Without your microphone, you cannot record any audio or execute audio commands on your computer. Windows 10 users may find it hard using Cortana, if the mic is misconfigured or not working, despite having a decent microphone on their headset.
If the mic is not working on your Windows 10 PC, you need to fix it by trying out any of the following solutions.
The following pro tips can help you resolve the “microphone not working on Windows 10” problem.
1. Check If Microphone is On
Before trying other methods, you need to first check if the microphone is even turned on. The simplest way to fix “microphone not working on Windows 10” problem is enabling the device from settings.
To check if the microphone is turned on,
- Open the Settings window by hold-pressing shortcut keys Windows and “ I ”
- In the Settings window, select the Privacy option
- Click on the Microphone tab displayed on the left side pane
- Toggle it On if it has been turned off
- Save changes and exit
Now, you’ve fixed the disabled microphone on Windows 10. Check if this has solved the problem.
2. Manually Fix Device Troubleshooting
Is the internal microphone not working on Windows 10, still? The problem probably stems from a misconfigured device.
Just follow these steps carefully to check whether the built-in microphone device works properly.
- Go the Speaker icon on your Windows 10 taskbar
- Right-click on it and select Recording Devices from the drop-down menu
- The window displays all recording devices connected to your computer
- Speak into your microphone
- See if it boosts the green signal bar right next to the Microphone device
- If not, click on the Set Default button
- Click on OK and save changes
Now, check for the green bar again and see if it catches your sound while speaking into the microphone.
If the microphone on your Windows 10 is still not working,
- Follow the same process until you reach the Recording Devices window
- Double-click on the Microphone device icon
- Click on “Microphone Properties” tab
- Select the Levels option and increase the sensitivity slider to 100
- Click on OK to save changes
You can also check if there are any disabled recording devices by right-clicking on the Microphone device icon and clicking on “Show Disabled Devices” option from the dropdown menu.
3. Use Inbuilt Hardware Troubleshooter
Microsoft provides a great troubleshooter program with Windows 10. If the mic is not working on Windows 10, you can try the troubleshooter.
- Go to the Control Panel window from Windows 10 Start menu
- If you can’t find it, just type “control panel” in the search dialog box and select the program from the list
- In the Control Panel window, select the Sound tab
- Click on it to open the Sound Settings window
- Click on the Troubleshoot option and select “ Troubleshoot audio recording ” (under the subheading Hardware and Sound)
Now, your computer runs a diagnostics and fixes the problem automatically. However, you need to restart your computer to put the fix into effect.
4. Set Sound Settings to Default
Follow the same process mentioned in #3
- When you open the Sound Settings window, choose the Recording Devices tab
- Select the microphone device from the list
- Right-click on it and select Show Disabled Devices from the menu
- Select “Enable” or click on Set Defaults button on the window
- You can right-click on it and select Microphone Properties
- In the Microphone Properties window, click on the Enhancements tab
- Put a tick in the checkbox for “Disable all sound effects”
This will certainly fix the “microphone not working in Windows 10” issue.
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