What can be more annoying than realizing your computer’s speaker and microphone are not connected to Zoom Meeting? You joined the respective video conference eager to share useful information with all the participants but there’s no audio. You can’t hear them or they can’t hear you.
Maybe you already tested your audio connection before the meeting started by clicking the Test Computer Audio link and everything worked just fine.
Don’t panic, we’re here to help you out. Follow the instructions in this troubleshooting guide and you should be able to quickly solve this Zoom audio problem.
Zoom Meeting No Computer Audio Fix
Preliminary checks:
- Make sure to click on the Join with computer audio button. In this manner, you allow Zoom Meeting to connect to your computer’s speaker and microphone.
Useful tip: If you always connect to Zoom using your computer’s speaker and microphone, you can enable the option to Automatically join audio by computer when joining a meeting, and you won’t need to grant Zoom access to your speaker and mic every time you join a new conference.
- Check the speaker and microphone volume and ensure it’s audible.
- Make sure your audio devices are properly connected and are not muted.
- Disable Bluetooth. If your computer is connected to an external audio device via Bluetooth, resetting the connection might help. If the respective device is in another room, you won’t hear it. Disabling Bluetooth will automatically switch audio input and output sources to your computer’s built-in speaker and microphone.
- Change the output source and use a different speaker, if possible. Maybe your speaker suddenly stopped working.
- Use a different input device, a different microphone if you’ve got one at hand. Maybe your mic is not working properly.
If the issue persists or you don’t have a second speaker or microphone to test with, here are two useful troubleshooting methods that may save the day.
1. Run Windows 10’s built-in troubleshooters
Windows 10 features a series of useful built-in troubleshooters that you can use to automatically fix various computer issues with a single click.
Since we’re talking about Zoom audio bugs on computers, we recommend running the following troubleshooter as a first troubleshooting method: Speech, Playing Audio, Recording Audio, and Bluetooth if you’re using Bluetooth connected speakers and microphones.
To run these troubleshooters, open the Settings page → go to Update & Security → Troubleshoot → select and run the four troubleshooters one by one.
2. Check your privacy settings
Windows 10 lets you control which apps and programs can access your microphone and camera. This option is part of Microsoft’s privacy strategy whereby the company gave Windows 10 users more control over their private data.
If Zoom is not allowed to use your microphone, the other video conference meeting participants won’t be able to hear you. Make sure Zoom audio access is enabled on your machine.
- Open the Settings app and go to Privacy
- Scroll down to App permission, select Microphone
- Go to Allow desktop apps to access your microphone
- Turn on microphone access for desktop apps.
There you go, we hope the solutions listed in this guide helped you to fix your Zoom audio problems on Windows 10.
Connie Bennett says
I keep losing the sound and they can’t hear me during Zoom meetings. I have a MAC with Firefox.
What to do
Joyce Walker says
Pleas Define each control button used in a zoom meeting thanks
Charles says
I finally found a solution to this a few days ago. It might be due to the latest update from Zoom which contained numerous bug fixes. Previously, I was unable to find Zoom in any Windows 10 app sound settings but this time I found it here:
Search for: app sound
which brings up: sound mixer options
which in my case only contains: system sounds, a pair of Firefox sounds, and a pair of Zoom sounds
The Zoom sounds were turned off, indicated by an x beside the pair of speaker icons on the left, even though the audio level was turned up. Once I enabled the speakers the sound came back on.
Finally!
Charles says
I have had the same problem since before Christmas 2020. Suddenly no speaker audio in Zoom after upgrading back then, and after every upgrade since on my Dell Inspiron PC laptop – even after a thorough uninstall with Revo Uninstaller and installation of the latest version. Speakers work in every other program (Skype, Microsoft Teams, YouTube etc.) so it’s not a Windows setting problem although I’ve been through all of those as well. I have tried all the online solutions including the ones in this article – nothing works. When in Audio Settings in Zoom the Volume meter moves and detects sound but there is nothing coming through the speakers, using the “Test Speaker” button whether the dropdown has selected “Conexant SmartAudio HD” or “Same as system”. insuring that the audio icon on in Zoom or during a video test or call doesn’t work either. Audio does work when headphones are plugged in, but no longer through speakers. Strangely, a second laptop in my house (a new ASUS) and my 5 year old custom built desktop PC do not have this problem.
Lia T says
As Lydia Goodwin mentioned in January a recent issue when sharing videos, which access computer sound, the video can be seen by all but a few participants cannot hear the audio. They can hear speech from the microphone if someone is talking or singing along, but no music. For some people they have tested it on 2 devices while in the meeting and they can hear the music on one device but not the other. Most can hear the audio but a handful cannot, and they have been the same people to have had this problem on successive meetings when using the same computer or device. In my household, my partner is on a different device attending the same meeting and cannot hear shared sound with the video, but I can. It’s a real puzzle and does mean we cannot successfully share a prerecorded video anymore since about January 2021.
