➤ What to do when the Zoom microphone doesn't work 🕹

Find out what's wrong with your Zoom microphone. The zoom microphone does not work? Audio problems with Zoom can manifest themselves in a few ways:

You can't hear other people and they can't hear you.
You can't hear other people, but they can hear you.
Audio is distorted or echoes when speaking.

Depending on the cause, there may be a few things you can try to get the Zoom microphone to work so you can join meetings. The instructions in this article apply to the desktop and web versions of Zoom, as well as the Zoom mobile apps for Android and iOS.

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Why the Zoom microphone doesn't work

If your microphone is not picking up audio in Zoom, it could be due to a few reasons:

Your microphone is muted.
Your microphone is disabled in your device settings.
The wrong microphone or speakers are selected in Zoom.
The meeting organizer has mute everyone else.
Interference from other programs.
Problems with the microphone hardware.
Outdated device drivers.

Always test your microphone and play in Zoom before joining a meeting to make sure others can hear you.

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What to do when the Zoom microphone doesn't work

Try these solutions in order until you are unable to use the microphone on Zoom:

1. Make sure your microphone is plugged in and turned on. If you are using an external microphone, look at the connecting cable or check the Bluetooth settings if you are using a wireless microphone. For wired microphones, try plugging it into a different USB port. For Bluetooth devices, make sure the battery is charged.

2. Select Join Audio. Zoom typically requires microphone access before joining a meeting, but in case you missed it, you can select Join Audio at the bottom of the Zoom window.

3. Make sure you haven't mute the sound in Zoom. If the microphone icon has a line through it in the Zoom window, select the Audio icon to unmute the audio.

4. Make sure your microphone is selected in Zoom. During a meeting, select the up arrow next to the Microphone icon and make sure you have chosen the desired microphone. If other people can hear you but you can't hear them, make sure the right speaker is chosen under Select a speaker.

5. Ask the meeting organizer to wake you up. If you think you have been deactivated by the person hosting the meeting, send them a message in chat and ask to be reactivated.

6. Check your device settings. Go to your device settings to see if your microphone is enabled. Make sure you set up the microphone correctly in Windows and select the audio input you want on Mac.

7. Close other programs that use your microphone. Make sure other software isn't competing for access to your microphone.

8. Check the app permissions. Go to your device's app settings and make sure Zoom has permission to access your microphone.

9. Update your device drivers. If you're using Windows, go to Device Manager to make sure your microphone drivers are up to date.

10 Restart your device. The reason restarting fixes computer problems is that it closes all processes that might be interfering with the hardware or software.

11 Turn off other audio devices nearby. If you hear an echo, the microphone may be picking up audio from another source, such as a TV or external speaker.

To avoid hearing an echo in Zoom, everyone should mute the microphone when not speaking. Meeting organizers can mute all other meeting participants.

12 Adjust the advanced audio settings of Zoom. Zoom offers advanced tools intended to enhance audio reproduction, but they can sometimes have the opposite effect. If you have ongoing audio issues with the microphone, open Zoom while not in a meeting and select the gear for Settings, then choose the Audio tab and select Advanced to change these options.

13 Reinstall Zoom. If you are using the mobile or desktop version, uninstall Zoom and download it again from the Apple App Store, Google Play, or the Zoom website. If your microphone still doesn't work, you can join a Zoom meeting over the phone. If you're joining a meeting, turn off your computer so it doesn't interfere with the audio.