Help! My Virtual Students Can't Hear Me/Your Mic is muted at the system level

When video conferencing, your microphone may be muted without any indication that the mic is muted. You'll sometimes receive an error message saying "Your microphone is muted at the system level" when trying to use video conferencing software. Users must go into the mic's properties to access the mute/unmute button.

Overview

During a Virtual Classroom Session (or generally speaking any video conference platform), your students may chat with you and say that they cannot hear you. This is usually due to the microphone being unintentionally muted at the system level. Windows 10 can sometimes mute the mic each time a computer is restarted or turned off. This guide will walk you through the process of unmuting the webcam mic (or any other mic). 

This guide is primarily written for a USB webcam mic, however, the steps can be applied to any selected microphone.

Instructions

1. Click on Up/More Icons Arrow at the bottom right of the screen.
2. Right Click on the Speaker Icon
3. Select Audio Devices
4. Select the Recording Tab
5. Select the Microphone USB Audio Device (or microphone that you typically use)
6. Select Properties
7. Select the Levels Tab
8. Make sure the volume is at 100 %
9. Click the Mute/Unmute Button so the Red Circle with the line through it turns into two blue lines
10. Click Okay

Close the audio settings tabs--you're all set!

If you do not have the "Speaker Icon" you will need to access the Sound Control Panel to unmute your computer's microphone at the system level.

1. Click on Up/More Icons Arrow at the bottom right of the screen.
2. Right Click on the Speaker Icon
3. Choose Open Sound Settings
4. Select Sound Control Panel on the top right of the screen (it may be on the right side of the screen or you may have to scroll down to find it)
5. Choose the Recording Tab
6. Right-click on the microphone that you are trying to use (Jabra, Microphone Array, etc.)
7. Choose Properties
8. Choose the Levels Tab
9. Click on the speaker icon with the mute button to unmute the mic
10. Select Apply at the bottom to save the changes
11. Select OK to leave the settings window
12. Press the X button to exit out of the sound settings (usually in the top right)

 

Questions? Need Help?

If you have questions or need some help, please let ITS know by submitting a Raven Solutions request.