Audio Input Not Working With One Device

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Hi All!
I think this question belongs here, rather than in the OS or Music section, so please pardon my goof if it belongs elsewhere.

When I put a cord from the headphone jack on my telephone (Android 5.1) to the Mic In jack on the 2006 Macbook Pro using OS X 10.11.6, I get no output.

In System Preferences - Sound, I have Input as Line In & volume up.

TESTING & VERIFYING-
Cable:
Tested with iPod to computer: Sound Is Good
Tested with phone to car aux input jack: Sound Is Good
Tested with phone to truck cassette adapter (old truck!): Sound Is Good.

Phone Jack:
Tested with phone to earbuds: Sound Is Good
Tested with phone to car aux input jack: Sound Is Good
Tested with phone to truck cassette adapter (old truck!): Sound Is Good.
Tested with phone to powered speakers: Sound Is Good.
Tested with phone to small, passive speakers: Sound Is Good.

At this point I only have one guess, and it is probably wrong, why the phone can send sound to other devices and why the Mac can take input from other devices: That theory is that the phone has a very, very low output signal and the computer needs more than the other things.

Do you all know of something I missed in setting up to play the phone sound on the computer?

Thanks!
Paul

PS: The reason is I can't deal with iTunes, so I want to use my phone's music player.
 

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When I had audio problems similar to these years ago, I ended up installing Soundflower which resolved the issues.
Not sure this will help here, but you could look into that.
 
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Thank You Very Much Lisa & KRS for helping.

I goofed BADLY on my post.
I had just finished working an old Windows 98SE computer I have and the test results were for that one. (What a dope!)

The Real Test Results:
Anything*-To-Computer does not give sound at the speakers.
*Phone, iPod, Portable CD Player, Cassette Player

Phone-To-Other* gives sound
* Headphones, Little speakers, Ear Buds, Car Aux In, Truck Cassette Adapter, Etc.

Internal Mac sounds, such as notification sounds do play at the speakers, so the speakers work.

--------------------------
System Preferences - Sound shows the Input Level bouncing around when music is played, so signal is therefore getting to the computer. The challenge is telling the computer what to do with the sound.

Thanks for the suggestion link Lisa. I tried the ideas posted & still have no sound. (I'd never opened Garage Band before. It looks like fun to use. I'm sure I'll be wasting lots of time in the future composing masterpieces!)

Thanks KRS for the SoundFlower suggestion. That's a really cool application. I set it up, but as far as I could work it, it handles sound from iTunes, Quick Time and Garage Band very well. It ignores the external input.

------------------------------
My next attempts were resetting the PRAM and the NVRAM. No luck again.

I wonder if this is an operating system glitch particular to 10.11.x?

I suppose if this is not solvable, I can install am music playing application that I can cope with and move the songs to it.
But, me being me, I will keep trying to solve the existing problem.
 

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Guys, I'm kinda shooting in the dark for ideas here's the only thing I can think of at the moment.

From the specs that I looked up earlier does that machine have one of those combo audio jacks (optical and standard). If that's the case could the jack be stuck in the optical mode? Its been a while since I read up on those jacks so I could be wrong.
 

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Guys, I'm kinda shooting in the dark for ideas here's the only thing I can think of at the moment.

From the specs that I looked up earlier does that machine have one of those combo audio jacks (optical and standard). If that's the case could the jack be stuck in the optical mode? Its been a while since I read up on those jacks so I could be wrong.

I don't think the input jack is the problem because the OP pasted this:
System Preferences - Sound shows the Input Level bouncing around when music is played, so signal is therefore getting to the computer. The challenge is telling the computer what to do with the sound.
 
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It's been a while since I was on 10.11, but in System Preferences/Sound, in the newer versions of the OS there is both Input and Output settings. If there is a tab for Output, did you set that as well? Here is a picture from my system:
Screen Shot 2019-11-09 at 8.33.25 PM.png
 

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It's been a while since I was on 10.11, but in System Preferences/Sound, in the newer versions of the OS there is both Input and Output settings. If there is a tab for Output, did you set that as well?

