Cradle

Troubleshooting

Microphone permission on macOS

How to grant Cradle access to your microphone on macOS: the fix for calls that drop immediately after pickup.

If a call ends within a second of you answering, often with a short tone before anyone can speak, macOS is almost always blocking Cradle from using your microphone. The fix is in System Settings.

Steps

  1. Open System Settings from the Apple menu (on macOS 13 and later). On older versions, open System Preferences.
  2. Click Privacy & Security in the sidebar.
  3. Click Microphone.
  4. Find Cradle in the list and toggle it on.
  5. If macOS asks you to quit and reopen Cradle, do so.

Try a test call.

If Cradle isn't in the list

macOS adds apps to the per-app list the first time they request the microphone. If you've just installed Cradle, or you've never made a call yet, Cradle won't be in the list.

  1. Open the Cradle desktop app.
  2. Try a test call. macOS will show a prompt asking whether to allow microphone access.
  3. Click Allow.
  4. Cradle will appear in the Microphone list afterwards.

If you accidentally clicked Don't Allow, macOS won't ask you again automatically. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and toggle Cradle on manually.

What you should see

  • The call connects.
  • The microphone meter in Cradle's Audio Settings (speaker icon top right of the app) moves as you speak.
  • The caller can hear you.

If it still doesn't work

  • Quit and reopen Cradle. Permission changes sometimes need an app restart to take effect.
  • MDM lockdown. If your Mac is managed by your employer's IT team (Jamf, Kandji, Intune), microphone access may be locked at a profile level. Ask your IT admin.
  • A different app has the microphone open exclusively. Quit any other audio apps (Zoom, Teams, Loopback, Krisp, Audio Hijack) and try again.

If none of the above works, see Audio issues on macOS for the broader picture.

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