How to Fix If You Can’t hear Party Chat in Xbox Game Bar

Xbox Game Bar is one kind of overlay application that offers plenty of useful features and works with almost every PC game. It basically gives you quick access to widgets for screen capture & sharing, music control, party chat, new teammates searching, and more. You can simply turn on this feature by pressing Win + G keys which usually comes by default with Windows 10 but if you don’t have it, grab it from the Microsoft Store app. Meanwhile, some of the affected users are reporting that they Can’t hear Party Chat in Xbox Game Bar on Windows 10 while gaming. If you’re also one of the victims, make sure to check out this troubleshooting guide to try fixing it.

So, adding the Xbox friends for live chatting while gaming for multiplayer games is an easy task via the Xbox Social Widget. You can both add or invite friends into an Xbox Party Chat using the Xbox Game Bar that obviously includes Voice Chat too. The Game Bar overlay offers privacy control, mic mute, and more which comes in handy for the party chat. Multiple affected users have reported on Microsoft Forum that they’re unable to hear party chat for some unfortunate reason. Although other friends can hear everyone, the host can’t hear anyone of them which is really irritating.

How to Fix If You Can’t hear Party Chat in Xbox Game Bar

Some of the advanced users on the Microsoft Forum have mentioned that if nothing happens whenever you press the Win + G keys then make sure to check out the Xbox Game Bar Settings. However, if you find that Xbox Game Bar is on, we’ve mentioned some other fixes below.

1. Turn On Xbox Game Bar

• Open the Start menu > Click on Settings.
• Go to Gaming > Under the Xbox Game Bar category, turn it on (the very first toggle).
• Go to Captures and turn on the Background audio-video recording option according to your preference.
• Next, click on Game Mode > Turn it on.
• Finally, try running the party chat again to check if the problem fixed or not.

2. Repair Xbox Game Bar

If in case, your Xbox Game Bar installation is corrupted or missing, you may find multiple issues. So, simply repairing the Xbox Game Bar installation may fix the problem completely.

• Press Win + I keys to open up the Windows Settings menu.
• Click on Apps > Under the Apps & features category, scroll all the way down.
• Now, click on the Xbox Game Bar from the list of apps.
• Click on Advanced options > A new page will open.
• Here scroll down a bit and click on Repair under the Reset option.
• Once done, open the Xbox Game Bar again to check for the issue.
• If the problem persists, try following the same steps and click on Reset under the Reset option.
• Finally, try running the Game Bar again.

3. Set Time Zone to Automatic

The Xbox Game Bar may not work properly if the time zone of your system isn’t set to automatic as it can create sync issues between the server and the client. To set it automatically:

• Right-click on the System Time from the right side of your Taskbar.
• Click on Adjust date/time > If the Time Zone is set automatically, turn it off.
• Now, set your time zone to the correct one manually.
• Then you can turn on the Set time zone automatically option.
• Restart your computer and check whether the time zone is properly set or not.
• If you can see the Sync now option, click on it.
• Finally, check for the Game Bar issue.

4. Use Default Input/Output Device

You may fail to hear the Xbox Party Chat if your audio output isn’t configured to your headset. So, switching the audio output to the headset may fix the issue. However, users are reporting that they have to switch the audio output every time whenever they start a party chat further.

• Click on the Start menu > Go to Settings.
• Open System > Click on Sound from the left pane.
• Select Sound Control Panel from the right pane > Under the Playback tab, right-click on the first audio device.
• Now, select Test to check if the headset plays a sound or not.
• If not, then test out all the listed audio devices one by one.
• Whichever audio device plays the sound, right-click on the device.
• Click on Set as Default Communication Device.
• Next, right-click on the device > Select Set as Default Device.
• Click on the Recording tab > Try speaking in the mic of your headset to test it out.
• If the green bar responds while speaking something, right-click on the device.
• Select the device as Default Communication and Default Device.
• Then check if the Xbox Game Bar issue has been resolved or not.

