OBS Audio Not Working: 8 Fixes for Every Common Cause

OBS audio acting up? Yep, it is one of the most common headaches streamers and content creators run into. No sound from OBS can happen in several different ways. Your microphone, desktop sound, or recordings may stop playing audio. Most audio problems usually come from one of these eight common issues. This guide covers the most likely fixes, starting with the biggest troublemakers. Just work your way down the list until your audio returns. The best part? You won't have to reinstall OBS.

Why Does OBS Audio Stop Working?  Narrow It Down First

Before working through individual fixes, identify which failure mode you are dealing with. The table below maps each symptom to its most likely cause and the fix number to jump to.

Use this table to skip directly to the most relevant fix if you already recognize your symptom, or start at Fix 1 if you are unsure.

Fix 1: Check the OBS Audio Mixer First

First, take a look at the OBS Audio Mixer at the bottom of the main window. It is the quickest place to spot basic setup problems. Check these items before changing any other OBS settings.

1. Confirm your audio sources are visible in the mixer. If a source has been collapsed or hidden, it will not appear even though it is technically active. Go to Docks > Audio Mixer to ensure the panel is open and all expected sources are listed.

2. Check the volume slider. Each source has a horizontal volume slider. If it has been dragged all the way to the left, the output is zero. Drag it back to around the negative -3 dB mark. This level will avoid clipping in the audio.

3. Check the mute button. Each source has a speaker icon next to its slider. If the icon appears with a red cross, the source is muted. Click it once to unmute.

4. Review the monitoring settings. Click the three vertical dots icon on any source and open Advanced Audio Properties. Confirm that Audio Monitoring is configured appropriately. Setting it to Monitor and Output lets you hear the source through your headphones while also sending it to the recording or stream.

5. Restart OBS after making changes. Some mixer adjustments do not apply mid-session without a restart.

Note: If you use multiple scenes, verify that your audio sources are not locked to a single scene. Right-click a source and confirm it is either set to be accessible across all scenes or is correctly added to your currently active scene.

Fix 2: Select the Correct Audio Device in OBS Settings

If the mixer looks correct but still shows no signal, the audio device assignment is the next most common culprit.

1. Open OBS and go to Settings > Audio.

2. Under Global Audio Devices, locate Desktop Audio and Mic/Auxiliary Audio.

3. If either dropdown is set to Default, OBS will capture whatever Windows or macOS has designated as the system default. If your actual playback or recording device differs from the system default, OBS may capture the wrong source entirely.

4. Click the Desktop Audio dropdown and manually select the output device your audio actually plays through, such as your headphones, speakers, or USB audio interface.

5. Click the Mic/Auxiliary Audio dropdown and manually select your microphone or audio interface.

6. Click Apply, then OK.

7. Return to the OBS main window and watch the Audio Mixer. Both sources should now display activity when sound is playing or when you speak.

Pro Tip: Any time you plug in a new audio device or adjust your Windows sound configuration, revisit this step. OBS does not automatically follow changes to your system default audio device mid-session.

Fix 3: Fix Desktop Audio Not Working in OBS

If game audio, browser audio, or general system sounds are not being captured, follow these steps.

1. Match OBS’s monitored device to your Windows playback device. Open Windows Settings > System > Sound and check which device is listed as your output. 

Then confirm Settings > Audio > Desktop Audio in OBS is pointing to that exact same device. A mismatch here is the most frequent root cause of missing desktop audio.

2. Add an Audio Output Capture source manually. If global desktop audio capture still fails, add a source directly. In the OBS Sources panel, click the + button and choose Audio Output Capture. Select the specific application or output device you want to capture. This method bypasses the global setting and targets audio more precisely.

3. Switch between Windows Audio Session API (WASAPI) and DirectSound. OBS shows all available audio devices when you add a Global Audio Device or an Audio Output Capture source. In most situations, WASAPI is the best option to select. If OBS still misses sound from one program, try a different method. Add an Application Audio Capture source instead of a regular Audio Output Capture source.

