Logic Pro No Sound: Find Where the Signal Stops

Quick fix: play the project and watch the Stereo Out meter. If it moves, open Logic Pro > Settings > Audio > Devices and select the device your headphones or speakers are actually connected to. If Stereo Out stays flat, check the track's Output assignment, Mute/Solo state and any bus or aux between the track and Stereo Out.

“No sound” can mean four different failures: playback is silent, a live input can't be heard, a software instrument receives no MIDI, or only one project is broken. Start from the meter that stops moving. That tells you which half of the signal path to inspect.

Last verified August 16, 2026 against Apple's current Logic Pro audio-device, General Audio, input-monitoring, microphone-permission, release-note and troubleshooting documentation.

Find where the signal stops

Do not reset Logic before this test. A reset destroys useful clues and is much slower to reverse than correcting one output or route.

1. Check Logic's Output Device

1. Choose Logic Pro > Settings > Audio.
2. Open Devices.
3. Confirm that Core Audio is enabled.
4. Set Output Device to the interface, Mac output or display that is physically connected to your listening system.
5. Apply the change and play the project again.

Logic can use different input and output devices, so a working microphone doesn't prove that playback is leaving through the right device. Apple's audio-device guide says Logic uses Core Audio hardware and lets you choose input and output devices in this panel.

2. Test Built-In Output to separate Logic from the interface

Apple's own Logic Pro troubleshooting sequence uses built-in audio as an isolation test:

1. Disconnect the external interface.
2. In Logic Pro > Settings > Audio > Devices, choose Built-In Output. If the Mac uses a different label, choose the Mac's own speaker output rather than the interface.
3. Open the same project and play it through the Mac.

If the Mac plays the project, Logic is producing audio. Reconnect the interface and check its power, cable, current macOS compatibility, driver or firmware, control application, monitor mix, output pair and hardware volume. If built-in audio is also silent, stay inside Logic and continue with routing.

3. Follow the route from the track to Stereo Out

Open the Mixer with X and follow the signal from left to right:

1. Clear unintended Mute and Solo buttons.
2. Confirm the track's Output slot.
3. If it feeds a bus, find the matching aux and check that aux's Output.
4. Check the Stereo Out channel strip and its fader.
5. Temporarily bypass plug-ins on the silent path, one stage at a time.
6. Check volume automation for sudden moves to silence.

A track meter can move while the Stereo Out meter stays flat if the track is routed to an unused output or into an aux that goes nowhere. If Stereo Out moves, stop inspecting the track. The signal has already reached Logic's final strip, so the remaining fault is the selected output or hardware path.

4. Fix a live input you cannot hear

Recording and monitoring are separate. A track can record correctly even when you don't hear the live input. An interface's direct-monitor path can also be audible while Logic receives nothing.

1. Confirm macOS allows Logic to use the microphone or interface input under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone.
2. Select the interface as Logic's Input Device.
3. On the audio channel strip, choose the physical Input connected to the source.
4. If you want to hear the signal through Logic, open Logic Pro > Settings > Audio > General and confirm Software Monitoring is on.
5. Click the I Input Monitoring button on the track.
6. If the interface supplies direct monitoring, choose either the interface path or Logic's software path so you do not hear a doubled signal.

Apple's microphone permission article explicitly includes built-in microphones, USB microphones and inputs on external audio interfaces. So a system-level denial can make an interface input look like a Logic routing problem.

If the track Input is set to No Input, Apple says the Input Monitoring button is hidden. Choose a real input before assuming the button has disappeared because of a version change.

If an existing recording goes silent while the track is armed, check the R and I buttons together. Apple's Logic Pro 11.1.1 release notes state that existing regions aren't audible when both Record Enable and Input Monitoring are on. Turn off I or disarm the track when reviewing the take. For punch recording, use Auto Input Monitoring so you hear the old region before and after the punch.

5. Fix a silent software instrument or MIDI track

A MIDI region contains performance data, not audible audio. The software instrument channel strip needs a loaded instrument and a working output route.

1. Select the instrument track and press a key on the on-screen Musical Typing keyboard with Command–K.
2. If it plays, investigate the external keyboard or MIDI routing with the MIDI keyboard troubleshooting guide.
3. If it stays silent, load a known Logic instrument and preset.
4. Check track and region mute, the channel strip Output and Stereo Out.
5. Bypass MIDI FX and audio plug-ins one at a time.
6. Test the same instrument in a new empty project.

If one third-party instrument is silent but a built-in Logic instrument plays, check that plug-in's Apple-silicon, macOS and Logic compatibility and authorization. Do not reinstall Logic to repair one vendor plug-in.

