Fix Missing, Quiet, or Echoing Audio in Streamlabs Desktop
Source-checked · About 10 minutes
Answer
Watch the Audio Mixer while you speak or play sound. If no meter moves, select the correct microphone or desktop-audio device. If the meter moves but the recording is silent, check the track and monitoring settings. Echo usually means the same device is being captured or monitored twice.
Before you continue
MeterSee whether Streamlabs receives the sound.
DeviceChoose the microphone or output you actually use.
RecordingMake a short test and listen back with headphones.
Open Streamlabs Desktop and record 20 seconds while speaking and playing a familiar sound. Use headphones for the test so speakers do not feed back into the microphone.
2
Watch the Audio Mixer
Speak and play sound while watching the mixer. A moving meter means Streamlabs is receiving that source. No movement points to the source, device, mute, or operating-system permission.
3
Choose the correct devices
Open Settings > Audio and select the microphone you actually use. On Windows, set Desktop Audio to the same output device used by Windows. Avoid leaving several default and named devices active for the same sound.
4
Check each source in the mixer
Make sure the speaker icon is not muted and place the fader near a sensible level. Open the mixer's settings to confirm the source is sent to the recording track you use.
5
Remove duplicate capture and monitoring
If sound echoes, temporarily mute sources one at a time. Keep only one capture route for the microphone and one for desktop audio. Set monitoring to Off unless you intentionally need to hear that source through Streamlabs.
6
Handle macOS desktop audio separately
macOS does not provide desktop audio to Streamlabs in the same way as Windows. Follow Streamlabs' current audio-routing instructions for the macOS version you use instead of choosing a random virtual device.
If the microphone works elsewhere but not in Streamlabs, check Windows or macOS microphone privacy permission for Streamlabs Desktop.
If only one scene is silent, compare that scene's sources with a working scene; global audio settings may already be correct.
If crackling continues, use one sample rate consistently across Streamlabs and the audio device, close exclusive audio apps, and repeat the local recording test.
ⓘ Sources and verification
Checked against official documentation on . Scope: Streamlabs Desktop on Windows or macOS.
The written steps follow the current official help pages linked below. The saved video is an older walkthrough and may show different labels.