Exactly the same settings on 10.11 which is what I'm on.
But that doesn't help - Input is basically restricted to input signal to some app running on the Mac; Output to speakers is also limited to signal from an app running on the Mac to the speakers or output.
I see people trying to link the input to the output/speakers using some app like Quick time which can be made to work but there are issues since QT is not meant to be used that way.
The solution I posted in #6 should work although I have not tried it.
 
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I just tested and I think the issue is really that when there is a plug in the jack, the system changes both in and out to the port. Even when I changed the output to a different option (Internal Speakers, for example), the Input changed to ignore the headphone jack and look for some other Input. So I guess what the software does is break into the link in the system to accept input from the headphone jack and play it to some other output. I guess that makes sense, as the 99% case is a headphone/microphone combination being plugged in. But it's not good for folks who want something other than that.
 

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I've done something like this with things other than an iPhone and it has worked. I think the issue is that you need software that supports audio playthrough. Some of these have already been mentioned.
 
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I may be wrong, but I don't think the port operates that way? The older MBP has separate input & output ports. I think the cords, with both input and output are what is confusing it. If you have an older output only cord, it may do what you want?
 
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Hi All!
Thank You each for helping & teaching.
I apologize but when I read Lisa's first reply I must have been in one of my all too often dyslexic situations where nothing I read is comprehended properly, if at all. Today my brain is working better. (Except for trying to rake leaves with the snow shovel this afternoon...)

Thanks for suggesting it SlyDude, but my Line In port isn't combination or with optical. Mac's too old, I guess.

Line In app is a good idea, KRS. It already exists in another name on my Mac. (Don't credit me for discovering it. It's in an article you linked.) The application is in Utilities and is called "Audio Midi Setup".
But, your linked article lead me to Quick Time, which worked. (And made me realize that Lisa already suggested using an application to play media from an external device in #2, above. I really, really apologize Lisa for not comprehending your simple sentence yesterday.)

Your suggestion, Lisa of trying an app to play through was, indeed, the solution. Thanks Slydude for also mentioning an application for playthrough.
I didn't figure how to use an app to play the phone on my own, but KRS' linked article had instructions for using Line In and Quick Time. The directions worked when I went to Quick Time directly. Quick Time worked fine, but to be honest I got lost at first until I noticed Quick Time defaults to volume off. Oops!

I still can't get an external microphone to work, even with Line In or Audio Midi Setup with Quick Time. (I don't need it, I was just curious.) For that microphone I think that a pre-amp will be required as there is no internal amplification. With the loudest sound I could make, the output voltage on my meter was less than 1 mV. That's mighty low voltage. For fun, I'll make a simple pre-amp and try it.

Oddly, Jake showed the Sound window for System Preferences & KRS mentioned the window is the same on 10.11. I'm on 10.11 and my window has different items & is grey. (Maybe because it is a laptop?)
But the end results are the same. Thanks Jake for reminding me to check the output tab as well.

Thank You All Again for helping me & teaching how to make this work. I learned some very good diagnostics from you all!
Hopefully someone will search the internet forever (like i did) and find this thread.

Enjoy This Day!
Paul
 
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Hi All!

I still can't get an external microphone to work, even with Line In or Audio Midi Setup with Quick Time. (I don't need it, I was just curious.) For that microphone I think that a pre-amp will be required as there is no internal amplification. With the loudest sound I could make, the output voltage on my meter was less than 1 mV. That's mighty low voltage. For fun, I'll make a simple pre-amp and try it.


Paul
If that port is actually a line in port rather than a microphone port that's probably the reason. I spent several hours chasing that down once on a G5 only to later remember the port on that G5 was a line in connection.
 

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I think all the "Audio In" (which I think is what Apple calls them) are line level inputs, ie require typically 1 volt rms for full volume.
So to use a typical Mike with that input one would need an amplifier to bring the level up to that.

However, many Macs have the headphone output wired so it can be used as a Mike input as well. That output jack on those will accept a 4-pos plug like in the attachment
Apple also offers (or used to) a headset or earbuds with an integral Mike and with a 4-pos plug that plus into the headphone jack - don't know if your Mac has that - something you may want to check out.

And as to
Line In app is a good idea, KRS. It already exists in another name on my Mac. (Don't credit me for discovering it. It's in an article you linked.) The application is in Utilities and is called "Audio Midi Setup".

