Blog · Mac guide

How to switch your Mac’s sound output in one click

Your AirPods connected, but the sound is still coming out of the speakers. Again. Here are the quickest ways to send it where you want it.

October 14, 20263 min read
SpeakersAirPodsDisplay

Control Center

Click Control Center in the menu bar, then Sound, and pick the device from the list. That’s it.

A Sound icon in the menu bar

To save a click, put Sound in the menu bar: open System Settings › Menu Bar and choose Always Show next to Sound. The sound controls are then one click away instead of two.

The long way round

System Settings › Sound › Output lists every device your Mac can play through, with its balance and volume.

From the keyboard

Option with any volume key opens Sound settings, and Option-Shift with the volume keys changes the volume in finer steps. There’s no built-in shortcut that cycles through outputs, sadly.

One click, and you’ll see where it went

SideDock’s Sound tile switches the output, its volume and your microphone in one click. And whenever the output changes, the notch says which device the sound is on now, with your earbuds’ battery.

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