Record both sides of a Mac call: mic + system audio.
To record both sides of a call on a Mac, capture two sources at once: your microphone for your voice, and your Mac’s system audio for everyone else. A mic-only tool hears the far end only as faint room echo. A virtual audio driver such as BlackHole, or an app that records system audio for you, adds the other side.
It is for anyone who wants a recording or transcript of a Zoom, Meet or Teams call without a bot in it, and has found that their recording holds only their own voice. You will leave knowing which route fits, the one permission involved, and how to tell which side went silent.
Recording laws differ by place, and this is not legal advice. Tell everyone on the call before you record, and stop if someone says no. Consent, plainly has the details.
TL;DR
- A call has two halves: you (microphone) and them (the sound your Mac plays). A recorder needs both.
- Three routes: a built-in tool with the speakers on (echo-prone), a virtual audio driver such as BlackHole (free to try, fiddly), or an app that captures system audio and the mic for you.
- Capturing system audio needs a macOS permission. Noted names it: System Audio Recording Only on macOS 14.4 and later.
- If your mic goes quiet, Noted says “Your mic isn’t sending any sound.” after 10 seconds, with a Reopen mic button.
- I did not hand-test the built-in tools or BlackHole. What I read is linked below, and what is untested is marked.
Why does my Mac record only my voice?
Your mic hears you, not your Mac. The other side’s voice is audio your Mac plays, and the microphone picks it up only as faint, echoey room sound. Apple’s pages for Voice Memos and QuickTime Player (read 12 November 2026) don’t describe a system-audio source, so I would not count on them for the far end.
Which route should I use?
| Route | Both sides? | Setup | Usual failure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in mic-only tool, speakers on | Only through the room, so echo | None | Far end faint or doubled; headphones remove it |
| BlackHole virtual driver | Yes, once routed | Audio MIDI Setup, Multi-Output Device | Silence or no sound for you; output left on the wrong device |
| App that captures system audio and the mic | Yes | One macOS permission | Permission not granted; mic silent |
Rule of thumb: built-in for a personal reminder, an app for a call you will quote, BlackHole if you like tinkering.
How do I record with a built-in tool?
Open Voice Memos or QuickTime Player, press record, and put the call on speakers so the mic hears both sides. It costs nothing, but you are recording a room: the far end comes back through your speakers with echo, and headphones leave you with only your own voice. I have not hand-tested this route.
How do I record both sides with BlackHole?
BlackHole is a virtual audio driver. Its page (read 12 November 2026) offers a download with a $10 donation button and an “I can’t afford to donate” option, and says it works on macOS 10.10 and newer. It passes your Mac’s sound to another app. The wiki’s Multi-Output Device guide (read 12 November 2026) gives the steps:
- Open Audio MIDI Setup, click + and choose Create Multi-Output Device.
- Tick your real output (speakers or headphones) and BlackHole, with the real output listed first. Turn on Drift Correction on every device except the first.
- Right-click the new device and choose “Use This Device For Sound Output”.
- Record from BlackHole in your recording app.
The gotcha: switch your output back. Step 3 makes the Multi-Output Device your Mac’s sound output, and it stays that way. The same guide says macOS doesn’t let you change a Multi-Output Device’s volume, so you set volume on each device in Audio MIDI Setup. When you finish, choose your normal output again in Sound settings. BlackHole also carries only the sound your Mac plays: to get your own voice into the same file you must combine the mic separately, extra setup I have not tested.
How do I record both sides with an app that does it for you?
The app takes your mic and the system audio together, with no bot in the call. On a Mac the system-audio half needs a macOS permission. OpenWhispr’s own page (read 12 November 2026) says it uses the Screen & System Audio Recording permission, needs a restart of the app after you grant it, and falls back to your side only if system audio is unavailable. It is not affiliated with Noted. Where it is better: it labels the two sides “You” and “Them” and runs echo cancellation, which its page describes in more detail than I can compare here.
Noted works the same way, and I can say how from its code. It records your microphone and the sound your Mac plays, mixed into the meeting’s transcript. On macOS 14.4 and later it asks for System Audio Recording Only; on earlier versions it needs Screen Recording. Nothing joins the call, and headphones are fine because it takes the call from your Mac’s audio, not your speakers. Noted’s site lists Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Slack huddles and Webex as calls it works with; our founder tested Noted on live calls by hand on Mac and Windows in November 2026, without recording a result per app. If your headset’s mic sounds thin, the AirPods post explains why.
Where Noted is better: there is no routing to set up or switch back, it warns you when a side goes silent (below), and recording and transcripts are free. Speech becomes text on your Mac and audio never leaves it, and your notes stay on your computer, with no cloud copy unless you share a note by link.
