 Hello everybody! In today's video, I'll show you what to do if your microphone suddenly stopped working, how to find out what happened and fix the problem. In our channel and blog, you will find solutions to any problem, from installing an operating system or configuring it to fixing possible bugs and errors or optimizing mobile gadgets. Our specialists will answer any questions you ask in your comments under the videos or articles. It can happen out of the blue, for example, after an update, installation of an application for new drivers. Windows 10 users are facing this problem more and more often, especially after the latest update. The mic can stop working for the entire system or for some programs only, such as Skype. I'm going to show you what to do if your mic stops working properly, be it after an operating system update or after the user made some changes to the system settings. First of all, make sure the mic is connected properly. Its connector is usually red or pink. Or there is a corresponding symbol of a microphone. If you have it connected to the front panel of your system unit, try reconnecting it to the back panel. After you've seen that your mic is connected and you've done it properly, you can move on to the next step. Now, right-click on the speaker symbol in the system tray and select Open Sound Settings. If you see the mic scale moving, it means the mic is working. And if it doesn't move at all while you are speaking into the mic, then there must be something wrong with it. In input settings, try clicking on troubleshoot, then check your device and click Next. If you see there are no problems found, go on. And if there is a chance to fix the issue, agree and then test the mic again. In the same settings, open App Volume and Device Preferences, in the section Other Sound Options, and make sure that your input device is chosen correctly. Or try clicking on Reset to return to default settings. If the input device is recognized and responds that the problem is certainly not about your hardware or drivers, it might be the latest April update that made some changes to privacy settings. If it really happened after the Windows 10 update, check if apps are allowed to access the microphone. In the latest version of this operating system, there are new privacy settings letting you adjust the settings of how specific programs access your mic. To see if that's your case, open Settings by right clicking on the Start menu and then go to Privacy. Select Microphone and make sure that apps can use it. Otherwise, click here to change it and enable the option by dragging the slider to On Position. Have a look below to see if the programmer having difficulties with the mic is granted access and enable it if it's disabled. If this program is not on the list, then it has no problem successing the mic. You should also enable access for Windows 32 WebView host. If there is the same problem with your camera, change the camera's settings to let app success it. After all operations, check how the microphone works. If nothing helped, let's move on. Now, you should check settings of your recording devices. For starters, make sure that it's your mic that's selected as the default recording device. To do it, right-click on the speaker symbol in the lower right corner of the screen, in the tray, and select Sounds. Then choose the Recording tab in the window that opens. If your mic is shown here but it's not selected as the default device, right-click on it and choose Set as Default Device and Set as Default Communication Device. If you see your mic on this list and it's already set as the default device, choose it and open Properties. Go to the Levels tab to see if it's disabled here, and set the mic level closer to 100. In the tab Advanced, try checking off exclusive noise options. If the mic is not on this list, right-click here and check the boxes next to Showing, Default and Disconnected devices. If the mic appeared but it's inactive, right-click on it and select Enable. If the mic doesn't work properly yet, try another way. Start Device Manager by right-clicking on the stock menu. Open the section Audio, Inputs and Outputs. If your mic is not shown here, it must be disabled, connected incorrectly, out of order, or there is a driver problem. If the mic is shown but there is an exclamation mark next to it, right-click on it and select Uninstall. Then go to the Device Manager menu and click on Actions, Scan for Hardware Changes. The right chance is that the mic will start working again. And if the mic is not shown here at all, try reinstalling SoundContravers. Open the section Sound, Video and Game Controllers, right-click on the Sound Card and select Uninstall. Then go to Action, Scan for Hardware Changes. As a result, drivers will be reinstalled to your computer again, and now you can check how the mic works again. If this trick didn't fix the problem, go to the website of your motherboard manufacturer to download suitable drivers and install them manually. If you're wondering how to find out the manufacturer's name and update hardware drivers, watch one of our videos by following the link in the description. If your mic works alright and is shown in the system settings but it doesn't work with specific programs, for example Skype or another one, the program may be misconfigured as it may have its own mic settings. Even if you set up the mic correctly in the operating system, their settings may differ, and a certain program won't be able to access it and use it the way it is supposed to. What's more, if you disconnected the device from the computer and then connected it again, the settings might be reset. So if your mic doesn't work with a specific program, open the program settings to configure the sound devices properly. You may have to specify the right mic for the program to use, and everything will be alright. To configure it in Skype, open Tools, Options, Audio Settings, select your mic, and then check the box next to Automatically Adjust Microphone Settings and click Save. It should get the mic working. If this method didn't help you again, most likely you have some issue with the mic or your computer's hardware. It might be a damaged mic cable, a disconnected cable, a damaged connector, or other things. Test the mic with another computer. And that is all for now. Hit the like button and subscribe to our channel. Leave comments to ask questions. Thank you for watching and good luck.