9 Solutions to Fix OBS Not Recording Audio Issue [Quick & Effective]

OBS Studio is a popular and open-source software used for live streaming and recording video content from your computer. It's widely used by content creators, gamers, and professionals to capture their screens, record gameplay, webinars, podcasts, and more. However, many users have encountered the annoying problem of OBS not recording audio when trying to record screen with audio. Why does this happen? How to solve this problem? Don’t worry! This blog will tell you the reasons and offer you 9 feasible solutions to fix this issue. Please keep reading!

Why OBS Not Recording Audio?

There may be several reasons why OBS does not record audio, each depending on a different setup or situation:

• Outdated sound drivers.
  Outdated or incompatible sound drivers may prevent audio recording in OBS and need to be updated to ensure functionality.
• Incorrect playback device.
  If the playback device is not set up correctly in OBS, this may cause problems with recording and the correct device needs to be selected.
• Accidentally mute OBS.
  Accidental muting in OBS settings may inadvertently mute audio capture, so audio settings need to be thoroughly checked.
• Conflict with other software.
  Conflicts between OBS and other software, such as audio management tools, may prevent recording. 
• Improper sound settings.
  Incorrect sound settings in OBS may cause the “OBS studio not recording audio” issue.
• Incompatible with system and installed OBS version.
  Compatibility issues between the system and the OBS version may prevent recording. 

9 Solutions to Fix OBS Not Recording Audio

Based on the above issues, there are several easy and effective solutions to the problem of OBS not recording audio. Scroll down for more details!

Solution 1. Unmute OBS on your computer

This issue may be encountered if OBS is muted in the volume mixer. To resolve the issue of “OBS not capturing audio”, the first thing is to unmute the application’s sound.

Step 1. Locate the speaker icon positioned in the right corner of your screen and opt for Open Volume Mixer from the provided dropdown selection.

Step 2. Within the new window, identify the speaker icon linked to the OBS application and click it to restore the audio volume.

After that, you can try to record audio with OBS Studio to check if OBS is now successfully recording audio.

Solution 2. Check your audio settings

If specific audio settings in OBS aren’t configured correctly, capturing audio may fail. It is critical to address these settings to avoid problems with OBS not recording audio.

Step 1. Open OBS on your PC > Navigate to the File menu and choose Settings from the dropdown list.

Step 2. Within the left-hand menu, access the Audio section > choose Channels on the right-hand interface > designate the Stereo option.

Step 3. Under the Desktop Audio Devices tab, select the preferred device for OBS use from the available drop-down menus.

Tip: If necessary, follow this procedure for the Microphone/Auxiliary Audio Devices menu.

Once done, restart OBS to assess whether the issue of OBS not recording desktop audio has been resolved. If the problem persists, continue to explore subsequent solutions.

Solution 3. Reinstall OBS Application

Sometimes, the “OBS not capturing game audio” problem may be caused by technical issues, software glitches or corrupted files. In this case, you can reinstall OBS and restart it to stop its audio capture problem.

Solution 4. Check OBS audio tracking settings

Sometimes audio may disappear from OBS due to choices such as multi-track selection or accidental separation of audio and video files in the same clip. To solve the problem of “OBS not recording audio”, follow the steps below to check your OBS track configuration:

Step 1. Launch OBS from the desktop and locate the Settings icon in the lower left corner.

Step 2. Navigate to File > Output > Recordings to ensure consistency in recording track selection.

Solution 5. Set your speaker as the default device 

If an existing audio device has been configured to record, OBS Studio may not be able to detect the newly connected audio device. Manually assigning "Speakers" as the default audio device is a possible solution to the problem of OBS not being able to capture audio.

Step 1. First right click the speaker icon and select the Sounds option.

Step 2. In the subsequent window, navigate to the Recordings tab > select the relevant and click the Set Defaults button.

Step 3. Click the Apply button to confirm the adjustments, thus preserving all the changes made.

Solution 6. Update your audio driver 

If your audio driver is not up to date, the operating system may have difficulty establishing a connection with the audio output device, resulting in the “OBS not recording mic audio” issue. To enhance your audio drivers, follow these steps:

Step 1. Right-click the Start menu and choose Device Manager from pop-up window.

Step 2. Once there, expand the section labeled the Sound, video, and game controllers option > right-click the audio driver and select the Update driver option.

