Microphone not working with Steam voice chat

[Oman 2]

I'm trying to talk to my friend with the voice chat; he has no issues and I can hear him fine, but he can't hear me.

On the chat panel, I can see that my mic appears to be working with steam as the volume bar changes when I speak into it, just as the speaker bar does when my friend speaks. He can also see the same from his side.

I know for a fact that my mic is operating correctly, I'm running Windows 10 and Cortana keeps interrupting me. I have had issues with this mic before (calibration wise), it's a Turtle Beach PX-21 headset, first time setup can be annoying but once it's done it normally works fine. It has a 3.5mm jack and USB connection, I have both plugged in and have followed the instructions on the website for the correct setup, it's maybe four years old but I've had no problems with it so far.

It seems to be an issue with Steam - is there a workaround or a solution for this? Have people seen similar problems?

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Well first off, completely disable Cortana.

2nd, both of your need to click your Sound Volume > Mixer and in this listing, ensure "Steam" is not Muted. Otherwise it is very possible for one of you to be muted; when u have no other issues.

If you have a Headset that supports both 3.5mm and USB; u need to pick one and stick with it. Otherwise each time u change it u have to reconfigure everything again for what your default Mic is (for default recording device). 3.5mm will use your sound card / onboard audio; USB has it's own chip & driver and will not use your sound card.

[Oman 2]

Thanks for the reply, the headset actually uses both the USB and 3.5mm - it has a volume dial for the chat/game/bass etc. and it needs both inputs attached to function correctly. Otherwise it's just a chunk of plastic attached to my cord.

Do I need to have the Steam chat running to see it in the volume mixer? When I right click and select the volume mixer, I see; Device (Speakers), Applications (System Sounds). Both are at full volume and not muted.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

So your Headset is 3.5mm > USB dongle > USB port ?

I don't understand, it's one or the other, not both.
If it is one or two 3.5mm going to USB; that means it is USB.
So which is it?

When you use USB audio devices, they need to be manually selected as default each time u plug it in. Don't like that? Then don't unplug it.

Well as long as Steam Client is running; then u should see it in Volume > Mixer area. Yes it won't show if not actively running. Each app u run that is capable of audio will have its own icon listed under mixer when such app is actively running. If you don't see Steam, this can sometimes happen when it's been closed (at which it just auto-minimizes), just open Steam Client fully and then check Volume > Mixer again there. It will show.

[Oman 2]

Sorry, to clarify: the Steam client has to be running, or the actual voice chat has to be active?

There's an icon for the Steam client when maximised, it's not muted.

The headset is attached to a small volume mixer with various dials. There is a 3.5mm output from this (for sound I presume), as well as a USB output (for the volume mixer). There is no intermediary connections, and both have to be plugged in. See https://support.turtlebeach.com/entry/830517226/

I've set the headset and microphone to default devices (there are no other microphones) and they run perfectly with Skype.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Sorry; yes I forgot those still exist being as that it uses USB for power boost and other features. The Mic runs through the sound card.

If you have Realtek, check to see if it has Port Detection and disable this feature.
Basically anything regarding "Detect or Notify upon Device plugging/un-plugging"

All I can suggest is to check these:
- ensure the Headset Mic is set as a the Default Device under Recording (make sure Volume for Recording on here is not muted, and is turned up). Then double-check this in Steam Client. Steam has a setting for Mic Volume and Client Volume (client volume is how loud u won't the volume of others to be; if someone is very loud in Steam Chat, turn this down a bit, but it will effect everyone if using Steam Group Chat)
- If by doing a test via 2 people in Steam Voice; one can hear the other, but not the same vice-versa; then one of you has conflicting settings. Many times, from my experience, the 1st session of a voice chat never seems to work for me, I have to try it, if they can't hear me I usually just have to restart Steam Client and it works fine. Annoying yes, I know.
- Also check to see what all your Speakers and Mic are set to for audio quality in each device properties in Playback/Recording. 24-bit / 48,000hz (48Khz) should be the default. If the Mic does not support this, then 16-bit / 44,000hz (44Khz)

Or just use other Voice Chat. Discord[discordapp.com] for one is free and very easy to use. No given out your email or phone# to someone to get on Skype, or having to find a friend who has a paid TeamSpeak server.

[Oman 2]

Realtek was apparently a default install for my last Windows builds, but not this last reformat - I spent a while looking for it.

The mic is set as the default device, it works for the rest of Windows. I looked into the Steam settings and testing the mic worked fine, the delayed playback was at a good volume.

I attempted restarting the voice chat a few times with new settings, didn't help unfortunately.

I'm not sure about the quality settings, I haven't seen those before.

Don't worry about me, I know what I'm doing, I only use Skype with my IRL friends. Heck I hardly have any friends with Steam anyway.

Thanks for the help, but I'll go with 3rd party I think. Steam chat is handy but I'd rather something that just works.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Steam Voice Chat and Skype hog up too much bandwidth and resources to be a good option to use for "Team Chat" while playing an "Online MP" game.

Yes there are other options. DISCORD and these > http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/dont-get-fragged-5-must-have-free-voice-chat-clients-for-gamers-si/