5 Ways to Make Your Mic Sound Better on Windows

A computer engineer by degree, Varun has 7+ years of experience in the field of technology. After his stints at Beebom and MrPhone, Varun has been covering different facets of technology at Guiding Tech. Here, he contributes to Team GT by helping its readers make better purchases while also understanding the meaning of each feature. In his free time, you can find him sharing his excellent photography skills along with his Aces in Valorant over Twitter.

Basic Fixes

Fix 1: Adjust the Microphone Format

If you’re using a high-end microphone, it’s possible to record in a higher format for better quality as well. You can essentially increase the bitrate of your recording, thus, resulting in an improved audio result. Here’s how you can do that.

Step 1:Right-clickon thespeaker iconin the system tray and click onSound settings.

Step 2: Under theInputsection, click on thearrow nextto yourmicrophone.

Step 3: Click on the drop-down menu for Format toselect a different recording format.

Step 4: Windows typically offers options like ’16-bit, 44100 Hz (CD Quality)’, or ’16-bit, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality)’. You may have other options depending on your audio hardware. Just select thehighest formatavailable.

Step 5: After selecting the desired recording format, clickApplyandOKto save the changes.

Fix 2: Enable Exclusive Mode

Additionally, it’s important to enable exclusive mode for your microphone on Windows as well. Exclusive mode grants the microphone exclusive access to the audio device, preventing other applications from accessing it simultaneously. This, in turn, reduces potential conflicts and resource sharing, resulting in a smoother and more stable audio experience.

Step 1:Right-clickon thespeaker iconin the system tray and click onSound settings.

Step 2: Scroll down to the bottom and click on ‘More sound settings‘.

Step 3: Switch to theRecording tabin the popup window.

Step 4:Right-clickonmicrophoneand select thePropertiesoption.

Step 5: Now, switch to theAdvancedtab.

Step 6: Check the box next to ‘Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device‘. Also, check the box next to ‘Give exclusive mode applications priority‘.

Step 7: Once done, click onApplyand thenOK.

Fix 3: Update Microphone Driver

It’s also possible that your microphone is in perfect condition. However, a faulty driver is why you can’t use it to its best ability. Outdated or incorrect audio drivers can cause microphone issues. To update your audio drivers, follow these steps:

Step 1:Right-clickon theStart buttonand selectDevice Manager.

Step 2: Click on ‘Sound, video and game controllers‘ to expand it.

Step 3:Right-clickon yourmicrophonedevice and selectUpdate driver.

Step 4: Choose ‘Search automatically for drivers‘. Windows will now automatically search and update to the latest drivers.

Once the process is complete, reboot your PC and try and use your microphone post that.

Fix 4: Turn on Microphone Enhancements

Using Windows, you can further tweak the quality of your microphone using some enhancements. These enhancements can be used to suppress the noise in the background as well as subdue the echo.

Step 1:Right-clickon thespeaker iconin the system tray and click onSound settings.

Step 2: Under theInput section, click on thearrow nextto themicrophone.

Step 3: Click on thedrop-down menu for Audio Enhancements, and select the enhancement of your choice.

For most users, it will be Device Default Effects. However, if you’re using an expensive microphone, you’ll also get options for Noise suppression and Acoustic echo cancellation.

Fix 5: Use Third-Party Apps

If you don’t have any Microphone enhancements available, fret not, you can also use third-party tools. If you have an NVIDIA RTX GPU, download theNVIDIA Broadcast tool for Windows. It offers various features such as Noise removal and Room echo removal. It further allows you to fine-tune the strength of these effects to ensure the final output doesn’t sound too robotic.

Alternatively, you can also try usingKrisp AI. It uses artificial intelligence to remove background noise from your microphone. It works similarly to NVIDIA Broadcast, except it works across all platforms. While it has a paid version, try out the free version for up to 60 minutes of sound recording daily.

FAQs

There could be several reasons your microphone barely picks up your voice in Windows 11. It could be due to a faulty connection, improper placement, or a lot of noise in the background. It could also be that your microphone’s gain is too low or that other background apps on your PC are accessing it simultaneously as you record.

You can test your microphone by heading over to the Sound settings and opening the mic’s properties. Speak into the microphone, and observe the volume bar to check if it registers your voice properly. You can also click on Device properties > Additional device properties > Test Microphone to run a test and listen to the playback.

Yes, microphone privacy is essential. Always be cautious of granting microphone access to unauthorized applications, and regularly review privacy settings to ensure your microphone is not misused.

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Last updated on 26 June, 2024

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