How to use an external mic on a Macbook Pro - IT WORKS (2019)!

Not having a mic input on your MacBook Pro is a shame... is it? The truth is that there's a trick that allows you to use the headphone jack with an external mic, allowing you to record straight to your MacBook Pro without any audio interface or USB preamp. It can be a lapel mic, a Rode Videomicro, you name it! It's kinda tricky but extremely easy to do once you figure out how!
02:30 Where the solution starts.
Complete post: www.musiconerd...
Headsets Splitter: amzn.to/2TujRHr
Rode Videomicro: amzn.to/2WiIisY
Lavalier Lapel Mic Kit: amzn.to/2uvj1Ae
TRRS to TRS adaptor: amzn.to/2TxAsKl
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Curso gratuito: www.musiconerd...
Curso completo: go.musiconerd....
Equipment I use:
Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II: amzn.to/2F33z4p
Lavalier Lapel Microphone Kit: amzn.to/2EOHc16
MXL 990 Condenser Microphone: amzn.to/2tZKtWj
Focusrite Scarlett 18i8: amzn.to/2Hu6JQl
Patreon: / musiconerd
Blog: www.musiconerd.com
Facebook: / musiconerdmusiconerd
Instagram: / musiconerd

[@damianvan4285]

I got to give you props Bro, English not being your first language and you give a very good tutorial so that nothing is left unturned. My 5 year old now knows how to hook up his mic/headset to his MB Pro. I see a lot of people on here putting you down, "the video was too long" Do not listen to them, a really good teacher can show anyone how to to do it, I believe you achieved that. When you can not make it easy, you don't understand it, like most people on here. Keep up the good work........... obrigado ....... Axel

[@NerdMusician]

Oh man, that made my day! Thank you so much for this comment! :)

[@jimgibbons2050]

Thank you so much! I have spent hours on my laptop looking for a solution and you have provided it. Now, instead of buying a USB mic I can simply buy 2 cables - much cheaper. I'm extremely grateful to you.

[@MustafaSheikh]

cant believe in these times we still have to plug 50 wires to make a mic work

[@moviesjean23]

Can't believe we pay this much for a laptop and yet you have to go through all theses trouble just to connect a mic f u apple

[@tadyestera]

How much?! its 2013-2015 edition of MacBook Pro 13" I have the same one from 2014, bought it early in 2017 and at the time it was 1000 dolars. Not expensive at all. Fucker

[@yiwanye1221]

lol the anger

[@moviesjean23]

Karel shut up

[@retrodull8796]

@@tadyestera 1000 and you cant plug a mic? fuck off I am switching to windows

[@NerdMusician]

Apple.... :(

[@mercuriallimit]

YOU ARE MY HARDDRIVE SAVER!!! before I was using my camera to record sound, I know, but it's coz of the Mac. I did this and it worked!!, just out of curiousity, I unplugged the earphone, and it worked too! so my output is just the macbook speaker.

[@JoeCastellon]

Thank you so much for sharing this solution! I found that once the macbook recognizes the splitter, you can disconnect both the microphone and the headset and it will still keep it as external microphone (as long as you don't disconnect the splitter). This essentially means that if you don't want to have your headphones connected along with the microphone, you can disconnect the headphones once the macbook recognizes the splitter.

[@blankregistration7301]

This! i used the cable combination in the video to get everything to be recognized, then i was able to switch back to TRS on both legs of the splitter. Thankfully because I had a trs cable already deeply embedded in my cable management, and I didnt want to rip it out and replace it!!

[@SK-nq2zp]

Who knew 3 years ago this vid would still help me. Thankxxxxx👍👍👍👍

[@chrissy__morgan]

Thank you so much! I've ordered 4 adapters and they were all wrong. I'm so glad I found this video! Finally connected my Sony ECM-AW4 to my 2020 MacBook Pro using a 2 ring 3mm cord -> 2 ring adapter -> 3 ring mic adapter to my headphone input. I realize that is not technical language but in case another layperson is trying to figure this out. Still don't understand why it's so complicated!

[@kimengelen]

LOVE your editing (on music) style. Soooo fun and refreshing! Thanks a bunch.

[@mnkreator]

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! Been looking for this solution for the past 3 months..feels like giving up..THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!

