Second Display turns an iMac into a display for the Mac you work on, a MacBook or a Mac mini for example, as if you had plugged in a monitor. While they’re connected, the iMac also shows up on your MacBook as a speaker, under its own name. What your MacBook plays can come out of the iMac’s speakers.

What you get

  • The iMac is a speaker on your MacBook. Choose it in Control Center or System Settings › Sound, as you would any speaker, or turn on Sound in the Second Display menu.
  • Your MacBook’s volume keys work. They and mute set how loud the iMac plays. The iMac keeps its own volume.
  • Headphones take over when you connect them, as they do from any speaker.
  • Picture and sound from one iMac. The iMac shows your MacBook’s extra display and plays its sound at the same time.

How to turn it on, the volume and headphones step by step: Sound through the display Mac’s speakers

Before you start

  • Two Macs that work with Second Display. The iMac needs macOS 12.3 or later, the MacBook macOS 14 or later. What you need
  • An administrator’s password on the MacBook. The first time, Second Display installs its sound device there, and macOS asks for it. The iMac needs nothing extra.

If the iMac isn’t your display yet, start with Set up Second Display on both Macs.

The keyboard and mouse

The iMac’s keyboard and mouse don’t control your MacBook in this version. Your MacBook’s pointer moves onto the iMac as onto any display, and its keyboard types into the windows there. Keyboard, mouse and sound

More guides: use an old iMac as a monitor, an iMac as a monitor for a Mac mini and an alternative to Target Display Mode. Sound is part of Second Display, free for 7 days, then $39 once. Download it and hear your MacBook on your iMac.

Questions

Do the volume keys on my MacBook work?

Yes. Your MacBook’s volume keys and mute set how loud the iMac plays, as for any speaker. The iMac keeps its own volume, which you set on the iMac.

What happens when I plug in headphones?

Headphones take the sound back, as they do from any speaker. To play on the iMac again, choose it in Control Center or turn on Sound again.

Why does macOS ask for a password?

The first time, Second Display installs its sound device on your MacBook, and macOS asks for an administrator’s password. Updates of the sound device ask again.

I use two iMacs as displays. Which one plays the sound?

One display at a time plays your Mac’s sound. Turning on Sound for another display moves it there.

Can I take it away again?

Yes. Choose Remove… next to Sound device in Second Display Settings › Sound.