Any options for voice input?

Time for my copy-pasta, again...

99% of the time, this is the solution to your mic not working with Sea of Thieves, specifically:

Right-click the sound (speaker) icon on your system tray in Windows
Go to Sounds
Under the "Recording" tab find your microphone and right-click
From the pop up menu select "Set as default device" and "Set as default communication device"
While here, disable any input devices you are not using.
If you get a big Windows update (typically one that changes the version number), double check these settings as it can often reset them.

@realstyli I gave your method a try, and I also went to the Xbox application to see if it will register my microphone in future sessions.

@personalc0ffee Quite a lengthy list of potential fixes. I'll give each one a try. Thank you.

@personalc0ffee

Yeah, except that page is wrong when it comes to the device setting - should be "Set as Default Communication Device" not just "Set as Default Device"... As I mentioned in my post on Audio QOL. That's why I always post the above solution when replying to this issue.

@Kalgert

The second most common reason is your privacy settings on Xbox Live (this is not listed on the help page linked above for some reason).

• Go to Microsoft.com
• Log in with your Xbox Live account (which is also a Microsoft Account)
• Click on your profile pic top right and go to My Microsoft Account
• From the top bar select "Privacy" and scroll down to "Privacy settings in our products".
• Select Xbox and check your settings and Submit after any changes.

@personalc0ffee said in Any options for voice input?:

@realstyli said in Any options for voice input?:

@personalc0ffee

Yeah, except that page is wrong when it comes to the device setting - should be "Set as Default Communication Device" not just "Set as Default Device"... As I mentioned in my post on Audio QOL. That's why I always post the above solution when replying to this issue.

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@Kalgert

The second most common reason is your privacy settings on Xbox Live (this is not listed on the help page linked above for some reason).

• Go to Microsoft.com
• Log in with your Xbox Live account (which is also a Microsoft Account)
• Click on your profile pic top right and go to My Microsoft Account
• From the top bar select "Privacy" and scroll down to "Privacy settings in our products".
• Select Xbox and check your settings and Submit after any changes.

I do not use set as default communications device and mine works. I only have one microphone enabled and I set it as default device, not default communications device. I don't use that option primarily because it causes issues with Discord.

I went into the difference a bit more in the QOL post. Basically, you won't always have to set it, especially if you only have the one device enabled, as it will default to that device for communication anyway.

A lot of software like VoiceMod, Nvidia Broadcast, VoiceMeeter, and such, will create virtual mic inputs that can cause the Default Communication Device to change if it's not hard set. As can adding a webcam, as they usually have an onboard mic. So 9 times out of 10, if Sea of Thieves isn't picking up the correct input, that setting is the cause.

Discord is a funny one if you leave it on Default, I certainly check its settings regularly just to make sure it hasn't messed up. If you set it to a specific device, it's usually more reliable and typically it will give a pop-up to switch inputs if something has changed.

Speaking from professional experience, audio on Windows 10 can be a bit convoluted and frustrating at times.

@personalc0ffee said in Any options for voice input?:

@realstyli Yup and all those software cause issues with microphones and SoT.

Aye. But that's mainly because of how Sea of Thieves utilises the Windows settings. Time and again, you will hear folks with the issue say they don't have the same issue with other PC games. It may be unique to Xbox Live games specifically.

I wouldn't blame people for using certain software, especially when they can solve a lot of issues. I personally use VoiceMeeter for easy audio routing and I use Nvidia Broadcast to clean up my microphone. But I don't have the same issues because I regularly look out for changes in those settings.