How to record your screen with voice on a MacBook

You want to show someone what is happening on your MacBook screen while explaining it out loud. If the finished recording has no voice, the cause is often a muted or unselected microphone, or a permission that the browser does not have.

Use the Screen Recorder to capture a screen, window, or browser tab with microphone commentary. You can check the recording before sharing it, so you do not have to discover a silent track later.

Record your screen with microphone commentary

1. Open the Screen Recorder on your MacBook. It works in a computer browser, not on phones.
2. Choose whether to capture a screen, a window, or a tab. When the browser asks what to share, select the view you want in the recording.
3. Allow microphone access when the browser asks. In the recorder, make sure microphone recording is enabled and choose the microphone you plan to speak into, if there is more than one.
4. Start the recording and speak at your usual distance from the microphone. Explain the steps as you perform them, and avoid covering the MacBook's built-in microphone with your hand.
5. Stop the recording and play it back. Check that your voice is clear and synchronized with the screen before saving or sharing the file.

If you also want to include sound from a tab or the computer, enable screen or tab audio if that option is available for your chosen share target. This is separate from the microphone: your voice can record even when the browser cannot capture audio from that particular screen or window.

What the recording tells you

Your voice is clear and easy to hear

The microphone is working and the browser captured your commentary. If the recording is otherwise silent, check whether you selected a share target that offers its own audio. The browser may offer tab audio but not system audio, depending on the browser and what you chose to share.

Your voice is missing

The screen capture worked, but the microphone audio did not reach the recording. The likely causes are microphone permission, the wrong input device, or a mute switch. Work through the fixes below, then make a short new recording to check.

Your voice is very quiet, muffled, or distorted

The microphone is receiving sound, but its level or position may be wrong. Move closer to an external microphone, check its input level, and listen for rubbing or wind noise. To check the microphone separately from screen recording, try the Microphone Test.

The screen or window is not in the recording

The browser may be sharing a different target than you intended. Stop the recording and select the correct screen, window, or tab in the browser's sharing prompt. Keep the selected window open while recording.

Fix missing or poor microphone commentary

1. Check the mute switch and connection. Make sure a headset or external microphone is not muted on its cable, ear cup, or body. If it is USB, disconnect and reconnect it directly to the MacBook rather than through a hub.
2. Select the microphone in macOS. Open System Settings › Sound › Input and choose the microphone you intend to use. Speak and watch whether the input level responds. If it stays still, try another listed microphone.
3. Allow microphone access in macOS. Open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone and enable access for the browser you are using. If you change this permission, quit and reopen the browser before testing again.
4. Allow microphone access for the website. Open the browser's site settings for TooLab and set microphone access to allow. The control may be beside the address bar or in the browser's site settings. Reload the page, then allow the microphone if the browser asks again.
5. Allow screen capture in macOS. Open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen & System Audio Recording and allow the browser. Some macOS versions call this setting Screen Recording. Quit and reopen the browser if macOS requests it.
6. Close other apps using the microphone. Quit video-call, voice-chat, and recording apps, then reload the recorder. An app that is already using the microphone can interfere with another browser recording.
7. Restart the MacBook if permissions still fail. Restarting can release a microphone or capture permission that an app did not let go of. Then try a brief test recording again.

When the built-in microphone may be faulty

Try the built-in microphone in another browser app, or compare it with a headset microphone in the Microphone Test. If an external microphone works but the MacBook's built-in microphone stays silent across apps, check for debris near the microphone openings and consider Apple support or a repair shop. If the problem follows an external microphone to another device, its cable or microphone may need replacement.

Make commentary easier to understand

Keep the microphone close enough to capture your voice without forcing you to speak loudly. Pause typing while you explain an important step, and close noisy apps or move away from a fan. If you need both narration and computer audio, make a short sample first: confirm that the voice is present and that the selected browser share target captures the sound you need.

Screen Recorder runs in your browser, and recordings stay on your device. Nothing you record is uploaded.