Desktop Audio Setup

Get the Wave desktop app capturing your mic and your computer's audio — permissions, output devices, echo controls, and what to do when a recording comes out silent.

The Wave desktop app records two kinds of audio: your microphones, and System Audio — everything playing out of your computer, which is how it hears the other people on a Zoom, Meet, or Teams call. This page covers turning those sources on, the permissions macOS asks for, and what to check when a recording comes back silent.

Where the audio sources live

Every microphone and System Audio appear in one list, which you can reach three ways:

Settings → Audio → Audio sources
The Audio sources panel inside the recording view — collapsed, it summarizes what's on, like "2 mics + system audio"
The small arrow next to the record button in the sidebar

Toggle any source on or off. Each microphone row has a level meter, so you can see what's arriving before you start, and Refresh Sources re-scans after you plug something in. Wave captures every enabled source at once and mixes them, so you don't have to choose just one.

The System Audio row is different: outside a recording it only shows on or off, and its bar never moves no matter what you play. Wave only taps your computer's audio once you press Record, so the real meter appears during the recording. To test it, play a video, start a recording, watch the System Audio meter move, then stop and check that the video's words are in the transcript.

If nothing is listed at all, you'll see "No audio sources detected. Grant microphone permission below." Click Check Permissions and allow the microphone.

System audio permission

What macOS asks for depends on which version you're running.

macOS 14.2 and later — Wave captures system audio through Core Audio taps. macOS shows its own lightweight system-audio recording prompt the first time; allow it and you're done. Screen Recording permission is not required.
macOS 12.3 through 14.1 — system audio rides on Screen Recording permission. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording, enable Wave AI (versions before 2.2.4 are listed as Wave AI Desktop), then quit and reopen Wave. The permission does not take effect until the app restarts.

On macOS 15 and later, that pane is named Screen & System Audio Recording.

Settings → Audio → Check Permissions asks for everything Wave needs in one pass. If system audio isn't available on your Mac at all, a warning appears under the source list explaining why.

Microphone permission is separate. On a Mac, allow it when macOS asks, or re-enable Wave under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone.

Choosing which output Wave records (Windows)

Windows routes different apps to different outputs — Teams and softphones often play to the communications device while everything else uses your default. When Wave captures the wrong one, you get silence.

On Windows the source list includes a System audio source dropdown. Leave it on Default device (automatic), or pick the exact output your meeting audio plays through; the current Windows default is marked (Windows default). You don't have to change your Windows default device to do this.

Set it before you start rather than mid-recording — the choice applies to the next recording. If the device you picked is off or unplugged when recording begins, Wave falls back to the Windows default.

Bluetooth headsets show up twice in that list: Headphones (…) for music and video, and Headset (… Hands-Free) for calls. As soon as the headset's microphone is in use — on a Teams call, or with the headset mic enabled in Wave — Windows plays the call through the Hands-Free entry. So for headset calls pick the Hands-Free entry as the System audio source, or use a different microphone for the call so the headset stays on its normal output. Wave 2.2.4 and later captures both entries automatically when you pick either one.

Echo cancellation

Up to two controls sit under Settings → Audio → Echo cancellation:

System echo cancellation — uses your computer's built-in echo canceller to strip meeting audio back out of your microphone. It's on by default, and an AEC badge appears on mic rows while it's working. Turn it off only if your own voice sounds wrong in recordings. The toggle only appears on systems where Wave can use the OS canceller, so you won't see it on every computer.
Reduce speaker echo — off by default, for recording over open speakers. It quiets a mic that's picking up the speakers while system audio plays, and reopens it the moment you speak. Leave it off if you use headphones.

Both take effect on your next recording. System echo cancellation is available on Mac and Windows only. On laptop speakers with the built-in mic, Wave shows a "Headphones recommended!" note — headphones remove the problem instead of compensating for it.

Recording reminders

Two nudges live in Settings → General → Notifications & reminders:

Remind me to record when microphone is active — when another app starts using your mic and Wave isn't recording, a Microphone is active popup asks "Want to record this conversation?" and offers Record, a Don't remind me mute button, and an X to dismiss. Dismissing snoozes it for 30 minutes.
Warn me when a recording goes silent — after two minutes with no audio at all, Recording still active appears with Stop and Keep Recording. It's the safety net for a mic that died or a recording you forgot to stop.

The microphone-active reminder works on Mac and Windows only for now; it doesn't fire on Linux.

No system audio captured?

Work down this list:

Check that System Audio is switched on in Audio sources. Its bar only becomes a live meter while a recording is running, so test with a real recording rather than watching it beforehand.

On a Mac, click Check Permissions, then quit and reopen Wave. Older macOS versions won't apply the permission until the app restarts.

On Windows, set System audio source to the device your meeting audio actually plays through — for a Bluetooth headset on a call, that's the Hands-Free entry.

On Linux, make sure you allowed sharing in the screen picker, that pactl info answers, and that the meeting app plays through your default output.

Confirm the audio is playing through this computer. A Bluetooth headset paired to your phone, or a conference room speaker, never reaches Wave.

If a warning appeared during the recording — "System audio capture stopped unexpectedly. Stop and restart the recording to resume capturing system audio." — stop and start a new recording to reattach.

If sources dropped out part-way through, see handling audio interruptions during recordings. And if the app quit before the recording finished, nothing is lost — the audio is kept on your computer and can be uploaded from Settings → Recovery, described in file recovery.

Everything else about the app — installing, the mini window, the tray, updates — is in Wave for Mac, Windows & Linux.