How to Fix Steelseries Arctis 5 Mic not Working [5 Easy Methods]

The Steelseries Arctis 5 is one of the most valuable headsets that you can get if you aren’t looking to spend a fortune on a headphone. It provides the best bang for the buck however, we have gotten some reports of Arctis 5 Mic not Working issue which we will be looking to solve in this article. Make sure to follow all the steps listed below and also to read through the reasons due to which this error is triggered in the first place.

What Prevents Arctis 5 Mic from Working?

After we started investigating this issue and started sifting through forums and user comments to determine viable methods to fix it, we realized that the following are some of the most prominent reasons due to which it occurs in the first place.

• On-Headset Mute: The headset features a button on the left ear cup that can be pushed out to mute the microphone and when this function is activated, red light lights up on the Microphone itself. This indicates that the microphone has been muted physically from the earcup.
• Game/Chat Feature: The audio dac features with the headset, contains the “Game and Chat” knob which can be pushed to either side to decrease or increase the volume of the game or the voice chat with teammates respectively. If you have pushed the knob all the way towards the “Game” option, this might cause issues with hearing and transmitting voice chat sometimes.
• Incorrect Selection: The headset installs two drivers on the computer, The Arctis 5 Game and the Arctis 5 Chat driver, both of these need to be selected under the Output and the Input devices in your Computer’s sound settings in order for them to work. If they haven’t been selected properly, the Arctis 5 mic not working issue will be triggered.

Now that you have been made familiar with most of the reasons due to which the Arctis 5 Mic isn’t working, we will be moving on towards implementing solutions to fix it completely.

Before You Start:

Before proceeding towards any major fixes listed below, it is better to restart your PC because refreshing the Operating System, clearing any temporary data, reconnecting the DAC and the USB cable may prove beneficial in eradicating this issue. There are numerous factors that can cause this particular problem to arise, ranging from a muted microphone setting to an incorrect device selection. Therefore, we have listed some troubleshooting steps you need to perform in order to fix this problem in a very little span of time:

Solution 1: Unmute the Microphone

The basic troubleshooting step to get around this issue is to Unmute the microphone. It can be done by simply locating the button on the left earcup of the headset behind the volume wheel. Make sure that the button is pushed in and the Red LED is at the OFF state (If the LED is ON then the microphone will be muted).

Solution 2: Tweak the Game Chat Feature

The Arctis 5 headset connects to the Sound DAC via a cable and it has a knob on it with the Setting for “Game” and “Chat”. Monitor that knob closely and if it is set all the way towards Game then it would be impossible for you to listen to the voice chat of your teammates resulting in issues with the microphone also. Hence, rotate the knob towards the center so that a balance is maintained between Game and Chat and check to see if, in this way, you are able to rid yourself of the Steelseries Arctis 5 mic not working issue.

Solution 3: Configure the Steel Series Engine

The Steel Series Engine is mandatory for this headset in order to function properly although it can be used without this software too. This engine was designed to have a low impact on your gaming rig while handling all of your important sound settings and it comprises of several important configurations that are required by the headphone to unlock all of its functionality. Therefore, follow the steps indexed below throughout to download, install, and configure the Steel Series Engine properly on your PC:

1. First of all download the SteelSeries Engine from here.
2. As soon as the download is completed, open the “Setup” and install the Engine.
3. Open the SteelSeries Engine software, disconnect the Headset from your computer and reconnect it. Now, you’ll observe that the engine recognizes your headset.
4. Click on the device name displayed and it will open up the device configurations. Click on the “Live Mic Preview”.

   

5. Now take out the microphone and try to speak and if the microphone is connected you will be able to hear yourself.
6. Adjust the settings according to your preference.

Solution 4: Allow Apps to access Microphone

Make sure that your mic is set up to “Let apps use my microphone” under the Windows 10 privacy settings for the microphone or else you will be running into the Arctis 5 mic not working error.

1. Type “Microphone Privacy Settings” in your search bar and click on the Microphone option.
2. Make sure that the toggle button located under the “Allow Apps To Access Your Microphone” is set to ON.

   

Solution 5: Select Arctis 5 Headset as a default device

You will observe that there are two devices that are displayed on your PC when you plug in the Arctis 5. The first one is the “Arctis 5 Game” device and the second one 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. Hence, to select both devices as the default ones follow the methodology provided beneath:

1. Find the “Volume” button located at the bottom right corner of your PC and click on it.
2. Choose the “Open Sound Settings” option located under the “Sound” heading.

   

3. Select the output device as “Headphones (SteelSeries Arctis Game)” and the Input device as “Microphone (SteelSeries Arctis 5 Chat)”.

   

4.  Apply the settings and hopefully the Arctis 5 mic not working issue would’ve been resolved by now. If the issue still persists then proceed towards the next potential fix stated below.

Solution 6: Adjust the Audio Levels

It might be possible that the transmission volume of the microphone is very low due to which you are running into the Arctis 5 mic not working error, therefore, the following steps will guide you to adjust the volume of your microphone according to the preference of the user:

1. Find the “Volume” button located at the bottom right corner of your PC and click on it.
2. Now select the “Sounds” option and afterward open the “Recording” tab.
3. Double click on the “SteelSeries Arctis 5 Chat” button and under the Levels tab and make sure that the volume is greater than 50% and the boost is greater than +08 dB.

   

Workaround:

Let’s check that your mic isn’t damaged or faulty first and get that out of the way. The best way to check that is to connect your microphone to another computer running any operating system other than Windows 10. If the microphone doesn’t work on the other computer too, that means it could be faulty. If it does work on the other computer that means you probably have a software problem on your Windows 10 computer.

On both PCs, if you’re using a desktop computer (not a laptop), make sure you’re connecting your microphone or headset to the back panel of the PC. The front audio ports aren’t always well connected to the motherboard.

Hopefully, the Arctis 5 mic not working issue should be resolved by now but if you need further assistance, contact here.