WhatsApp voice message not working on Android, iPhone or PC

Some users have reported that they can’t send or receive voice messages on WhatsApp. Some have reported that they cannot listen to the voice messages. This issue is reported to occur on Android, iPhone, and PC. If you are one of the affected users, follow the solutions discussed below to resolve the problem.

How do I turn on voice messages on WhatsApp?

To enable or send voice messages on WhatsApp, you can go to the chat to which you want to send the voice message. Next, press and hold the microphone icon button present at the bottom of the screen and start speaking. When done, release the microphone button, and your voice message will be sent. To listen to receive a voice message, tap on the Play button, and you will be able to hear the message.

WhatsApp voice message not working on Android or iPhone

If voice messages are not working on WhatsApp or if you are getting voice message errors on WhatsApp on your Android or iPhone, use the following solutions to fix the issue:

Perform some preliminary checks.
Force Stop WhatsApp and restart the app.
Ensure WhatsApp is up-to-date.
Make sure WhatsApp is granted microphone permissions.
Check if your phone is running low on storage space.
Clear the WhatsApp cache.
Reinstall WhatsApp.

1] Perform some preliminary checks

First of all, check the current server status of WhatsApp and make sure the servers are not down. You won’t be able to access voice messages if there is an issue at the end of WhatsApp servers.

If you can’t listen to voice messages, it might be the case that your phone’s volume is set too low or is mute. So, make sure your phone’s volume is not on mute or increase the volume. In case you are using a headset, ensure that it is connected and working properly.

You need to be connected to an active and stable internet connection to receive and download voice messages on WhatsApp. Hence, check your network connection and make sure it is working fine. You can try connecting to a different network connection and see if the problem is resolved.

New-age phones come with a proximity sensor. WhatsApp also uses your phone’s proximity sensor to play audio and voice messages through your earphones instead of your phone’s speakers. However, this function can sometimes be disrupted by your phone’s screen protector. Hence, if the scenario is applicable, you can remove your screen protector and then see if you can listen to voice messages on WhatsApp.

The problem might be with a specific voice message. So, you can also contact the sender and ask him/her to re-send the voice message.

Read: WhatsApp Web or Desktop not syncing.

2] Force Stop WhatsApp and restart the app

You can also try closing the WhatsApp app and then reopening it to check if you can access voice messages or not. To do that, here are the steps to follow:

First, long-press the WhatsApp app icon from your home screen.
Next, tap on the Info (i) button.
On the App info page, press the Force stop button from the lower right corner.
When done, restart WhatsApp and try opening the voice messages that were previously giving you issues.

Similarly, you can try relaunching WhatsApp on your iPhone and see if the problem is resolved.

3] Ensure WhatsApp is up-to-date

This issue can occur if you are using an outdated version of WhatsApp. So, open the Play Store on your Android phone, go to the WhatsApp page, and click the Update button to update the app. On iPhone, you can use the App Store to update your WhatsApp app.

4] Make sure WhatsApp is granted microphone permissions

If you can’t send voice messages on WhatsApp or experiencing some other issues while sending voice messages, it is recommended to check WhatsApp permissions. You might haven’t allowed microphone permissions to WhatsApp which is causing the issue. So, in that case, grant the necessary mic permissions to WhatsApp and see if the problem is resolved.

Here are the steps to allow microphone permissions to WhatsApp on Android:

First, open your Settings on your smartphone and go to the Apps section.
Now, scroll down and select the WhatsApp app.
After that, click on the Permissions option.
Next, tap on the Microphone permission.
Then, select the Allow only while using the app radio button.
Finally, reopen WhatsApp and see if you can send voice messages or not.

You can check and enable microphone permissions for WhatsApp on your iPhone as well from Settings > Privacy > Microphone.

See: WhatsApp Desktop app crashing or freezing on Windows PC.

5] Check if your phone is running low on storage space

Your phone might be low on free storage space which is why you can’t download WhatsApp voices and are unable to access them. Hence, if the scenario is applicable, check the free space available on your phone and try clearing up some space by deleting images, videos, documents, and other unnecessary files. See if this helps in fixing the issues.

