---
title: "The recording is silent, or only one side is there"
description: "Work out which of the two tracks went quiet and what to check for each. Recovering a refused permission is a separate page."
updated: "2026-10-09"
canonical: https://docs.recordstead.app/troubleshooting/no-audio-was-captured
---

# The recording is silent, or only one side is there

Recordstead records two separate tracks: what the other app plays, and what your
microphone hears. Almost every silence complaint is one of the two, and which
one it is decides what to check. Audio that was not captured cannot be
recovered, so this page is about the next recording.

If the meeting says **Recording incomplete**, play the audio that remains. The
notice by playback tells you which side may be missing; once the audio is gone,
it sits above the transcript instead. If both sources are in the saved mix but
a separate track failed, the notice says speaker samples may be limited, and it
goes away if Recordstead saves that track later. When audio is actually
missing, the status stays after you reopen or process the meeting again, and
after audio retention ends. A recording without
this status can still have been silent: older meetings have no capture history,
and a quiet source is different from a failed file write.

After an interrupted recording, reopen Recordstead with its storage available.
It can finish saving a captured app track even if the mix was not completed
before the interruption. Play the recovered meeting to check which voices are
present.

If there is nothing to play back at all, this is the wrong page: by default, a
transcribed meeting's recording is deleted after seven days, and the meeting
says which day on its first step. See
[where things are stored](https://docs.recordstead.app/your-data/where-things-are-stored).

If you used **Live Transcript Only**, nothing was recorded;
[that mode](https://docs.recordstead.app/recording/live-transcript-only) keeps no audio.

## Which side is missing

Play the recording back and listen for your own voice.

### You can hear yourself, not them

The app track may be missing or silent. If the meeting says **Recording
incomplete**, follow its notice first: a storage failure and a permission
failure need different fixes. Otherwise, check **System Audio Recording**:

1. Open **Settings** (⌘,) › **Advanced** and read the **Permissions** section.
2. If the **System Audio Recording** row reads
   **Denied. Click to open System Settings.**, that is the answer. Follow
   [You said no to a permission and need to undo it](https://docs.recordstead.app/troubleshooting/permissions-were-refused).
3. If it reads **Required. macOS asks the first time you record a call.**,
   Recordstead has not recorded since it last opened, so the row cannot tell
   yet. Make a short test recording, then read the row again.
4. If it reads **Granted** and the other side is still missing, switch
   Recordstead off and back on for System Audio Recording in System Settings ›
   Privacy & Security, then make a short test recording.

### You can hear them, not yourself

The microphone track is missing.

1. Check the **Microphone** row in the same **Permissions** section.
2. If it reads **Denied. Click to open System Settings.**, follow
   [You said no to a permission and need to undo it](https://docs.recordstead.app/troubleshooting/permissions-were-refused).
   If it reads **Granted**, check which input device is selected in Settings ›
   **Audio**, and whether the microphone has a hardware mute switch. If the
   picker says **None (app audio only)**, choose **System Default** or a device.

### Both are silent

Check the permission rows first. Two independent failures at once is far less
likely than one permission that was never granted.

## Recordstead usually tells you during the call

If one track goes quiet while the other keeps producing sound, you get a
**Capture Channel Silent** notification naming the side that stopped, and what
to check:

> Check the app's audio output and the System Audio Recording permission.

or

> Check that the microphone isn't muted or disconnected.

If nothing at all is arriving, the notification is **Recording Appears Silent**
instead.

This watch is on by default and can be switched off in Settings › **Audio**, as
**Detect silent capture channel**. **Capture Channel Silent** reacts to one side
being quiet while the other is not. **Recording Appears Silent** fires when
both sides stay near silent for the time set in **Warn after**.

A file write failure also changes the menu bar icon and keeps the failing
source in the first line of its panel during the call. A notification is an
additional alert. This status is independent of **Detect silent capture channel**.
Check available storage, then make a short test recording. If the same side fails again, check
its permission as described above and collect diagnostics from Settings ›
**Advanced**.

## Confirm the fix

Make a short recording of any app that is playing sound and play it back, rather
than waiting for the next real meeting to find out.

## Related

- [Give Recordstead permission to record](https://docs.recordstead.app/getting-started/permissions)
- [You said no to a permission and need to undo it](https://docs.recordstead.app/troubleshooting/permissions-were-refused)
- [Record your first meeting](https://docs.recordstead.app/getting-started/first-recording)
- [Ask for something that is missing](https://recordstead.app/support#ideas-and-missing-features)