Speaker Icon grayed out and sound doesn't work
Solution 1:
Thank you for displaying the audio output settings in System Preferences.
This is very likely physical issue with your MacBook Pro (MBP). Your MBP supports three outputs:
- speakers
- headphone jack
- optical/digital output (using your headphone jack)
When the optical output is activate there is no way to change it to speakers using a macOS setting. As this output doesn't support volume changes your speaker icon is grayed out.
Please check with a flashlight if there is something stuck in your MBP's headphone jack (debris, dust or similar). The optical output setting is triggered using a physical
Carefully try to remove it with a toothpick.
Please report back if you
- can see a red light coming out of the headphone jack when playing a song
- could solve the issue with a toothpick
- used wired headphone with your MBP in the last few weeks.
edit:
I've taken a picture to show how the port can determine whether it's a headphone plug or an optical cable. The optical cable is just a tad longer and triggers the optical output in macOS.:
Solution 2:
Had the same issue. I reset the pram which did solve the issue for me.
https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT204063
Environment: macOS Catalina 10.15.3 (19D76)