featured image

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) requires a lot of team communication to win the game, but sometimes the game doesn’t recognize your microphone. This makes it difficult for you to relay information and tactics to the rest of your team.


Regardless of what causes your microphone to stop responding in CS:GO, the solutions below will help you solve the problem quickly.


1. Adjust the settings in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Before you can use your microphone in CS:GO, you need to set everything up in the settings. So double check the settings and make sure you have everything you need to make the microphone work properly.

  1. Open CS:GO and click the gear icon in the left panel.
  2. Switch to the audio tab.
  3. Make sure you have the . configured Enable speech choice.

  4. Switch to the keyboard mouse tab, and find the Use microphone choice.

  5. Make sure that the Use Microphone option is correctly enabled, as sometimes the assigned key is automatically deleted for various reasons.

After making the above changes, restart CS:GO and check the issue again.

2. Check if Counter Strike: Global Offensive has access to your microphone

The first thing to try is to check the settings to make sure CS:GO can access your microphone. If you have disabled automatic permissions to access the microphone, CS:GO may not be able to access it.

Here’s how to give CS:GO access to your microphone:

  1. Open Settings through one of the many ways to access the settings menu.
  2. To elect Privacy and Security from the left panel.
  3. Select Microphone below the App permissions section.
  4. Toggle the switch next to . in Allow apps to access your microphone.

Then scroll down and look for the section titled Allow desktop apps to access your microphone. Make sure the slider under this heading is also enabled.

While you can’t change microphone access for CS:GO or other desktop applications, you can check when they last used your microphone. This will help you ensure that CS:GO detects your microphone correctly, as the problem may be with the game itself.

3. Disable the Xbox Game Bar and “Captures” features

Xbox Game Bar is a gaming overlay that lets you record clips and take screenshots of your favorite moments in the game. While it is a valuable feature, it is also known as the main reason behind microphone problems in several games, including CS:GO.

The solution in this case is to disable the Xbox Game Bar. You can do this by following the steps below:

  1. Open Settings and choose Gaming from the left panel.
  2. Select Xbox Game Bar.
  3. Switch the . from Open the Xbox game bar with this button slider.

  4. Then go back to the Gaming window and choose catches.
  5. Toggle the switch next to . from Record what happened and Capturing audio while recording a game.

Start the game and check the problem.

4. Update the audio driver

If you are still facing the issue then you should check the system audio drivers. You will encounter the problem not only with CS:GO but also with other applications if the problem is in your audio driver. Microphone not working, poor sound quality and crackling sound are all signs of a damaged or outdated audio driver.

All driver updates are automatically downloaded and installed through Windows updates. But you can also manually install the latest driver updates on your system.

To download the latest audio driver update, do the following:

  1. Open Device Manager and double click on the Settings for audio, input and output.
  2. Right click on the installed audio device and choose Update driver from the context menu.

  3. click on Automatic driver search and wait for the process to complete.

After the update has been downloaded, reboot the system and check for the problem. You can also use driver update software for Windows to download regular updates.

5. Make sure your microphone is set as the default device

The next thing to check is the system input settings. If the input device setting is set to the wrong source, the system will not be able to hear from your microphone.

Here’s how to check which audio source Windows is listening to:

  1. Launch the Run dialog, type Control panel and press Enter.
  2. Change the View by until big icons.
  3. Select the Sound choice.
  4. Switch to the Record tab.
  5. Select and right click on the input device you want to use as the default and choose the Set as default device choice.

  6. click on Apply > Okay.

That is it. Give CS:GO a quick restart and check if you are still experiencing the issue.

6. Check the Integrity of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s Files

Steam game files can get corrupted over time, which can then cause problems. The solution in this case is to try the Steam verification tool. It searches and detects corrupt files and replaces them if necessary.

Follow the instructions below to check the integrity of CS:GO files:

  1. Launch the Steam client on your computer.
  2. Open the Library tab, right click Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and choose Properties from the context menu.
  3. Select Local files from the left panel.
  4. click on Check the integrity of game files.

Steam will now begin to validate the CS:GO files, and this process may take some time. Once it’s done, you’ll see the repair status. Click Close torestart the game and check if the issue still occurs.

7. Configure the Windows Audio service

Windows Audio service manages audio for all installed applications. If this service is disabled or does not work properly for some reason, you will face audio problems in various applications.

So make sure this service is enabled and running. Follow the steps below to check it:

  1. Open the Run dialog, type services, and press Enter.
  2. Find and click Windows audio maintenance.
  3. Click on the Restarting button on the left panel.

  4. Click Yes on the confirmation window that appears.

Get talking again in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

The solutions in the list solve not only the CS:GO microphone problem, but also other sound problems.

Counter-Strike Global Offensive is probably the most popular FPS game in the world. But if you get tired of it, there are many alternatives that you should definitely consider.