Fix: Arctis 5 Microphone Not Working
SteelSeries is a Danish manufacturer of gaming peripherals its inventory includes headsets, mice, keyboards, joysticks and much more. One of the more popular products of SteelSeries are their headsets and particularly the “Arctis” series has done wonders for the company. The Arctis 5 are the most used ones and have been seen in use by many professionals as well.
However, quite recently a lot of reports have been coming in of the microphone not working in the headset. This can be a frustrating problem while gaming and in this article, we are going to inform you about some of the reasons due to which this can happen and also provide you with viable solutions in order to ensure complete eradication of the problem.
What Prevents the Arctis 5 Microphone from Working?
There cause of the problem is not specific and it can be triggered due to a number of reasons.
- Microphone Mute: There is a button on the left earcup of the headset right behind the volume wheel. If this button is not pushed in you will be able to see a red light on the microphone this means that the microphone is muted.
- Game Chat Feature: Also, there was a new feature introduced in the headset. The sound card that comes in the box has a knob on it with “Game” written on one side and “Chat” on the other. By Default, this button is in the middle but if you somehow turned it all the way to the “Game” side then you will not be able to hear any voice chat by your teammates.
- SteelSeries Engine: Make sure that you have the SteelSeries engine installed on your computer in order for the headset to work correctly. After the engine is installed, it will prompt you to download an additional file for the Arctis 5 headset. This file will then be installed within the engine and your Arctis 5 will be ready to use.
- Default Devices: Make sure that the correct devices are selected as default as often it was seen that the default device that was selected in the sound control panel was not the one from Arctis 5 and that was preventing the microphone from working properly.
- Audio Settings: If the audio levels of the microphone are not adjusted, it is possible that the microphone is configured to pick up only very loud sounds. Therefore, make sure that the audio settings inside the audio control panel are configured to the best of your needs.
Now that you have a basic understanding of the nature of the problem we will move on towards the solutions.
Solution 1: Unmuting the Microphone.
There is a button on the left earcup of the headset right behind the volume wheel. If this button is not pushed in you will be able to see a red light on the microphone this means that the microphone is muted. Therefore, make sure that you press that button in and the red light on the microphone turns off. Only then will the microphone be unmuted.
Solution 2: Adjusting the “Game Chat” feature.
Also, there was a new feature introduced in the headset. The sound card that comes in the box has a knob on it with “Game” written on one side and “Chat” on the other. By Default, this button is in the middle but if you somehow turned it all the way to the “Game” side then you will not be able to hear any voice chat by your teammates and this can also cause issues with the microphone. Therefore, make sure that the knob is turned to the middle and not to any of the “Game” or “Chat” sides for the best gaming/chatting experience.
Solution 3: Configuring the SteelSeries Engine.
The headset requires the SteelSeries Engine to be downloaded in order for it to work properly. This Engine contains many important configurations that the Headphone requires to unlock all of its functionality. Therefore, in this step, we are going to be downloading, installing and configuring the SteelSeries Engine.
- Download the SteelSeries Engine from here
- Once the download finishes, open the Setup and install the Engine.
- Open the SteelSeries Engine, now disconnect the Headset from your computer and reconnect it.
- Once the engine recognizes your headset, click on the device name displayed.
- This will open up the device configurations, click on the “Live Mic Preview“.
- Now take out the microphone and try to speak, if the microphone is connected you will be able to hear yourself.
- Adjust the settings to your preference and minimize the application.
Configuring SteelSeries Engine.
Solution 4: Selecting Default Devices.
There are two devices that are connected to the computer when you plug in the Arctis 5. One is the “Arctis 5 Game” device and the other is the “Arctis 5 Chat” device. These two devices have to be selected as the default ones in order for the headset to function properly. Therefore, in this step we are going to be selecting these both devices as the default ones for which:
- Right-click on the “Volume” icon on the bottom right corner.
- Select the “Open Sound Settings” option.
- Under the “Sound” heading select the output device as “Headphones (SteelSeries Arctis Game)” and the Input device as “Microphone (SteelSeries Arctis 5 Chat)”.
- Apply the settings and check to see if the issue persists.
Adjusting the Default Devices.
Solutions 5: Adjusting Audio Levels.
It is possible that the microphone has been configured to pick up very loud sounds only or the transmission volume of the microphone is very low therefore in this step, we are going to configure the microphone volume to the preference of the user for that:
- Right-click on the volume icon on the bottom right side.
- Select “Sounds” and open the “Recording” tab.
- Double click on the “SteelSeries Arctis 5 Chat” button.
- Under the Levels tab, make sure that the volume is more than 50%.
Changing the Level of the Microphone
