Teams Audio Not Working

If your microphone or speakers stop working during Microsoft Teams calls, you may hear nothing from other participants or they may not hear you. Common symptoms include “No audio device found” errors, a muted microphone icon that won’t toggle, or choppy and distorted sound output.

Step 1: Check Your Audio Device Settings in Teams

Teams allows you to select specific audio devices independently from your system defaults. An incorrect selection here is the most common cause of audio problems.

1. Open Microsoft Teams and click the three-dot menu (···) next to your profile picture.
2. Select Settings > Devices.
3. Under Audio devices, verify the correct Speaker and Microphone are selected.
4. Click Make a test call to hear a test message and verify both input and output work.
5. If your device does not appear in the dropdown, disconnect and reconnect it physically.

• If you are using a Bluetooth headset, make sure it is paired and set as the default communication device.
• USB headsets should be plugged in before launching Teams for reliable detection.

Step 2: Verify System-Level Permissions

Your operating system may be blocking Teams from accessing the microphone. This is especially common after OS updates.

On Windows:

1. Open Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone.
2. Ensure Microphone access is toggled On.
3. Scroll down and confirm Microsoft Teams is listed and enabled.

On macOS:

1. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone.
2. Locate Microsoft Teams in the list and ensure the toggle is On.
3. If Teams is not listed, you may need to reinstall the app to trigger the permission prompt.

After granting permissions, restart Teams completely — do not just close the window, but right-click the Teams icon in the system tray or menu bar and select Quit.

Step 3: Run the Audio Troubleshooter

Built-in system tools can automatically detect and resolve common audio hardware and driver problems.

On Windows:

1. Open Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.
2. Click Run next to Playing Audio and follow the on-screen steps.
3. Repeat with the Recording Audio troubleshooter if your microphone is the problem.

On macOS:

1. Open Audio MIDI Setup (search via Spotlight).
2. Verify your audio device appears and is configured at the correct sample rate (typically 44100 Hz or 48000 Hz).
3. If the device shows errors, remove it from the list and re-add it.

:: Windows: Reset audio service from an elevated Command Prompt
net stop Audiosrv
net start Audiosrv

Step 4: Update or Reinstall Audio Drivers

Outdated or corrupted audio drivers frequently cause detection failures and sound quality issues.

On Windows:

1. Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager.
2. Expand Sound, video and game controllers.
3. Right-click your audio device and select Update driver > Search automatically for drivers.
4. If updating does not help, select Uninstall device, then restart your PC to let Windows reinstall it automatically.

On macOS:

• macOS manages audio drivers through system updates. Open System Settings > General > Software Update and install any available updates.
• For USB audio interfaces, check the manufacturer’s website for updated macOS drivers.

Step 5: Test with a Different Device or Profile

If the issue persists, isolate whether the problem is hardware-related, profile-specific, or tied to a Teams configuration.

1. Try a different audio device — plug in wired earbuds or a USB headset to see if the issue follows the device.
2. Test in another app — open a browser and visit webcammictest.com to confirm your mic works outside Teams.
3. Clear the Teams cache:

# macOS
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Microsoft/Teams

:: Windows
rmdir /s /q %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams

4. Relaunch Teams and sign back in.
5. If clearing the cache resolves it, the issue was a corrupted local configuration.

• As a final resort, uninstall and reinstall Teams from the official download page.
• If you are on a managed corporate device, contact your IT administrator to check whether audio device policies or Group Policy restrictions are in effect.