Fix: Voice Chat in Sea of Thieves not Working on PC

Voice chat in Sea of Thieves may not work due to an outdated or corrupt sound driver. Also, disabled mic/chat access in Windows Xbox privacy settings may also stop the voice chat from working.

This problem does not have a set pattern of occurrence. The affected users encounter it when they try to use the game chat but their voice is not picked. In some cases, users cannot hear other users as well. Some people encountered it on the very first day of playing the game, whereas other users encountered it after having the game working normally for a long period of time.

Before we dive into more detailed solutions to fix the voice chat in Sea of Thieves, make sure the audio is not muted in the game. Also, check if your microphone is working with other applications and games. Moreover, Sea of Thieves has known issues with the USB mics and Logitech headset/mic; if you are using any of these devices, then try to replace them. Furthermore, pull out your mic and then plug back to check if the issue is resolved.

Solution 1: Update Your System Drivers

System drivers are continuously updated to improve performance by patching known bugs and satiate the technological advancements. If your system drivers, especially the sound driver is outdated, then it can be the root cause of the current voice chat error. Given the conditions, updating your system drivers may solve the problem.

1. Update system drivers especially your sound driver.

   

2. Update Windows to the latest build as many manufacturers prefer to update drivers through the Windows Update channel.
3. After updating drivers and Windows OS, launch Sea of Thieves and check if it is working fine.

Solution 2: Reinstalling the Sound Driver

Hardware Drivers are the driving force of a system device. Your sound card uses its driver to communicate with the OS and game. If your sound card driver is corrupt, then you may encounter the current voice chat issue. In this scenario, uninstalling and then reinstalling the drivers may solve the issue.

1. Right-click on the Windows button and then in the menu shown, click on Device Manager.

   

2. Expand the “Sound, video, and game controllers” option.

   

3. Now right-click on the sound device and then click on Uninstall Device.

   

4. Click on the checkmark of Delete the Driver Software for This Device and then click on the Uninstall button.

   

5. After uninstalling the driver, restart your system.
6. Upon restart, the sound driver should automatically be installed by Windows. If not, open Action Menu in Device Manager and click on Scan for Hardware Changes. You can also download and install the latest driver from the manufacturer’s website.

   

7. After reinstalling the sound driver, launch Sea of Thieves and check if it is clear of the voice chat issue.

Solution 3: Clean Boot Windows to Check for Software Conflict

Windows applications coexist in the Windows environment with other third-party applications and share the system/network resources. If an essential resource for the Sea of Thieves gets blocked due to a conflict, then the voice chat of the game may not work. To rule out any software conflict, it will be a good idea to clean boot your system.

1. Clean boot your system.

   

2. Now launch the game and check if it is working fine. If so, then try to find the conflicting application. Audio-related applications like a voice changer application can be the root cause of the issue.

Solution 4: Temporarily Disable Your Antivirus/Firewall

Your antivirus and firewall play a critical role in the security of your device and data. But these applications have a history of creating issues for online games. The current voice chat issue can be caused by your antivirus/firewall (Kaspersky is known to create this type of issue). It can be checked by temporarily disabling your antivirus/firewall.

Warning: Proceed at your own risk as disabling your antivirus/firewall may expose your system to severe security threats like viruses, trojans, etc.

1. Disable your antivirus and turn off your firewall. Also, make sure the router firewall (if any) is allowing the audio service of the game.

   

2. Now launch Sea of Thieves and check if voice chat is working fine. If so, then add an exception for the audio service of the game in virus/firewall settings. Afterward, do not forget to turn on your antivirus/firewall.

Solution 5: Enable Mic Access for Sea of Thieves in Windows Privacy Settings

From Windows 10, Microsoft has introduced plenty of features to secure the privacy of users. One of such features is the control over Microphone access. If the mic access for Sea of Thieves is disabled in the Windows Privacy Settings, then the voice chat may not work for Sea of Thieves. In this case, enabling mic access for the game in the privacy settings may solve the problem.

1. Exit the game.
2. Click on the Windows button and type Privacy Settings. Then in the search results, click on Privacy Settings.

