Why Isn’t My Microphone Working in CS:GO?

Have you ever experienced the frustration of your microphone not working in CS:GO? It can be incredibly disheartening, especially when you’re in the heat of battle with enemies surrounding you and your teammates depending on your communication. But fear not! In this article, we will explore several simple yet effective methods to fix your mic-not-working issue in CS:GO. So let’s dive in and solve this problem together!

How to Fix CS:GO Mic Not Working

Here are 7 proven fixes that have helped many players. You don’t need to try all of them; simply start from the top and work your way down until you find the solution that works for you.

Fix 1: Set Your Microphone as Default Device

The best practice when encountering a mic-not-working issue is to set your microphone as the default device. Follow these steps to do so:

1. At the bottom right corner of your computer screen, you’ll find the volume icon. Right-click on it and select “Sounds.”
   

2. Select the “Recording” tab. Right-click on the device you’re currently using and select “Set as Default Device” from the context menu.
   

3. Click to highlight your default microphone and then click “Properties.”

4. On the “Levels” tab, adjust the sliders for “Microphone” and “Microphone Boost” to increase the volume. Make sure they are not muted or set too low. Click “OK” to save the changes.
   

5. Test your microphone by speaking into it. If the recording device is working properly, you should see the green bar rise as you talk.

6. Disable other recording devices by right-clicking on them and selecting “Disable.” If you want to enable them after playing CS:GO, repeat this step and select “Enable.” Similarly, disable any unnecessary output devices in the “Playback” tab.

Once you’ve completed these steps, launch CS:GO and check if your microphone is working properly. If not, let’s move on to the next fix.

Fix 2: Check In-Game Settings

Ensure that you haven’t accidentally turned off any microphone-related options in CS:GO. Although your default audio settings should work fine, it’s worth checking the in-game settings:

1. Launch CS:GO and click on the gear icon in the left pane.
   

2. Go to the “Audio Settings” tab and select “Audio.” Make sure the relevant audio settings are turned on or set correctly.
   

3. Select “Game Settings > Communication.” Ensure that you haven’t muted your friends or other players in the game. (This step may not be directly related to your mic, so you can skip it if desired.)

4. Go to “Controller.” Look for the “Use Mic” item. If there’s no assigned shortcut key, assign one (the default is “K”).
   

After making these adjustments, join a squad in CS:GO to test if your mic is functioning properly. If the issue persists, let’s move on to the next fix.

Fix 3: Update Device Drivers

Sometimes, outdated, corrupt, or incompatible drivers can cause the mic-not-working issue. Try updating not only the audio drivers but also drivers for other motherboard devices such as chipsets. If you prefer an easier method, you can use a tool like Driver Easy to automatically update your drivers.

Driver Easy will automatically detect your system and find the correct drivers for it. You don’t need to know the exact specifications of your computer or worry about downloading and installing the wrong driver. Driver Easy takes care of it all.

Here’s how to update your drivers with Driver Easy:

1. Download and install Driver Easy.

2. Run Driver Easy and click the “Scan Now” button. It will scan your computer and detect any problematic drivers.
   

3. Click the “Update” button next to the flagged device to download and install the correct driver version (available in the free version). Alternatively, click “Update All” to automatically update all the drivers on your system (requires the Pro version).
   

Did this fix solve your mic-not-working issue? If not, let’s move on to the next solution.

Fix 4: Verify Integrity of Game Cache Files

This fix applies not only to CS:GO but also to other Steam games when necessary. Verifying the integrity of your game cache files can quickly resolve various problems. Follow these steps:

1. Log in to Steam and click “LIBRARY.” Right-click on “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” in your game list and select “Properties.”
   

2. Go to the “LOCAL FILES” tab and click “VERIFY INTEGRITY OF GAME FILES…”
   

3. Wait for the validation process to complete. It will help identify and fix any issues with your game cache files.

Once you’ve verified that all the cache files are in a normal state, launch CS:GO and check if your microphone is working properly. If the problem persists, let’s move on to the next fix.

Fix 5: Restart the Windows Audio Service

There’s a possibility that glitches in the Windows Audio service are preventing your microphone from working correctly. Restarting the service might help resolve the issue. Follow these steps:

1. Press the Windows logo key and “R” on your keyboard simultaneously to open the Run box. Type “services.msc” and click “OK.”
   

2. In the Services window, scroll through the list and locate “Windows Audio.” Highlight it and click “Restart” in the left pane.
   

3. Wait for the process to complete and then close the window.

If this fix doesn’t solve your issue, let’s move on to the next one.

Fix 6: Check Privacy Settings

After a Windows update or other events, it’s possible that your privacy settings related to the microphone have been reset. In such cases, CS:GO might be denied access to your microphone. Follow these steps to modify your privacy settings:

1. Press the Windows logo key and “I” simultaneously to open the Settings window. Select “Privacy.”
   

2. In the left pane, select “Microphone.” In the right section, click “Change” to see if the toggle for “Microphone access for this device” is disabled. If so, simply turn it on.
   Below that, there’s another toggle for “Allow apps to access your microphone.” Turn it on if it’s disabled.
   

3. Scroll down to the “Choose which apps can access your microphone” section. Although Steam or CS:GO may not appear in the list, you can toggle on the apps related to your audio output. For example, if you use Skype for in-game communication, make sure to turn on its toggle.

After making these adjustments, check if your microphone is working normally in CS:GO. If not, there’s one last fix you can try.

Fix 7: Enter ‘voice_enable 1’

You can use the command-line tool in CS:GO to enable the microphone. Here’s how:

1. Launch CS:GO and click the gear icon in the left pane to open the Settings window. Go to the “Game Settings > Game” tab and scroll through the list to find “Enable Developer Console (~).” Select “Yes.”
   

2. Exit the Settings window. Press the “~” key on your keyboard (above Tab) to open the command-line window in CS:GO.

3. Type “voice_enable 1” and press “Enter.”

Test your microphone in the game and see if it works properly now.

Fix 8: Repair Corrupted System Files

Missing, corrupt, or damaged system files could be causing the mic-not-working error in CS:GO. To eliminate this possibility, you can try repairing the system files using one of the following methods:

Repair and Replace Corrupted System Files with Fortect:

Fortect is a tool specifically designed for repairing Windows and fixing corrupt files automatically. It scans your computer’s operating system for viruses, malware, and missing, damaged, or corrupt files. It then removes any problematic files found and replaces them with healthy ones. Here’s how to use Fortect:

1. Download and install Fortect.
2. Run Fortect and perform a free scan.
3. Once the scan is complete, Fortect will generate a detailed report of any issues detected. To automatically fix all the issues, click “Start Repair” (requires the full version).
   Note: Fortect offers a 60-day Money-Back Guarantee, so you can request a refund if it doesn’t solve your problem.
4. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
5. Check if the issue has been resolved.

Run SFC Scan:

System File Checker (SFC) is a useful feature in Windows that allows you to scan your system files and repair any missing or corrupted files. To run an SFC scan:

1. Press the Windows logo key and type “cmd” on your keyboard. Right-click on “Command Prompt” and select “Run as administrator.”
2. Click “Yes” when prompted to confirm.
3. In the command prompt window, type “sfc /scannow” and press “Enter.”
   Note: The scan may take some time, so please be patient.
4. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
5. Check if the problem has been resolved.

Hopefully, one of these fixes helped resolve your mic-not-working issue in CS:GO. If you have any further questions or ideas, feel free to leave a comment below. Thanks for reading!

Tags: microphone, sound problem