[@RV-kl2wl]

Exactly my reaction the moment my mic didn't showed up in the settings. Kudos to you Nerdy fellow. Keep up the good work.

[@NerdMusician]

Thanks!

[@gbeltran78]

I've seen so many videos about this but none said anything about the converter. Turns out my lavaler kit even had it!!! thanks so much!!!! Your content is gold!!! Just change that annoying background music and it will be perfect.

[@NerdMusician]

Glad I could help!

[@BernadetteDanceQueendq]

I've been trying to work this out for over a year. I need to use it for recording away from the studio.

[@ricardopieper11]

I had to do the inverse: I had a splitter around, used a cheap TRRS headphone and a guitar connected to a TRS adapter, worked well on a mac m1 pro.

[@LauraPCreative]

I was onto my FOURTH jack splitter and this nearly just made me cry with joy! THAAAAAAAANNNNKKKYYYOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@NerdMusician]

You are welcome!

[@ShimmiJayme]

meu amigo, vou te dizer! I have been struggling with this for a couple of years, but just didn't have the strength to deal with it. I watched a bunch of videos giving out the secret to connect the external mic to the macbook pro! All of them just use the splitter. I bought a splitter and it still didn't work. Then I started looking at the TRRS plug. My lapel mic is a TRRS. And I thought this might be it. Then I decided to search videos again and BAM!!!!! Your video was first in the queue. And you explained everything I suspected! AWESOME! GENIUS! I'm gonna buy an adapter trrs to trs tomorrow so I can try connecting. I think you solved my problem and the problem of hundreds if not thousands of people.

[@PoppyHunter]

I've been trying to figure this out for the last half an hour. THANK YOU for helping!

[@NerdMusician]

You are welcome!

[@sarahdaramy-williams3062]

This video is still relevant in 2022, thank you for your help!!

[@NerdMusician]

Awesome!

[@allyibach]

thank you! This was the only video I found that had a solution!

[@azeemsarfarazlexicon101]

Me too man. But my question is the last trs connector he used. It was trs male i get it but do i have to worry about this connector’s female part as well?

[@zacharydutton2068]

@@azeemsarfarazlexicon101 female trs to make trrs

[@jordanchou]

Thank you! I appreciate it! Mac makes everything so complicated.

[@babetravelling]

The video I really need. Experienced the same thing last week, I just connected my rode and it didn’t work. This solves my problem.

[@NerdMusician]

Awesome!

[@n.n.1279]

Thank you! Maybe I can recommend you to stop that background music that is more a kind of disturbing noise. That would level up your videos al lot. Best Regards!!

[@Fendelfull]

I was assuming it was his music, and thought it pretty fresh, actually, and in keeping with the channel's theme. You don't see much of this kind of raw computer sound sequencing these days, with everyone applying filters to emulate organic resonances and big reverberating softeners of sound. Leave the edge, IMO.

[@smartarian2]

Thank you - worked perfectly on MacBook Air (Early 2015).

[@josephchua7999]

man, i felt salvation when you said "i got you covered", and then straight up damned when i realized my Takstar mic is already TRS. I even have the exact same splitter bought from amazon

[@jeronimom1593]

Have you figured out a way around this??

[@jeronimom1593]

@Pretty Lo Not sure to be honest. Just to save you time though: I bought a TRS female to TRRS male (CTIA) splitter (which is the one you should be looking for if you have a Takstar and a mac) and it was still not compatible.

[@ChrisHodges87]

Huge help! Thank you. Love your approach as well. Well done Sir!

[@arnaudtuto7513]

Once upon a time the same thing didn’t work, now it works, thanks.

[@Lee-sh6qq]

OMG the trick is to unplug the adaptor and connect TRS mic to the adaptor first ! saving me $$ to buy an extra mic!! thank u so much !!

[@NerdMusician]

Glad I could help!

[@antorchabikes]

Hi, good video but i can't still connect mi mic. my mic is already TRS, I connected splitter and headphones and doesn't work, also tried to connect C-USB adapter to the splitter, and nothing. AGRRRRRRRRR no idea what to do

[@kevinlind4640]

Same here...

[@claudiarose9055]

Any luck???

[@Iamthetoan]

Did u check the splitter? Does it has 1 or 2 rings?

