It may not be a frequent occurrence that your microphone is not working, but there could have been a few factors to trigger this issue. One common culprit is updates not being properly installed. It could also be a hardware issue, and in such case, your technician may be the best bet to fix it. Here we walk through the steps to fix the microphone not working issue in Windows 11 and 10. It is best to follow all these methods in chronological sequence for a systematic resolution. However, if you think your microphone just feels “mute,” jump straight to the first, second and last steps for a quick fix.
1. Check Microphone Privacy Settings
Back in 2019, Microsoft introduced new privacy features to Windows that give you more granular control over which apps are accessing your microphone. The side effect of this is that certain apps may be blocked from using your microphone without you even knowing. To check Microsoft privacy settings in Windows 10 and 11, follow the settings below: Alternatively, you can also do a Start menu search to directly look for “Microphone privacy settings.”
2. Check Microphone Driver
After you’re done checking the microphone privacy issues, you must verify that the microphone drivers have been installed and are working properly. It is highly recommended to check the drivers, as they may have malfunctioned or simply become outdated. If you have a newly-installed Windows version and still have an outdated Microphone driver, then it is likely you will face problems of no sound, recording fails or a mute microphone. To check the driver status, follow these steps:
3. Disable and Re-enable Microphone
From the same Device Manager, you can try disabling and reenabling the microphone device to troubleshoot any sound issues.
4. Check the Sounds Settings
There are a variety of sound adjustments that can ensure your Windows microphone will start working again. These include audio enhancements, full green bars, and some advanced settings. Follow the directions below for our Windows system:
Windows 10
Windows 11
5. Test Your Microphone
Also from the Sound Settings in Windows 11/10, you can test your microphone for its volume levels. To do this, follow the steps below.
6. The Sound Troubleshooter
You can troubleshoot any sound issues including the microphone by running Windows built-in audio troubleshooter. Once the corrective solution has been adopted, the audio problems concerning the microphone should be fixed.
7. Configure Speech Recognition
One of the best solutions to microphone issues on a Windows 11/10 device is to configure it once again for speech recognition. This is a practical tip if you are facing mic trouble during Zoom or Skype calls.
1. How do I reset my microphone in Windows 11/10?
To reset the microphone in Windows 11/10, you need to set it as your default device. First set up the microphone for speech recognition through a simple wizard, which can be done from “Ease of Access” in “Control Panel” (see above). After that, go the far-right corner of taskbar and find the “Sounds” menu. Here in the “Recordings” tab, you need to enable the intended microphone as a default speaker.
2. Why is my Windows microphone not showing up in Device Manager?
Sometimes the microphone device seems invisible in Device Manager. This problem can be solved by going to “Sound Control Panel” from “Sounds” in the taskbar sound icon. Here under the “Recording” tab, you should see all available microphones. Right-click to view the disabled microphones on your Windows device. You will need to reenable them. For more Windows fixes, see our guide on how to fix a monitor when it’s not waking up after sleep and fix the latest Windows 10 update problems.
