How to Change and Choose a Mic for Screen Recording on Mac

To change the microphone for a screen recording on Mac, choose it inside the recorder. In Apple's Screenshot toolbar (⇧⌘5), click Options and pick a device under Microphone. In Screen Bolt, click Mic in the recording bar and pick a device. To change the default input for every app, open System Settings, click Sound, and select your mic under Input.

For narration, a USB mic or a wired headset usually sounds better than the Mac's built-in mic. The built-in mic is fine for a quick clip to a teammate.

Built-in mic vs USB mic vs headset

Where the mic sits matters more than which mic it is. A modest mic close to your mouth beats a good mic across the desk. The closer it is, the louder your voice is compared with the room, the fans and the keyboard.

When buying:

• Dynamic mics pick up less of the room than condenser mics. If your room echoes or your keyboard is loud, a dynamic mic used up close is the safer choice.
• Condenser mics sound fuller in a quiet, soft-furnished room, but they hear everything else in that room too.
• USB is the simplest path on a Mac. Most USB mics show up as an input with no driver to install.

Pick the built-in mic if the video is internal, short, and nobody will mind some keyboard noise. Pick a USB or wired mic if the video is a tutorial, a demo on your website, a course, or anything people will watch more than once.

Change the default input in System Settings

This sets the default input for apps that follow the system choice. Recorders with their own mic menu can use a different mic per recording.

1. Plug in your mic (or connect your headset).
2. Open System Settings.
3. Click Sound in the sidebar.
4. Click Input.
5. Click your microphone in the list.
6. Speak at your normal volume and watch the Input level meter.
7. Drag the Input volume slider until your normal speaking voice moves the meter well past the middle without filling it on loud words. If the Input volume slider is grayed out, the mic or interface controls its own gain. Use the knob or button on the device instead.

Change the microphone in your screen recorder

Screenshot toolbar and QuickTime Player

Both use the same recording controls on current macOS. In QuickTime Player, File > New Screen Recording opens the Screenshot toolbar.

1. Press ⇧⌘5 (Command-Shift-5).
2. Choose Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion.
3. Click Options.
4. Under Microphone, select your mic. None records no voice.
5. Click Record.

What it can't do: it has no level meter, no way to clean up the audio afterward, and it does not record your Mac's own sound. If you need app or browser audio in the recording too, see how to record internal audio on Mac and how to screen record with audio.

Screen Bolt

We make Screen Bolt, a Mac screen recorder. It shows a live level before you record and keeps your voice on its own track, so you can fix the voice without touching the rest.

1. In the floating recording bar, choose Display, Window or Area.
2. Click Mic.
3. Pick your microphone from the list. The system default is marked "(default)". Choosing a device turns the mic on.
4. Speak and watch the thin level meter at the bottom of the Mic button. It shows while the mic is on, before you start recording.
5. Optionally, click Audio and choose whether to record system audio.
6. Click the red record button. Details that help:

• Your mic choice is remembered between launches.
• The list updates itself when you plug in or remove a mic, so you don't need to restart the app.
• The first time you record with Mic on, macOS asks for microphone access. If you deny it, recording won't start and you'll see "Microphone access is required to record mic audio."
• If the mic can't be opened, the recording continues without it and an amber banner starts with "Recording without microphone". The reason after it tells you what happened, for example that the mic "may be in use by another app."
• The mic is saved as a separate track from system audio. In the editor's Audio panel you can set Microphone volume (0–100%) on its own. Right-click the microphone track and choose Export Microphone Audio… to save the raw voice track (no enhancement or volume changes) as an .m4a file.
• To record without voice, choose Don't record microphone in the Mic menu.

The Recording help page covers the rest of the recording bar.

Which method to use

Check your levels before you record

Ten seconds of checking saves a re-record.

