Teams: Disable Microphone Auto Adjustment

Your microphone often seems to have a will of its own during Microsoft Teams meetings. That is to say, the app automatically adjusts the microphone volume to 100%. This issue is even more annoying if you have a susceptible mic that requires low gain.

How to Stop Teams from Adjusting Your Mic

Disable Exclusive Mode

Let’s start by denying Teams permission to fully control the microphone.

1. Copy-paste mmsys.cpl in your Windows Search bar and press Enter.
2. In the Sound window, click on the Recording tab.
3. Then right-click on your microphone and select Properties.
4. Under Exclusive Mode, uncheck the option that reads Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device.
5. Unplug your microphone and restart your computer. Check if Teams still has full control over your microphone.

Use an Audio Management App

Many Teams users solved this microphone problem with the help of different audio management apps. Some used VB-CABLE Virtual Audio Device, while others installed Voicemeeter or the NVIDIA Voice app for background noise filtering.

Feel free to start with any app you want. Then tweak the settings to block Teams from messing with the volume.

VB-CABLE Virtual Audio Device

For example, let’s say you decide to install VB-CABLE Virtual Audio Device. Here’s how to set up the tool:

1. Download the app from https://www.vb-audio.com/Cable/index.htm.
2. Then extract and install the virtual audio cable driver.
3. Restart your computer and go to Sound settings.
   • Enter mmsys.cpl in the Windows Search bar and hit Enter to open the Sound window.
4. Use the following settings:
   1. Playback: Select your speakers as default.
   2. Recording: Select your normal microphone as default.
   3. Recording: Right-click on your mic and open microphone Properties. Go to the Listen tab, and check the Listen to this device box. Select the new ‘Cable Input‘ device, and save the Settings.
5. Then, go to Teams and select Devices. Select the new ‘Cable Output‘ as the microphone input.

To clarify, VB-CABLE Virtual Audio Device routes the microphone sound through a virtual cable.

⇒ Quick Tip: If the Xbox game app is running on your computer, close it. Many users confirmed that closing the Xbox game app reduces the frequency of the mic auto adjustments.

Teams to Get a Built-in Option to Disable Auto-Adjusting Mic Level

This mic auto-adjusting problem has been around since 2019. Many users have long been asking Microsoft to add a dedicated option to stop Teams from adjusting the mic. The good news is that Microsoft placed this request on their backlog. The confirmation came in November 2020. The company promised to share an update as soon as one was available.

Well, until Microsoft permanently fixes this issue, feel free to use this guide to get the job done. How long have you been dealing with this problem? Let me know in the comments below.