Hold Option and click the speaker icon in your Mac's menu bar, and a hidden menu opens listing every output and input device by name, with a click to switch straight to any of them. A plain click on the same icon never shows this: it only gives you a volume slider and a link to Sound settings.
This is a real, built-in macOS feature that has been in the operating system for years, and most people never stumble onto it because there is nothing on screen to suggest it exists. There is no label, no tooltip, no hint in System Settings. You either know the key combination or you do not. Here is exactly what it does, why it looks the way it does, and where it runs out of road.
What actually opens when you Option-click?
A plain click on the volume icon shows a slider you can drag, a mute toggle, and a single line reading "Sound Settings…" that takes you into System Settings. That is all a normal click has ever shown. Hold Option and click the same icon, and macOS swaps that small menu for a longer one: an Output heading, every connected output device listed underneath it with the active one checked, a divider, and then an Input heading with every connected microphone listed the same way. Click any device name in either section and your Mac switches to it immediately.
How do you actually do it?
- Look for the speaker icon in the menu bar, at the top right of the screen next to the clock and Control Centre.
- Press and hold the Option key (labelled Alt on some keyboards).
- While still holding Option, click the speaker icon with your mouse or trackpad.
- A menu appears with an Output list on top and an Input list below it.
- Click any device name to switch to it. You can let go of Option once the menu is open; it behaves like a normal menu from that point.
That is the entire trick. No app to install, no setting to turn on, nothing to configure first. It works on every Mac running a reasonably recent version of macOS, and it works the same way whether you last used a plain click a minute ago or never touched the volume icon before.
Every feature free for 30 days. No account, no card details.
Download for MacWhere the hidden menu runs out of road
Option-click is genuinely useful and completely free, so it is worth knowing before reaching for anything else. It also has three limits that are easy to hit once you start relying on it:
- One device at a time, on each side. You can pick one output and one input from the menu, but there is no way to select two speakers together, or to build the menu's list into a group. Combining outputs needs Audio MIDI Setup's Multi-Output Device, a separate tool entirely.
- No keyboard shortcut. macOS has no setting anywhere that lets you bind a key combination to this menu, or to a specific device inside it. Option-click opens the menu; it does not skip it.
- Manual, every single time. There is no way to save "always switch to my headphones at 6pm" or trigger the switch from a script, a Stream Deck, or a shortcut. Every change is a deliberate reach for the mouse or trackpad.
None of that makes the trick less worth knowing. It is the fastest built-in way to check which device is active or make a one-off switch. It just was not designed to be a daily habit, and macOS gives you no way to make it one.
When the free trick stops being enough
If you switch outputs or inputs a few times a day, three moves for something you do constantly adds up. Chorus puts the same switch on a real keyboard shortcut, so picking your headphones or your desk speakers takes one key press instead of holding Option and clicking a menu. Our guide to keyboard shortcuts for switching audio covers exactly how that is set up.
If what you actually want is to combine devices rather than just pick one, that is a different job the hidden menu was never built for. Chorus's Groups feature plays through several outputs at once with one real volume and per-device balance, without the manual Audio MIDI Setup route or its greyed-out slider.
For every option available on a Mac, see Apple's own guide to sound output settings.
Frequently asked questions
What happens when I Option-click the volume icon on my Mac?
A hidden menu opens listing every output device and every input device connected to your Mac by name, with the one currently in use marked. Click any device to switch to it immediately, without opening System Settings at all.
How is Option-clicking different from a normal click on the volume icon?
A plain click only shows a volume slider and a link to Sound settings. It does not show any device list. Holding Option while you click is what reveals the separate output and input sections with every device listed.
Can I choose both a speaker and a microphone from this menu?
Yes. The hidden menu is split into two sections, an Output list and an Input list, separated by a divider. You can pick one device from each section in the same menu, one click at a time.
Can I combine two speakers into one output from this menu?
No. The menu only lets you select one output device and one input device at a time. Combining several outputs into a single group needs Audio MIDI Setup's Multi-Output Device, or an app like Chorus that builds and controls that group for you.
Is there a keyboard shortcut for opening this hidden menu?
No. macOS has no built-in way to bind a key combination to this menu or to a specific device inside it. Every switch means reaching for the mouse or trackpad, holding Option, and clicking, every single time.
