You’ll Need to Allow Microphone for Calls While Using Facebook On Windows 10

When trying to make a video call using Facebook messenger in the browser, it sometimes complains about the hardware access error. The error pops up saying “You need to allow microphone and camera access for video calls on PC”. This may be because you may want to enable the camera and microphone access on your computer or because of outdated drivers, conflicting devices, site permission issues, etc. In this article, we have different solutions to solve this error. Let us start!

Method 1: Allow Desktop Apps To Access Your Camera And Microphone

 

Step 1: Open the Windows settings using Windows + I keys together

Step 2: Click on Privacy

 

Privacy

 

Step 3: On the left side, scroll down and click on the microphone

 

Microphone

 

Step 4: At the right enable the option Allow apps to access your microphone by clicking on the toggle bar below it (a blue color should appear in the toggle bar)

 

Allow App

 

Step 5: Scroll down and choose which Microsoft store apps can access your microphone section, enable the applications that need the microphone access by clicking on the toggle bar beside them

Step 6: Now EnableĀ the Allow desktop apps to access your microphone setting option by clicking on the toggle bar below it

 

Allow Desktop App



 

Step 7: Repeat the same steps as for camera option as well. Now at the left click on the Camera option

 

Camera

 

Step 8: Then at the right side enable the option Allow apps to access your camera by clicking on the toggle bar below it (a blue color should appear in the toggle bar)

 

Allow App Cam

 

Step 9: Scroll down and at the choose which Microsoft store apps can access your camera section, enable the applications that need the camera access by clicking on the toggle bar beside them

Step 10: Now EnableĀ the Allow desktop apps to access your camera setting option by clicking on the toggle bar below it

 

Allow Desktop App Cam

 

Method 2: Reset The Site Permission In The Browser

 

Step 1: In the browser address bar type the Facebook address and click on the lock symbol at the left of the Facebook address

 

Lock

 

Step 2: From the appeared list click on site settings

 

Site Settings

 

Step 3: Click on reset permissions

 

Reset Permissions

 

Step 4: Relaunch the browser and open the Facebook. If it is asking for camera and microphone access, allow it and check if it is working fine.

 

Method 3: Check For the Latest Windows Update

 

Step 1: Open the windows settings using Windows + I keys together

Step 2: Click on update & security

 

Update Security

 

Step 3: In the windows update page, click on check for updates. If there are any updates it will be installed

 

Check Updates

 

Method 4: Update the Drivers

 

Step 1: Open the run prompt using Windows + R keys together

Step 2: Type devmgmt.msc in the run prompt and hit enter. This will open the device manager window

 

Device Manager

 

Step 3: Scroll down and expand the network adapter option

Step 4: Right click on the device that is troublesome and select update driver

 

Update Driver

 

Step 5: Click on search automatically for drivers

 

Search Drivers

 

Step 6: If there are any new drivers available it will list and you can install it and then check if all works fine. If there is no available drivers then your device is up to date.

 

Method 5: Re-install The Problematic Drivers

 

Step 1: Open the run prompt using Windows + R keys together

Step 2: Type devmgmt.msc in the run prompt and hit enter. This will open the device manager window

 

Device Manager

 

Step 3: Expand the camera option and right click on your camera

Step 4: Then click on uninstall device

 

Uninstall Device

 

Step 5: Select the check box beside Delete the driver software for this device

Step 6: Click on the uninstall button and then restart your computer

Step 7: Once the restart is done the computer will automatically install the default driver

Step 8: Repeat and follow the same steps for microphone option as well. Then check if the issue is solved.

 

Method 6: Clean Boot Your System To Remove Conflicting Applications

 

Step 1: Open the run prompt using Windows + R keys together

Step 2: Type msconfig in the run prompt and hit enter. This will open the system configuration window

 

Msconfig

 

Step 3: Go to the services tab

 

Services

 

Step 4: Tick the checkbox beside hide all Microsoft services at the bottom

Step 5: Then click on disable all button at the right side

 

Disable

 

Step 6: Click on apply and then ok to save the changes

Step 7: Go to the startup tab

Step 8: Click on open task manager link

 

Startup

 

Step 9: In the startup impact column check for high impact applications, select them and click on disable button. This only disables them from automatically starting up when the computer is rebooted

 

High

 

Step 10: Restart the system and it will start in the clean boot mode.

 

Method 7: Check If They Are Any Conflicting Devices And Disable them

 

Step 1: Open the run prompt using Windows + R keys together

Step 2: Type devmgmt.msc in the run prompt and hit enter

 

Device Manager

 

Step 3: Conflicting devices might be the secondary camera in your system or microphones or the bluetooth devices

Step 4: If you have them, disable them. for example, if you have secondary camera expand the camera option by clicking on the arrow beside it

Step 5: Right click on the camera option and click on disable device

 

Disable Device

 

Step 6: Similarly follow the same for other secondary devices and then check if all works fine. But if the issue still persist then make sure to enable them back.

 

Method 8: Create EnableFrameServerMode Key in Registry Editor

 

Note: Take the backup of the registry before moving forward with the below steps

Step 1: Open the run prompt using Windows + R keys together

Step 2: Type regedit.exe in the run prompt and hit enter

 

Registry

 

Step 3: A user account control window will appear click on yes. This will open the windows registry editor

Step 4: Navigate to the following path

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows Media Foundation

 

Registry Path

 

Step 5: From the left, click on platform. If it is not present create one by right clicking on the Windows Media Foundation then select new

Step 6: From the flyout option click on key and give the key name as platform

 

Platform

 

Step 7: Now click on platform then at the right side, right click on the empty space then click on new

Step 8: Select DWORD (32-bit) Value

 

Dword



 

Step 9: Now give the name as EnableFrameServerMode

 

Server Mode

 

Step 10: Double click on EnableFrameServerMode and in the value data give the value as 0

 

Value

 

Step 11: Click on ok

Step 12: Close the registry editor and restart the system and check if the issue is resolved.

 

Method 9: Use Microsoft Store Messenger App

 

Step 1: Open the Microsoft Store. To do it type Microsoft store in the windows search bar and hit enter. Click on Microsoft store in the search results to open it

 

Microsoft Store

 

Step 2: In the Microsoft store app search bar type messenger and hit enter

 

Messenger

 

Step 3: Go to the Facebook messenger and click on get button then install it

 

Get

 

Step 4: Now open the messenger app and login with your credentials

Step 5: Start a video call and check if the camera and microphone is working as expected.

 

Method 10: Use The Incognito Mode Or Try Another Browser

 

Open the browser in incognito mode then login to the Facebook and try if all works fine. If not try other browsers than what you are currently using. For example if you are using Chrome, then try using Firefox, Edge, Opera etc.

 

Method 11: Start A Voice Call Then Switch To Video Call

 

Step 1: If nothing works then give it a try, open Facebook in your browser

Step 2: Try to do a voice call to any of your contact



Step 3: When the call is set and the persons in the call can hear each other, switch to video call by clicking on the video/camera icon.

 

That’s it! I hope the above information is helpful. Let us know which of the above method worked for you. Thank you!!