Your Mac keeps stealing your microphone. MicStay ends it.
You picked your mic. Then AirPods connected, or your iPhone woke up nearby, and macOS quietly switched your input mid-meeting. MicStay pins the input you chose and switches it right back, usually within a second.
For creators, streamers, podcasters, and anyone who lives on calls. It identifies your device by its CoreAudio UID, never the display name. It never records or accesses your mic. There is nothing to capture, so there is no permission prompt.
Coming soon to the Mac App Store. No live link yet.
No star ratings or testimonials yet. This is a first release. Real reviews go here after launch, not before.
macOS decides your mic for you. Often at the worst moment.
Modern Macs are eager to help. Connect AirPods and macOS may make them your input. Wake your iPhone nearby and Continuity can grab the mic. Plug in an interface and the default shifts again. You do not get a warning. You find out when someone on the call says you sound underwater.
The usual fixes are all manual: dive into System Settings, reselect your mic, hope it sticks. It does not stick. The next connection undoes it.
Pin it once. MicStay holds the line.
MicStay watches the system default input through the CoreAudio HAL and identifies your device by its stable CoreAudio UID, never the display name. Two "MacBook Pro Microphone" entries, a reconnect, a rename: it still knows exactly which one is yours.
- 01
Watch
Listens for default-input changes at the system level. No polling loops chewing your battery.
- 02
Recognize
Matches your pinned device by CoreAudio UID, so reconnects and duplicate names never fool it.
- 03
Re-pin
The instant something switches the default away, it switches it back, usually within a second.
- 04
Never fight itself
It tags its own writes and holds through a short re-assertion window (roughly 500ms to 5s), so it never loops against macOS quietly reverting after a handoff.
It lives in your menu bar. No Dock icon, no window to manage.
One click shows your input devices, which one is pinned (by UID), and the controls that matter. A second pane holds the switches. That is the whole surface.
Interface mockups. Final app screenshots replace these at launch.
Six jobs. One quiet menu-bar icon.
Pick once, remembered forever.
Choose your mic a single time and MicStay keeps it selected across restarts and reconnects.
- Pick your input device from the menu
- Remembered by CoreAudio UID, not name
- Enforced automatically at every launch
Catches the switch, undoes it.
When anything grabs your input, MicStay hands it right back before the call notices.
- Detects any default-change away from your pin
- Re-pins once, then holds through a re-assertion window
- Tags its own writes so it never fights itself
Handles unplugs, sleep, and chaos.
Devices come and go all day. MicStay stays calm and reasserts when yours returns.
- Pinned device unplugged: waits quietly, offline
- Re-pins the instant your device returns
- Re-enforces on wake and device-list changes
You are still in charge.
Need to step off your pin for a moment? Pause it, and MicStay resumes on its own.
- Pause with auto-resume built in
- Resumes on mic reconnect, after 1 hour, or manually
- Re-pin to a new device straight from the menu
Visible when you want, invisible otherwise.
A single icon tells you the state at a glance and stays out of your way.
- Menu-bar icon shows pinned, paused, or offline
- Optional notify-on-re-pin, off by default
- Launch-at-login opt-in. No Dock icon
Built to touch nothing it does not need.
The strongest privacy guarantee is architecture, not a promise. MicStay simply cannot capture audio.
- App Sandbox on, no capture entitlement
- No network, no accounts, no tracking
- Collects zero data, by design
Set it in ten seconds. Never think about it again.
Install and open
Download from the Mac App Store. MicStay appears in your menu bar. No window, no setup wizard.
Pick your mic
Click the icon, choose the input device you want to keep. A checkmark marks your pin.
Go on with your day
AirPods connect, your iPhone wakes, an interface plugs in. MicStay quietly holds your pick.
Change it anytime
Re-pin to a different device or pause from the menu. It resumes on its own when your mic is back.
Free to use. $4.99 once if you want your speakers pinned too.
- Pin your default input (microphone) device
- Hijack recovery and automatic re-pinning
- Offline waiting and wake / device-change enforcement
- Pause with auto-resume, re-pin from the menu
- Menu-bar presence, launch-at-login, zero data collected
What happens next: install, open, pick your mic. That is the free app in full. Nothing is time-limited.
- Everything in the free app
- Pins your default OUTPUT device too (speakers and headphones stay put through the same hijacks)
- Same UID-matching, hijack recovery, and resilience, applied to output
- A single in-app purchase, restorable on your devices
- No recurring charge, no renewal, no account
What happens next: install the free app, then buy Pro from the menu with one tap. Output pinning turns on immediately. The only Pro-only difference is that your speakers or headphones get pinned too.
Requires macOS 14 or later. Pricing shown in USD. Coming soon to the Mac App Store.
It cannot record you. That is a fact about the code, not a promise.
MicStay changes which device is the system default. That is the same control you use by hand in System Settings. It never opens an audio stream, so there is nothing to capture and no microphone-permission prompt. If macOS ever asked MicStay for mic access, that would be a bug.
No capture
App Sandbox on, no audio-input entitlement. No recording code path exists.
No network
MicStay makes zero network calls. Nothing leaves your Mac.
No accounts
No sign-up, no login, no cloud. It just runs.
No tracking
No analytics, no telemetry, no identifiers. Collects zero data.
The questions you should be asking.
Does MicStay record or listen to my microphone?
Why does it not ask for microphone permission?
AudioObjectSetPropertyData), the same mechanism behind System Settings. That path requires no capture entitlement.Will it drain my battery or run constantly in the background?
What happens if my pinned mic is unplugged?
Is this a subscription?
Does it work with AirPods, iPhone Continuity, and audio interfaces?
Which macOS versions are supported?
Can I keep my speakers or headphones from switching too?
Pin your mic. Get on with your work.
Set it once and let MicStay hold the line. Free to download, no account, and it never touches your audio.
Download on the Mac App StoreComing soon to the Mac App Store. Requires macOS 14 or later.