected inside a browser, conferencing app, or recording program. If an app still records no sound after the reset, check the app’s own input selection and the macOS microphone permission for that app.