# Blabb cannot hear you

The pill says it is listening, the dots stay still, and nothing is transcribed. Almost always Windows microphone permission.

When Blabb cannot hear you, the seven dots on the pill stop moving and the live captions stay
empty. Work down this list — the first item is the cause most of the time.

## 1. Windows is blocking the microphone

Windows can refuse microphone access to an app without telling that app much about it, and this
is the single most common reason Blabb goes quiet.

Blabb handles this one differently from every other failure. It says **"Microphone access is off"**
in the live captions and opens the Windows microphone settings page for you. It is one of only two
things Blabb will interrupt you for; everything else is left to the dots and the log.

To fix it:

1. Open Windows **Settings** → **Privacy & security** → **Microphone**.
2. Turn on **Microphone access**.
3. Turn on **Let apps access your microphone**.
4. Check Blabb is allowed in the list of apps beneath it.

Both switches matter. The first is the machine-wide one; the second governs apps individually, and
either one being off has the same effect.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Press your shortcut again once you have granted access — that is all it normally takes. Blabb
> opens the microphone at the start of each dictation, not at startup, so the next one picks up the
> new permission. Only restart Blabb if it still cannot hear you after that.

## 2. The wrong input device is selected

Windows will happily give Blabb a microphone that is not near your mouth. A webcam microphone
across the desk, a monitor's built-in one, or a headset you are not wearing all count as working
devices as far as Windows is concerned.

Open Settings → **Voice input** and check the **Microphone** dropdown is the device you are
actually speaking into. See [Voice input](/docs/configuration/voice-input/) for what each control
on that page does.

## 3. The device was unplugged

If the device you selected is unplugged or goes inactive, Blabb falls back to the Windows default
device rather than failing. That is the right behaviour, but it means you may be recording through
something else without being told.

Plug the device back in and select it again in **Voice input**. This is worth checking first if
the problem started the day you moved desks or swapped headsets.

## 4. A hardware mute switch

Many headsets mute in the hardware — an inline button on the cable, a boom arm that mutes when you
flip it up, or a switch on the base of a desk microphone. Windows and Blabb both see a working
device that is sending silence, so nothing in software will tell you about it.

Check the physical control before you go any further with settings.

## 5. Levels

A microphone that is being heard but heard faintly is a different problem with the same symptom.
The dots will move a little rather than not at all.

[Windows microphone levels](/docs/accuracy/windows-microphone-levels/) covers the input level and
boost settings that decide how loud you arrive.

## Still nothing

If the microphone works in other applications but not in Blabb, send the log. It is at
`%LocalAppData%\Blabb\logs\`, rolling daily, and the newest file covers the attempt you just made.
[Logs and getting help](/docs/common-issues/logs-and-support/) says what else to include.

If the microphone does not work anywhere, it is a Windows problem rather than a Blabb one, and
Microsoft's guide is the better place to start:
[Fix microphone problems](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/fix-microphone-problems-5f230348-106d-bfa4-1db5-336f35576011).

## See also

- [Voice input](/docs/configuration/voice-input/) — choosing the device, and automatic gain control
- [Microphone setup](/docs/accuracy/microphone-setup/) — placement, which matters more than any setting
- [Nothing gets typed](/docs/common-issues/nothing-gets-typed/) — when Blabb hears you but no text arrives