Let us assume a situation where the audio recording on your Windows system is not working. You check the Sound properties and are surprised to see that the internal microphone is missing from the list of Devices. If the Internal microphone not showing up or missing from the Device Manager, then this post is sure to help you fix the problem.
Internal Microphone is missing or not showing in Windows 11/10
The issue could be as simple as the Mic being disabled and hidden in the recording devices section or an issue with the drivers. If you encounter the issue, try the following solutions one by one:
- Update the Audio driver
- Run the Recording Audio troubleshooters
- Run Hardware & Devices Troubleshooter
- Set up the microphone manually
- Enable microphone and set it as Default
1] Update the Audio driver
The audio drivers in your system are the connection between the audio hardware and your computer. Now, either of these drivers could be for a third-party product in which case you would have to download the drivers from the manufacturer’s website.
The Intel Audio drivers can be downloaded from Intel.com. After downloading the drivers, extract the folder and run the Setup file.
Once done, please reboot your system.
2] Run the Recording Audio troubleshooters
To resolve the problem in discussion, you can consider running the Recording Audio troubleshooter.
The procedure to run the audio troubleshooter on Windows 10 is as follows:
Click on the Start button and go to Settings > Updates & Security > Troubleshoot>> Additional troubleshooters.
From the list of troubleshooters, select the Recording Audio troubleshooter and click on Run the troubleshooter.
The procedure to run the Audio troubleshooter on Windows 11 is as follows:
Right-click on the Start button and go to Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.
Select the Recording audio troubleshooter from the list and Run it.
3] Run Hardware & Devices Troubleshooter
The Hardware & Devices Troubleshooter can check for issues with the troublesome microphone and drivers. While it has been removed from the general list of troubleshooters in the settings menu, you could still invoke it through the command prompt window.The procedure to do so is as follows:
Press Win+R to open the Run window and type the command cmd in the run field. Hit Enter to open the Command Prompt window.
In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and hit Enter to invoke the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter:
msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic
Click on Next to run it and then reboot your system.
4] Set up the microphone manually
If the above-mentioned solutions fail, you could consider setting up the microphone manually. The procedure is as follows:
- Type microphone in Windows Start Search box
- Click Set up a Microphone
- Select required type of microphone (for internal mic, select Others)
- Follow the onscreen directions to set it up.
5] Enable microphone and set it as Default
The first step towards the resolution should be to check if the microphone is enabled in the first place. The reason is that the Sound properties has an option to hide disabled devices and if that is the case, your disabled microphone won’t even appear in the list of devices. To resolve this case, the procedure is as follows.
Right-click on the Sound icon in the System Tray and select Sounds. This will open the Sound properties.
Go to the Recording tab and right-click anywhere in the open space.
You would find the option Show Disabled Devices. Make sure it is checked.
If the internal microphone appears in the list, right-click on it and select Enable.
This will enable the internal microphone.
How do I re-install my Microphone?
Reinstalling hardware means reinstalling the drivers. If the microphone in the discussion is an external third-party one, you can download the drivers from the manufacturer’s website. If it is the internal microphone, you can download the latest audio drivers from Intel.com as explained earlier.
How do I test my microphone in Windows 11?
To test your microphone in Windows 11:
- Right-click on the Start button and select Settings.
- Go to the System tab and scroll down to Input settings.
- Scroll down to Test your microphone and click Test.
We hope this helps you.
