Nobody can hear you on calls
My microphone is not working on Zoom or Teams. What is wrong?
Written by The CommonFixes team · fact checked by CommonFixes review desk
Last updated
Short answer
A privacy setting is blocking the app, or the wrong microphone is selected inside the calling app. The quickest thing to try first: allow microphone access — Open Settings, Privacy and security, Microphone. Turn on microphone access, and make sure the specific app is switched on in the list below. Most people are done in about 10 minutes.
Full walkthrough below: 5 steps for Windows and Mac, rated easy.
Sounds like this
- •Others cannot hear you
- •Microphone bar does not move
- •Works in one app but not another
Why it happens
A privacy setting is blocking the app, or the wrong microphone is selected inside the calling app.
Work through these in order
0% done- 1
Allow microphone access
Open Settings, Privacy and security, Microphone. Turn on microphone access, and make sure the specific app is switched on in the list below.
- 2
Pick the right microphone in the app
Inside Zoom, Teams or Meet, open the audio settings and choose the correct input, then use the test button while you speak.
- 3
Test it in Windows
In Settings, System, Sound, click your microphone and watch the input bar move as you talk. If it moves here, the fault is inside the app.
- 4
Turn off exclusive control
In Sound settings, open the microphone properties, Advanced, and untick allowing applications to take exclusive control.
- 5
Unmute the hardware
Many headsets have a mute button on the cable, and some laptops have a microphone mute key with a light on it.
If none of that worked
A basic wired headset is inexpensive and immediately rules out a failed built-in microphone.
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Who wrote this and how we checked it
The CommonFixes team
Writer and researcher
We are a small group of people who spend our days repairing laptops and desktops for family, friends and small offices. Every guide here starts with a problem someone actually brought to us, and we only write down the steps that put the machine right.
- Everyday repairs
- Windows and Mac
- Plain language
CommonFixes review desk
Technical editor
Before a guide goes live, a second person walks through it on a real machine and checks each instruction against the maker's own support pages. Anything we cannot confirm is removed rather than guessed at.
- Fact checking
- Safety warnings
- Source links
This guide was last updated on 10 August 2026. If a step no longer matches what you see on screen, tell us on the contact page and we will test it again.
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