help with head set not working all the time on Xbox one on fortnite?

You may need to update the controller. I had the same problem.

1. Go to settings

2. Go to devices and streaming

3. Go to accessories

4. click on ...

5. Click on firmware version

6. It should start updating which should take just a few minutes

After that it should be updated and he should be able to use his mic

The workaround is pretty easy, join your friends' party, and when you're in the lobby, go to the Fortnite settings, head to the sound settings, disable voice chat, save changes, then enable it again, and save changes again. It works every single time for
me

so I ended up buying a new headset after trying everything you suggested didn't work. and now all three headsets work. I am truly perplexed on what happened and why its fixed now but it works. Thank you very much for your suggestions Onyx62is.

Have you updated the controllers with the headsets attached from the Settings menu? Also, can you try the controllers and headsets on a friends console to see if they work properly?

You could also try deleting your gamertag from the console and then redownloading it to see if there's an issue with the tag itself (delete and redownload can fix that too).

onyx62is,

thank you for the ideas I just tried the ideas and unfortunately none of them worked. Thank you very much for your time and I will continue looking other options.