6. Check the physical interface and its control software

When Logic's Stereo Out meter moves but the room is silent, check everything after Logic:

• headphones are connected to the chosen interface, not another device;
• monitor and headphone volume controls are raised safely;
• the interface mixer sends software playback to the correct output pair;
• speakers are powered and connected to that pair;
• mute, dim and alternate-speaker controls are off;
• if the interface receives digital audio, uses an external clock or belongs to an aggregate device, confirm clock lock and matching sample rates. Apple treats a mismatch as an audio/MIDI sync-alert problem, not as the default explanation for every silent project.

Do not assume “Output 1–2” means the same physical sockets on every interface. Use the manufacturer's current manual and control application for the exact model.

7. If only one project is silent

Create a new empty project, add one Apple Loop and play it. If that works with the same output device, the application and hardware path are functional. Return to a protected copy of the silent project and inspect:

• Mute and Solo states, including hidden tracks;
• track, bus, aux and output assignments;
• output and volume automation;
• disabled or missing plug-ins;
• project sample rate if Logic reports an audio/MIDI sync alert;
• the last change made before silence began.

For a project that opens but fails during playback, save a copy before removing anything. The Logic Pro backup workflow preserves the original while you isolate the fault.

8. If every project is silent after an update

Follow Apple's order rather than jumping to preference deletion:

1. Restart the Mac.
2. Install the current compatible Logic update.
3. Check the interface, plug-in and control-surface compatibility with the installed macOS release.
4. Disconnect external devices one at a time.
5. Test built-in audio.
6. Quit Logic. Reopen it and immediately hold Control, then choose Launch Without Audio Units. Apple's current troubleshooting sequence uses this session-only test to bypass third-party Audio Units.

Apple's current troubleshooting page puts interface isolation and plug-in bypass before preference resets. That order protects working settings and identifies the component that actually changed.

Logic Pro no-sound checklist

1. Watch the track and Stereo Out meters.
2. Select the physical Output Device you are listening through.
3. Test Built-In Output.
4. Clear unintended Mute and Solo states.
5. Follow track → bus → aux → Stereo Out routing.
6. For live input, check macOS permission, Software Monitoring, track Input and the R/I monitoring state.
7. For MIDI, load a known built-in instrument and test Musical Typing.
8. Test a new project to separate global from project-specific failure.
9. After an update, isolate interfaces and Audio Units before resetting anything.

If Logic shows no input and records a flat line, continue with Logic Pro not recording audio. If sound is present but late, use the Logic Pro latency signal-path guide. If the interface is missing from the device list, use audio-interface detection checks.

Logic Pro no sound FAQ

Why do Logic Pro meters move but I hear no sound?

If Stereo Out moves, check the selected Output Device, interface control software, hardware output pair, monitor volume and speakers. If only the track meter moves, inspect its Output and any bus or aux before Stereo Out.

Why can I hear other Mac apps but not Logic Pro?

Logic can use a different output from the macOS system output. Select the intended device under Logic Pro > Settings > Audio > Devices, then test Built-In Output to isolate the interface.

Why can Logic record my mic but I cannot hear it?

Recording and software monitoring are separate. If you want to hear Logic's processed path, turn on Software Monitoring under Logic Pro > Settings > Audio > General, then use the track's Input Monitoring button. If the interface supplies direct monitoring, use that path instead and leave Logic monitoring off to avoid a doubled signal.

Why is the Input Monitoring button missing?

Check the channel strip Input. Apple says the Input Monitoring button is hidden when Input is set to No Input. Choose the physical input connected to the microphone or instrument.

Why is my recorded region silent when Input Monitoring is on?

Check whether both Record Enable and Input Monitoring are on for that audio track. Apple documents that existing regions are not audible in that state. Turn off the I button or disarm the track to review the take; use Auto Input Monitoring for a punch-in workflow.

Why is a MIDI region silent?

MIDI data needs a software instrument to create audio. Load a known Logic instrument, check the track and region mute states, confirm the output route, and test Musical Typing to separate the instrument from the external keyboard.

Why did Logic Pro lose sound after an update?

An interface driver, firmware component or Audio Unit may not match the new Logic or macOS version. Restart, verify compatibility, disconnect external hardware, test built-in audio, then test without Audio Units.

Should I delete Logic Pro preferences to restore sound?

Not first. Identify whether the failure is the output, routing, project, interface or plug-in. Apple places device and Audio Unit isolation before preference reset in its current troubleshooting sequence.

Read the meters before changing anything

Use the meters as a map. Stereo Out moving means the fault is after Logic's mixer. A track meter moving without Stereo Out means routing inside the project. No input meter means permission, device or track input. That distinction turns a long generic checklist into one short branch.

Return to the Logic Pro troubleshooting hub for the next symptom-led check.