Discord Mic Test & “Microphone Not Working” Fix

Step 1: Does your mic work at all?

Click Test my microphone above and speak:

• The bar moves here — your mic and drivers are fine; the problem is in your Discord settings. Go to Discord audio settings.
• The bar does not move here — the issue is system-level (permission, device or driver), not Discord. See System-level fixes.

Step 2: Fix Discord audio settings

Open User Settings (gear icon) → Voice & Video, then:

1. Pick the right Input Device. Open User Settings → Voice & Video and set Input Device to the mic that worked in the test above. Drag the Input Volume slider up.
2. Set the Input Mode. Switch Input Mode to Voice Activity and lower the sensitivity bar; if you use Push to Talk, confirm the keybind and that it is actually held while you speak.
3. Reset Voice Settings. Scroll to the bottom of Voice & Video and click Reset Voice Settings — this clears a stuck or removed input device.
4. Disable exclusive mode rivals. Close OBS, games or other voice apps that grab the mic, then click the small Let's Check mic test inside Discord.

Discord-specific gotchas worth checking

Discord ships its own noise filter called Krisp (Voice & Video → Noise Suppression). On weak mics or quiet voices Krisp can gate you out entirely so others hear nothing — turn it to Standard or None to test. Discord also defaults Automatic Input Sensitivity on; if the green bar under it never lights up while you talk, switch it off and set the threshold manually.

If Discord recently updated and your device vanished, that is the known stuck audio subsystem bug: open Voice & Video → Audio Subsystem and switch from Standard to Legacy, then restart Discord. On the desktop app specifically, mic capture breaks when a game grabs the device in exclusive mode — the in-call Let's Check tool plays your mic back so you can confirm capture before blaming Discord.

Step 3: System-level fixes (if the test above also failed)

If the volume bar did not move in the test, the problem is your device or OS, not Discord. Fix it here, then retest.

Windows 10 / 11

1. Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone: enable Microphone access and allow desktop apps (and your browser).
2. Settings → System → Sound → Input: select the correct device and confirm the meter moves.
3. Right-click the speaker icon → Sound settings → Recording: set your mic as the Default device and enable it.
4. Close other apps holding the mic (Zoom, Teams, Discord, OBS) and restart Discord.

macOS

1. System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone: enable Discord (or your browser), then quit (Cmd+Q) and reopen — macOS only applies the permission after a restart.
2. System Settings → Sound → Input: choose the right device and check the level.

Discord in the browser (web client)

If you joined Discord from a browser, click the mic icon in the address bar, choose Allow, and reload. The web client uses the same browser microphone permission as the test on this page.

Discord on phone (iOS / Android)

Open your phone Settings and enable the Microphone permission for Discord, then reopen the app and rejoin. In the call, tap the screen and confirm you are not muted.

Step 4: Last resorts

• Update Discord to the latest version (older builds have audio device bugs).
• Update or reinstall your audio/headset driver and reboot.
• Sign out and back in, or do a clean reinstall of Discord.
• On a USB headset, try a different port and confirm it is selected as both the microphone and speaker.

FAQ