[@markydoromal]

my RODEmic is TRS already. So i tried following this guide, but it didn't work. So I did the total opposite: bought a TRS female (to be connected to the Rode TRS) with the other end as TRRS male (to be connected to the laptop). It worked. So you might need to try the other way around instead of ff this video.

[@shavedata5436]

@@markydoromal Same deal for me. Just picked up the adapter, hope it works... Funny thing is, the splitter I am using was the one sent WITH the mic. Smh

[@simplifygardening]

Bought adaptor it didnt work

[@LynnatLakeComoYoga]

Thank you SO much for posting this and explaining so clearly. I've been beating my head against a wall trying to understand why my Rode Wireless Go works with my iphone and not my macbook. Mystery solved. Thank you!!

[@NerdMusician]

Awesome! Thanks!

[@cyeganzon3097]

I'm using BOYA BY MM1 and it came with 2 different cables - 1 with TRRS and TRS. It says to use the TRRS for phones and TRS for DSLR. But when you explain it in this video, i used the TRS (which is intended for the DSLR) and it worked! Thanks for the trick and I don't need to buy another adapter. :)

[@NerdMusician]

Awesome!!

[@ryanlaseter7626]

Gonna give this a try with that adapter thanks a lot! :)

[@andreluispereira4694]

It is working straight with the lavalier mic now (BigSur - Feb 2021)

[@EsterPalmaCorea]

Gracias, bro, Second time to see the video and you saved my life twice!

[@christianb.8603]

Vielen Dank, sehr hilfreiches Video. Man kann ab 03:50min starten, ab da wird es interessant

Poxa MAN! Eu procurei tanto como resolver essa parada e tu me salvou. Obrigado pelo vídeo!

[@NerdMusician]

Boaaa!

[@josicarboni953]

mano, eu to com o mesmo Mac, mesmo cabinho e mesmo mic e ainda não funcionou :(

[@xanaxod]

if you got a TRRS jack on one side, connect it to your mac and it should do the same. Thanks for your hint

[@زقارة]

you mean i only need to use Splitter if i have TRRS?

[@fred4838]

So the mic spliiter is not nessaary, if you have a TRRS male to TRS male cable?

[@MJ-jm8nu]

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I have been trying to use a USB mic with Mac OS High Sierra, and the OS NEVER recognized it. I was ready to give up when I found your KZbin page! Thanks again, and I hit the subscribe button. :)

[@NerdMusician]

Glad I could help!

[@michele2017promastertravel]

Thank YOU so very much. I've been trying to figure this out of months. Now I can finally finish my vacation videos. Your trick works on the new MacBook Pro that I got last year 2018.

[@NerdMusician]

Awesome!

[@leahwellbeingcoach6358]

Amazing!!! Thank you so much. This worked just with the splitting cable for me. After hours of confusion I have my solution!

[@NerdMusician]

Awesome!!

[@truthbetold818]

Brilliant!!! It worked, I'm not angry anymore

[@NerdMusician]

hahahaha good!

[@markydoromal]

Just putting this out here: By following this video, it didn't work for me. I have a RODE Mic that's already TRS. So what I did is the total opposite: I bought a cable adaptor with a TRS female (RODEMic TRS to be connected here) and its other end is TRRS male (to be connected to the laptop). This way, it worked.

[@cliveagate]

My Headsets Splitter & TRRS to TRS adaptor arrived today and the external mic works perfectly. Awesome, thank you :) :)

[@NerdMusician]

Awesome!

[@cymraes8370]

I followed your advice and it worked perfectly. Easy when you know how. Thank you for explaining so clearly. 🤗

[@melisustun]

i bought both adapters and it STILL isnt working. this is the most frustrating thing in the world.

[@NerdMusician]

Are you sure you mic is TRS and not TRRS?

[@djimpact420]

@@NerdMusician im having the same problem and im 100% sure my mic is TRS. i bought the adapters you linked. i noticed when i plug it in, my internal speakers (on the output) go from "built-in" to "headphone port". the input stays on "built-in" and doesnt change. i doubled checked and made sure i was in the mic part of the splitter and not the headphone part. i even tried both for shits and giggles. still nothing. any ideas?

