> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.openwhispr.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# My microphone isn't working

> Permission prompts that never appear, "No microphones detected", and the wrong input device — fixed per operating system.

Almost every microphone problem is one of two things: OpenWhispr doesn't have
permission to use the microphone, or your computer is listening to a different
one than you think.

Start in the app, because it can test and grant the permission for you.

## Start here

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Permissions section">
    In **Settings**, choose **Privacy & Data** under **System**, and scroll to
    **Permissions**. It lists **Microphone** — on macOS, also **Accessibility**
    and **System Audio**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Grant Access">
    If the permission is missing, the **Microphone** card shows a **Grant
    Access** button that asks your operating system for it. If the permission has
    never been requested, this is what triggers the prompt.

    A card that has already been granted looks different: it turns green with a
    checkmark and **the Grant Access button is gone**. That's how you tell the
    two states apart — a card with no button is a granted one, not a broken one.
  </Step>

  <Step title="If it still fails, grant it in system settings">
    Follow the steps for your operating system below, then reopen this section —
    the card shows as granted once your operating system agrees.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Granting the permission

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="macOS">
    1. Open **System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone**.
    2. Find **OpenWhispr** in the list and switch it on.
    3. If OpenWhispr isn't listed at all, the permission has never been
       requested — use **Grant Access** in the app to trigger the prompt.
    4. Quit and reopen OpenWhispr. macOS applies microphone changes to running
       apps inconsistently, and a restart removes the doubt.

    <Note>
      After an app update, macOS can treat OpenWhispr as a new application and
      drop the permission. If dictation stopped working right after an update,
      that's what happened — see
      [Updates and reinstalling](/help/fix/updates-and-reinstalling).
    </Note>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Windows">
    1. Open **Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone**.
    2. Switch on **Microphone access**.
    3. Switch on **Let apps access your microphone**.
    4. Check that **Let desktop apps access your microphone** further down the
       page is also on — this is the one that catches people out, because the
       toggle above it can be on while this one is off.
    5. Confirm OpenWhispr appears in the list underneath.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Linux">
    Linux has no per-application microphone permission, so there's nothing to
    grant. What matters is which input device your sound server has selected.

    1. Open your audio settings — `pavucontrol` on PulseAudio or PipeWire
       systems is the most direct.
    2. On the **Input Devices** tab, confirm the device you're speaking into
       isn't muted and its level moves when you speak.
    3. On the **Recording** tab, check that OpenWhispr is reading from that
       device while a dictation is running.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Choosing the right input

If the permission is granted and you still get nothing, the app is almost
certainly listening to a different microphone.

Open your operating system's sound settings and check the selected input while
you speak — the level meter should move. The devices that catch people out:

* **Headsets that are connected but not worn**, so the mic is on the desk.
* **Monitors and webcams with built-in mics**, which often become the default
  the moment they're plugged in.
* **Bluetooth headphones in the wrong profile** — some switch to a low-quality
  headset mode that other apps then take over.
* **Virtual devices** installed by conferencing or streaming software, which can
  silently become the default.

## If the microphone is unavailable

If the app reports **Microphone Unavailable**, another application is holding
the device exclusively. Quit conferencing, recording and streaming apps and try
again. On Windows this is the usual cause; the device is not shared while
another app has it open in exclusive mode.

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="The permission prompt never appears.">
    Use **Grant Access** in **Settings → Privacy & Data → Permissions**. macOS
    and Windows only show the prompt when an app asks, and only once — after
    that you have to change it in system settings yourself.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="My microphone works in other apps.">
    That rules out the hardware and tells you it's the permission or the device
    selection. Work through both sections above; they're the only two things
    that can be different between apps.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="It picks me up but the recording is very quiet.">
    Raise the input level in your operating system's sound settings. A recording
    that's too quiet produces an empty result rather than an error — see
    [Nothing was transcribed](/help/fix/nothing-was-transcribed).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Snippet file="still-need-help.mdx" />

## Related

* [Nothing was transcribed](/help/fix/nothing-was-transcribed)
* [Meeting audio isn't captured](/help/fix/meeting-audio-not-captured)
* [Updates and reinstalling](/help/fix/updates-and-reinstalling)