How can I stop windows 11 from switching my input microphone?

Guys, I think you are misunderstanding.

I want the MIC to be the default mic in my headset, instead of sonar

I want the AUDIO to be Sonar-Gaming

I disable everything else, yet when I reboot, everything else is enabled again and the audio switches to another device instead of Sonar, sometimes is my main monitor, sometimes my secondary, sometimes even my PS5 controller.... I disable everything agian and after rebooting, all are enabled once more

Sonar does not enable anything, it is windows that enables all devices and switches to a random device every time I boot.

To prevent Windows 11 from switching your input microphone back to the Steelseries Sonar software every time you restart your computer, you can try the following steps:

Set Your Preferred Microphone as Default

• Right-click on the Speaker icon in the system tray and select **Sounds**.
• Go to the Recording tab.
• Select your preferred microphone (e.g., your Arctis Pro headset) and click Set Default.
• Right-click on the Sonar microphone and select Disable.

Disable Sonar in Startup Programs

• Sonar might be re-enabling itself at startup. To prevent this:
  • Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the **Task Manager**.
  • Go to the Startup tab.
  • Look for any Steelseries or Sonar-related entries, right-click, and select Disable.

Uninstall or Disable Sonar Software

• If you don’t use Sonar and it’s causing issues, consider uninstalling it:
  • Go to Settings > Apps > Installed Apps.
  • Find the Steelseries Sonar software, click the three dots, and select Uninstall.
• Alternatively, you can disable Sonar within the Steelseries GG software:
  • Open the Steelseries GG software.
  • Navigate to the Sonar section and disable it.

Prevent Windows from Automatically Switching Devices

• Windows sometimes automatically switches audio devices based on its own logic. To disable this:
  • Go to Settings > System > Sound.
  • Under Input, click on your preferred microphone.
  • Scroll down and turn off **Allow apps to take exclusive control of this device.
  • Repeat this for the output device if necessary.

Use Registry Editor to Lock Audio Devices

• If the issue persists, you can use the Registry Editor to lock your preferred microphone as the default device:
  1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
  2. Navigate to:

     
             HKEY\_LOCAL\_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\MMDevices\Audio\Capture
     
     

  3. Look for the device ID of your preferred microphone (you may need to match it with the device name in the Sound settings).
  4. Once you find the correct device, note its GUID (a long string of characters).
  5. Navigate to:

     
             HKEY\_CURRENT\_USER\Software\Microsoft\Multimedia\Audio
     
     

  6. Create a new key called UserPreferredMicrophone (if it doesn’t already exist).
  7. Set the value of UserPreferredMicrophone to the GUID of your preferred microphone.

Update or Reinstall Audio Drivers

• Sometimes outdated or corrupted drivers can cause issues. Update your audio drivers:
  • Go to Device Manager (Win + X > Device Manager).
  • Expand Audio inputs and outputs.
  • Right-click your microphone and select Update driver.
• If updating doesn’t work, uninstall the driver and restart your computer to let Windows reinstall it.

Check Steelseries GG Settings

• If you still have the Steelseries GG software installed, check its settings to ensure it’s not overriding your preferences:
  • Open Steelseries GG.
  • Go to the Engine tab and check if there are any settings related to default devices or automatic switching.

Use Third-Party Tools (Optional)

• Tools like SoundSwitch or pAudioSwitcher can help you manage and lock your audio devices more effectively.

By following these steps, you should be able to prevent Windows 11 from switching your microphone back to Sonar. If the issue persists, consider reaching out to Steelseries support for further assistance.

Hi CarlosLeyequien Abarca.

Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

No matter how you disable them, your "Steelseries Sonar" always re-enables the audio devices and automatically switches to a certain set of sound input and output devices. If I understand correctly, the microphone on your headset does not work, so you installed a separate microphone. After that, every time you start the computer, the microphone on the headset is automatically set as the sound input device. And you want to keep the headset + separate microphone as sound devices.

Although this is not part of your request, I think it would be helpful to try to fix the microphone on your headset. A user shared his way to fix the microphone on the same brand of headset on the device, you can try this method to see if it can fix your headset:

Windows no audio input from microphone - Microsoft Community

In addition, I would like to point out that due to hardware incompatibility, if you connect the headset and the host through a single 3.5mm plug, you need a splitter to separate the audio input and audio output and plug it into the host.

Now, try to solve the problem of the microphone automatically switching. According to your description, this is most likely because the "Steelseries" series software you are using tries to change these devices. Hopefully you can completely uninstall "Steelseries Sonar" and "Steelseries GG", and then re-set the audio device you want to use as the default. Shut down the computer and restart it to see if the microphone still switches automatically.

Alternatively, a similar test can be performed in safe mode. In safe mode, third-party software will not be actively loaded, and the computer will run with minimal drivers. You can also test in safe mode:

1. Set the audio device you want to use as the default
2. Hold down shift and use "Restart" in the start button. After restarting, you can enter WinRE. If you cannot use the start menu, hold down the power button to shut down the computer, and then press the power button to turn it on. Repeat three times to enter.
3. Click Troubleshoot--Advanced Options--Startup Settings Options.
4. Click the "Restart" button.
5. Select "Start Windows Safe Mode Environment" (F4)

After turning on the computer, check whether the microphone still switches automatically, which proves that the interference is caused by third-party software. You may need to try uninstalling some related software, such as "Steelseries" series software or computer management software pre-installed by the computer brand.

Best Regards,

Raylan-MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist