Sea of Thieves Text Chat / Speech Not Working, How to Fix?

Rare Ltd and Xbox Game Studios have done a great job by releasing Sea of Thieves as a multiplayer open-world pirates adventure kind of video game for both the PC and Xbox consoles. This title genuinely offers an overwhelming pirate experience from sailing ships to fighting, exploring, looting, etc. However, it seems that some players are facing a couple of issues and the Sea of Thieves Text Chat or Speech Not Working issue is one of them that’s irritating.

Since its launch, several players are reporting the same text chat or text to speed regarding issues on both the beta and full version of the game. It looks like neither the voice chat nor the text chat is working which means players can’t hear each other. Though this specific issue is bothering a limited number of Sea of Thieves players, it’s eventually getting widespread that needs to be fixed asap. Mostly the error message says “Sorry, you’re not allowed to chat…”.

1. Allow SoT Access to the Microphone

First of all, you should allow the Sea of Thieves microphone access to the system by following the steps below to ensure there is no conflict between the Windows system and the game system. To do so:

Press the Windows+I keys to open Windows Settings.
From the Privacy & security section, click on Microphone under App Permissions.
Now, Enable the Microphone Access toggle > Then Enable the Let apps access your microphone toggle.
Scroll down the list of programs and Enable both the Sea of Thieves and Sea of Thieves Insider toggles.
You should also turn on the Xbox app toggle from the list.

2. Enable Chat Access in Xbox App

It’s highly recommended to enable chat access in your Xbox App Privacy Settings via the Windows Live.com website. The official Sea of Thieves community forum has suggested this workaround to perform on the PC that you should try out. To do this:

Open the Xbox App on your PC > Head over to your Profile section.
Now, click on the ‘More’ button > Select ‘Privacy’.
A new tab will open on the web browser > Just log in to live.com using your valid Xbox account.
Here you’ll find out ‘Voice, Text, or Invites’ option under the “Others can…” section.
If it’s set to ‘Block to Everyone’ then make sure to change it to another option.
Finally, save changes, and reboot the PC to apply changes.

You might be able to use both the voice chat and text chat options on Sea of Thieves.

3. Adjust In-Game Audio Settings

You should adjust the in-game sound settings manually to ensure there is no issue happening due to the misconfigured audio settings. To do so:

Open the Steam client > Go to Library.
Click on The Cycle: Frontier title from the left pane > Now, click on Play.
Once you’re inside the game, head over to the game Settings menu.
Go to the Audio section > Here you’ll need to Turn ON Push To Talk under the Voice Chat option.
Make sure to select the Microphone as a Voice Chat Input Device.
Set the Microphone Volume to 50% or higher so that other players can hear you properly.
Cross-check if the Mute Microphone option is set to OFF or not. It should be OFF always.
Additionally, you’ll need to select Voice Chat Output Device and Incoming Voice Volume according to your preference.
As expected, set the Mute Incoming Voice option to OFF.
Finally, save changes, and go back to the game to check for the issue.

If in case, the microphone audio is still not working then you can try other Voice Chat Output Device options from the list.

4. Adjust Windows Sound Settings

Well, the chances are high that somehow your Windows system sound settings option is misconfigured or you didn’t configure it yet. In that case, you may find some conflicts with the game audio or mic sound whatsoever. You can follow the steps below to correctly configure system sound settings.

Make sure to close and exit the game via Task Manager. [Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys to open Task Manager > Click on the Processes tab > Click on the Steam process and select End Task]
Now, open Windows Settings by pressing the Win+I shortcut keys.
From the System section, click on Sound > Set your Mic Input volume to 100%.
Click on your mic and select 2 channels 48’000 or 44’100 Hz whatever is showing.
You can also test your microphone to see if the mic works on your Windows PC or not.

Note: If you don’t have any audio input device, that doesn’t mean your device is faulty. Make sure to unplug and reconnect the audio input device into a different USB slot or a 3.5mm audio jack respectively to get it worked.

Just go into your Sound settings again > Click on Input devices in the Advanced sound settings option.
Make sure to reboot the PC to apply changes immediately and then you can try checking the voice chat again.

5. Adjust Sound Control Panel

It’s also recommended to adjust the sound control panel on your Windows PC to ensure there is no misconfiguration present. To do that:

Go to the Sound Settings menu > Select More sound settings.
Once the Sound Control Panel option opens, you should set the preferred mic to the default device from the Recording section.
Then you can try to disable all other microphones from the list of devices.
Next, right-click on the mic that you want to use > Head over to Properties.
Under the Levels tab, don’t mute the microphone > Under the Advanced section, you should allow the two exclusive mode options.
Click on Properties under the General tab > Check if the device driver is up to date or not from the Driver section.
Once done, reboot the PC to apply changes.

