Ballad does not appear in the menu bar
- Confirm Ballad is running and not hidden by macOS menu bar management.
- Check Control Center and menu bar settings so Ballad can stay visible.
- Quit and reopen Ballad after installing or updating.
- If you want Ballad available after reboot, enable Open Ballad at Login in Preferences.
An app is missing from the mixer list
Ballad lists regular apps that are actively playing audio. Start playback in the app you want to control, then open Ballad again.
Some helpers, plugins, system processes, and background services are filtered out on purpose so the mixer stays focused on user-facing apps.
Volume slider has no effect
- Make sure the app is currently outputting audio.
- Some apps manage their own volume internally; try adjusting both Ballad and the app.
- Restart the target app if its audio session seems stuck.
- Click Refresh in Ballad if the app list looks stale.
Audio capture permission
Ballad needs macOS audio-capture permission for Core Audio process taps. This is not microphone recording. Ballad does not use the microphone, save audio, or send audio anywhere.
If you denied permission, open macOS privacy settings from Ballad’s Open Privacy Settings button, enable audio capture for Ballad, then quit and reopen Ballad.
Audio routing failed
If Ballad cannot create a process tap or route audio for an app, that row shows Audio routing failed with a short reason and a Retry button.
- Press Retry for one app, or Retry All from the top warning if several apps failed.
- Wait for the countdown if the retry button is cooling down.
- Switch to a normal output device, such as speakers or headphones, if the current output device is unavailable or unsupported.
- Restart the target app if the failure keeps happening for only one app.
Muted app stays quiet after a crash
Ballad cleans up its private audio taps on launch. If audio stays muted after a crash, reopen Ballad once so it can remove stale audio resources, then restart the affected app if needed.
Reset saved state
If old volume or mute choices keep coming back, open Ballad Preferences and use Reset Saved Mixer State. This resets per-app volume and mute data only; appearance and launch-at-login settings are kept.
Still stuck?
See the Ballad FAQ, Getting Started guide, or contact support with your macOS version, Ballad version, output device, and the app you were trying to control.