Note: You will not find a setting by the name "WASAPI" anywhere inside OBS. It runs in the background and supports audio capture on Windows. To record sound from one program or separate desktop audio, simply choose the right audio capture source in OBS.

4. Check in-game audio output settings. Some games have their own audio output selection inside their settings menus. If the game routes audio to a different device than what OBS is monitoring, OBS will capture silence even if everything else is configured correctly.

macOS Note: macOS does not allow applications to capture desktop audio by default. You must install a virtual audio device, such as BlackHole, route your system audio output through it, and assign it as the Desktop Audio device in OBS Settings. A dedicated macOS OBS audio guide covers this process in full.

Fix 4: Fix Microphone Audio Not Working in OBS

1. Confirm Windows recognizes your microphone. Right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar, select Sound settings, then click More sound settings.

Go to the Recording tab. Your microphone should appear here with a green activity bar when you speak. If it is absent, the issue exists at the operating system level and must be resolved there before OBS can detect anything.

2. Confirm macOS recognizes your microphone. On Mac, go to System Preferences > Sound > Input and verify your microphone appears in the list and responds when you speak.

3. Add an Audio Input Capture source manually. In the OBS Sources panel, click + and choose Audio Input Capture. Select your microphone from the device list. This method is more reliable than depending on the global Mic/Auxiliary Audio slot, especially for USB microphones and audio interfaces.

4. Disable Exclusive Mode in Windows. Applications like Discord or Zoom can hold a lock on your microphone using Exclusive Mode, which prevents OBS from accessing the same device simultaneously. In the Recording tab of Windows Sound settings, right-click your microphone, select Properties, go to the Advanced tab, and uncheck Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device.

5. Verify your wireless microphone is recognized at the OS level. Wireless microphones such as the Hollyland LARK M2 must be connected and recognized as an audio input device by your operating system before OBS can detect them. If no input device appears in Windows Sound settings, troubleshoot the receiver connection at the OS level first, then return to OBS.

6. Restart OBS after confirming the microphone appears correctly in your system sound settings.

Fix 5: Fix the Sample Rate Mismatch

A sample rate mismatch is one of the most misleading problems in OBS audio troubleshooting. The mixer may show a signal, but the recorded or streamed output is completely silent or heavily distorted. No error message is displayed, which makes this easy to overlook.

Step 1: Check and note the OBS sample rate:

1. Open Settings > Audio in OBS.

2. Locate the Sample Rate field. It is typically set to 44100 Hz or 48000 Hz.

3. Write down or remember this number before moving to the next step.

Step 2: Match the Windows device sample rate:

1. Right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar and select Sound settings > More sound settings.

2. On the Playback tab, right-click your active output device and select Properties.

3. Click the Advanced tab and check the Default Format dropdown. Set it to match the OBS sample rate exactly. For example, if OBS is set to 48000 Hz, select 16 bit, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality) or the 24-bit equivalent.

4. Repeat the same steps on the Recording tab for your microphone, setting its sample rate to the same value.

5. Click Apply in the Windows Sound panel, return to OBS, and click Apply there as well.

6. Restart OBS and test audio capture.

On macOS, open Audio MIDI Setup (find it using Spotlight search), select each of your input and output devices, and set their sample rate to match what is shown in OBS Settings > Audio.

Fix 6: Check System Audio Permissions

Windows and macOS both have privacy controls that can silently block microphone access. After a major OS update, these permissions frequently reset without any notification, which causes OBS to lose microphone access without showing an error.

Windows Microphone Privacy Settings

1. Open Settings > Privacy and Security > Microphone.

2. Ensure Microphone access is toggled on at the top of the page.

3. Scroll down to Let desktop apps access your microphone and toggle it on.

4. If OBS Studio appears individually in the app list below, confirm it is also allowed.

5. Click out of settings and restart OBS.

macOS Microphone Access for OBS

1. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone.

2. Locate OBS Studio in the application list and check the box to allow access.

3. If OBS is not yet listed, open OBS and allow macOS to generate a permission prompt, then approve it.

4. If no prompt appears, quit OBS, remove it from the list, relaunch it, and grant permission when the prompt appears.

5. Restart your Mac if the change does not take effect immediately.

Fix 7 — Configure OBS Audio Output Tracks

This fix targets a specific and frustrating scenario: your live stream sounds fine to viewers, but every saved recording file has no audio at all.

