Microphone not working in Windows 11: how to fix it

Applies to: Windows 11 (version 24H2 and later) with a built-in laptop microphone, a USB microphone, a wired headset or a Bluetooth headset, when no app picks up your voice or the input meter stays flat. Most steps also work on Windows 10 with slightly different menus.

This is our system-wide microphone guide. If only Microsoft Teams can’t hear you while other apps can, our Teams microphone guide covers the Teams settings in detail. If the problem is sound coming out rather than going in, see No sound in Windows 11. The steps here follow Microsoft’s support page Fix microphone problems and its Bluetooth audio documentation; where a step is our suggestion rather than Microsoft guidance, we say so.

Match your symptom

What you see	Likely cause	Start with
No app can use the mic; some show a blocked or no-permission message	Microphone access turned off in Windows privacy settings	Fix 1
The mic works in one app but not another	That app is set to a different input device or lacks permission	Fix 1, then Fix 8
Input meter stays flat in Settings	Muted hardware, wrong input device or a very low input volume	Quick checks, then Fix 2 and Fix 3
Your voice is very quiet, robotic or cuts out	Input volume, enhancements or another app holding the mic	Fix 3, then Fix 5
The microphone isn’t listed at all	Disconnected, disabled or driver problem	Fix 2, then Fix 6
Bluetooth headset plays music but others can’t hear you	Headset connected to another device, or the hands-free mode not in use	Fix 7
USB headset stopped working after a September 2026 update	Known USB Audio Class 1.0 issue	Known issues in 2026

Quick checks: mute keys, cables and connections

Microsoft’s own first checks are physical, and they solve a surprising share of cases, so start here before changing settings.

• Mute buttons. Many headsets have a mute button on the ear cup, a flip-up boom that mutes when raised, or an inline switch on the cable. Microsoft’s page asks you to make sure a headset mute button isn’t active.
• Keyboard mic-mute key. Many laptops have a microphone mute key, often on one of the function keys, sometimes with a small light. Press it once and test again. Some laptops also have a privacy switch that cuts the webcam and microphone; check your maker’s manual if your model has one.
• The right jack and port. On a desktop with separate jacks, the microphone goes into the pink jack, not the green headphone jack. For a USB microphone, try another USB port directly on the PC rather than a hub.
• Restart the app. Apps often check which microphones exist only when they start. After you plug in a headset or change a setting, close the app fully and open it again.

Fix 1: Allow microphone access in privacy settings

Windows can block the microphone for every app at once, which looks exactly like a broken mic. Microsoft’s microphone page puts this check first.

1. Go to Start > Settings > Privacy & security > Microphone.
2. Turn on Microphone access.
3. Turn on Let apps access your microphone, then check the switch for each app in the list that should hear you.
4. Turn on Let desktop apps access your microphone. Desktop programs, such as most browsers, Zoom, Discord or OBS installed from the web, don’t appear individually in the list; this one switch covers all of them.
5. If your webcam has a built-in microphone, also check Settings > Privacy & security > Camera, as Microsoft suggests.

Close and reopen the app afterwards. If the switches are grey and can’t be changed on a work or school PC, your organisation may manage them; ask your IT team rather than trying to work around it.

Fix 2: Pick the right input device

Windows keeps one default microphone. If you’ve used a webcam, a monitor with a mic, a headset and a laptop mic over time, it may be listening to the wrong one.

1. Open Start > Settings > System > Sound.
2. Under Input, pick your microphone under Choose a device for speaking or recording.
3. Speak and watch the small level bar under the device. If it moves, Windows hears you and the problem is in the app (Fix 8).

If your microphone isn’t in the list, it may be disabled. Under Advanced, open More sound settings, select the Recording tab, right-click an empty area and tick Show Disabled Devices. If your mic appears greyed out, right-click it and choose Enable, then Set as Default Device. If it still doesn’t appear anywhere, go to Fix 6.

Fix 3: Test the microphone and set the input volume

Windows has a built-in recording test, which tells you whether the problem is the microphone or the app. In Settings > System > Sound, select the arrow next to your input device to open its properties.

1. Under Microphone test (some builds label the area Input settings), select Start test, speak normally for a few seconds and select Stop test.
2. Select Play under Recorded sample to hear what Windows captured.
3. If you sound quiet, raise the Input volume slider and test again.

A clear recording means the microphone, driver and Windows settings are fine; carry on with Fix 8 for the app. A silent recording points to hardware, privacy or driver problems (Quick checks, Fix 1 and Fix 6). Microsoft also suggests checking the position of the microphone: a headset boom pointing away from your mouth or a laptop mic covered by a hand or a case can be the whole problem.

Fix 4: Run the audio troubleshooter

Microsoft’s microphone page points to the troubleshooter built into the Sound settings: open Settings > System > Sound, scroll to Advanced and, next to Troubleshoot common sound problems, choose Input devices. It checks services, privacy and device state, and offers fixes it can apply for you.

The same checks are available in the Get Help app: search Start for Get Help, type audio troubleshooter and follow the prompts; it may ask for consent to run diagnostics. Microsoft’s current list of Get Help troubleshooters names one Audio troubleshooter for all sound problems. Some Windows 11 builds also show a separate Recording Audio entry under Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters; if yours has it, it does the same job for input devices.

If the troubleshooter finds nothing, the cause is more likely the driver, an app setting or the hardware itself.

Fix 5: Turn off enhancements and exclusive mode

These two settings aren’t on Microsoft’s microphone page, so treat this section as our suggestion. Both are worth trying when the mic works sometimes, sounds distorted or cuts out, or stops working when a second app opens.

