Internal Microphone not offered

[DanL]

So this is a little weird. On my iMac/10.11.6, I ROUTINELY use my internal microphone for Skype, Facetime, Hangouts, etc. All of a sudden, people can't hear me. I look at my Sound Preferences, and not only is Internal Microphone not selected, it isn't even offered. Whaaaat?

I reboot, and it comes back fine. Now, I can select Internal Microphone, and everyone can hear me.

Now, we did have a power failure a few days ago, so the machine rebooted. Is this an understood failure mode where sometimes the machine can boot with Internal Microphone not available? Is there a way to reset that without rebooting?

I should add that when Internal Microphone wasn't offered as a selection, External Microphone was! (I don't have an external mike, and none was plugged in). So somehow, the machine got the odd idea that there was an external microphone plugged in, when there wasn't.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hi,

I guess the power outage may have affected things. Maybe try an SMC and NVRAM/PRAM reset to see if that permanently will correct the issue.

C

 

[DanL]

The issue was corrected by rebooting. The question is whether there are other ways to correct it without rebooting. SMC and PRAM resets involve rebooting.

 

[Cory Cooper]

No worries, I understand your question.

If the NVRAM or SMC are corrupted, it could cause issues such as this intermittently. If they are reset, and they are the cause, then the issue will be resolved and you won't have to find a non-restarting solution. These resets often fix things like audio/video oddities, battery charging, and other hardware recognition.

The recent power outage you experienced could also have contributed to the issue, especially if you don't have any form of power surge protection, or power surges/spikes that may have come through any attached peripherals.

I don't know of a way to resolve it without restarting, and the aforementioned resets are a good place to start troubleshooting.

Hope that helps,

C

 

[DanL]

OK, worth a try. Thank you.