Filed under: Audio, Tips and tricks
Access your Mac's "super quiet" mode
Much like Nigel's amp that goes to 11, making it "...one louder," your Mac has a super-quiet mode. Macworld explains how to find it.First, use your keyboard's volume keys to turn the volume all the way down (using the menu bar slider won't work). Next, press the "Mute" key. The speaker graphic will appear on screen and display the familiar "sound waves." Listen closely (or plug in your headphones) - your Mac is in super-quiet mode.
We're not sure when you'd want to do this, but now you can.
[Via Lifehacker]
Get a WordPress.com Blog
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
James said 4:44PM on 9-12-2007
Great now hook me up with a "super-duper loud as hell" mode!
I can barely hear my MacBook sometimes!
Reply
Nay said 4:44PM on 9-12-2007
I know EXACTLY when this would be useful!
Porn is worthless without sound but sometimes you just can't listen to it at full blast (zing?)
Reply
Nay said 4:46PM on 9-12-2007
also, you cant rely on headphones...just in case someone tries to creep on you you can't hear em while fapping away
Reply
Allen Pike said 5:08PM on 9-12-2007
That's interesting, but is there a "super dim" mode? The minimum brightness is still really bright in a pitch black room.
Reply
uros said 4:55PM on 9-12-2007
I discovered this in the my 10.4.9 days (the buggiest update my computer has seen), when my Mac's volume got twice as loud. So glad it's fixed now... -_-
Reply
Ramin Movahed said 4:57PM on 9-12-2007
This is awesome.
This is what makes Apple so amazing. It's the little things that really make the biggest differences.
Reply
Micah Neumark said 5:00PM on 9-12-2007
Here's what I want to know. I think this is probably an Intel Mac related thing. If you have the volume on at all, and headphones are plugged in, and you restart, the sound comes out through your speakers, not your headphones (actually, maybe its your headphones ALSO). This is really annoying. Any ideas?
Reply
Phil said 5:11PM on 9-12-2007
I discovered this on my own also! Really don't know know why you would need it though? Also, is there a way to access a "super-loud" mode? I can't even hear my MBP sometimes.
Reply
Sean said 5:15PM on 9-12-2007
I use this feature all the time... like today when I viewed a web tutorial or feature. Without it the default web volume is insanely loud; it totally screws up trying to listen to iTunes at the same time.
Reply
Adam said 5:33PM on 9-12-2007
I don't get it - what does it do? I plugged in my headphones and didn't notice what it was doing...
Reply
Jon said 5:29PM on 9-12-2007
I discovered this accidentally and thought it was a bug. I never ever adjust the volume settings in the program I'm listening to (e.g. iTunes) so this would be useful for someone like me who encounters a loud song.
And #7: when you put the brightness down to 0, if you look carefully, you can still see details on the screen. It's not off, it's just really REALLY dim. It's not usable though, so I understand what you're saying. When I wake up and it's still dark outside, my MacBook blinds me even on minimum brightness.
Reply
Micah Neumark said 5:59PM on 9-12-2007
Adam: If you were replying to me, I meant the restart noise. It always comes out of the speakers (unless you have muted the machine in the Mac side). This is unfortunate if you need to start up your computer but don't want to make noise.
Reply
SubGenius said 6:00PM on 9-12-2007
Allen, while not a true super dim mode, I use the screen color inverse function(command+option+control+8) to make the screen darker. You can do this using the Mac's built-in accessibility features or there is an app called Nocturne that has more options.
Reply
Mystic said 6:19PM on 9-12-2007
This makes absolutely no sense. Could someone explain what this is doing? Macworld or TUAW sure doesn't. I hear the same little ping when I'm muting when the volume is above 0.
Reply
Micah Neumark said 6:24PM on 9-12-2007
#10: Its not really dim, the backlight is completely off. The screen is on, so it still shows up, but its pretty damn tough to see with no backlight.
Reply
Hawkman said 6:41PM on 9-12-2007
I vaguely recall noticing this in the past, but it doesn't seem to work on my MacBook now (I just tried - ramped the equaliser all the way up in iTunes, too).
Reply
Thetics said 6:45PM on 9-12-2007
hmm.. slow news day? lol.
Reply
ch said 7:05PM on 9-12-2007
I use this little program to dim my mac beyond the lowest brightness. Works well:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/17670
Reply
tbirdsaw said 8:07PM on 9-12-2007
This has been around for a while. I did it all the way back when 10.4 was first released.
It's rather handy if for a student, as it's "double-protection" to make sure it doesn't start making noises in the middle of class. It also kills the startup sound (at least on my PowerBook G4).
Reply
Reg said 8:13PM on 9-12-2007
I like when listening to recordings of presentations, eg, those from IT Conversations, you can hear the presenter adjusting their laptop volume.
The "tuck" "tuck" "tuck" is a sure giveaway that it's Mac 'book of some description.
Cool to think how many 'influencers' in the industry have gone Mac these days.
Reply