• Audio enhancements. Some microphones, especially laptop arrays, run extra processing such as noise suppression or echo cancellation from the maker’s driver. If that processing misbehaves, your voice can sound robotic or disappear. In the input device’s properties in Settings, set Audio enhancements to Off if the option is shown, then test again. In the classic dialog it’s under More sound settings > Recording, your mic’s Properties and an Enhancements or Advanced tab, depending on the driver.
• Exclusive mode. In the same classic Properties window, the Advanced tab has Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device. When it’s on, one app (often a recording or game chat app) can lock the microphone so others get silence. Untick it, select Apply and restart the apps.
• Maker audio software. Utilities from the PC or headset maker can have their own mute, noise filter or microphone switch. If you have one installed, check it for a disabled or muted microphone.

If none of this helps, turn the enhancements back on: on some laptops the built-in microphone array relies on them to pick up voices properly.

Fix 6: Reinstall or update the audio driver

When Windows doesn’t detect the microphone or headset at all, Microsoft’s fix is to remove the audio device and let Windows install it again. Before you start, plug in the microphone you want to use and keep any driver installer from your PC maker’s support site at hand, because removing the driver can also remove the maker’s audio app.

1. Right-click Start and select Device Manager.
2. Expand Sound, video and game controllers. Microphones and headsets are often also listed under Audio inputs and outputs.
3. Right-click the audio device, select Uninstall device, tick Attempt to remove the driver for this device and select Uninstall.
4. Restart the PC. Windows should reinstall the device. If it doesn’t, open Device Manager again, right-click Sound, video and game controllers and choose Scan for hardware changes.
5. After the restart, right-click the audio device and select Update driver to look for a newer version.

Also check Settings > Windows Update for pending updates, including optional driver updates, and restart. A laptop’s built-in microphone array often needs the maker’s own audio driver to work well, so the maker’s support site is the next stop if the Windows driver isn’t enough. Restarting the Windows Audio services, covered in our no sound guide, can also bring a stuck input back without a reboot.

Fix 7: Bluetooth headsets and the hands-free mode

Bluetooth headsets use two kinds of connection. According to Microsoft’s Bluetooth audio documentation, the high-quality stereo profile (A2DP) only sends sound to the headset; it can’t carry your voice. To use the headset microphone, Windows switches to the hands-free profile (HFP), which carries mono sound in both directions. That’s why music sounds flatter during a call: it’s normal, not a fault.

On Windows 11, the documentation says a headset that supports hands-free gets a single output and a single input entry, and Windows switches profile automatically when an app opens the microphone. If no input entry appears for your headset in Settings > System > Sound, the headset may only be connected for stereo playback. Windows 10 showed separate Stereo and Hands-Free entries instead.

• Connect it to the PC only. A headset that is also connected to your phone may send the microphone to the phone. Turn off Bluetooth on the phone, or disconnect the headset there, then reconnect it to the PC.
• Remove and pair again. In Settings > Bluetooth & devices, remove the headset, put it in pairing mode and add it again. This makes Windows set up all its profiles from scratch.
• Pick the headset as the input. Make sure the app and Windows both use the headset microphone, not the laptop mic (Fix 2 and Fix 8).
• Charge it. Microsoft’s Teams guidance also asks for Bluetooth headsets to be charged; a low battery can drop the connection mid-call.

If Bluetooth itself won’t connect or the headset isn’t found, see our Bluetooth not working guide first.

Fix 8: Check the settings inside the app

Most communication and recording apps keep their own microphone choice, separate from the Windows default. If the Windows microphone test works but one app still can’t hear you, look in that app’s audio or voice settings, select your microphone by name rather than Default, and use the app’s own test if it has one.

• Teams. Teams has its own device menu and test call; our Teams microphone guide walks through them.
• Browsers. Web apps such as Google Meet or Teams on the web need browser permission as well as the Windows switch for desktop apps. Select the site permission icon in the address bar and allow the microphone, or check the browser’s site settings for the microphone.
• Games and voice chat apps. Many have a push-to-talk key or an input sensitivity threshold. If push-to-talk is on, or the threshold is set too high, the app ignores your voice even though Windows hears it.
• Remote Desktop. When you work on a remote PC, the microphone must be redirected in the Remote Desktop connection’s local resources settings, or the remote app sees no microphone.

Known issues in 2026

We checked Microsoft’s Windows 11 release health status page (updated November 5, 2026). As of early November 2026 it lists no open issue that names microphones or audio input. One open issue can affect USB headsets and microphones:

• USB audio devices might fail to start or produce no sound. After the September 8, 2026 update (KB5124008), some USB Audio Class 1.0 devices show Code 10 in Device Manager or stop working. Microsoft lists Windows 11 23H2 through 26H2 as affected. The issue is marked Mitigated: out-of-band update KB5129195 (September 14, 2026) fixes only part of it. Microsoft’s description focuses on sound output and doesn’t mention microphones, but a USB headset that fails to start loses its microphone too. Our USB audio Code 10 guide covers the workarounds.

Other 2026 audio issues on the same page, such as apps closing when they decode AC-3 (Dolby Digital) audio, affect playback rather than recording.

Related guides

• Teams microphone not working: how to fix it on Windows 11
• No sound in Windows 11: how to fix speakers and headphones
• Bluetooth not working in Windows 11: how to fix it
• USB audio device shows Code 10 in Windows 11: how to fix it
• Zoom microphone not working: how to fix it on Windows 11

Official sources

• Microsoft: Fix microphone problems
• Microsoft Learn: Bluetooth Classic audio
• Microsoft Learn: Windows 11, version 24H2 known issues and notifications