Zoom and Teams Audio Not Working? Here's How to Fix It

Audio problems on video calls are frustrating, especially when you’re five minutes from a meeting. Most of the time the cause is a simple settings issue rather than anything wrong with your microphone or speakers. Here’s how to work through it.

First: check which device Zoom or Teams is trying to use

The most common cause of audio problems is that Zoom or Teams is trying to use the wrong microphone or speaker, especially if you’ve plugged in a headset or connected to a different monitor with built-in speakers.

In Zoom:

• Click the small arrow next to the microphone icon at the bottom left
• You’ll see a list of available microphones and speakers. Select the one you actually want to use

In Microsoft Teams:

• Click the three dots (…) at the top of a call, then Device settings
• Or go to Settings > Devices when not in a call
• Select your preferred microphone and speaker from the dropdown menus

If you’ve connected a headset, look for its name in the list. If you’re using your laptop’s built-in microphone, look for something like “Internal Microphone” or the laptop’s model name.

Others can’t hear you: microphone problems

Check Windows hasn’t muted the microphone

Go to Settings > System > Sound > Input. Make sure a microphone is selected and the volume slider is above zero. Click Test your microphone and you should see the bar move when you speak.

If nothing moves when you speak, Windows isn’t picking up your microphone regardless of what Zoom or Teams does.

Check Windows has given Zoom and Teams microphone permission

Windows 10 and 11 have app-level microphone permissions.

Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone. Make sure Microphone access is turned on, and scroll down to check that Zoom and Microsoft Teams are both allowed.

Check the microphone isn’t physically muted

Many headsets and USB microphones have a mute button on the cable or the device itself. It’s easy to knock these accidentally. Check the hardware mute button if your microphone has one.

Check you’re not muted in the call

This sounds obvious, but the mute button in Zoom and Teams is easy to accidentally click. Look for the microphone icon at the bottom of the screen. A red line through it means you’re muted.

You can’t hear others: speaker problems

Check the volume

Both Windows volume (the speaker icon in the system tray, bottom right) and the volume control inside Zoom or Teams need to be turned up. Check both.

Check the right output device is selected

Follow the same steps as above to check Zoom or Teams is using the right speaker or headset. If you’ve recently connected a monitor with built-in speakers, Windows may have switched the default output to those, even if you can’t hear anything through them.

Check Windows audio output

Right-click the speaker icon in the system tray, then Open Volume mixer. Check that Zoom or Teams isn’t individually muted in the mixer.

Echo on calls

If people on the call can hear their own voice echoing back, it’s usually caused by:

• Your speakers playing audio that your microphone is picking up: use a headset instead of laptop speakers, or reduce your speaker volume
• Two devices in the same room both joining the call: a phone and a laptop in the same room picking up each other’s audio. Mute the microphone on one of them.

Poor call quality or breaking up

If audio is cutting in and out or sounds robotic:

• Check your internet connection: run a speed test (fast.com). Video calls need a stable upload speed of at least 1-2 Mbps
• Switch to a wired connection if possible. WiFi instability causes audio breaking up even when the overall speed looks fine
• Close other tabs and applications: browser tabs playing video or applications uploading in the background compete for bandwidth during calls
• Check if the problem is with the other person: if it only happens with one specific person, the issue may be on their end

Background noise

If people on calls complain about background noise from your end:

Both Zoom and Teams have noise suppression built in. In Zoom, go to Settings > Audio > Suppress background noise and set it to High. In Teams, go to Settings > Devices > Noise suppression and set it to High.

This won’t eliminate all noise but makes a significant difference for things like keyboard clicks, household noise, and ambient sound.

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