Screen Recording Not Working on Mac? 10 Fixes That Work

If screen recording isn't working on your Mac, start with permission: open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording, turn on the app you're recording with, then quit and reopen it. If you use the built-in ⇧⌘5 toolbar and the file never appears, check that your disk has free space and that Options > Save to points at a folder you can find. A black window where a movie should be is copy protection, not a bug.

Below are the fixes in the order most likely to help, for macOS 15 Sequoia, macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 27 Golden Gate. To check your version, choose Apple menu > About This Mac.

Quick diagnosis: match the symptom to the fix

1. Check Screen & System Audio Recording permission

Every app that records your screen needs your permission. Apple's own Screenshot tool and QuickTime Player are already allowed, but third-party recorders, browsers (for web-based recorders) and meeting apps are not.

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Privacy & Security in the sidebar.
2. Scroll down and click Screen & System Audio Recording. Before macOS 15 Sequoia, this was called Screen Recording.
3. Turn on the app you record with. If it isn't in the list, click the add button under the list and choose it from Applications.
4. When macOS offers Quit & Reopen, click it. The permission doesn't apply until the app restarts. Closing the window isn't enough; quit with ⌘Q.

Apple's guide notes that an app can be allowed to record the screen and audio, or audio only. If an app records sound but a black picture, make sure it has the full screen-and-audio access.

For a browser-based recorder, the browser itself (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Arc) is the app that needs the permission, and the browser must be quit and reopened.

2. Reset a stuck permission

Sometimes the switch is on, yet the app still sees a blank screen. That often happens after an app update, because macOS ties the permission to the app's code signature.

Try the gentle fix first:

1. In Screen & System Audio Recording, turn the app off, then on again.
2. Quit the app with ⌘Q and open it again.
3. If that doesn't help, select the app in the list and remove it with the – button, then add it back.

Advanced: reset with Terminal. If the app still won't record, you can clear the Screen Recording decision so macOS asks again. Open Terminal and run this, replacing com.example.app with the app's bundle ID, to reset one app:

tccutil reset ScreenCapture com.example.app

Or leave the bundle ID off to reset every app's screen recording permission:

tccutil reset ScreenCapture

tccutil is Apple's built-in tool for the privacy database (see man tccutil). The second command removes the permission from every app, so you'll have to allow each recorder again. Run it as your normal user, without sudo, then reopen the app and allow it when asked.

3. Make room on your disk

Video files are big, and a long recording at full resolution can take several gigabytes. If your disk fills up while you record, the recording can stop early or fail with "Your screen recording can't be saved."

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings > General > Storage to see how much is free.
2. Empty the Trash, clear old downloads, and move large files to an external drive or cloud storage.
3. Try a short test recording before a long one.

If you record to an external drive and long recordings fail, record to the Desktop first and move the file afterward. A drive that sleeps, disconnects or is nearly full is a common culprit.

4. Find where your recording was saved

⇧⌘5 recordings are saved to your Desktop by default as .mov files named "Screen Recording" plus the date and time, Apple says. If yours isn't there:

• Check Save to. Press ⇧⌘5, click Options, and look under Save to. The checked item, such as Documents, Clipboard or a custom folder, is where it went. If you picked Other Location and that folder was deleted or was on a drive that's no longer connected, choose a folder that exists.
• Wait for the thumbnail. With Show Floating Thumbnail on, the file isn't written until the thumbnail in the bottom-right corner disappears after a few seconds. Swipe the thumbnail to the right to save immediately. If you clicked it to edit, click Done to save.
• Search for it. Press ⌘Space and type "Screen Recording", or search Finder for files of kind Movie.
• QuickTime recordings open in QuickTime Player when you stop. If you close that window without saving, macOS may ask where to save it. Read the dialog before clicking.

If you'd rather not wait on a thumbnail, uncheck Show Floating Thumbnail in the same Options menu.

5. Stop the recording the right way

The ⇧⌘5 recorder has no window while it runs. To stop it, click the Stop button in the menu bar (a square inside a circle), or press ⌃⌘Esc. In full-screen apps the menu bar is hidden, so move the pointer to the top of the screen to reveal it, or use the shortcut.

Closing the lid, logging out or shutting down mid-recording can leave you with no file. Stop first, then wait for the thumbnail to go away.

Pressing Esc before you click Record cancels the toolbar, which is easy to do by accident.