[@tonksT]

Have u figured it out I still can’t get it on mine

[@melisustun]

@@tonksT i have the rode videomic pro. its trs. no, i couldnt get it to work so i gave up. im using it directly on my camera now and not on my macbook -.-

[@tonksT]

melis ustun so annoying

[@espacemaxim]

"IT JUST WORKS"

[@andybelinka]

I bought the cables and tried it but it seems Apple must have overcome this fix. There is another guy on KZbin who recommends an externalplug and play soundcard port that uses a USB port. It's cheaper than one of these adaptors and looks like it will actually work.

[@robvonglas6094]

Thank you!!!!!!! I tried this hack with so many splitters, but no one has mentioned the TRS input.

[@monaattiah3976]

😂😂😂😂the beginning is so funny!!!

[@SurfistaCamad]

wow man amazing.. a great video simply explained for such a frustrating problem. Well done! And you have like the only good video on this.. you're a pioneer

[@NerdMusician]

Glad it helped!

[@KR-lh4mu]

the only way that finally helped was yours! Thank you man!!

[@NerdMusician]

Awesomeeeee!

[@skydive3359]

Man, I want to thank you so much for putting this video out. It saved my bacon after buying the exact same headphone splitter and trying every combination possible (or so I thought). I then decided to give your video a try without much hope. But then, bam! It worked great. Thank you, thank you!

[@NerdMusician]

Awesome!!

[@rainhat1]

first comment in 3 years, doing ok?@@NerdMusician

[@laurenbrayson8566]

I bought exactly what you recommended and it doesn't work on my macbook pro. Help!!

[@NerdMusician]

Which OS do you have?

[@josehaya6362]

@@NerdMusician problem is not the OS, is the TRRS standard manufacturers are using to build their splitters. This video can generate more confusion

[@tayranv2655]

Gracias!! I was so close to buy another one thinking this one was defective !! Thanks !!!

[@NerdMusician]

Glad I could help!

[@lilymuseic]

Genius!!!!!! Hoping this will work on my new Macbook Apple M3 Pro. Please reply if you have experience with an M3. THANKS.

[@kikkyp83]

I had high hopes but I can't get this to work with a 2019 MacBookPro (all USB-C ports, headphone jack on the right side). Followed directions exactly. : /

[@falconcara]

I'm having the same issue and also on a MacBook Pro with the headphone port on the right side :/

[@kikkyp83]

Not on the 2019. I did get it to work on a borrowed 2015 macbook but there’s something about the late model 2019 that doesn’t like this. I’m still having trouble finding the right software on the older mac (I’m trying to convert old cassettes to digital) but at least I know the process works.

[@ashleysaunby2002]

Rebecca Patton I have read somewhere the earlier MacBook Pro used the headphone port as an input and it is switched in Sounds on the input tab. You could select input. I have a 2018 pro 13” but the option isn’t there. I simply want to digitise some cassette recordings and some audio of our kids. So frustrating.

[@MarlaLukofsky7]

Thanks. I got a USB adapter that did the same thing but seeing you go thru my frustrating steps were validating and helpful, still.

[@Jdonovanford]

2020 and this does not work. I am plugging TRS mic and headphones to the splitter. The headphones work, but the mic does not.

[@AKindofFire]

same here

[@mattviolet]

@@AKindofFire same here and i want to die

[@greenwichtree]

@@mattviolet nooooooo i just ordered a TRRS to TRS adaptor

[@mattviolet]

@@greenwichtree I tried this exact method with the same cables and it didn’t work. In the end I just bought a USB lavalier mic.

[@thecivilspoke5919]

Holy Nuts! It worked! Thanks. I do wish that I didn't have to hook up my headphones to the splitter to make the MacBook recognize the external mic. But hey, it works. And that's what matters.

[@Iamthetoan]

That was my question. Thanks a lot

[@mariekarcher6991]

Ugh, didn't work for me and I bought the exact headset splitter and adaptor that was linked. Bummed because I really thought this would work. Happy it seemed to work for everyone, else though. I'll figure something else out :(

[@SurfistaCamad]

I've been researching this and there is something I would add to the very helpful video as follows: I have a Rode VideoMicroPro, this model has a TRS jack (and I suspect many watching this video will be wanting to use this microphone model on their laptop), in the video the microphone being used has a TRRS jack - therefore I suspect the splitter should work on its' own for my microphone and headphones (which also have a TRS jack). I have yet to test this but I am going to go ahead and order the splitter without the adapter cable, hopefully it works.

