Microphone Not Working in CS:GO? Here's How To Fix It

Most competitive games nowadays utilize communication for the sake of functional teamwork. While most use text chat to connect players, Counter-Strike heavily relies on voice chat. There is no time to pause and type out vital information that might mean the outcome of a round or match.

There are many potential reasons why your microphone stopped working. Without it, your performance in Counter-Strike will be significantly reduced, almost making the game unplayable. Giving your team valuable information becomes nigh impossible, making your entire squad fight at a disadvantage.

However, there are several ways of fixing your mic not working in CS. Software and hardware issues, as well as issues with the game itself, are all addressed below.

Change Your In-Game Settings

Some Counter-Strike Settings come disabled by default, or you may have accidentally changed them wrongly. To make sure everything is in good order, you should survey the in-game settings and do the following:

1. Firstly, go to the CS:GO Main Menu Screen.
2. Then, select the Gear Icon on the left side.
3. From there, navigate to the 'Audio Settings' tab.
4. Under 'Audio,' make sure all the configurations are correct.

Here you should set your default device to whatever you're currently using. Identify it by its name. If you don't know your default device or still need to set it up, move on to the next fix immediately. If not, there are a few extra things to check out in Settings.

1. Open the Settings
2. Under the 'Communications' option, ensure all settings are correct.

• You should set all of the three top options to 'No' to avoid having your voice chat muted.

Lastly, ensure you're using the correct key for the voice function. 

1. Head to the ‘Keyboard and Mouse' tab.
2. Navigate down until you see the Use Mic.
3. See what key is assigned, and change it to your liking.

And that should be that for the in-game settings. If this doesn't alleviate your mic troubles, there are still a few extra things to try.

Choose Your Microphone As The Default Output Device

You might have several devices connected to your computer at the same time. Some of them might even share the 'audio' category. Therefore, it's easy for Windows to mix stuff up and default to the wrong device. Follow these steps to ensure that you're using your microphone as the output device:

1. You'll see a volume icon at the bottom right of your screen.
2. Right-click on the icon and choose the Sounds option.
3. Open the Recording.
4. Find your microphone among the devices.
5. Right-click it and select the Set as Default Device, as well as Set as Default Communications Device options.
6. Select apply.

Your microphone should now be the default device for all communicative purposes. However, there may be the issue of volume needing to be correctly adjusted. Here's how to increase your microphone's volume level:

1. Select your microphone in the same Recording tab.
2. Select 'Properties' on the bottom right.
3. On the Levels tab, drag the Microphone slider all the way to the right or type 100 in the little box. Doing so will change your microphone's volume to the maximum level.
4. If it is still too low, you can adjust the 'Microphone Boost' option to as much as you need.

• You can test how loud your microphone is (or if it is even working properly) by going to the 'Listen' tab and checking the 'Listen to this device' option. Now you'll be able to hear anything the mic picks up. Adjust accordingly.

Even this might not have fixed your microphone issues. Keep reading for more ways of fixing your microphone in CS.

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Ensure Microphone Access is On For CS:GO

A pesky Windows update or other software change might have disrupted your computer's Privacy settings. As a result, Counter-Strike cannot access your microphone. Thankfully, you can quickly fix this through Windows Settings.

1. Hold the Windows Logo key and press I. This will fire up the Windows Settings.
2. Next, choose the Privacy option.
3. Click on the mic icon on the left.
4. Allow access to the mic and choose the Change option, to set it on On.
5. Give apps permission to access your mic.
6. Navigate all the way to the bottom. Steam and Counter-Strike won't be visible there, but other essential apps like Skype will be. If you use those apps for communication, ensure access is allowed.

Verify Your CS:GO Files

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and many other games, can often have hick-ups with their game files. Updates installed wrongly, bad patches on the developer's side, and so much more can cause issues with the integrity of game files. VALVe has thought of this and added the 'Verify Your Game Files' option. Here's how:

1. Open the game library
2. Open the properties in CS:GO by right-clicking the icon.
3. Open the Local Files.
4. Select the Verify Integrity of Game Files option.

Steam will now scan your game for any corrupt or missing files. This might take a while, so take a sip of coffee or brew some tea while waiting. After completing the verification process, Steam will tell you if any files are missing and redownload them in a flash. Now, you can launch CS and see if it makes any difference.

If not, try some of the other fixes out. Game file corruption is the primary cause of issues in games like CS:GO.

Start Windows Audio Service Again

Windows, being the Operating System it is, often runs into problems, and sometimes the Windows audio service may be the reason why your mic is no longer working. However, Windows retains a good amount of customizability, and you can restart the services. Here's how to restart the Windows Audio service:

1. Press the Windows button + R
2. Type in services.msc
3. Find the Windows Audio option.
4. Restart the service.

The service will take a second and should restart. Go back to your game and see if it worked. If not, maybe some of the other fixes will help you.

Update Your Device Drivers

Your microphone's drivers may have run their course and are outdated. Corrupted drivers are also possible and easily fixable by updating your device drivers. To do so, you will need to use Windows Device Manager. Here's how:

1. Press the Windows button.
2. In search, type: 'Device Manager.'
3. Select the Sound, Video, and Game Controllers.
4. Open the box and find your microphone.
5. Update the driver by right-clicking it.
6. Select the Search Automatically For Drivers.

You have successfully updated your drivers. You can also use third-party software such as 'Driver Booster' to update your computer's drivers. Software manufacturers such as 'Realtek' offer many sound software drivers online. Your microphone may have a specific manufacturer that produces its own driver solutions. Use the power of the Internet to seek them out.

Disable the XBOX Game Bar

According to many Windows 10 and 11 users, the Xbox Game Bar may cause some issues from time to time, including microphone problems, It would be best if you disabled it to improve your game's performance and likely fix your microphone.

1. Hold the Windows Key and press I.
2. Open the 'Gaming' tab.
3. Open the Xbox Game Bar on the left.
4. At the top, toggle 'On' to 'Off.'

Use the Developer Console.

The console in CS:GO is quite a powerful tool that you can use to your advantage and even enable/disable voice chat. To use this command, you will have to enable the developer console. Once you've enabled the console, simply press the ~ button to open it, then enter voice_enable 1. In addition, typing the voice_scale 1 will increase the volume of the voice chat to the max.