With the default installation settings, macOS shows wireless, battery, time, spotlight search, and notification center icons on the menu bar.
Unlike the Windows operating system, macOS doesn’t show the volume icon on the menu bar with default settings. This is likely because, volume icon, if added to the menu bar, can only be used to adjust the sound level which anyway can be adjusted using the keys on the keyboard. Besides that, unlike Windows OS, the volume icon on the menu bar doesn’t allow you to access sound settings. It can be used only to change the volume level.
While the volume icon (when added to the menu bar) is not super useful, users who prefer to adjust the sound level with trackpad/mouse might find it very useful. Besides that, the volume icon on the menu bar can help you quickly get a rough idea of the current sound level.
When you click on the volume icon on the menu bar, it will show you the slider which you can use to adjust the sound level. So, this volume icon is useful only if you prefer to adjust the sound level using the trackpad/mouse instead of keys.
Add volume icon to macOS menu bar
In this guide, we will see how to show the volume icon on the macOS menu bar.
Step 1: Navigate to System Preferences > Sound.
Step 2: Under the Sound Effects tab, check the Show volume in menu bar option to display the volume icon on the macOS menu bar.
The volume icon will immediately appear on the menu bar.
Ian says
Feh. I want the volume icon in my menu bar so I can see when I have the sound muted, but on my MacBook Pro running macOS 12.3.1, what used to be “Show volume in menu bar” is instead “Show sound in menu bar”, which works as you describe when I have the MacBook’s built-in speakers selected as my sound output device, but when using a Bluetooth output device like my Bluetooth bookshelf speakers, just puts a headphones icon in my menu bar that doesn’t change with the sound volume nor when I mute the sound altogether; at least when I have it set to be displayed “always”, it doesn’t seem to give a visual indication of anything at all. And when I choose to display it only when “active” it disappears and doesn’t come back when I unmute my sound, so…I don’t know what it indicates then either. Alas…
Dale(Joe) Dixon says
Sound icon still not showing up on the task bar . . .
Alana says
thanks so much. it’s such an easy fix but of course, I couldn’t figure it out.. lol