My microphone stopped working several years ago, and I have not been able to find the cause. Windows detects the selected microphone, but the input level never moves and no recording contains any sound. I replaced the motherboard with a Gigabyte B450M K, performed a clean Windows 11 installation, reinstalled and updated the audio drivers, checked microphone privacy permissions, and reset the Windows Audio services. I also tested several 3.5 mm microphones and Bluetooth headphones with built-in microphones through a USB dongle. The microphones work normally on other devices, and playback through the Bluetooth headphones is fine; only microphone input fails. The problem happens in Windows, games, and other apps. The microphone appears as the selected device with the expected check mark, and I have already tried changing its properties and advanced settings. What else could cause every microphone to be detected but produce absolutely no input?
3 Answers
Open the classic Sound Control Panel, go to Recording, select the microphone, and check Levels, Listen, Enhancements, and Advanced. Make sure it is not muted, its level is high, and exclusive-mode or audio enhancements are not interfering. Also check the motherboard audio software for an input jack that may have been disabled or reassigned. The green check only means the device is selected; it does not prove that the input signal is reaching Windows.
At this point I would test with a completely independent USB microphone or a USB audio adapter, not a Bluetooth dongle or the motherboard's analog audio ports. If a real USB microphone also shows no movement in the Windows recording meter after a clean install, check BIOS for onboard audio or input-related settings and inspect Device Manager for disabled or conflicting audio devices. If USB input works, the motherboard's analog audio circuitry, front-panel wiring, or jack detection is the likely problem.
Since the failure affects multiple microphones, different connection types, Windows itself, games, and a fresh installation, it is probably not an individual microphone or app setting. Check the physical input path carefully: make sure a 3.5 mm headset is connected to the microphone input rather than the line-in jack, and verify that any inline mute switch is off. For the Bluetooth headset, also confirm that Windows is using its hands-free microphone profile as the input device, not only the stereo playback profile.
The microphone is selected and I have tried those properties, but the input meter still never moves. The same thing happens with the Bluetooth microphone, so changing the motherboard jack settings did not seem to help.