How to Route Microsoft Teams Audio to a Different Output on Mac (Without Affecting Other Apps)

macOS has no built-in way to send one app's audio to a specific output while leaving everything else where it is. For Microsoft Teams that means your meeting audio, notification pings, and incoming call ringtones all share the same output as your music - and adjusting system volume affects everything at once. The fix is per-app audio routing, which macOS doesn't offer natively but can be added with a third-party app.

Why Teams audio on Mac is harder to control than you'd expect

On Windows, the Volume Mixer lets you pick an output device and set a volume level per running app. macOS has never had an equivalent. System Settings → Sound gives you one output selector - change it and every app follows.

Teams adds its own layer of complexity. The app has three separate audio settings inside it: the microphone, the speaker (for call audio), and the ringtone output. Microsoft exposes those in Teams Settings → Devices (or Audio Devices, depending on your version), which means Teams can route its call audio to one device independently of the system - but only within Teams, and only for call audio. Notification sounds and the ringtone still follow whatever macOS routes them to.

So if you want:

• Call audio → headphones
• Notification pings → headphones
• Music playing in the background → speakers
• Teams volume turned down without touching Spotify

…the Teams internal settings get you partway there, but macOS's lack of a system-level per-app mixer leaves the rest unresolved.

Step 1: Use Teams' built-in device settings first

Open Microsoft Teams and go to Settings → Devices (click your profile photo, then Settings). You'll see separate dropdowns for:

• Microphone - your input
• Speaker - where call audio plays
• Ringtone - where incoming call alerts ring

Set Speaker and Ringtone to your headphones if you want call audio isolated. This works without any third-party software and survives you changing the macOS system output - Teams remembers its own device preferences per device.

What this doesn't do:

• Control the volume of Teams independently from other apps
• Route Teams notification sounds (the kind macOS itself delivers) to a specific output
• Let you mute Teams without muting everything else

Step 2: Control Teams volume independently of the system

macOS gives you one system volume slider. If Teams is too loud during a quiet work session and you drag it down, your music gets quieter too. There's no native fix for this.

Soundish adds a per-app volume mixer to macOS - a menu bar panel that shows every app currently producing audio, each with its own volume slider (0-200%), mute button, and output selector. You can set Teams to 60% while Spotify sits at 100%, and neither affects the other.

The output routing in Soundish works at the app level, which complements what Teams does internally. Teams handles its call audio through its own device preference; Soundish lets you route all Teams audio (including the parts Teams doesn't give you a setting for) to a specific output device.

Soundish requires macOS 14.6 or later and runs on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. Since version 1.5 there's no driver to install and no restart required - macOS asks once to let Soundish tap system audio, and that's it. It costs $14.99 one-time after a 7-day free trial (no card needed).

Step 3: Set up a profile if you switch between setups

If you use Teams at a desk with external speakers and headphones, then work from a cafe with only AirPods, you probably want your audio configuration to switch without you having to redo it each time.

Soundish's profiles let you save a complete snapshot of every app's volume, mute state, and output device, then restore it from the menu bar or a keyboard shortcut. Save a "Desk" profile with Teams routed to headphones at 70% and Spotify to speakers at 90%, and a "Laptop" profile with everything going to the built-in speakers at balanced levels. Switching takes one click.

Profiles don't switch by themselves: you apply one with a click or its hotkey. Soundish's output device rules are a separate setting: they decide which device becomes your Mac's default output as devices connect, for example your headphones the moment they connect.

What if Teams audio stops working after a macOS update?

This is a known frustration. macOS occasionally resets app audio permissions or restarts the audio subsystem after updates, which can leave apps playing through the wrong device or producing no audio at all.

For Teams specifically:

1. Quit Teams completely (Cmd+Q, not just closing the window)
2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and confirm Teams has permission
3. Check System Settings → Sound → Output - macOS sometimes resets this to Built-in Speakers after an update
4. Reopen Teams and recheck Settings → Devices

If Soundish loses track of Teams after a macOS audio restart, it recovers automatically - version 1.5.3 specifically added self-recovery when macOS restarts its audio subsystem. You shouldn't need to do anything, but if it looks stuck, quitting and relaunching Soundish from the menu bar clears it.

How Teams handles multi-process audio (and why that matters)

Teams on Mac runs multiple processes - the main app, helper processes for calls, and sometimes a browser rendering layer depending on which version you have. This is similar to how Chrome handles audio through helper processes rather than the main application.

Per-app audio control has to follow those helper processes back to the app they belong to. Browsers and Electron apps such as Slack and Discord play their sound from helper processes too, and Soundish follows them so the app's own slider works.

Common questions

Can I set Teams to always use headphones even when I change the system output?

Yes - two ways. Teams' own Settings → Devices remembers a per-device speaker preference, so it won't switch when macOS changes the system output. Soundish's output routing works at the process level and will keep Teams on your chosen device regardless of what the system output is set to. Using both together gives you the most reliable result.

Does Soundish work with Teams calls specifically, or only general app audio?

Soundish routes all audio that Teams produces through macOS's audio system. For most Teams audio - notification sounds, meeting audio when Teams manages the device itself, background noise - this works cleanly. For call audio where Teams handles the device directly via its own Settings → Devices, Soundish and Teams' internal routing work in parallel.

Will changing Teams' audio settings in Soundish affect my microphone or how others hear me?

No. Teams' settings in Soundish change only what you hear: its volume, mute, output and equalizer. Your microphone and what your call participants receive stay as Teams and macOS set them. (Soundish's Input line changes the Mac's input device only if you pick a different one there.)

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For more on per-app audio routing on Mac, How to Set a Different Audio Output Per App on Mac covers the full picture. If Teams call volume is the main issue and you also want to boost quieter calls above 100%, How to Boost App Volume Above 100% on Mac explains how volume overdrive works in practice.