Microphone quit working

Sharon Frazier 0 Reputation points
2026-08-02T00:46:18.0433333+00:00

Microphone quit working when I tried to follow instructions from Copilot. Used ChatGPT to try to resolve, to no avail.

Windows for home | Other | Devices and drivers
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  1. Hendrix-V 17,185 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-08-02T05:36:39.6866667+00:00

    Hi Sharon Frazier,

    I'm sorry you're dealing with this issue. Since the microphone stopped working after making some system changes, it is possible that a microphone setting, permission, or driver configuration was changed unintentionally rather than there being a hardware problem.

    Please try these quick checks:

    1, Verify microphone permissions

    • Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone
    • Ensure Microphone access and Let apps access your microphone are turned On

    2, Check the default input device

    • Open Settings > System > Sound
    • Under Input, confirm the correct microphone is selected

    3, Reinstall the microphone driver

    • Open Device Manager, expand Audio inputs and outputs
    • Right-click the microphone and select Uninstall device
    • Restart your PC

    4, Test in another application - try Voice Recorder or another app to see if the issue affects all applications or only one.

    If the microphone still isn't detected, please let me know whether you're using a built-in microphone, USB microphone, or Bluetooth headset, along with your Windows version (winver). That information can help narrow down the cause and identify the most appropriate solution.

    Feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.


    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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