Phoebe Pope says
So for the last week, when I share computer wound, it goes so quiet! On YouTube, Spotify etc. All my audio settings are fine. Nothing has changed. Even if everything is on full volume all the share sound is so faint. Any suggestions?
Lydia Goodwin says
We are having the strangest issues in our Zoom meetings for about a month now. When I share video and computer sound, some people in the meeting can see and hear just fine, others are unable to hear anything and only see the video I am sharing without sound. This is happening on PC, chromebook, ipad, and android phones. We didn’t have this problem before Christmas. Everyone is able to hear everyone else talk just fine. It’s just the audio for the videos but only for SOME users! It is a puzzle!
Sharon Demkovich says
I installed Zoom on my desktop yesterday and immediately lost all audio function – for all apps. My desktop does not have a camera but I didn’t realize that until after I installed it. I uninstalled it thinking that would solve the problem but it didn’t. I went through all of the trouble shooting stuff from Microsoft and none of it worked.
I did not have this problem until I installed Zoom – please help!
Mike says
I can’t hear anything in a zoom meeting. Test speakers gives no sound even though I can see the blue line when it’s playing the test sound. Speakers and wired headset work fine on everything else, music files video files, system sounds are all fine but nothing in zoom. I have exclusive control of audio OFF as noted. No Bluetooth on this system that I can see. Win 7 Pro ion a ThinkPad. I’ll test with some other ThinkPads that i have.
SB says
Was having issue where Zoom would not play from laptop speakers only headset.
To Fix check Settings -> Sound -> Advanced sound options -> App Volume device preferences.
Select your preferred Device under “Output” then adjust below as needed. Mine had Zoom set to mute for Settings, Zoom and Zoom Meetings.
David Ramos says
Thank you Susan K, i fixed it with your instructions. BR David
Marlene says
I am experiencing trouble connecting to audio. when i test the audio , i dont hear anything and my mic isnt working either. I restarted the computer and now it’s working, but it was so frustrating because i was late to my university course :(
Susan K says
I think I’ve found the fix, at least in Windows 10.
In the audio troubleshooting (Settings – Update and Security – Troubleshoot – Playing audio -)
Select the device (headset), open audio enhancement, and unclick where it says allow programmes to have exclusive use (the wording is not quite that, but now that I’ve disabled that setting, I can’t see it!)
I can now use my headphones in a zoom meeting, and hear the music I’m playing. Eureka!!
Hope this helps others.
Susan K says
I’m having the exact same problem as others here. It’s only a recent change. When using bluetooth headset before, I had no problem, quite the opposite, everything worked well, I could share audio (advanced sharing – computer sound only) and speak over the top and everything really clear. Now, I can connnect with my headset in Zoom (audio settings checks all OK), but cannot hear any music I play. It goes completely silent. I’ve made a recording and have seen that at the other end my music and voice can be heard, but I can’t hear the music. As soon as I leave Zoom with the music still playing I hear it just fine. Makes no difference if music is playing before I open a Zoom meeting, or if I start to play after starting the meeting.
This is very strange, as it’s a relatively new glitch. I hadn’t used my headphones with zoom for a while, so it looks like this has happened sometime at the end of September?
Any help will be much appreciated.
Marianne says
I am having the same issue. It happens when I am using Bluetooth headphones from Plantronics and without headphones using the built in speakers/mic. My audio is functioning properly in Google Meet, Webex and Bluejeans (I have tried them all!), but Zoom will not work. I must use phone audio to listen and be heard. I ran all the troubleshooting tips above. This started happening a couple of weeks ago. I cannot figure it out!
Karen says
I am having the same problem and it started just today. My mic is working just fine where everyone can hear me, but I cannot hear anything. I have only had this computer for 2 weeks, so I am more inclined to believe that something is happening on a software. However, I have also checked my device drivers and they are all updated as wll.
Jen says
Very similar issues, sound works perfectly but not in zoom. Have uninstall app (win10), reboot, reinstall and reboot again. Nothing. I can get sound on everything else (youtube, games, etc), but cannot hear anything on Zoom. No changes to computer, this started to happen one day ago, a bit challenging to deal with since the PC is being used for online learning. Any other ideas as to what can be done to fix it?
James says
Michael,
I’m having the exact same issue and cannot figure out how to resolve it. As soon as I end the meeting it comes right back on. I was hosting a meeting tonight and this occurred, they could hear me and each other just fine, as well as the screen shared content’s audio, however I could not hear them or my computer audio when screen sharing. All my settings are correct on a computer level and within Zoom. I’m using a Bose headset for both “speakers” and the mic. I’m having trouble finding out how to fix this online.
Michael says
Zoom isn’t capturing my computer’s audio when sharing my screen or just my computer audio. It’s capturing my voice just fine, but no sounds coming from my computer. I am not able to play videos or music that the other people in my meeting can hear.