6] Clear the WhatsApp cache

It could be a corrupted app cache causing the problem. Hence, delete the WhatsApp cache from your phone and see if the issue is resolved. Here’s how to do that:

First, press and hold the WhatsApp app icon from your home screen and click on the info (i) button.
Now, go to the Storage section.
Next, tap on the Clear cache button present in the bottom right corner.
Once done, check if the voice message error or issue is resolved.

7] Reinstall WhatsApp

If the voice messages are still not working on WhatsApp, it is likely that the problem is caused due to the app being corrupted. Hence, the last resort to fix the problem is to uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp. Here’s how to do that:

First, long-press the WhatsApp icon and choose the Uninstall option.
Now, confirm the app uninstallation.
Once the app is removed, open your Play Store and go to the WhatsApp page.
Next, click on the Install button.
Once installed, open WhatsApp, set up your account, and see if you are able to send and receive voice messages or not.

Read: WhatsApp could not find a connected audio device; Mic unavailable.

WhatsApp voice message not working on PC

If you are experiencing issues with voice messages on WhatsApp on your desktop, confirm that WhatsApp servers are not down and your internet is also working fine. If you still face the same problem, use the below fixes:

Ensure your PC or WhatsApp tab is not on mute.
Allow sites to play sound.
Make sure you have allowed microphone permission to WhatsApp.
Clear browsing cache and cookies.
Disable web extensions.
Other solutions.

1] Ensure your PC or WhatsApp tab is not on mute

You might not realize, but your computer being on mute or being too low can be causing the issue. Hence, check the volume of your PC and increase the volume to make sure you can listen to voice messages on WhatsApp.

In case you are using WhatsApp Web in Chrome or some other browser, make sure the tab is not on mute. To do that, right-click on the tab and select the Unmute site option from the context menu. You can now try playing the WhatsApp voice messages and see if the problem is not fixed.

2] Allow sites to play sound

Another thing you can do is check your site settings and make sure your browser is not preventing websites like WhatsApp from playing sound. Here’s how you can allow sites to play sound in Chrome:

First, open Chrome and click on the three-dot menu button.
Now, choose the Settings option.
After that, go to the Privacy and security tab from the left-side pane.
Next, select the Site settings option.
Then, expand the Additional content settings menu and choose the Sound option.
Under the Default behavior option, select the Sites can play sound option.
Also, make sure, WhatsApp is not listed under Not allowed to play sound section. If it is, select the WhatsApp entry and choose the Allow option.

Once done, check if you are able to listen to voice messages or not.

See: WhatsApp Desktop keeps logging me out.

3] Make sure you have allowed microphone permission to WhatsApp

If you can’t send voice messages on WhatsApp, it might be the case that you have disabled microphone permission for WhatsApp or all apps on your PC. Hence, if the scenario is applicable, allow WhatsApp to access your microphone to resolve the issue. Here’s how:

First, press Win+I to open Settings and go to the Privacy & settings tab.
Now, under the App permissions section, select Microphone.
Next, make sure the toggle associated with Microphone access is enabled.
After that, scroll down and ensure that the mic permission is enabled for the WhatsApp app.
Once done, open your WhatsApp app and check whether voice messages work fine.

If you are using WhatsApp in Chrome, here’s how to allow microphone access:

First, open Chrome, click on the three-dot menu button and tap on Settings.
Now, go to the Privacy and security > Site settings > Microphone option.
Next, select the Sites can ask to use your microphone option.

4] Clear browsing cache and cookies

For WhatsApp Web users, it could be a corrupted browsing cache and cookie data causing the problem. Hence, you can clear the browser cache and cookies and check if WhatsApp voice messages are working fine or not.

5] Disable web extensions

It could be some problematic web extensions causing the issue. So, disable your web extensions in your browser and check if it helps.

6] Other solutions

If the problem remains the same, you can log out of WhatsApp and then log in back to check if the problem is fixed.

In case you are facing this issue in a web browser like Chrome, Edge, etc., you can switch to a different web browser and see if it works. In addition to that, you can also install the WhatsApp app from the Microsoft Store and check if you are able to send, receive, and listen to voice messages.

Can someone see how many times you listen to an audio message on WhatsApp?

No, you can’t see how many times one has listened to your audio message on WhatsApp. However, you can check if someone has played and listened to your voice message or not. To do that, you can long-press the voice message and then click on the three-dot menu button. Next, choose the Info option and you will know the time when your voice message was played.

Now read: WhatsApp Calls not working on WiFi on PC or Phone.