A bug with the sound on the Mac has been around for 21 years, but it still hasn’t been fixed. We will tell you how to solve the problem!
Audio problems on Mac
Do you ever have the feeling that the audio balance on your Mac is not right? Then there is a good chance that you are suffering from a known bug on the Mac that causes problems with the sound distribution. Apple already acknowledged the problem in 2012 when macOS X 10.2 was released. At the time, Apple indicated that the audio balance could shift unexpectedly left or right in some cases, but the problem was not resolved.
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Fortunately, the audio balance does not simply shift in macOS. According to Apple, this only happens if you often press the volume button when the microprocessor of the Mac (Book) processes heavy tasks. It doesn’t matter whether you turn the sound up or down. The bug on the Mac has still not been resolved, even though the problem has been around since 2003. Do you have the same problem? We explain how to reset the audio balance.
Adjusting audio balance
If you regularly perform heavy tasks on your Mac, there is a chance that you are affected by the bug. The audio problem also occurs with the newer macOS versions. You only notice this when you play music or videos with sound via your Mac. Does the sound come much more from the left or right? Then the audio balance of the device is not quite right. You can then manually check and correct this. It goes like this:
- Open ‘System Settings’ on your Mac;
- Click on ‘Sound’;
- Go to ‘Balance’ and check where the white bar is.
When the white bar is not in the center of the audio balance, the sound is not played in the center. In that case it sounds as if the audio comes more from the left or right. You can adjust the audio balance yourself by dragging the white bar back to the middle at ‘Balance’. Unfortunately, this has to be done manually, because the bug on the Mac has not yet been resolved in macOS. The question remains if and when that will happen.
How to fix a bug on the Mac: this is how you do it
So it has taken Apple 21 years to fix the bug on the Mac. Very annoying, especially if the audio balance is regularly no longer centered. Fortunately, several apps have now been released that automatically solve the problem. In 2015 the app became Balance Lock already released. This app automatically centers your Mac’s sound every so often.
Balance Lock is available for free in the App Store and can be used free of charge. This does not prevent the bug from causing problems on your Mac, but the balance is automatically centered. That saves time and annoyance, because you no longer have to do it manually. It is hoped that Apple will finally fix the bug in a new version of macOS, which is about time after 21 years.
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