In this article, we will be discussing what methods you can use to fix when voice chat is not working on Steam on Windows PC. Steam is a great gaming platform for millions of gaming enthusiasts. It has several powerful features that enhance gamers’ experience. Voice chat is one of its many good features. This feature enables users to interact and communicate with each other while gaming and otherwise also.
Now, some users have reportedly experience the issue of voice chat not working properly on Steam. This issue can be triggered if there is some glitch due to audio enhancements being used on your PC. Or, if the correct microphone device is not selected in your Sound settings. Another reason for the same can be the fact that Steam is not allowed to record your microphone. In any case, it can be crucial and frustrating at it keeps you away from talking to your friends and other gamers.
If you are also facing the same problem, we got you covered. Here, we will be showing you some solutions that will help you resolve Steam’s voice chat not working issue on your Windows PC. So, without further ado, let’s get straight to the fixes now.
How do I enable voice chat on Steam?
To enable voice chat on Steam, make sure Steam is allowed to record your microphone. We have shared the steps to do that, you can check them out below in the solutions. After that, you can start a voice chat by going to the friend you want to talk to and right-clicking on their name. Then. you need to select the Start Voice Chat option. Or, you can simply click on the microphone button and then start chatting with your friend.
If you want to start a voice chat in a group, go to the group and press the Add Voice Channel button to make a new voice chat channel. Once created, you and other players can start talking and interacting in the group.
How do I use my Mic on Steam?
To set up and use your microphone on Steam, there are some configurations to tweak. First, launch the Steam app and then click on the Steam option present at the top. Now, press the Settings option. Next, navigate to the Voice tab. Then, under the Recording (audio input) device option, check if the correct microphone is selected. You can also use the Detect Audio Devices and then the Change Device option to choose the active microphone. Besides that, click on the Use a push-to-talk key to transmit voice option to automatically enable your microphone when you speak.
Steam Voice Chat not working on PC
Here are the methods you can follow when voice chat is not working on Steam:
- Ensure that you are using the correct microphone.
- Log out of Steam from other computers.
- Allow Steam to Record Microphone.
- Disable audio enhancements.
- Change Privacy Settings.
Let us discuss the above solutions in detail now!
1] Ensure that you are using the correct microphone
The first thing you should do when voice chat is not working on Steam is to make sure that you have selected the right microphone. If not, you won’t be able to do voice chatting. So, go to your sound setting and switch to the correct microphone device if not selected already.
To do that, you can follow the below steps:
- Firstly, from the taskbar, right-click on the sound/audio icon.
- From the context menu, click on the Open Sound settings button.
- Now, click on the Sound Control Panel option.
- Next, go to the Recording tab.
- Finally, select the active microphone that you want to use and then click on the Set Default button.
See if this fixes up the issue for you. If not, try setting default devices in the Steam app as well. For that, here are the steps to follow:
- First, launch the Steam app and go to the Friends tab.
- Now, click on the View Friends List button.
- In the Friends list window, tap on the Cog Wheel.
- Next, press on Voice and choose the Voice Input Device dropdown.
- After that, select your microphone from the list and then exit the window.
Now, see if the issue is fixed or not.
2] Log out of Steam from other computers
If your Steam account is logged onto other computers as well, sign out from your account on all other PCs. Many users have reportedly fixed this issue by trying this method and it might also work for you. In case you don’t have access to other computers, changing your password will help you automatically disconnect other devices from your account.
If this scenario doesn’t apply to you and voice chat is still not working on your Steam account, try some other solution from this list.
Read: Fix Steam App Configuration Missing or Not available error on Windows
3] Allow Steam to Record Microphone
If none of the above solutions work for you, it may be the case that Steam is not allowed to record the microphone on your device. This can be due to the configuration in your Steam account. So, allowing Steam to record the microphone will fix the issue for you. Now, we will be discussing the steps to set up and allow Steam to record the microphone.
- First, open the Step app and sign in with your account.
- Now, tap on the Steam option present at the top of the interface.
- Next, click on the Settings option.
- After that, navigate to the Broadcasting tab.
- Then, enable the Record my Microphone checkbox.
- Lastly, press the OK button to apply changes.
See: Fix Steam Service component error on Windows
4] Disable audio enhancements
If this problem is occurring due to the built-in Audio Enhancement features of Windows, you can try turning off audio enhancements to fix this issue. This method has worked for a lot of users and might as well for you. Here are the steps you need to follow to turn off the audio enhancement feature:
- Firstly, right-click on the sound/audio icon on the taskbar.
- Next, click on the Open Sound settings option from the context menu.
- Now, tap on the Sound Control Panel button to open up the Sound window.
- After that, navigate to the Playback tab and right-click on your microphone device.
- Then, select the Properties option and then move to the Enhancements tab.
- Finally, enable the Disable all Enhancements checkbox and then click on the Apply > OK button to save changes.
Check if you are now able to do voice chat on your Steam account.
Read: Fix Steam Content File Locked Error
5] Change Privacy Settings
There are chances that this has been triggered because your privacy settings have changed due to an update or something else. In that case, you can tweak Privacy Settings and allow your microphone to communicate with the app. Here are the steps to that:
- Firstly, open the Settings app using Windows + I hotkey.
- Now, click on the Privacy category.
- Next, go to the Microphone tab.
- After that, toggle the Allow Apps to Access Microphone option to enable it.
- Additionally, make sure Steam and other necessary apps are enabled to communicate via microphone.
Hopefully, this will work for you.
That’s it!
Now read: How to fix Disk Write Error on Steam in Windows 11/10.
