Microphone Not Working in Chrome
Chrome keeps microphone permission per site, and a single accidental Block sticks until you clear it. Here is exactly where those settings live.
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When a microphone works everywhere except in Chrome — or works on one website and not another — the cause is almost always Chrome's per-site permission model rather than anything to do with your hardware.
Chrome stores an allow or block decision for every site that asks. Click Block once, even by accident, and that site is silently denied from then on with no further prompt. Below is how to inspect and reset those decisions, plus the device selection Chrome keeps separately from your operating system.
Fixes, in the order to try them
Reset the permission for this site
Click the padlock or the sliders icon at the left of the address bar, then choose Site settings. Find Microphone and set it to Allow, or press the Reset permission button. Reload the page and press the test button again — the prompt should reappear.
Check Chrome's global microphone setting
Paste chrome://settings/content/microphone into the address bar. Make sure “Sites can ask to use your microphone” is selected. Below it are two lists: sites allowed and sites blocked. If the site you need is in the blocked list, remove it with the bin icon.
Pick the right input device in Chrome
On the same chrome://settings/content/microphone page there is a device dropdown at the top. Chrome remembers this independently of your operating system's default, so a system change does not always follow through. Select the microphone you actually use.
Confirm the operating system allows Chrome
On Windows, open Settings, Privacy & security, Microphone and make sure “Let desktop apps access your microphone” is on. On macOS, open System Settings, Privacy & Security, Microphone and switch Chrome on. Chrome cannot grant itself access the OS has denied.
Make sure the page is on HTTPS
Chrome only allows microphone access on secure origins. If the address bar shows “Not secure”, the request is refused before any prompt appears. Every page on this site is served over HTTPS.
Test in an Incognito window
Press Ctrl+Shift+N, or Cmd+Shift+N on a Mac, and open the same page. Incognito starts with no stored permissions and most extensions disabled. If the microphone works there, an extension or a stored setting in your normal profile is the cause.
Disable extensions one at a time
Open chrome://extensions and switch everything off, then test. Privacy tools, ad blockers, VPN extensions and some meeting assistants intercept media requests. Re-enable them one by one to find the culprit.
Update or reset Chrome
Open chrome://settings/help to install any pending update and restart. If nothing else has worked, chrome://settings/reset restores default settings without touching your bookmarks or saved passwords.
Why the prompt never appears again
Chrome only asks once per site. Choose Block, and every future request from that site is refused silently — no prompt, no error dialog, just a microphone that never starts. Many people assume the site is broken.
The tell-tale sign is a small crossed-out microphone icon at the right of the address bar. Clicking it reveals the current decision and offers to change it. Resetting the permission and reloading brings the prompt back.
Two separate device selections
Chrome keeps its own default input device, separate from the one your operating system uses. Plug in a headset, set it as the system default, and Chrome may still capture from the laptop's built-in microphone.
The dropdown at chrome://settings/content/microphone is where Chrome's choice lives. Many sites, including this one, also offer an in-page device selector, which overrides Chrome's default for that page only. If a call app sounds like it is using the wrong microphone, check all three levels: the operating system, Chrome, and the app.
Edge, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi
All of these are built on Chromium and behave the same way, with the same settings pages under their own scheme name — for example edge://settings/content/microphone or brave://settings/content/microphone. Every step above applies with the scheme changed.
Brave adds an extra layer through its Shields feature, which can block media requests on some sites. If a page works in Chrome but not in Brave, lower Shields for that site before investigating anything else. Firefox uses a different model entirely: it prompts each time unless you tick “Remember this decision”, and stored choices are cleared from Settings, Privacy & Security, Permissions, Microphone.
Other fix guides
If this was not your problem, one of these probably is. Each guide covers a different platform or application, with the exact settings path for that one:
Microphone Not Working in Chrome — FAQ
How do I unblock the microphone in Chrome?
Click the padlock at the left of the address bar, open Site settings, and set Microphone to Allow — or use the Reset permission button, then reload the page.
Where is the microphone setting in Chrome?
chrome://settings/content/microphone. It holds the global on/off switch, the default input device, and the allowed and blocked site lists.
Why does Chrome use the wrong microphone?
Chrome stores its own default input device separately from your operating system. Change it in the dropdown at chrome://settings/content/microphone.
Chrome does not ask for permission at all.
Either the site was blocked previously, or the page is not on HTTPS. Check the crossed-out microphone icon in the address bar, and confirm the address begins with https.
Does Incognito mode affect the microphone?
Yes, usefully. Incognito starts without stored permissions and with most extensions disabled, so it is a fast way to tell whether your profile is the problem.
Do these steps work in Microsoft Edge?
Yes. Edge is Chromium-based; use edge://settings/content/microphone. The same applies to Brave, Opera and Vivaldi with their own scheme names.
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