Fix · Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams sound not working: nobody can hear you, or you cannot hear them

Most Teams sound problems are a mute somewhere — in the meeting or on the headset — Teams not being allowed the microphone, or the wrong speaker picked.

What you are seeing

In a Microsoft Teams call, people say they cannot hear you — or everybody else has gone silent for you.

The likely causes, most common first

Work down the list; most people find theirs in the first two.

1. You are muted in Teams

  1. Look at Mic in the meeting controls. A line through the microphone means you are muted; select it to unmute.

Microsoft: “If the mic icon has a line through it, you're currently on mute.” — support.microsoft.com/en-us/teams/meetings/my-microphone-isn-t-working-in-microsoft-teams

2. Your headset is muted

  1. Many headsets mute themselves when the microphone arm is pushed up, and many have their own mute button. Check both.

Microsoft: “Check that your headphone boom is not in the mute position” — support.microsoft.com/en-us/teams/meetings/my-microphone-isn-t-working-in-microsoft-teams

3. The computer has not allowed Teams the microphone

  1. On Windows: Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone, and switch on access for Microsoft Teams and for desktop apps.
  2. On a Mac: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone, and tick Microsoft Teams.
  3. If they were on already, switch them off and on again, close everything and restart.

Microsoft: “Turn on the Let desktop apps access your microphone toggle.” — support.microsoft.com/en-us/teams/meetings/my-microphone-isn-t-working-in-microsoft-teams

4. The browser has not allowed it

  1. Using Teams in a browser, the browser has to allow the microphone as well. In Chrome that is Settings → Privacy and security → Site settings → Microphone.

Microsoft: “make sure your default browser settings allow Teams access to use your mic” — support.microsoft.com/en-us/teams/meetings/my-microphone-isn-t-working-in-microsoft-teams

5. You cannot hear them: the wrong speaker

  1. If you are the only one who cannot hear, look at your speaker. In Teams, Settings → Devices → Audio settings, and pick the speaker you are actually using.
  2. A Bluetooth headset that is flat, or still connected to your phone, will not appear. Charge it, disconnect it from the other device, and connect again.

Microsoft: “If you’re the only one who can’t hear them, there might be an issue with your speaker.” — support.microsoft.com/en-us/teams/meetings/my-speaker-isn-t-working-in-microsoft-teams

6. Test before the next meeting

  1. Teams has a test call under Settings → Devices → Make a test call: you record a short message and hear it played back. It is not there in Teams on the web.

Microsoft: “The test call feature is currently unavailable on Teams for web.” — support.microsoft.com/en-us/teams/meetings/my-speaker-isn-t-working-in-microsoft-teams

Every quote above is from Microsoft’s own help pages, read on 10 November 2026. Something changed? Tell us.

The longer guide, with more detail →

Other Microsoft Teams problems

Transcript missingOnly people from the organiser’s own company can start a Teams transcript; the organiser or their IT admin can switch it off altogether; and the file lives in the organiser’s OneDrive.Recording missingA Teams recording goes to the organiser’s OneDrive, or to the team’s SharePoint site for a channel meeting; if Teams cannot save it there, it is deleted after 21 days.Breakout rooms missingOnly the organiser of a Teams meeting, or a breakout room manager they chose, can run breakout rooms — and only from the Teams app on Windows or a Mac.Camera not workingWhen the camera fails in Teams, Microsoft’s checklist starts with another app holding the camera, then the computer’s permission, then the browser if you use Teams on the web.Cannot join the meetingMost people who cannot get into a Teams meeting are waiting in the lobby, using a phone’s browser, or blocked by a setting the organiser or their company chose.Captions in the wrong languageTeams captions follow the meeting’s one spoken language, which only some people can change, and translated captions need Teams Premium or Microsoft Copilot.

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