How to Fix OBS Not Recording Audio Issue in Seconds

Have you ever encountered the OBS not recording audio issue while recording mic or desktop sound with it? Want to fix the OBS not capturing audio problem? You have come to the right place. This post shows you some feasible methods to solve the problem!

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EaseUS RecExperts

Table of Contents

Jane ZhouUpdated on Jan 31, 2023|min read

Workable Solutions Step-by-step Troubleshooting
Method 1. Restart/Reinstall OBS Studio Hit the Windows logo key and R keys on your keyboard...Full steps
Method 2. Unmute OBS Right-click on the Speaker icon in the lower right of your screen...Full steps
Method 3. Check Audio Track Settings 奥林匹克广播服务公司工作室推出并打开设置窗口。..Full steps
Method 4. Run OBS as Administrator Press the Windows logo key on the keyboard...Full steps
Method 5. Set Speakers as the Default Device Right-click the Speaker icon and select the Sounds option...Full steps
Method 6. Adjust Encoding Settings Open OBS Studio, then click "Settings" in the bottom right...Full steps
Method 7. Update Audio Driver Click "Start", enter "Device manager" in the search box...Full steps
Method 8. Try OBS Alternative (Recommend) Open this program, and click "Audio" to select audio source...Full steps

OBS Studio is a free andopen source screen recordercompatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it the first choice for recording any screen recording activities, especially for recording gameplay. With its help, you can capture any video or audio from your computer easily and quickly.

However, most users might sometimes encounter the "OBS Not Recording Audio" orOBS not recording screenissue while using it for recording. If you have the same difficulty, don't fret, as you can find some feasible methods to fix the problem here. Now, let's discuss how to fix OBS not capturing audio in detail.

#Method 1. Restart/Reinstall OBS Studio

Usually, if you encounter issues while using software, you might close and restart the program first, as there might be some conflicts on your computer. Therefore, if you face the OBS not recording audio problem, you also can simply close and restart this software to fix it.

If it's still not working, you can then reinstall OBS, because the problem sometimes might be caused by unknown errors during the installation process. Here are the steps:

Step 1.Hit the Windows logo key and R keys on your keyboard simultaneously, then enter a command line:appwiz.cpl.

Step 2.Find the OBS Studio option and right-click on it to uninstall it.

Step 3.At last, you can download and install OBS Studio from its official website, and open it to check if the problem is solved.

#Method 2. Unmute OBS on Your Computer

If you accidentally muted the OBS in the Volume Mixer, there is no doubt that your OBS cannot capture the sound. So another troubleshooting step is to check the Volume Mixer on your computer. Here's how:

Step 1.Right-click on the Speaker icon in the lower right of your screen, then open the Volume Mixer.

Step 2.Check if the speaker icon under OBS is muted. If yes, click on it to unmute OBS Studio.

Unmute OBS

Step 3.Once done, open the freeware to check whether OBS is recording the audio.

#Method 3. Check Audio Track Settings

If you select multiple audio tracks, the sound might disappear from OBS, which is why your OBS cannot capture sound. In this way, you'd better check the OBS tracks by following the below tutorials:

Step 1.奥林匹克广播服务公司工作室推出并打开设置窗口。

Step 2.Click "Audio" on the left sidebar, and next, choose the right audio device in the "Desktop Audio" and "Mic/Auxiliary" tabs. Once done, see if OBS captures audio or not. If the audio issue persists, try other solutions below.

OBS settings options

#Method 4. Run OBS as Administrator

Another way is to run OBS Studio as an administrator. By default, it will provide all the administrator account's rights, if you run it in this way. That will overcome the OBS not recording audio problem. Here's how:

Step 1.Press the Windows logo key on the keyboard, and enter "OBS Studio" in the search box.

Step 2.When you see the OBS Studio icon, right-click on it and select the "Run as administrator" option.

Run OBS as administrator

Step 3.Finally, open this software to check if it can capture desktop/Mic audio.

#Method 5. Set Speakers as the Default Device

If a default audio device already supports recording, the OBS Studio won't capture the new one you plug in. So, manually setting Speakers as the default audio device is also a workable solution to solve the OBS not capturing audio issue. The steps are as easy as 1-2-3:

Step 1.Right-click the Speaker icon and select the Sounds option.

Step 2.Next, a window will pop up. You need to select the Speakers on the Playback tab, and choose the "Set Default" option.

Step 3.At last, click Apply to save all the changes you made.

Set default audio device

#Method 6. Adjust Encoding Settings

If OBS Studio uses improper encoding settings, it might not capture any audio from the desktop or microphone. So, another solution is to check for the encoding settings. Now, let's see how to get it done:

Step 1.Open OBS Studio, then click "Settings" in the bottom right.

Step 2.Click "Output" on the left panel. Next, set Bitrate to 128 and type 3500 in the box. If needed, you can also customize the Rate Control option.

Step 3.Uncheck the Use CBR option and click OK to apply all changes you made.

Adjust OBS encodings

Step 4.Finally, restart OBS Studio and check if the problem is fixed or not.

#Method 7. Update Audio Driver

If the audio driver you use is installed incorrectly or it meets malfunctioning, the "OBS not recording audio" problem might appear. Given that, you need to keep your audio drive up-to-date:

Step 1.Click "Start", enter "Device manager" in the search box, and open it.

Step 2.Navigate the Audio inputs and outputs to select the audio driver you want to update. Then, right-click on it and choose the Update Driver option.

Update audio driver

Step 3.In the next window, choose "Search for Drivers Automatically", and your computer will check for the latest version of the driver if there is an update.

#Method 8. Try OBS Alternative (Recommend)

If the abovementioned methods you tried cannot fix the OBS not capturing audio" problem, you can switch to theOBS alternativeprogram for audio recording. And while speaking of alternatives to OBS Studio, EaseUS RecExperts is pretty nice.

Similar to thefree screen recorder- OBS, EaseUS RecExperts lets you record desktop audio, grab microphone sound, and capture both at the same time. To get a high-quality recording, you can even enable the noise reduction feature, which will help record screen without background noise. Moreover, this software also provides an easy solution tofix OBS capture not workingproblem, because many basic and advanced screen recording features are available here.

Most importantly, unlike OBS, this program is easier to use because of its friendly UI and intuitive workflow. So you can rely on it if your OBS is not working.

EaseUS RecExperts

FAQs About OBS Not Recording Audio

1. Why is OBS not recording audio?

Many reasons might cause theOBS not recording audioissue, and there are some common ones below:

  • Select the wrong audio tracks
  • Mute OBS in the Volume Mixer
  • OBS Studio is using improper encoding settings
  • The audio driver you use is installed incorrectly

2. How to Get Rid of the Black Bars During Recording

Black bars occur if you don't fit the source to the full size of your stream or choose the wrong aspect ratio/resolution. You can check out the solutions in this post: How to fix OBS capture not working.

3. How to make OBS not record Discord audio?

Step 1.Open OBS and click the Audio Mixer option.

Step 2.Identify Discord from the audio outputs.

Step 3.Mute Discord audio by using the slider below the audio source to adjust the volume.

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About the Author

author Jane Zhou

Jane Zhou

Jane is an experienced editor for EaseUS focused on tech blog writing. Familiar with all kinds of video editing and screen recording software on the market, she specializes in composing posts about recording and editing videos. All the topics she chooses

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