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I've tried using GarageBand, Audacity, Quicktime, simply to record some music I have on Mini-Disc, via the headphone/audio input/output connection, and yet, it won't show up as an input option for any of them!
It shows as an output, but the only input listed is microphone. I need to make these recordings tonight, and don't know what to do. Why isn't this working the way it should?
iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 10.15
Some computers and some Mac models do have a sound input port. Here are the specs on yours, which seems to indicate you have a built in microphone.
There are several options for using an external microphone with your Mac: https://support.apple.com/guide/garageband/connect-a-microphone-gbnd4f4680f6/mac
Some computers and some Mac models do have a sound input port. Here are the specs on yours, which seems to indicate you have a built in microphone.
There are several options for using an external microphone with your Mac: https://support.apple.com/guide/garageband/connect-a-microphone-gbnd4f4680f6/mac
According to this https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-do-i-connect-a-microphone-to-my-macbook/ this is pretty common for both Macs and PCs alike nowadays. But the article also suggests some simple ways to handle this, costing under $10.
I am not sure which iMac you have, I am guessing the 2020 model. However, I believe this and other similar Macs do not accept audio input via that port, only audio out. I believe (I may be wrong, but this true on my MacBook Pro) that the headphone jack can send audio out but not receive audio input. I think the only audio input is through the built in microphone. Or through a bluetooth device.
On my MacBook Pro, I can use my bluetooth headphones for both speaking and listening. But when I connect the headphones to that port with a headphone cable/jack, the only audio input possible is through the Mac's microphone, not through the headphone cable.
When I look up the specs on a 2020 iMac 5K, it indicates that the only audio input for that computer is the microphone. What you call the "headphone/audio input/output connection" is actually a headphone/audio output only connection (not input).
Well, if that's true, that really sucks... how are people supposed to input their music, if using Garage Band or Logic, or anything??
Why would they make a computer with no way to receive music? It's bad enough they discontinued having on board disk drives. Apple used to be the go-to for all creatives, what happened? By the way, I have the 2017 version of the iMac. And why would the directions for GB, QT, & others all talk about using the headphone input, if it doesn't work that way, and would Apple discontinue the ability to use it? What product do they want us to have to buy, now? smh
Again, this is pretty sad. Apple has certainly gone out of its way to relinquish its crown of "intuitive", "user friendly", "great for creatives", etc... No disk drive (to make the iMac even thinner, great, but now we have an extra drive cluttering up the desk, and one less input for other things), & no audio input, boy that really simplifies my user experience....
Needless to say, I'm far less than pleased with my $2k purchase, I feel like I was shipped a Windows one by mistake, with all the quirks and bugs I've had to deal with, and now this, too....
Sorry for the rant, but really, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" Apple...
USB port isn't that helpful if the player I'm using has no USB out. It seems having to set up a separate mixer, with USB, just to make a simple recording, when they could've just had an audio in port, just makes it that much more to deal with. Any low tech recorder accepts audio lines in, but my "state-of-the-art", very expensive computer doesn't... IMHO that's riidiculous, & just more indication that Apple's users' experience is not a very high priority on their list.
USB port works well for audio in.
Thanks for the link. I realized I already have a Sabrent USB to 3.5 audio, and hopefully that will work. I got it because the audio jack on my older iMac went on the fritz....
Why won't Sound Preference Show Headphone as Input?
