Audiout needs three things from macOS to do its job: access to system audio, Local Network access, and its speaker sync helper. If one of them gets switched off in System Settings — after a macOS update, a settings cleanup, or a stray click — Audiout notices and tells you.
How Audiout notices
Audiout re-checks its permissions whenever it comes back to the foreground or the Mac wakes from sleep. If something was revoked, the Setup window reopens on its own and names exactly what went off. Each item has a button that jumps to the right place in System Settings, so you don’t have to hunt for the pane yourself.
You can also open the Setup window any time: Settings › General › “Run setup again…”. That’s the quickest way to confirm everything is still granted.
The three permissions
System audio
This is how Audiout hears what your apps are playing so it can route it to your speakers. macOS files this permission under audio recording, which sounds alarming but is just how the system categorizes access to sound. If it’s off, Audiout can’t capture any audio and nothing plays through it.
Click the Setup window’s button for this step; it takes you straight to the relevant pane in System Settings. Switch Audiout on there.
Local Network
Audiout talks to your AirPlay speakers over your home network, and Local Network permission is what allows that. Without it, speakers won’t appear or won’t respond.
Again, the Setup window’s button lands you in the right place. Make sure Audiout is allowed.
The speaker sync helper
Audiout uses a small helper to keep speakers in sync. macOS manages helpers like this through System Settings › Login Items, and it has to be approved there. If the approval was removed, the Setup window says so — click its button, find Audiout’s helper in Login Items, and allow it.
After fixing
Bring Audiout back to the foreground. It re-checks on its own, and once all three items are granted, the Setup window shows everything as done. There’s no restart ritual; if a step still shows as missing, double-check the matching pane in System Settings, since macOS sometimes needs a moment to register the change.
If a permission keeps turning itself off, or the Setup window flags something you can’t find in System Settings, write to support@audiout.app with your macOS version and a screenshot of the Setup window.
Related: Launch at login won’t stay on and Volume keys stop working — both are neighbors of this problem. The full list is at /support.