Xbox Game bar: Microphone audio won't go through unless I'm screaming

Hello, first it's a pleasure to be able to help you today.

My name is welcome to the community.

Hello Stark, your Laptop is Windows 10 or 11, have you tried some procedure on your PC, how to check system updates and the Microsoft store, have you also tried uninstalling the App Companion and the Xbox App from your PC and reinstalling?

Hello Georges

I have uninstalled and reinstalled both the companion app and Xbox app from my laptop. I have also run windows troubleshoot to no avail. I also reset the data for game bar, with no results there either.

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Next is to update audio drivers because an outdated audio drivers can cause problems.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.

Hi there! This is Virginia O.

I understand that you are experiencing issues with game bar chat not working.

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

Please check Microphone permissions. Ensure Xbox Game Bar has permission to access your microphone. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone and ensure it's enabled for Xbox Game Bar.

And then update audio drivers because an outdated or incompatible drivers can cause issues. Kindly update your audio drivers via Device Manager.

Next is to reset Xbox Game Bar by going to Settings > Apps > Installed Apps, find Xbox Game Bar, and select Advanced Options. Then, click Repair and if incase it won't work choose Reset.

Then check Party Chat Settings. To do this, open Xbox Game Bar, go to Settings > Party Chat, and make sure that your microphone is selected as the input device.

After that is to check for Windows updates, make sure that your device is up to date.

If the issue persist after performing the troubleshooting steps, kindly test with another headset to rule out hardware issues.

Thank you for your cooperation.

I don't have any other microphones to test with unfortunately, I'm using the mic on my headset. Reinstalling the game bar made no difference either.

I checked through the capture settings and it only seems to mute me when the "audio to record" is set to "all" ( i.e game audio, microphone, all other apps ), but not when it's set to "game" ( game audio + mic ). But the issue with this setting is that I want my discord calls / party members to be heard in the clips and recordings too. So I'm very much at a loss