Geek's Advice

Quick temporary solution: Run mic calibration to speak instantly

In my own experience, I’ve discovered that my microphone doesn’t work even if I set it up. However, I used this little trick before I actually sat and solved the issue for good. Whenever I had a Zoom meeting or a Skype conversation, I launched the microphone calibration and opened the “speak the given phrase” window. For some reason, the mic worked perfectly until I shut down the settings panel. Therefore, if you’re a bit in a rush, try this workaround (not a fix!) until you actually have time to solve the issue.

1. Right-click the Windows icon and choose Settings. Here, click Time & Language. Then go to Speech tab.
2. Here, find the Microphone section. Click Get Started.
   
3. Click Cortana can’t hear me.
4. Click Set up the mic, then click Next.
5. At this point, do not read the given phrase, but close the window and navigate to the app you need to be live on. If the window closes itself, launch the listener again.
   NOTE. Use this workaround ONLY if the full set up the mic method doesn’t work for you. In my case, I discovered that the computer hears me only during this “listening” part, but fails to work when I close the setup.

Run Windows Troubleshooter for Microphone

One of the easiest ways to solve Realtek Microphone not working is to run a Windows Troubleshooter, which will automatically identify and fix the issue, or suggest the fix for you. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Right-click Windows icon > Settings > Update & Security and click Troubleshoot from the left panel.
2. Scroll down until you find the Speech troubleshooter. Click it, then choose Run the Troubleshooter.
3. Click Cortana can’t hear me.
4. Click Set up the mic, then click Next.
5. Read the given phrase out loud. If the green light starts jumping, it is a good sign showing that the computer can hear you. Otherwise, the issue lies elsewhere.
   
6. Check if the issue is resolved.
7. Now, go back to the troubleshooter’s list and click on Recording Audio. Click Run the troubleshooter.
8. Check what problems the troubleshooter identifies and fix them according to given recommendations.

Check if the microphone is enabled

One of the reasons to headset microphone not working is that it might be disabled in the system. To check and enable it, follow the given instructions:

1. Go to Windows Settings > Privacy.
2. Click Microphone on the right panel.
3. First, check if Microsoft access for this device is ON. If not, click Change and toggle it On.
4. Next, toggle the switch below Allow apps to access your microphone to ON. You might want to check individual app permissions in the list below. Toggle the selection to ON if you want app to access your microphone.

Set Microphone as Default Recording Device

Another common reason why your microphone isn’t working is that it is connected, but not set as a default audio input device on your computer. To fix this problem, follow the given steps:

1. In the taskbar, right-click the speaker icon. Choose Open Sound settings.
2. Scroll down to Sound Control Panel. Click it.
   
3. Here, go to Recording tab. Here, find your microphone, right-click it and choose Set as Default Device.
   TIP: if you cannot see your microphone, right click the white area and enable Show Disabled Devices and Show Disconnected Devices options.
   
4. Once you set your mic as default, click Apply and OK to save.
5. Check if the problem is solved.

Unmute the microphone

If external or internal Microphone is not working on Windows 10, 8 or 7, it might be that it was previously muted. To check this case and unmute the audio input device, follow the provided instructions.

1. In the taskbar, right-click the speaker icon. Choose Open Sound settings.
2. Scroll down to Sound Control Panel. Click it.
   
3. Once again, go to the Recording tab. Select your mic and choose Properties.
   
4. Now, go to Levels tab. Here, set the microphone level to 100 and make sure that the button next to it shows blue sound waves (not a red cross meaning it is muted).
5. Click Apply and OK to save changes.

Check your Microphone Drivers

Your microphone might not be working due to incorrect drivers or outdated driver software. Drivers are known to provide software interface to hardware devices, or, in other words, they tell hardware how to run on certain operating system. Matching drivers are essential for hardware to function properly, so definitely check whether your audio input device drivers are up to date or even need to be reinstalled.

1. Press Windows key + R at the same time to launch Run prompt.
2. Here, type devmgmt.msc and press OK.
3. Find Audio inputs and outputs section and expand it by double-clicking on it.
4. Now, right-click your microphone device and choose Update driver.
   
5. In the following window, press Search automatically for updated driver software.
6. Install suggested updates, if any. In case the window says the best drivers are already installed, you might want to try and reinstall them.
7. To reinstall the drivers, right-click the audio input device and choose Uninstall device.
   
8. Restart your computer. Windows will automatically fetch and reinstall missing drivers. In case it fails to do so, you can go to Device Manager again (by following steps 1-2) and then click Action > Scan for Hardware Changes to reinstall it manually.
   
9. Check if microphone is working again.

Restart Audio Service

Restarting Windows Audio service is known to be a good fix for Windows 10 microphone is not working realtek problem. Windows Services are commonly known as a pack of applications that are automatically launched with a computer boot. They are typically viewed as the essential ones for the functioning of the operating system. That said, Windows Audio is one of them. If it gets stopped or disabled for some reason, no other services dependable on it won’t function properly. Here’s an easy guide on how to restart or enable Windows Audio Service:

1. Open Run prompt by pressing Windows key + R at the same time. Here, type services.msc and press Enter.
   
2. In Windows Services, scroll down until you find Windows Audio service. To speed up the search, click on any service and press W letter on the keyboard.
3. Right-click Windows Audio and select Restart. Alternative option is to press Stop option first, then press Start.
   
4. Additionally, we recommend checking if the service startup properties are configured properly. Right-click the Windows Audio service and choose Properties.
5. Here, find Startup type section and choose Automatic option for it.
   
6. To save, click Apply and OK.

Check Mic settings in Steam

If you’re experiencing audio input problems while playing on Steam, you might have to configure the Steam audio settings separately.

1. Launch the Steam game. Then press Shift+Tab.
2. Here, click on Friends & Chat. Then in the Friend & Chat window, click the gear icon to open Settings.
   
3. Now, go to Voice panel. Here, set the Voice Input Device to desired microphone and then increase input volume/gain as shown in the screenshot below.
   

TIP. If you notice that microphone doesn’t work on specific app, such as Microsoft Teams, Skype, Adobe Connect, Zoom, or another, please check that particular program’s audio input settings. It might have the microphone muted/disabled or it fails to recognize the default system mic.

Last Resort: Use System Restore Point

System Restore points are computer system “snapshots” saved at a particular time moment. They save settings and other important information held by the computer at that time. That said, you can use system restore points to go back into the system that didn’t have microphone problems. However, you must at least approximately know when these problems started to occur.

We recommend this method only if the microphone problems started appearing recently, but you cannot find the reason why no matter how hard you try. To restore your system using Restore Points, follow the given steps:

1. Launch Run prompt by pressing Windows key + R at the same time. Type rstrui.exe and press Enter.
   
2. System Restore panel now will open. Click Next.
   
3. In the next window, put a tick on Show more restore points option. Then select the desired restore point and click Next.
4. Confirm your restore point choice by clicking Finish.