How to Fix If Steam Voice Chat Not Working in Windows 10/11 PC

Steam is by far one of the most popular gaming platforms that provides unlimited PC games from plenty of major and new developers overall. It also offers an in-house gaming client for the PC version that can be helpful to install and play games directly. Though Valve Corporation is known for its developments and better optimizations to the Steam client, it seems that there are some issues with the Steam Voice Chat Not Working issue in Windows 10/11 PCs.

It might be possible that somehow the Steam launcher has some pending updates or incorrect configuration conflicting with the voice chat issue. The audio device settings on the PC can also be a reason for such an issue. It becomes frustrating whenever players get into the game with teammates and are unable to speak with each other which obviously affects the overall gaming experience. Now, if you’re also experiencing the same kind of an issue then don’t worry.

How to Fix If Steam Voice Chat Not Working on Windows 10/11 PC

As per multiple reports on the Steam Community, a player can’t hear others or vice versa, all players are unable to hear each other, and a player can hear teammates but they can’t. Luckily, here we’ve shared with you a couple of possible workarounds that should come in handy. Make sure to follow all methods until the problem has been fixed. Now, without wasting any more time, let’s jump into it.

1. Restart the PC

Before doing other workarounds, you should restart the PC to avoid system glitches or cache data issues up to some extent. A normal system reboot might help in fixing several issues like voice chat not working.

2. Set the Correct Audio Input Device

The second thing you can do is check out the Audio Input Device manually on the PC by following the steps below to ensure the input audio device is correctly selected. Without selecting the input device, your Windows system sometimes might not be able to detect the actual device or microphone.

• Right-click on the sound icon on your taskbar.
• Click on Open Sound settings.
• Now, choose your Input device that’s connected under the Input section.
• Make sure to test out the changes with the Master volume.
• If not visible, add a new microphone device.
• Finally, run Steam, and check the voice chat issue again.

3. Check for Steam Updates

It’s also a better idea to manually exit Steam and then close it from the background processes before relaunching it. Whenever you launch Steam freshly on the system, it automatically checks for the available updates. If any update is available, it’ll automatically start downloading and installing the update without doing anything else.

4. Sign Out of Steam and Sign Back Again

Make sure to sign out of your Steam account and then sign back again to check whether the specific problem still appears or not.

• Open Steam > Click on the Profile icon at the top right corner.
• Click on Sign out of account > Once prompted, click on Confirm to proceed.
• After signing out of the account, wait for a couple of minutes.
• Then sign back into your existing account with credentials.
• Now, you can launch the specific game to check if the Steam voice chat not working issue still persists or not.

5. Disable Audio Enhancements

If in case, you’re still unable to get better audio in the game or there is no sound at all with the microphone then make sure to disable audio enhancements (APOs) manually.

• Press the Win+I keys to open Settings.
• Click on the Sound option > Click on More sound settings.
• Go to the Playback tab > Select your audio output device.
• Choose Properties.
• Head over to the Enhancements tab.
• Click on the Disable all enhancements option to turn it on.
• Next, click on Apply and then OK to save your changes.

6. Enable Microphone Access on Windows

You should also try allowing the microphone access to apps by following the steps below to ensure your system and the game can use the connected microphone. To do that:

• Press the Win+I keys to open Windows Settings.
• From the Privacy & Security section, click on Microphone under App Permissions.
• Make sure to enable the Let desktop apps to access your microphone option.
• It should fix the Steam voice chat not working issue.

7. Allow Steam to Record Microphone

It’s also recommended to allow Steam to record the microphone properly by following the steps below.

• Launch the Steam client > Ensure to sign in to your valid account.
• Click on Steam from the top left side > Go to Settings.
• Now, click on Broadcast from the left side.
• If the microphone device is properly connected and detected, you can select Record my Microphone.
• Once done, click on OK to save the changes.
• Finally, relaunch Steam, and check for the voice chat issue again.

8. Set the Microphone on Steam

You can try allowing Steam to record the microphone from your input audio device by following the steps below to ensure you and other players can hear voices.

• Open the Steam client > Click on the Steam tab at the top left side.
• Click on Settings from the list.
• Now, click on Voice from the left side.
• Here select the correct Voice Input Device.
• Then click on the Start Microphone Test button to cross-check whether the voice is coming or going.
• You can also try to increase or decrease the Input volume/gain according to your needs.
• Make sure to select Open Microphone under Voice Transmission Type.

9. Update the Specific Game

It’s also worth mentioning to manually check for the game updates which one causing troubles to you. The chances are high that somehow the specific game patch version has some issues with the voice chat.

• Open Steam > Go to Library.
• Click on the specific game title from the left side.
• If an update is available, just click on the Update button.
• Wait for the game update to complete.
• Once done, restart Steam, and check for the issue.

10. Add an Exclusion of Steam in Windows Firewall

Well, you can try whitelisting the Steam program in the Windows Firewall protection by following the steps below to avoid server connectivity or Steam voice chat not working issues.

• Open the Start menu > Search for Control Panel and open it.
• Go to Systems and Security > Open Windows Firewall.
• Select Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall.
• Now, click on Change settings > Select Allow another app.
• Select Browse > Click to select Steam from the installation directory.
• Click on Add and make sure to save changes.

11. Update the Audio Drivers

Sometimes an outdated or missing audio driver on the system can also trigger several issues in multiple 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 Win+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, it’ll be automatically installed.
• Once done, ensure to reboot the system to apply changes.

12. Close Steam Tasks from Background

Sometimes generally closing and relaunching the already running program might help in resolving several issues with the other applications or performance. You should also try closing Steam from the background task to cross-check if the problem has been fixed or not.

• Press the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys to open Task Manager.
• Click on the Processes tab > Select the Steam task that you want to close.
• Once selected, click on End Task.
• Make sure to close all Steam-related tasks.
• Then restart the PC and check the Steam voice chat not working issue.

13. Set the Default Configuration of Steam

Some of the reports suggest that flushing the Steam configuration will revert the default setup which might help in fixing the voice chat not working issue. To do this:

• Press the Win+R keys to open the Run dialogue box.
• Now, type steam://flushconfig in the field and hit Enter.
• If it prompts to allow admin access, click on Yes to proceed.
• Once done, close it, and restart the PC to apply the changes.
• Finally, launch Steam, and check for the issue again.

14. Reinstall the Steam Launcher

If you have tried the above workarounds but nothing helped then make sure to uninstall and reinstall Steam on the PC manually by following the steps below. Do keep in mind that reinstalling the Steam client will delete all your game installation and Steam settings.

• Press the Win+I keys to open Windows Settings.
• Select Apps from the left pane > Click the Installed Apps option.
• Now, you will see a list of applications.
• Scroll down until you see the Steam app.
• Click on the three horizontal dots next to Steam.
• Select Uninstall and confirm it by clicking on Uninstall again.
• Once the Steam client is uninstalled, restart the PC.
• Go to the official Steam page > Download and reinstall the Steam launcher.
• Finally, open Steam > Sign into the account, and reinstall the game to check for the Steam voice chat not working issue.

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