6. Enable Text to Speech Game Transcription

The Sea of Thieves community forum has also suggested configuring the text-to-speech game transcription for the SoT game by following the steps below. As Sea of Thieves does support the Text to Speech Transcription option, you should turn it on so that other players can chat with you and hear you easily. To do that:

Open the Sea of Thieves game > Go to Settings.
Head over to Language > Scroll down to the Text and Speech section.
Now, make sure to change the Text-To-Speech Override option to Enabled. [Important]

Note: There are three options available though. Such as Not Overridden: The game will use Xbox platform settings. Enabled: Text-To-Speech will be forced on regardless of Xbox platform settings. Disabled: Text-To-Speech will be forced off regardless of Xbox platform settings.

7. Cross-Check Xbox Party Chat

Multiple players have also found this trick helpful to check the Xbox Party Chat option. Players are entering the game and setting up a party chat for their crews. But players who don’t accept the invite or join the crew late won’t be added automatically. In that scenario, you should unplug and reconnect the headset. Make sure your microphone isn’t muted at all from the Windows Audio Settings menu. You should try using the Xbox Party Chat option now.

8. Reset Sea of Thieves

It’s also recommended to reset the Sea of Thieves game copy on the PC by following the steps below. Make sure this method will only work if you have installed the game via the Microsoft Store app.

Press the Windows + I keys to open the Settings menu.
Click on Apps from the left pane > Go to Apps & Features.
Select Sea of Thieves > Click on Advanced Options.
Select Reset > If prompted, click on Reset again.
Wait for the process to complete and reboot the PC to apply changes.

9. Verify and Repair Game Files

Make sure to verify and repair game files on the PC because missing or corrupted game files can eventually trigger multiple issues with the game launching and other conflicts. To do that:

Open the Steam client > Go to Library.
Right-click on Sea of Thieves from the games list.
Now, select Properties from the context menu > Select Local Files.
Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files… and wait for the process to be completed.
Once done, make sure to reboot the PC to apply changes.

10. Update Audio Driver

Sometimes an outdated or missing audio driver on the system can also trigger several issues in several ways. It’s highly recommended to check for the audio driver update and install it (if available). You can follow this in-depth article link to do the same. Otherwise, you can follow the brief steps below to install the update.

Press the Windows + X keys to open the Quick Link Menu.
Click on Device Manager > Double-click on Sound, video, and game controllers.
Right-click on the active audio device > Select Update driver.
Click on Search automatically for drivers > Wait for the process to complete.
If there is an update available, the system will automatically check for the same, and install it.
Once done, ensure to reboot the system to apply changes.

It should help you to fix the Sea of Thieves Text Chat or Speech Not Working issue in most scenarios.

11. Run Audio Playback Troubleshooter

If the above methods didn’t work for you then make sure to run the audio troubleshooter option by following the steps below. Sometimes this specific troubleshooting method can detect potential audio playback-related issues that you may not find normally. To do this:

Press the Windows + I keys to open Windows Settings.
Click on System from the left pane > Scroll down the right pane window.
Click on Troubleshoot > Select Other troubleshooters.
You can find out the Playing Audio option > Click on the Run button next to it.
You’ll need to select the audio output device that you want to troubleshoot.
Click on Next > Wait for the troubleshooter to scan for the audio-related issues.
Well, it may take some time. So, please be patient.
Follow the on-screen prompts to complete it and choose What to do next.
Once done, reboot the PC to apply changes.

12. Restart Audio Service

If your in-game audio or the voice chat is still not working then you can try restarting the audio service on the PC manually by following the steps below.

Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Now, type services.msc in the field and hit Enter to open Services.
Search for Windows Audio > Double-click on it to open Windows Audio Properties.
If the Startup type: is set to Automatic then it’s good.
Make sure to check if the Service status: is set to Running or not. [If not, then do the same thing]
Click on Apply then OK to save changes.
Finally, make sure to reboot the PC to change effects immediately.

13. Reinstall Audio Driver

If none of the workarounds did fix the issue for you then you should try uninstalling and reinstalling the audio driver on your PC by following the steps below. It’ll help you to easily fix any kind of temporary glitch or audio-related issues in a jiffy.

Press the Windows + X keys to open the Quick Link Menu.
Click on Device Manager > Now, double-click on Sound, video, and game controllers to expand the list.
Right-click on the active audio device > Select Uninstall device.
Click on Uninstall again to confirm the task and follow the on-screen instructions.
You may have to wait further to complete the process.
Once done, make sure to restart your computer to apply changes immediately.
Finally, you can try running the Sea of Thieves game to check if the text chat or speech not working issue is still bothering you or not.

14. Check your NAT Type

Some of the reports are also claiming that checking the NAT type settings on the Wi-Fi router and setting it up to ‘Open’ did fix the issue in most cases. To do so:

Press the Windows key to open the Start menu.
Now, type Xbox Console Companion app and hit Enter to open it.
Select Settings > Click on Network.
Wait for the networking troubleshooter to complete.
Finally, make sure to open the router’s admin dashboard via the web browser, and change the necessary configuration for NAT. [You can contact your ISP for technical help]
You’re done. Enjoy!

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

Sea of Thieves Text Chat / Speech Not Working, How to Fix?