Solution 7. Adjust encoding settings

If you are experiencing the “OBS not capturing audio” problem, the encoding settings may be incorrect. When this occurs, OBS may not be able to record audio from the desktop and microphone, so you need to thoroughly check your configuration. The following is a step-by-step guide to making the necessary adjustments:

Step 1. Launch OBS Studio and click the Settings option in the lower right corner.

Step 2. Access the Output section in the left panel > Enter the value 3500 in the box provided and change your bitrate to 128.

Step 3. Find the Use CBR option and deselect it > Then, click the OK button to confirm all changes.

Solution 8. Run OBS as administrator 

Trying to execute OBS Studio with administrator privileges may also fix the issue of OBS not recording audio. Follow the steps below to implement this solution:

Step 1. Press the Windows + S keys on your keyboard and then type OBS Studio in the search box.

Step 2. Once the OBS Studio icon becomes visible, right-click it and select the Run as administrator option.

Solution 9. Try OBS alternative

If the above solutions mentioned don’t work, consider using an OBS Studio alternative such as iTop Screen Recorder. It’s not only a free and safe screen recorder but also has an integrated teleprompter to enhance your recording experience and an advanced built-in editor that helps in editing your recordings easily. Besides, iTop Screen Recorder supports multiple output formats to ensure compatibility with different platforms and preferences.

Benefits of Using iTop Screen Recorder to Record Videos:

• Same free screen recorder as OBS.
  iTop Screen Recorder offers the same level of freebies as OBS, providing users with a free way to capture video Windows 10 for their screen recording needs.
• Configurable screen size with audio.
  With the help of iTop Screen Recorder, you can easily record a part of your screen as well as the accompanying audio.
• Easy-to-use video editing tools.
  iTop Screen Recorder offers a free video editor that makes it easy for you to edit your recordings such as adding images or texts, clipping, adding effects, subtitles, and more.
• Export video in desired format.
  After recording and editing, this screen recorder allows you to export the video in the format of your choice, ensuring that your video is suitable for your target platform and audience.

So, how to record video with iTop Screen Recorder? Please follow the simple steps:

Step 1. Free download and install iTop Screen Recorder on your computer > Run iTop Screen Recorder and go to Settings to adjust the settings as needed.

Step 2. Go to the Record section on the home page > Click the arrow next to Full Screen and choose the desired recording area from the drop-down menu > Turn on Speaker, Mic, Webcam, and Mouse as you need > Click the REC button to start recording.

Step 3. After the 3-second countdown, your screen as well as your voice will be recorded if you have turned on Speaker. When want to stop the recording process, simply press F9.

Once the recording is done, you can click the clip and edit my video option to change your recorder video.

OBS Not Recording Audio

1. How to record computer audio only with OBS?

Step 1: Download and install OBS on your PC and then launch the application.

Step 2: Click File in the menu bar to access Settings > Go to the Audio settings > Set the Desktop Audio to default. Click Apply and then OK to save the settings.

Step 3: Move to the Output settings and switch the output mode to Advanced > In the Recording tab, modify the recording format to mp4.

Step 4: After completing these settings, click Start Recording to begin recording.

2. What are the best audio input settings for OBS?

If you only want to transmit audio, you can select an OBS bitrate configuration as low as 64 kbps. However, to enhance the audio quality output, it is recommended to increase the audio bitrate setting to the 192-320 kbps range.

3. How to make OBS not record Discord audio?

Step 1: Launch OBS Studio and recognize the Audio Mixer panel at the bottom of the interface.

Step 2: In the list of displayed audio outputs, find the entry associated with Discord. Look for the slider located below the audio source.

Step 3: To mute the Discord audio on the OBS, drag the slider all the way to the left to effectively mute the audio connection.

Conclusion

After reading this post, you may know how to fix the “OBS not recording audio” issue. This blog has covered 9 easy and useful ways, and among them, the best choice is using an OBS Studio alternative called iTop Screen Recorder. With this screen recorder Windows 10, you can record videos whether it’s online meetings, video calls, game clips, personal presentations, or lectures.

In addition, iTop Screen Recorder also supports audio and webcam capture. Why not try it out? Download and use this screen recorder right now!

iTop Screen Recorder - Record Audio Without Background Noise

• Record system audio or external microphone flawlessly
• Record streaming audio without quality loss
• Remove background noise of audio recording
• Save audio recordings as MP3, AAC, FLAC and WMA

Free Download Buy Now