   

3. Now in the left pane of the window, find and click on Microphone.

   

4. Now click on the Change button to enable Allow Access to the Microphone on this device (if disabled).
5. Then enable Allow Apps to access your Microphone.

   

6. Now, under the option of Choose Which Microsoft Store Apps can Access Your Microphone, find Sea of Thieves and enable its access for Microphone.

   

7. Also, enable Microphone access for Microsoft Store and Xbox Console Companion as well.

   

8. Restart your computer. Now, launch Sea of Thieves and check if voice chat is working fine.

Solution 5: Enable Chat Access in Privacy Settings of Xbox

Besides Windows privacy settings, the Xbox app has its privacy settings as well. If the chat access in Xbox privacy settings is blocked, then voice chat will not work for Sea of Thieves. In this case, changing the access to Everyone or Friends only (if all your teammates are your friends) may solve the problem.

1. Exit Sea of Thieves game.
2. Open the Xbox website, log in using your Xbox account credentials and click on your profile icon.
3. Then click on horizontal ellipses (3 horizontal dots) and in the menu shown, click on Xbox Settings.

   

4. Now in the left pane of the window, click on Privacy & online safety.

   

5. Now scroll down and under the Section of “Other Can”, set option of “Others can communicate with voice, text, or invites” to Everyone (or Friends if all your teammates are friends).

   

6. Now scroll down till the end and click on the Submit button

   

7. Then wait for 5 minutes and then launch the game to check if voice chat is working fine.

Solution 6: Set the Required Audio Devices as Default Devices

The sound in Sea of Thieves is channeled through the default audio input and output devices. If default input/output devices are different than the devices that you are trying to use with the game, then the voice chat in the game may not work. In this case, making the input/output devices that you want to use with the game as default may solve the problem.

1. Open the Xbox Console Companion and in the left pane of the window, click on the gear icon to open Settings.

   

2. Now in the right pane of the window, click on the General tab and scroll down till the Party option.
3. Now make sure party volume is not set to zero and check what device is used for Speaker.
4. Then under the Microphone option, check what device is used for the Microphone.

   

5. Now launch Sea of Thieves and start voice chat. Keep it running and switch to the desktop of your system.
6. Click on the Windows button and type Sound Settings. Then in the search results, click on Sound Settings.

   

7. Now in the left pane of the window, select your output device as noted in step 3 in the dropdown of Choose Your Output Device.
8. Then select your input device as noted in step 4 in the dropdown of Choose Your Input Device.

   

9. Now scroll down till the end and under Advanced Sound Options, click on App Volume and Device Preferences.

   

10. Then make sure that Master Volume is not set to zero and the App volume (nearly end of the window) is not set to zero as well.
11. Also, select the devices for speakers and microphone as noted in step 3 and 4 in the dropdowns of input and output devices for Sea of Thieves.

    

12. Now switch to the game and check if voice chat is working fine in the game.
13. If not, exit the Sea of Thieves and Xbox app.
14. Then click on the Windows button and type Control Panel. Then in the search results, click on Control Panel.

    

15. Then click on Hardware and Sound and then select Sound.

    

16. Then in the Playback or Recording tab (depends upon which device you want to use with the game), right-click the device that you want to use with the Sea of Thieves, and in the sub-menu shown, click on Set as Default Communication Device.

    

17. Now launch the game and check if voice chat in the game has started to operate fine.

If you are still having issues with the voice chat, the exit the Sea of Thieves and Xbox app. Then disable all the audio devices in the Playback/Recording tab of Sound settings except the one you want to use with the game and then launch the game to check if the voice chat has started to work fine.

Solution 7: Manually Open Ports Required by Sea of Thieves

When a server is queried by an application, the application uses the IP address of the server with a port number to access the server. The port number tells the server what kind of service the application wants to use. If the ports required by Sea of Thieves are not open or configured properly, then voice chat of the game may not work. In this case, opening the specific ports required by Sea of Thieves may solve the issue.

To open ports for Sea of Thieves, use method 2 of How to Fix Sea of Thieves Marblebread Error Code

If you are still having issues, then try to use a 3^rd party service like Xbox Chat or Discord, etc.