My understanding reading that article is that you need both applications, the LineIn and Audio Midi are not equivalents, - you set up Audio Midi first and then you select LineIn within the Audio Midi application the way it shows in the article.
The advantage over using QT, which also works, is that you don't get that 1/2 second delay that you get when using Quicktime - but maybe the delay is not an issue.

The other option as far as the Mike is concerned, if you don't already have one you want to use, is to use a USB Mike.
That would just plug into a USB port

4-pos-plug.jpg
 
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My understanding reading that article is that you need both applications, the LineIn and Audio Midi are not equivalents, - you set up Audio Midi first and then you select LineIn within the Audio Midi application the way it shows in the article.
Thanks for that tip! I didn't realize they were different since they appear the same. I'll have to explore more & learn more.

I think all the "Audio In" (which I think is what Apple calls them) are line level inputs, ie require typically 1 volt rms for full volume.
That's helpful knowledge for building a pre-amp. For fun, I'll make the output adjustable & ramp up the voltage slowly to see the low sound threshold voltage & the full volume threshold. It should be quite interesting. I'll post what I learn here when I eventually get time to make the pre-amp.

... is to use a USB Mike.
I never knew these existed! I'll keep that in mind if I need a microphone in the future.

... 4-pos plug that plus into the headphone jack - don't know if your Mac has that
Mine's a 3-pole input jack. I can't remember why I needed the jack, but I had to replace it some years ago due to a permanent buzz whenever I set System Preferences to Line In. When I dissected it, I found a contact came loose and shorted to another one.

Thank You for the extra helpful information! Knowledge Is Power! (Or at least it keeps me from wasting too much time chasing down something that can't work.)
 
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I find that Apple does a lousy job explaining the audio inputs and outputs on the various Macs.
I could never even find any basic information like input and/or output impedance or signal levels required at the various ports.

The 4-pos jack/plug arrangement that some Macs use is also not described - one can't even figure out which Macs actually have that type of jack.
The 4-pos plug/jack is called a TRRS plug/jack - searching for that on google brings up a bit more information but still no listing of which Macs have it and which ones do not.
A description of the various jack types is here:
Understanding TRRS and Audio Jacks - Cable Chick Blog
 
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I think all the "Audio In" (which I think is what Apple calls them) are line level inputs, ie require typically 1 volt rms for full volume.
So to use a typical Mike with that input one would need an amplifier to bring the level up to that.

However, many Macs have the headphone output wired so it can be used as a Mike input as well. That output jack on those will accept a 4-pos plug like in the attachment
Apple also offers (or used to) a headset or earbuds with an integral Mike and with a 4-pos plug that plus into the headphone jack - don't know if your Mac has that - something you may want to check out.

And as to


My understanding reading that article is that you need both applications, the LineIn and Audio Midi are not equivalents, - you set up Audio Midi first and then you select LineIn within the Audio Midi application the way it shows in the article.
The advantage over using QT, which also works, is that you don't get that 1/2 second delay that you get when using Quicktime - but maybe the delay is not an issue.

The other option as far as the Mike is concerned, if you don't already have one you want to use, is to use a USB Mike.
That would just plug into a USB port

View attachment 30629

Thanks, worked for me

Had the same issue but is resolved now
 
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Wouldn't it be easy if Apple had one set up for all devices & left it that way? Of course, then there would be no improvements.

Even reading the specs for my computer versus my wife's- which are both MacBook Pro 15", but 6 months older- I find a phenomenal difference. It is to the point that my computer can use 10.11 & her's can't go past 10.6. When she bought an iPad I got (and still am) super confused about input converter cables and cable connectors for different tasks.

What many of you mentioned, the port on my MacBook Pro is Line In, not Microphone In- so no amplification is gained from the computer. This port is a simple 3-pole 3.5 mm jack & it's input only. There is a separate output port labeled "Headphones" but delivers a strong enough signal for small non-powered speakers, so it is amplified to a point.

And, most certainly, my biggest mistake was not realizing- until Lisa mentioned it here- is that OS X needs an application with which to process the input signal from an audio device.

Thanks Again All for the education you have provided. It is always good to learn at least enough new things each day to replace the day's forgotten items!
 
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check to make sure Windows is using the correct device for speaker output by clicking on the speaker icon in the taskbar.
 
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