Microphone suddenly disconnects on all programs without any warning or sound

Question

Microphone suddenly disconnects on all programs without any warning or sound

wilber glasspool 0

I've been having this issue for around 5 months and all the help I've found online hasn't helped at all. I've tried different microphones, different ports, preventing it from turning off to save power, letting programs take exclusive control, letting programs not take exclusive control, just anything I can find similar to my issue and nothing has helped. The only way I can find to fix it is pressing the button to not allow apps to use it (shown below) and then allowing them again but that only works for at most 20 minutes and then it shuts off again. For some reason it usually only happens when I play Fortnite so I assume because the game already takes up like 80% of my computing power it would have something to do with that but I seriously don't know.

I doubt it has anything to do with the cable or port but at this point I just have no clue. I will be thankful for any help.

Screenshot 2026-06-25 161426

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Answer 1

Emma1-N 8,465 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Welcome wilber glasspool,

I understand how frustrating it can be when your microphone suddenly disconnects across applications without any warning and temporarily starts working again only after disabling and re-enabling microphone access in Windows.

Before proceeding, could you please clarify:

Could you confirm whether the microphone also disconnects if Fortnite is closed and the PC is idle for an extended period?
When the issue occurs, does the microphone still appear in Device Manager under Audio inputs and outputs without any warning icons?

In the meantime, you can try these steps below to troubleshoot the issue:

Option 1: Check for USB and chipset driver updates from the PC or motherboard manufacturer.

Install all available chipset, USB controller, and audio-related drivers.
Restart the PC after installation.

Option 2: Test Windows audio services.

Press Windows + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
Restart Windows Audio.
Restart Windows Audio Endpoint Builder.

Option 3: Check Event Viewer for device disconnect events.

Press Windows + X and select Event Viewer.
Review Windows Logs > System around the time the microphone disconnects.
Look for USB, audio, or device-reset errors.

Option 4: Disable USB selective suspend.

Open Control Panel from the Start menu > Power Options
Select Change plan settings > Change advanced power settings
Expand USB settings
Set USB selective suspend setting to Disabled

Option 5: Perform a clean boot test.

Press Windows + R, type msconfig, and press Enter.
Select Hide all Microsoft services.
Click Disable all.
Disable startup items in Task Manager.
Restart and test whether the issue reoccurs.

I hope the steps above help you deal with your issue.

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wilber glasspool 0 Reputation points

2026-06-26T09:40:58.4466667+00:00

Unfortunately nothing here fixed it, just to clear up your questions it usually only disconnects after loading into a match of Fortnite and from there it's on and off for the rest of the match. The microphone still appears in the device manager just without any audio coming through until I do the whole allowing thing.
Emma1-N 8,465 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-27T06:57:31.2966667+00:00
Hello wilber glasspool,

You can try the step: Clean reinstall audio driver

Open Device Manager from the Start menu

Open Sound, video and game controllers

Right-click your mic/audio > Uninstall device > tick Delete driver (if shown)

Unplug your mic/headset

Restart PC

Plug mic back in > Windows auto-installs driver
wilber glasspool 0 Reputation points

2026-06-27T10:54:40.8066667+00:00

Yeah, still nothing
Emma1-N 8,465 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-30T07:37:41.0066667+00:00
Hello wilber glasspool,

You can try the step in place repair to troubleshoot the issue:

In-place upgrade is a process wherein it will upgrade the device to the latest version and repair many issues without deleting any files. Usually, it is used to repair corrupted system files, apps, and even incompatible drivers on the system.

Go to Windows 11 website: Download Windows 11

Under Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) select Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO)

Once done downloading the ISO, kindly right-click on ISO then click Mount> then Click Setup.exe

You may be prompted by User Account Control. If so, click on Yes.

In the Install Windows 11 dialog, click Next.

Setup will check your PC and show a license agreement. Click on Accept in the license terms dialog.

Wait for the setup program to check for the available free space.

On the Ready to install page, make sure Keep personal files and apps has been checked.

Then click Install and just follow the prompt.

Windows 11 will restart your device several times and lead you to the lock screen. Depending on the options you set, it will keep all your files, apps, and user accounts.
Emma1-N 8,465 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-01T04:18:08.2166667+00:00

Hello wilber glasspool,

Is there any update from you? Please let me know, I will always here to assist you.
wilber glasspool 0 Reputation points

2026-07-01T14:48:10.2+00:00

I've installed the iso but it's being blocked by smart app control and I'm unsure how to allow it, sorry for not responding sooner I must have not got a notification
Emma1-N 8,465 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-02T07:19:30.58+00:00

Hello wilber glasspool,
Please try disabling Smart App Control:

Windows Security > App & browser control > Smart App Control settings > Off