OBS can record up to six independent audio tracks simultaneously. Each track in your recording output must be assigned to include the same track number that your audio sources are routed to. If these are misaligned, the recording file is empty even though streaming audio works.

1. Go to Settings > Output and select the Recording tab.

2. Look for Audio Track checkboxes labeled Track 1 through Track 6. If Track 1 is unchecked, your recording will have no audio, even if streaming uses Track 1 successfully.

3. Enable Track 1 if you want a straightforward single-track recording.

4. Go to Advanced Audio Properties and check the Tracks section. Verify your audio sources are assigned to the same track numbers that are enabled in the Recording settings.

5. If you stream on a different track than you record, confirm both assignments match your intended setup.

6. Save all settings, then record a short test clip to confirm audio is present before going live.

Note: If you use multitrack recording to separate your microphone from game audio during editing, verify that each source is assigned to its own dedicated track and that all of those tracks are checked in the recording output settings.

Fix 8: Update or Reinstall Your Audio Drivers

If none of the previous fixes resolved the issue, a corrupted or outdated audio driver is the most likely remaining cause. This most commonly occurs after a major Windows feature update replaces a working third-party audio driver with an incompatible version.

1. Press Windows + X and select Device Manager.

2. Expand Sound, video and game controllers.

3. Right-click your audio device and select Update driver > Search automatically for drivers.

4. If no update is found or the problem persists after updating, right-click the device again and select Uninstall device. Check the box to delete the driver software.

5. Restart your PC. Windows will reinstall a clean driver automatically on reboot.

After the driver is reinstalled, reopen OBS and repeat Fix 2 to manually reassign your audio devices.

FAQs

Why did OBS audio stop working after a Windows update?

Windows updates frequently reset microphone privacy permissions and can overwrite third-party audio drivers with incompatible versions. The two most common triggers are a permission block and a driver conflict. Start with Fix 6 to restore microphone access permissions, then move to Fix 8 if the problem continues after permissions are confirmed. Together, these two fixes resolve the large majority of post-update OBS audio failures.

OBS shows audio in the mixer, but nothing in the recording, and why?

This is almost always an audio track misconfiguration. OBS routes audio sources to numbered tracks, and the recording output must be assigned to include the same track that your sources use. See Fix 7 for the complete walkthrough. Before recording again, double-check your track assignments in both Settings > Output > Recording and Settings > Audio to confirm they are aligned.

Can OBS capture Bluetooth headset audio?

You can record sound through a Bluetooth headset in OBS. Many audio problems start after the headset changes into Hands-Free mode. That mode can reduce sound quality or remove audio completely. Open your operating system's recording settings and turn off the Bluetooth microphone, often listed as "Hands-Free AG Audio." This keeps the headset in Stereo mode during recording. A wired or USB headset is another good choice for stable audio.

My microphone works in Discord and Zoom but not in OBS. What’s wrong?

Discord or Zoom is likely holding your microphone in Exclusive Mode, which prevents OBS from accessing the same input at the same time. Fix 4 walks through disabling Exclusive Mode in Windows Sound settings so multiple applications can share the microphone simultaneously. After making that change, restart both OBS and the conflicting application, then test capture.

OBS has no audio on Mac. Is there a different fix?

Yes. macOS does not allow applications to capture system audio natively, unlike Windows. You must install a virtual audio device such as BlackHole, route your Mac’s audio output through it, and assign it as the Desktop Audio device in OBS Settings > Audio. Fix 3 includes a brief summary of this requirement. A dedicated macOS OBS audio guide covers the full installation and routing process step by step.

Conclusion

Begin with the first fix and continue through each step. Check the Audio Mixer, review your selected devices, confirm system permissions, and compare the sample rates. Most audio problems disappear after the first three fixes. If only your recordings have no sound, skip directly to Fix 7. When nothing else solves the issue, try Fix 8 to remove driver problems left behind after operating system updates.