However, if the problem is still appearing, try the following steps below:

1. Go to the Sound Control Panel again.
2. Click on the Playback tab > Right-click on the working audio device.
3. Select Properties > Go to Advanced.
4. Under the Exclusive Mode, uncheck the checkbox of Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device.
5. Now, click on Apply to save changes and then OK.
6. You’ll need to repeat the same steps for your device under the Recording tab also.
7. Finally, check whether the Xbox Game Bar is working fine or not.

5. Change Audio Input/Output in Game Bar

If in case, your Xbox Game Bar is selected a different audio device for the input/output, you won’t be able to hear the Xbox Game Bar Party Chat. To change the audio input/output setup:

• Open the Xbox Game Bar by pressing Win + G keys.
• Now, Join or Initiate a party chat > Click on Xbox Game Bar Settings (gear icon).
• Click on Party Chat > Set the Audio Output to your actual audio device/headset which is connected.
• Repeat the same steps for Audio Input.
• Once done, close the settings window > Go to Widgets section.
• Choose Audio > Click on the Mix tab.
• Next, select the actual audio device or headset for output > Click on the Voice tab and select the input as well.
• As your headset is set to audio input and output device, Turn on Enable push to talk under the Party Chat option.
• Finally, try running the Party Chat to check if the problem is fixed or not.

6. Update Network and Headset Drivers

The chances are high that if the network or headset drivers are outdated or corrupted for some reason, try updating the drivers properly.

• Right-click on the Start menu to open up the Quick Menu.
• Click on Device Manager > Double-click on the Network adapters to expand the list.
• Now, right-click on the network adapter and select the Update driver.
• Choose Search automatically for drivers > It’ll search for the driver update.
• If available, the system will automatically download and install the latest version.
• Once done, restart your PC to check for the issue again.

However, if the Party Chat problem is still troubling you, try updating the active headset driver by following the same steps. But double-click on the Sound, video, and game controllers then right-click on your connected/active headset driver.

7. Enable Windows Audio Services

Make sure to check whether the Windows Audio Services option is turned on or not. If not, it’ll prevent the sound from being listening. All you need to do is:

• Press Win + R keys to open up the Run dialog box.
• Now, type services.msc and hit Enter to open Services.
• Look for Windows Audio Services from the list and right-click on it.
• Click on Restart > Close the services window and check whether you can’t hear Party Chat in Xbox game Bar or not.

8. Update Windows OS Build

By updating the Windows OS build, you’ll be able to increase the system performance, stability, and plenty of other errors that you may encounter. To update your Windows:

• Click on the Start menu > Go to Settings.
• Select Update & Security > Under the Windows Update section, click on Check for Updates.
• If the latest version is available, it’ll automatically do the job.
• However, you can manually click on the Download and Install button to update your Windows.
• Once done, restart your computer to apply changes.
• Finally, check for the party chat sound issue again.

9. Change Network NAT Type

If in case, your network NAT Type isn’t in open status, you may find multiple issues with your gameplay or any other networking tasks. So, follow the steps below carefully.

• First, you have to disable the IPV6 of the system via Network Adapter Properties.
  • Press Win + R keys to open up the Run dialog box > Type ncpa.cpl and press Enter.
  • Now, double-click on your network adapter.
  • Remove the checkmark of Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6).
  • Click on OK to save changes.
• Press Win + I keys to open up Windows Settings.
• Click on Gaming > Click on Xbox Networking from the left pane.
• Once the Connection Status loads up, if the NAT Type is showing Teredo is unable to qualify, click on the Fix it button.
• If fixed, click on the Check again button to see whether the NAT Type is open or not.

However, if the NAT Type isn’t open, use some commands below to do the same.

1. Press the Windows key to open up the Start menu.
2. Type Command Prompt and right-click on it from the search result.
3. Select Run as administrator > If prompted by UAC, click on Yes to allow.
4. Once the command prompt window opens, put the following commands, and hit Enter one by one:

netsh int teredo set state disable

netsh int teredo set state type=default

netsh int teredo set state enterpriseclient

netsh int teredo set state servername=teredo.remlab.net

Finally, reboot your computer and check for the Can’t hear Party Chat in the Xbox Game Bar issue again.

That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.