1. Watch a meter while you talk normally. Use the System Settings Input level meter, the meter on Screen Bolt's Mic button, or our free microphone test in the browser.
2. Aim for strong but not maxed out. Normal speech should move the meter clearly, and your loudest words should never pin it at the top. A level that's a bit low is easy to fix later. Distorted, clipped audio is not.
3. Make a short test recording and listen with headphones. Laptop speakers hide hiss, hum and room echo.
4. Listen for the keyboard and mouse. If every click is loud, move the mic away from the keyboard or closer to your mouth.
5. Confirm the right mic is recording. Tap the mic gently. If the meter doesn't jump, a different input is selected.

If a recording comes out a little quiet or noisy, Screen Bolt's Audio Enhance section (in the editor's Audio panel) can help after the fact. All options are off by default, apply to the microphone track only, and run on your Mac:

If macOS Voice Isolation was active when you recorded, Screen Bolt skips its own noise reduction for that recording, since the mic was already cleaned up at capture. More on that in using Voice Isolation when recording on Mac, and on cleanup in general in removing background noise from a screen recording.

Cleanup works best on audio that was decent to begin with. It won't rescue a mic that was across the room.

Mic placement and room tips

• Get close. For a desk mic, roughly a hand-span from your mouth is a good starting point. Closer means less room sound.
• Aim it at your mouth, slightly off to the side. Speaking past the mic rather than straight into it softens "p" and "b" pops.
• Get it off the desk. A stand or boom arm stops typing and desk bumps from traveling into the mic.
• Keep it away from the keyboard and the Mac's fans.
• Wear headphones if sound plays during the recording. If app audio comes out of your speakers, the mic picks it up a second time and you hear an echo.
• Soften the room. Curtains, a rug, a sofa or a bookshelf cut echo. Avoid recording in a bare room facing a wall or window.
• Silence your Mac. Turn on a Focus mode or Do Not Disturb so notification sounds don't land in the take. Our guide to preparing your Mac for a clean screen recording has the full checklist.

If the mic doesn't work

The mic isn't in the list. Unplug it and plug it back in, ideally straight into the Mac rather than through a hub. For Bluetooth, disconnect and reconnect it in Bluetooth settings. Screen Bolt refreshes its list on its own; other apps may need a restart.

The recording has no voice. Check that the app has microphone access: open System Settings, go to Privacy & Security > Microphone, and turn the switch on for that app. In the Screenshot toolbar, make sure Options > Microphone isn't set to None. More fixes are in Mac screen recording has no sound.

Screen Bolt shows "Recording without microphone". Read the reason after it. If it says the mic may be in use by another app, quit the other app (a video call, another recorder), check that the meter on the Mic button moves, and record again. If it says no microphone was available, reconnect the mic and pick it again in the Mic menu.

Your voice is very quiet. Raise the Input volume slider or the gain on the mic itself, and move closer. In Screen Bolt, Volume Normalization lifts a quiet voice track afterward.

It sounds thin, like a phone call. You're probably recording through a Bluetooth headset mic. Switch the input to a wired, USB or built-in mic and keep the headset for listening only.

Brief clicks or crackle. After recording, Screen Bolt shows an amber warning if there were breaks in the microphone timeline. Close heavy apps, try a different USB port for a USB mic, and record a short test before the real take.

FAQ

Does the mic I choose in a recorder change the system default? Choosing a mic in the Screenshot toolbar or in Screen Bolt picks the input for that recording. To change what other apps use by default, set it in System Settings > Sound > Input.

Can I record two microphones at once? Screen Bolt records one microphone from the Mic menu. If an iPhone is your second camera, the Record iPhone audio option in the Camera menu also records the phone's mic along with that camera.

Do I need an expensive mic for tutorials? No. A basic USB mic close to your mouth, in a quiet room, with levels checked beforehand, sounds better than a costly mic used badly.

If you want a level meter before you record and voice cleanup after, Screen Bolt has a free version (exports up to 3 minutes at 720p with a watermark), and Pro is $79 one-time as of November 2026.