[@morisabd8666]

Hey Mate, I do have a RODE video mic, and I tried what you said, but it didn't work unfortunately. let me know what happens with you...

[@gustavolenza]

@@morisabd8666 same here!

[@SurfistaCamad]

Moris Abd it worked for me!

[@SurfistaCamad]

Moris Abd rode jack and headphone trs jack worked with the splitter , no adaptor required !

[@gustavolenza]

Here works pluging mic on headphone input on the splitter. But I had to plug TRS to TRSS adaptod on Mac first of all and then plug the splitter into the adaptor. And the hadphone doesn't work... Rode Video Mic Pro Macbook Pro late 2011 OS 10.13.6

[@anujintumurbaatar9937]

Thank you so much for the video, really saved a lot of time for me.

[@akosimakoy1728]

Amazing! It worked... great!!! You saved and made my day! Appreciate...

[@NerdMusician]

Awesome!

[@JFairweather]

To record audio from a normal TRS stereo source, buy a RODE SC4 ADAPTER CABLE - Female 3.5mm TRS to Right Angle 3.5mm TRRS. It costs US$15.

[@fred4838]

Is the RODE SC4 ADAPTER CABLE staight TRRS male (in mac) to TRS male? I'm using a Boya M1 shotgun mic

[@hausofvishy8695]

OMG i think you just solved my year long problem! Thanks 🌻

[@ChristopherMcLarenExperience]

Dude my mic has a stereo out so two rings like your mic after you connected the final connector, yet external microphone for me still doesn't show up, do you know why this might be?

[@YAMAHATDUBCLUB]

Thanks for making the video and advice! Just purchased the Headsets Splitter from your link!

[@NerdMusician]

Awesome, thanks!

[@TransFaeriePrince]

THANK YOU! Wow I could not figure this one out!

[@NerdMusician]

Nice!!

[@crystalwrightlive]

This was very helpful to me. Thank you.

[@Perpetuallytrying]

Wow thank you SO much. You just solved a big problem for me 🙂😃

[@expertseries]

Nice work! Thanks for this. Am attempting to patch a second MacBook bidirectionally into a Rodecaster Pro and really didn’t want to have to buy a usb audio IO interface.

[@NerdMusician]

Fancy!

[@carlomarassi8858]

Thank you for your video... I have also a MacBook Pro and I didn't know that I could use this headphone jacket for microphone... But to let you know, it worked in my case, just inserting a "tree black strip" microphone jacket and an external microphone appeared right away... Thanks again

[@NerdMusician]

Awesome!

[@gstcy7925]

The clearest explanation - but the intro was so looong. Thank you

[@NerdMusician]

My following videos have shorter intros. Learned with this one... :p

[@justfiddiculus7736]

thank you sooooo much! i spent a month saving for a mic and when it came it didnt work! thankfully i found your vid (i left a like as payment)

[@NerdMusician]

Thanksss

[@Emotionz223]

You’re a Genius my brother thank you for helping me out it’s appreciated…i had the adapter already and it worked like a charm 🤘🏽

[@ganesaniyer9308]

It worked for me. Thank you.

[@wayne00k]

Thank you so much for sharing this solution!

[@VivjesGames]

OMG Thank you so much!! I am so happy I just went looking for a video like this before I got crazy! Now let's see were I can get a splitter like that

[@CamperoYT1]

Thanks a lot dude, its work perfectly

[@ScruffyCityFishing]

Thanks so much for this tutorial. Still a little frustrating that my old pc had a mic and headphones jack and my upgraded amazing mac does not. Adapt(literally) and overcome though!

[@helenarar]

Hey thanks for the video. I actually found a USB splitter aswell - Orico USB-A - 3x 3,5mm Jack OMTP headset audio adapter. Works perfectly!

[@NerdMusician]

Haven't heard about it. Sounds like a great solution!

[@thecorraleseffect1182]

Thank you! This saved me a lot of hassle...

[@NerdMusician]

Awesome!

[@sandravalencia8222]

Thank youuuuu, finally able to use my mic :D

[@NerdMusician]

Yeah!!

