Game bar doesn't show on microphone privacy settings

1. Open the Xbox Game Bar and navigate to its settings: Check the microphone settings within the Game Bar to ensure it's using the correct microphone and that the microphone access is allowed both in-game and while the Game Bar is running in the background.
   
2. Background App Permissions: Your computer might have certain settings that prevent apps from running in the background or accessing the microphone when they're not in focus. Check your system's privacy settings to ensure that background apps have the necessary permissions.
   

Best Regards by:

Funny Names

Hi there! This is Virginia O.

I understand that you are experiencing issues with Xbox Game Bar not picking up microphone randomly.

I apologize for the inconvenienced this has caused you. I will do my best to help you.

Please check Privacy Settings. Make sure that the Xbox Game Bar and Xbox app have permission to access your microphone in Windows' privacy settings. Go to Settings > Privacy > Microphone.

And the verify Microphone input. In the Xbox Game Bar, go to Settings > Voice Chat and make sure your microphone is selected as the default input device.

Check your Windows sound settings (Settings > Sound) and verify that your microphone is set as the default recording device in both the input and output sections.

Next is to update audio drivers because an outdated audio drivers can cause problems. To do this, right-click on the Start menu, select Device Manager, expand "Audio inputs and outputs," and right-click on your audio device to update the driver.

Then reset the Xbox Game Bar by going Settings > Apps > Apps & features find Xbox Game Bar, click Advanced options, and select Reset.

After that is to check for Windows Updates. Ensure that your Windows 11 operating system is up to date.

Kindlyuninstall and then reinstall the Xbox Game Bar through the Microsoft Store settings.

If the issue persist after performing the troubleshooting steps, please use your microphone in a different application, like a voice chat application or a video recording program, to see if the problem is isolated to the Xbox Game Bar.

Thank you for your cooperation.

So I have been struggling with this same issue for weeks and I finally fixed it. What I did was:

-Went to Microphone privacy settings, and I saw both Game bar and Xbox listed separately, however only under Xbox did it say Currently In Use. I figured it should be saying that under Game bar instead so something was wrong.

-I disabled the switch under Xbox

-Then I went into settings, app settings, and chose "Reset" for both Xbox and Game bar to completely clear everything.

-Then I waited a few moments and reopened Game bar.

Voila! its working for me even when the overlay is closed. And under microphone privacy settings it says Currently In Use under Game bar.

Good luck

Can everyone try this:

Type "Microphone privacy settings" in the search bar at the bottom left of Windows. Scroll down and enable the microphone for Xbox app.

Come back here and let me know if this worked.

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



I understand that you are facing issues while recording microphone audio using game bar while playing games.



I would suggest you to try troubleshooting Game Bar and see if that helps. Refer the article

Troubleshoot Xbox Game Bar on Windows 10



In addition, you can also check if the Microphone for game bar is enabled under privacy settings.

1. Go to Settings (press Windows +
   I key together) > Privacy.
   
2. On the left hand pane scroll down and look for
   Microphone.
   
3. Toggle Allow apps to access Microphone
   to ON.
   
4. Under Choose which Microsoft Store app can access your Microphone toggle Xbox game bar to
   ON.
   
5. Restart the game bar.
   

If the issue persists, please get back to us with details of the troubleshooting steps to assist you further.



Regards,

Prakhar Khare

Microsoft Community – Moderator