A Windows update broke my input audio.

Question

The Windows 11 update (KB5068861) broke my sound settings. After the mentioned update, the computer no longer detects my audio input device (microphone), and the microphone settings do not open at all. I can enter the audio settings, but when I try to go to the menu for managing access to recording audio, the settings window closes and nothing else happens. It just shuts down, and that’s it. I’m unable to use any microphone on the computer unless I remove the faulty update — but it reinstalls itself after every system restart. - it is very troublesome and I've had a lot of trouble trying to reach an actual human employee of microsoft regarding this issue. I have some IT friends who were unable to help and we tried all of the regular troubleshooting.

Answer 1

Hi again,

unfortunately this option seems to be locked.

 My system is in Polish, but you can see that it is translucent.

Let's try the manual solution.

Kind regards,

Piotr

Answer 2

It seems that you are experiencing issues with your audio input device after the Windows 11 update (KB5068861). Here are some steps you can take to resolve this issue:

1. Update Audio Drivers: Ensure that your audio drivers are up to date. You can check for updates by going to Settings > Windows Update and selecting Check for updates. If there are any driver updates available, install them.
2. Rollback the Update: If the update is causing significant issues, you might consider rolling back the update. Go to Settings > Windows Update > Update history, and look for the option to uninstall the latest update. Note that this may not be a permanent solution as the update could reinstall itself.
3. Use Device Manager: Open Device Manager, find your audio input device under Sound, video and game controllers, right-click it, and select Uninstall device. After uninstalling, restart your computer, and Windows should reinstall the driver automatically.
4. Run Windows Troubleshooter: Go to Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters, and run the Recording Audio troubleshooter. This may help identify and fix the issue.
5. Check Privacy Settings: Ensure that your microphone access is enabled. Go to Settings > Privacy & security > Microphone and make sure that apps are allowed to access your microphone.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, you may need to contact Microsoft support for further assistance, especially if the problem persists after trying these solutions.

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References:

• Resolved issues in Windows 11, version 21H2
• Resolved issues in Windows 11, version 24H2

Answer 3

Hi Piotr, great to hear back from you.

Rolling back the driver is a solid next step because the update likely disrupted how Windows communicates with your audio hardware.

Here’s what to do: open Device Manager, find your microphone under Sound, video and game controllers, right-click it, and select Properties.

Go to the Driver tab and check if the Roll Back Driver button is active, if it is, click it and restart your PC.

If that option isn’t available, let me know and we’ll try reinstalling the previous driver manually.

Once you’ve done that, test if the mic shows up again.

If it still doesn’t work, we’ll move on to uninstalling KB5068861 and blocking it from coming back.

Does that sound good?

Answer 4

Same problem here, I've tried everything but still not working.

Answer 5

Same here. Additionally, I cannot log into my Microsoft account on my computer; it displays “login canceled” and I am unable to run any diagnostic tools. Windows is slowly pushing users to other systems with such hopeless actions.