leolion | 5 tháng trước | 6 min read

Audio Remote: Control Your Mac's Mic and Volume Remotely

Having an online meeting, forgetting to turn on the mic, and talking endlessly - everyone has experienced this feeling, right? 😅

Part 1: Why do you need this app?

😩 The pains of online meetings

When working remotely, online meetings are a daily occurrence. But there are a few "classic" situations that frustrate everyone:

1. Forgetting to turn on the mic
You are sharing your screen to demo for the team, passionately explaining for 5 minutes. Then you see a colleague's chat: "Bro, I can't hear anything." 🤦‍♂️

2. Forgetting to turn off the mic
During a meeting, a dog barks, a baby cries, or the clacking sound of a keyboard flies into the meeting. Everyone looks at each other, not knowing where the sound is coming from.

3. Switching tabs to turn the mic on/off is very annoying
While sharing Chrome, to mute the mic you have to:
- Alt+Tab to Google Meet/Zoom
- Click the mic button
- Alt+Tab back to the shared screen

It breaks your workflow, causes a loss of focus, and sometimes you even share the wrong screen!

4. Wanting to attend a meeting while walking/jogging
AirPods have gesture control on iOS (tap the earbuds to turn the mic on/off). But on Mac? Nothing! Apple doesn't allow it. So unfair!

💡 Solution: Audio Remote

I built a super lightweight macOS app to completely solve these problems:

📱 Turn the mic on/off from your phone - no app installation needed, just be on the same WiFi
🔊 Volume synchronization - tap the back of your phone to change the Mac volume
🖥️ HUD in the middle of the screen - instantly know if you are muted or unmuted
⌨️ System shortcut - ⌘M to toggle the mic, works anywhere
⚡ Super fast - only ~1ms latency

Goal: Everyone gets a "0-dollar Stream Deck" - remote control your Mac without spending a dime! 😉

Remote volume control feature

I also have the need to adjust the application volume from my phone, so I developed a feature where tapping the back of the phone synchronizes the volume with the computer.

Download the volume control shortcut here:
👉 Download Audio Remote

Part 2: Detailed installation guide (step-by-step)

Don't worry if you are not tech-savvy - I will guide you step by step, from A to Z!

Step 1: Download and install the app on Mac

1.1. Download app

Visit the following link and download the AudioRemote.dmg file:

👉 Download Audio Remote

Click on the latest .dmg file (for example: AudioRemote-v2.4.0.dmg)

1.2. Installation

Open the downloaded .dmg file
Drag the Audio Remote icon into the Applications folder
Go to Applications and double-click to open the app

1.3. What to do if macOS blocks the app

If you see the message "App can't be opened because it is from an unidentified developer":

Open Terminal (how to open: press Cmd + Space, type Terminal, press Enter)
Copy and paste the following command into Terminal:

xattr -cr /Applications/AudioRemote.app

Press Enter
Close Terminal and reopen the app

1.4. Grant Microphone permission

When the app requests Microphone access → Click Allow

If you accidentally clicked Deny, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone → Turn on Audio Remote

1.5. Install the browser extension

After trying many methods to mute the system-wide audio, I was still unsuccessful. Because most of these applications will automatically readjust the input volume, it cannot be muted completely. Instead, I pivoted to developing a mute function via a browser plugin.

Install this plugin and it will automatically connect to the desktop app to perfectly control the microphone on/off operation. It also defaults to turning off the mic and camera when accessing Google Meet.

Step 2: Turn on the HTTP Server and get the IP address

2.1. Turn on the HTTP Server

Look up at the menu bar (top right corner of the screen) → you'll see a 🎤 icon
Click on that icon → Select Settings...
Find the HTTP Server section → Turn ON

2.2. Get the Mac's IP address

Still in the Settings window, look at the Network Info section → Note down the IP address (for example: 192.168.1.100)

💡 Tip: This IP will be used by the phone to send commands to the Mac. Write it down!

Step 3: Install iOS Shortcuts on iPhone

This is the most important step! You will download 2 existing shortcuts and just need to change the IP address.

3.1. Download the "Toggle Mic" Shortcut

On your iPhone, open the following link using Safari:

👉 Download Toggle Mic Shortcut

Press Get Shortcut (or Add Shortcut)
The shortcut will be added to the Shortcuts app

3.2. Download the "Sync Volume" Shortcut

On your iPhone, open the following link:

👉 Download Sync Volume Shortcut

Press Get Shortcut

Step 4: Change the IP address in the Shortcut

After downloading the shortcut, you need to replace the default IP address with your Mac's IP.

4.1. Edit the "Toggle Mic" Shortcut

Open the Shortcuts app on your iPhone
Find the shortcut you just downloaded (the name might be "Toggle Mac Mic")
Tap the 3 dots (⋯) in the corner of the shortcut to edit it
Find the line with a URL like: http://YOUR_MAC_IP:8765/toggle-mic
Replace YOUR_MAC_IP with your actual Mac IP (for example: 192.168.1.100)
Result: [http://192.168.1.100:8765/toggle-mic](http://192.168.1.100:8765/toggle-mic)
Tap Done

4.2. Edit the "Sync Volume" Shortcut

Do the same with the Sync Volume shortcut - replace YOUR_MAC_IP with your Mac's IP.

Step 5: Add the Shortcut to the Home Screen or Back Tap

Method 1: Add to Home Screen

Open the shortcut → Tap the 3 dots (⋯)
Tap the (i) icon in the top right corner
Select Add to Home Screen
Set a name and choose an icon
Tap Add

Now you can just tap once on the Home Screen to turn the mic on/off!

Method 2: Assign to Back Tap (tapping the back of the phone)

This is the best method - tap the back of your phone 2 times to turn the mic on/off!

Open Settings on your iPhone
Go to Accessibility → Touch → Back Tap
Select Double Tap
Scroll down to the Shortcuts section → Select Toggle Mac Mic

Now when you tap twice on the back of your iPhone = turn mic on/off on your Mac! 🎉

Method 3: Use Siri

You can say: "Hey Siri, Toggle Mac Mic" to turn the mic on/off!

Step 6: Test it out!

Make sure your iPhone and Mac are on the same WiFi network
Open a Google Meet/Zoom meeting
Tap the back of your iPhone 2 times (or tap the shortcut on the Home Screen)
Look at your Mac screen → you will see the HUD displaying the mic status
The mic will be turned on/off!

🆘 Troubleshooting

Shortcut not working?

Check if on the same WiFi: Your iPhone and Mac must be on the same WiFi network
Check if the IP is correct: Go to the Settings app on your Mac → re-check the IP
Check if the HTTP Server is turned on: Settings → HTTP Server must be ON
Test using Safari: On your iPhone, open Safari and type http://[MAC-IP-ADDRESS]:8765 → If you see the web interface, it's OK

What if the IP changes?

If your home router provides dynamic IPs, your IP might change every time you restart the router. You need to:
1. Go to the Settings app on your Mac → check for the new IP
2. Edit the shortcut with the new IP

Tip: Configure a Static IP for your Mac in your router so the IP doesn't change.

📥 Download

I find it so convenient for myself, so I'm sharing it for everyone to use for FREE!