If QuickTime's File > New Screen Recording is dimmed, a recording may already be running. Check the menu bar for the Stop button.

6. Black screen when recording Netflix, Apple TV or other video

If everything records except the video window, which stays black, that's copy protection (DRM). Streaming services and the Apple TV app protect movies and shows so they can't be copied, and macOS honors that by blacking them out of screenshots and recordings. Apple notes that some apps "might not let you record their windows," with the Apple TV app as its example.

There's no setting to change here, and you shouldn't try to get around it: it's how the content owner wants it, and bypassing it can break the service's terms and copyright law. What you can do:

• Recording a walkthrough of a streaming app? Record the menus and browsing. Protected playback will stay black.
• Need a clip of your own video? Play the original file in QuickTime or your editor, which isn't protected.
• Want the trailer? Most studios publish trailers on their official sites and YouTube for sharing.

If your whole recording is black, not just a video, go back to permission: that's the classic sign an app can't see your screen.

7. The cursor is missing

Recording but no pointer in the video? Check these:

1. Press ⇧⌘5, click Options, and make sure Show Mouse Pointer is checked, if your Mac lists it. That option applies to the screenshot and recording tools.
2. Some apps hide the pointer on their own, for example while a video plays full screen or while you type. The recording shows what's on screen, so the pointer vanishes there too. Move the mouse to bring it back.
3. In third-party recorders, look for a "show cursor" or "hide cursor" setting. Smooth Recorder, for instance, redraws the cursor in Studio after you record, with options to make it bigger or hide it while it rests, so check those if it seems gone.

Show Mouse Clicks is a separate option: it draws a black circle around the pointer each time you click, which helps viewers follow along.

8. External displays: record the wrong screen

With more than one display, Record Entire Screen needs to know which screen you mean: after you click Record, click on the display you want to record. If you record a portion, drag the frame onto the right display before you start.

If an external display records as black or not at all:

• Make sure the display shows a normal desktop, not mirroring from another device.
• Some docks and adapters that use DisplayLink need their own driver and app to be allowed in Screen & System Audio Recording. Check the maker's instructions.
• Protected video on an external display can also go black for the DRM reasons above.

9. No sound in the recording

Sound has its own set of causes, so here's the short version:

• In ⇧⌘5 Options, Microphone set to None records a silent video. Pick your mic.
• The Mac's own sound (system audio) is only built in from macOS 27 Golden Gate, via Include System Audio. On macOS 15 and 26, the built-in tools record a microphone only.
• Apps also need Privacy & Security > Microphone permission for your voice.

For every audio fix, including the BlackHole workaround and AirPods sounding muffled, see how to screen record on Mac with audio.

10. Restart, update, and try Safe Mode

If nothing above helps, it's time for the general fixes:

1. Restart your Mac. It clears stuck system services, including the one that handles screen capture.
2. Update macOS and your recording app. Choose System Settings > General > Software Update, and update the app from its own menu or the App Store.
3. Try Safe Mode. It starts the Mac without some login items and extensions, which tells you whether other software is getting in the way. Apple's steps:
   • Apple silicon: shut down, then press and hold the power button until you see "Loading startup options." Select your startup disk, hold Shift, and click Continue in Safe Mode.
   • Intel: turn on or restart the Mac and immediately hold Shift until the login window appears.

If recording works in Safe Mode, something that loads at startup is interfering, such as another screen tool, a display driver or a security app. Restart normally and turn login items off one at a time in System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions to find it.

When to use a different recorder

The built-in tools are fine for a quick clip. If you keep fighting them, for example you need system audio on macOS 15 or 26, a recording you can trim and polish right away, or a recording of just one window, a dedicated app can save time.

Smooth Recorder is one option. Press ⌥1, pick an area, a window or the whole screen, and press R. The capture bar lets you choose a camera, a microphone (a level meter moves when it hears you) and Mac sound, which is on by default. While you record, the controls sit in a pill in the notch, and the menu bar icon shows a red dot and the elapsed time, so you always know it's running. It needs the same Screen & System Audio Recording permission as any recorder.

One honest note: a window recording captures just that window, and menus or tooltips that app opens are separate windows, so they won't appear. Record an area or the whole screen if you need them.

For other options, see the best screen recorders for Mac. Once your recording works, you'll probably want to cut the start and end: here's how to trim a screen recording on Mac.