[@NerdMusician]

Yeah!!

[@daifuricky]

Thanks Brother, I will give this a go.

[@peter_lm]

Awesome, great job, simple, useful.

[@NerdMusician]

Glad it helped

[@sebabien4653]

Thanks a lot for the trick, now my external mic' works ^^

[@NerdMusician]

Glad I could help!

[@bitkahuna]

video is 5 times as long as it needed to be.

[@NerdMusician]

Come on, I can see in my stats you can't stop watching my intro.

[@studentoftheword6115]

Good Video but YES 5 times longer than needs to be !!!!!!!! AMEN BROTHER ...

[@DuncanDimanche-sreview]

We can all agree that the intro was way too long and then you go over what you did in the intro....

[@EdoHDpro]

I disagree, the video was very useful, for someone who does not have a clue... I just played it at 1.25x speed on YT which is what i do with most videos nowadays to save time.

[@54tristin]

And confusing

[@RussPowell]

Thanks! Looking fwd to trying this out!

[@BobGentle]

What a dude. Worked perfectly. ❤️

[@NerdMusician]

Awesome!

[@andrewdoeshair]

I’ve been using a lav mic that has a 3.5mm TRRS along with a Rode Wireless Go, which requires a TRS input, so I’ve had a TRRS>TRS adapter on the lav all along. When I removed the adapter and put the lav’s native TRRS into my 2019 MacBook Pro it recognized and utilized the mic. I think that’s as simple as it has to be, is that MacBook Pro wants TRRS. So I just ordered a male/male TRS/TRRS cable that will hopefully allow me to just run my Rode Wireless Go (TRS output) into the MacBook Pro (TRRS input) without the splitter. Might not work. Might work. I’ll update later

[@fred4838]

Would a TRRS to TRRS cable, without the adapter? I have a Boya M1 mic on iMac M1

[@pandemicccc]

Worked?

[@pandemicccc]

@@fred4838 did it worked?

[@fred4838]

​@@pandemicccc nope it didn't work for me. It may be the iMac port, as it doesn't make sense that the Boya wouldn't work with TRRS

[@fred4838]

@andrewdoeshair any update? Did the TRRS>TRS adapter work? Tried one direct TRRS>TRRS cable and it didn't

[@GadgetsGearCoffee]

This doesn't seem to work with the Rode VideoMicro which only has TRS

[@jackgunt8863]

Did u find any way to work videomicro on laptop

[@GadgetsGearCoffee]

@@jackgunt8863 ya eventually got it to work. I kept thinking in sound I'd see 2 mics but the internal switched to external, only 1 option.

[@jackgunt8863]

@@GadgetsGearCoffee what did u do that it worked

[@GadgetsGearCoffee]

@@jackgunt8863 the headphone jack, plug in any TRRS headphone. The cheap ones you get with your phone (headphone and mic attachment) works

[@jackgunt8863]

@@GadgetsGearCoffee i have Trs with my videomicro alright? I all have to do is just buying Trrs and plug Trs and Trrs to my laptop?

[@uncleshea]

Awesome, solved my problem, and saved me throwing me MacBook out of the window!

[@patrickrainey305]

did you buy what he linked in the description, I'm about to get it

[@techempreendedores5733]

Valeu man!! Pastei também para conseguir ligar a guitarra, consegui graças ao seu conteúdo!

[@highrfreeqncs4564]

2:26 is when he starts giving the answer

[@derekholbird3463]

Thank you for your film. I like your approach. I'm still rather confused though as I found the key explanstion in the middle was too rushed. Maybe you could show it in a diagram or show the components again. Thanks

[@NerdMusician]

Thanks for the response. I'll see what I can do. :)

[@TVDeClara]

It didn't work for me. :( The phone did, but not the mic!

[@LarteyBL]

Mine works now but i didn't need the adapter. My mic is already TRS. I just plugged my TRS mic into the splitter and it worked.

[@richkirkpatrick5012]

Thanks! Worked for me.

[@RomboutVersluijs]

Perhaps state this is not a MacBook pro 2019, but i guess its quite obvious. Great video man!!!

[@NerdMusician]

Thanks!

[@BiswajitDas-dt3fm]

This is very nice video