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18.1. Microphone Not Working (Windows 10)

Last updated: Thu Oct 2021 11:45 AM (EDT)

First, restart your PC and check your microphone again. 

If it still won't work after the restart, try these steps:

Head to Settings > Privacy > Microphone.

At the top of the window, check that it says “Microphone access for this device is on.” If Windows says microphone access is off, click the “Change” button and set it to “On.” If access is off, Windows and all applications on your system can’t access audio from your microphone.

Below that, ensure “Allow apps to access your microphone” is set to “On.” If microphone access is off, all applications on your system won’t be able to hear audio from your microphone. However, the Windows operating system itself will still have access.

Under “Choose which apps can access your microphone,” ensure the app that wants to access your microphone isn’t listed and set to “Off.” If it is, set it to “On.”