Steam 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 Steam settings. Go to Steam audio settings.
• The bar does not move here — the issue is system-level (permission, device or driver), not Steam. See System-level fixes.

Step 2: Fix Steam audio settings

Open Friends & Chat → gear → Voice, then:

1. Open Voice settings. Open the Friends & Chat window → gear icon → Voice.
2. Pick the Voice Input Device. Set Voice Input Device to the mic that worked above.
3. Set the transmit mode. Choose Open Mic or Push to Talk, set the threshold, and use Let's check to hear yourself.
4. Close rival apps. Quit Discord or OBS that may hold the mic, then retest.

Steam-specific gotchas worth checking

Steam Voice has its own device picker that is independent of Windows: open the Friends & Chat window → gear → Voice and set the Voice Input Device explicitly — Steam often defaults to the wrong one. Use the built-in Let's check that your mic is working meter and Echo playback right there to confirm capture without joining a chat.

The common Steam-only failure is transmit mode: if you are on Push to Talk the mic stays dead until the key is held, and if you are on Open Mic with the threshold slider too high, quiet speech never triggers. In-game voice (some titles route through Steam, others use their own system) can also grab the device exclusively — close the game's own voice settings or other voice apps and retest.

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 Steam. 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 Steam.

macOS

1. System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone: enable Steam (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.

Steam on phone (iOS / Android)

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

Step 4: Last resorts

• Update Steam 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 Steam.
• On a USB headset, try a different port and confirm it is selected as both the microphone and speaker.

FAQ