What we have and have not tested
On 12 November 2026 I read Noted’s desktop code and its unit tests, and in November 2026 our founder tested the app by hand.
- Tested by hand by our founder on Mac and Windows, November 2026: Noted on live calls. This post gives no result per call app.
- Read in code: the macOS permission name is “System Audio Recording Only” (
system_audio.rs, with a test for macOS 14.4 and later). - Read in code and tests: the mic hint after 10 seconds of exact silence (
mic_hint.rs) and the other-side hint after 30 seconds during a live call (them_hint.rs), each with unit tests. - Not tested by anyone for this post: Voice Memos or QuickTime with speakers, BlackHole routing and OpenWhispr.
Record a call tonight: a checklist
- Tell people first. Say “I’m using an app to record this call. Is that OK?” An app that does not join the call does not announce itself, so that is your job.
- Pick one route from the table above.
- Grant the permission. In System Settings, under Privacy & Security, allow system audio recording for the app, then restart it if it asks.
- Test for 20 seconds. Play a video, speak, and play back. Both voices should be there before the real call.
- Watch for silence. Your side silent: check Microphone permission and input. Their side silent: check the system audio permission.
- Switch your output back. If you used BlackHole, set your normal speakers or headphones again in Sound settings.
What if one side is silent?
Your side is silent. Noted watches the mic: if the recording has gone 10 seconds without a single non-zero sound sample, it shows “Your mic isn’t sending any sound.” with a Reopen mic button. A quiet room doesn’t trigger it, because a real mic never sends exact zeros. Pausing or muting restarts the count. Reopen mic restarts it once; if there is still nothing 10 seconds later, check the Microphone permission and the input selected in Sound settings.
Their side is silent. Check the System Audio Recording permission in System Settings (Privacy & Security). If Noted hears nothing from the other side for 30 seconds during a live call, it says “Not hearing the other side. Check System audio permission.” with an Open settings button. OpenWhispr’s page also advises a test recording first.
Our point of view
We think a call recorder should capture your Mac’s audio rather than send a bot into the call, and should say plainly when it can’t hear one side. That is why Noted takes the call from system audio, and why the two silence hints exist: a recording that is quietly missing half the conversation is worse than one that warns you.
We also think telling people matters more than any setting. Every meeting recording in Noted opens with a reminder to let people know, and a Copy consent line button, because an app with no bot has no visible sign that someone is recording.
Limitations, honestly
- It needs a permission. Without it you get your own voice only, and the other-side hint takes 30 seconds to appear.
- Both hints rely on exact silence. A far end that is faint but not silent will not trigger them; the 20-second test is still your best check.
- Others are better in places. OpenWhispr labels “You” and “Them” and describes echo cancellation; BlackHole is free and gives you routing control for any app; Voice Memos needs nothing installed.
- Windows works differently. Noted’s site says it runs on Windows 10 (version 1903) or later, and its blog says Windows needs only microphone access. This guide covers Mac; our founder tested Noted on Windows by hand in November 2026.
FAQ
Can QuickTime record both sides of a call?
Not by itself, as far as Apple’s support pages describe. QuickTime records from an input such as a microphone. To include the other side you need a virtual driver like BlackHole or a different app. I did not test this.
Can I record a call with headphones on?
With the speaker method, no: the mic only hears you. With BlackHole you add your headphones to the Multi-Output Device. With Noted, yes, because it takes the call from your Mac’s audio.
Does the other person see that I’m recording?
Not with an app that doesn’t join the call, and Noted doesn’t announce itself. That is why the consent step above matters.
What macOS permission does recording system audio need?
Noted asks for System Audio Recording Only on macOS 14.4 and later, and Screen Recording before that. Other apps may word it as Screen & System Audio Recording.
Do I need consent to record a call?
Often, yes. US federal law lets you record a call you are part of, but some states need everyone’s consent, and in the EU and UK a recording is personal data you must tell people about. See the consent post.
Is my audio sent anywhere?
No. Speech becomes text on your computer, and audio is never sent to us or anyone else. The transcript text goes to Noted’s servers and our AI providers to write the meeting note. The privacy page has the details.
Is it free?
Noted’s dictation and transcripts are free forever, with Pro at $14.99 a month or $149 a year, as the pricing page says. The built-in tools cost nothing, and BlackHole’s page offers a $10 donation option rather than a price.
Sources
- Voice Memos User Guide and QuickTime Player User Guide (Apple)
- BlackHole and its Multi-Output Device wiki page (Existential Audio)
- Capture both sides (OpenWhispr docs)
Checked 12 November 2026. Noted is not affiliated with Apple, Existential Audio or OpenWhispr. Names are their owners’ trademarks.
Want both sides without the setup? See how bot-free meeting notes work, or try Noted Notetaker if it suits you.