Teams says your mic/camera is on, but people can’t hear/see you — 10 checks to try before reinstalling (Windows 10/11)

You join the meeting.
Mic is “on.” Camera is “on.”

And then you get:

  • “We can’t hear you.”

  • “Your screen is black.”

The maddening part is Teams still looks “connected,” so your brain jumps straight to reinstall.
In practice, most cases don’t need that.

Most Teams mic/cam failures usually come from one of these:

  • Something is physically blocked (privacy shutter / hardware mute)

  • Teams is using the wrong device

  • Another app grabbed the mic/camera first

  • A company policy (permissions/security) is blocking access

This guide eliminates the “most embarrassing” causes first, then goes settings → emergency workaround → IT escalation.

0️⃣ First: check the “physical blockers” (the #1 most humiliating cause)

Camera (privacy shutter)

Many laptops have a physical privacy slider over the lens.
If the lens is covered (or you see a red dot), slide it open.

Mic (hardware mute)

Many headsets have a mute switch on the inline remote or the earcup.
Windows can show your mic as enabled, but if the headset is muted at the hardware level, you’re done.

(A surprising number of people fix it right here.)

1️⃣ Split the problem: “only my input” vs “everything is glitchy”

Quick check:

  • Can you hear other people normally?

  • Does the mic input bar in Teams move at all?

✅ You hear others fine but your mic bar is dead → start at 2️⃣
✅ You also can’t hear them / audio is robotic / video freezes → jump to 8️⃣ too

2️⃣ The most common one: Teams is using the wrong device (and HDMI/monitor audio is a trap)

Go to: Teams → Settings → Devices

Lock these three down:

  • Microphone

  • Speaker

  • Camera

What usually works:

  • If you use a USB headset, set both mic + speaker to that headset

  • Pick one camera (built-in or external) and stick with it

Docking station / HDMI monitor pitfall (super common):
Windows often auto-switches audio to the monitor’s “speakers” (which may be silent).
Make sure your Speaker is your headset—not something like:

  • “Dell Monitor…”

  • “Intel Display Audio…”

  • “HDMI/Display Audio…”

Test fast:
Run a Teams test call right away.
(Tip: type /testcall in the Teams search bar to launch it instantly without digging through menus.)

3️⃣ Closing Teams isn’t quitting Teams — do a real “Quit” (fastest soft reset)

A very common lie people tell themselves:

“I closed it and reopened it.”

Teams often keeps running in the background.

Do this instead:

  • Find the Teams icon in the system tray (bottom-right)

  • Right-click → Quit

  • Launch Teams again

This is a cleaner reset than rebooting the whole PC.

4️⃣ It’s not “broken”—it’s blocked: check Windows mic/camera permissions

Windows 11/10:

  • Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone

  • Settings → Privacy & security → Camera

Make sure:

  • “Microphone access” / “Camera access” is ON

  • “Let apps access…” is ON

  • Teams is allowed (if it appears)

⚠️ If the toggle is greyed out or locked
That usually means company policy. Skip to 10️⃣.

5️⃣ Bluetooth headsets can silently kill your mic (Hands-Free trap)

If your mic device name shows:

  • Hands-Free

  • Headset
    …your mic may be routing through the low-quality hands-free profile or failing.

Fastest fixes:

  • If it’s urgent: switch to a USB/wired headset

  • If you must stay on Bluetooth: set Teams mic to Built-in Microphone temporarily and test

6️⃣ If your voice keeps cutting out, lower Noise Suppression

Go to: Teams → Settings → Devices → Noise suppression

If it’s on Auto, try:

  • Low

Over-aggressive noise suppression can chop your voice.

7️⃣ Black camera screen (or mic not available)? Another app may have grabbed the device

Close anything that might be using mic/camera:

  • Zoom

  • OBS

  • Windows Camera app

  • Browser tabs with webcam/mic tests

If needed:

  • Open Task Manager and end obvious camera/audio processes

  • Reopen Teams

💡 Pro Tip: Windows “Exclusive Mode” mic conflict
Sometimes Windows allows one app to lock the microphone exclusively, so Teams can’t use it.

Fix it here:

  • Settings → System → Sound → More sound settings

  • Recording tab → select your mic → Properties

  • Advanced tab

  • Uncheck: “Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device”

  • Apply → reconnect Teams

This stops apps from fighting over your mic.

(If you don’t see “More sound settings,” you can also open Control Panel → Sound.)

8️⃣ Robot audio / freezing / stuttering usually means network instability

Quick checks:

  • Is your phone on the same Wi-Fi also struggling?

  • If you’re on a VPN, does the meeting stabilize when VPN is OFF?
    (Only do this if allowed.)

Most reliable improvements:

  • Use wired Ethernet

  • Move closer to the router

  • Pause heavy downloads/streams during meetings

👉 If Wi-Fi looks connected but behaves unstable, this helps:
[Wi-Fi is connected but there’s no internet — step-by-step checklist]

9️⃣ Meeting starts in 60 seconds? Use Teams on the web (emergency escape hatch)

  • Open Edge or Chrome

  • Go to teams.microsoft.com

  • Join from the browser

Web Teams often works even when the desktop app is acting up.

👉 If Teams works in the browser but fails in the desktop app, the issue is often related to networking layers (VPN/proxy/security agents) or the app’s device stack.
If your VPN also causes connectivity issues, this guide can help:
[When VPN is on, the internet stops working — advanced Windows fixes]

🔟 Tell IT/Helpdesk this (copy/paste) to get help faster

Use one of these instead of “Teams doesn’t work”:

  • “I confirmed device selection in Teams, and the mic input stays at 0 even in a test call (/testcall).”

  • “Windows privacy permissions for mic/camera are policy-locked (greyed out).”

  • “Privacy shutter and headset mute switch are fine—camera still shows a black screen in Teams.”

  • “Audio/video only breaks when VPN is on; with VPN off it stabilizes (policy may require VPN).”

  • “I disabled Windows mic Exclusive Mode for this device, but the issue persists.”

That pushes IT straight into policy/security/network/device-permission checks.

Wrap-up (in 3 lines)

Most Teams mic/camera issues boil down to: hardware block → wrong device (monitor audio trap) → permissions → device grabbed by another app (Exclusive Mode) → network/VPN/policy.
If you clear 0–5, you’ll fix a big chunk without reinstalling anything.
If you’re out of time, use web Teams, then escalate with the copy/paste lines above.

👉 This guide is also available in Korean.
It explains the same issue with localized, Korean-language instructions.
[Teams에서 마이크·카메라는 켰는데 “안 들리고/안 보일 때” — 재설치 전에 먼저 확인할 10가지 (윈도우 10/11)]