TEAMS has lost its ability to run audio.

ron goswell 0 Reputation points
2026-09-02T02:26:00.9733333+00:00

This problem has stumped the experts.

Two hours with two different Geek Squad technicians, and the problem has stumped both of them, including Copilot as well. All the hardware is working perfectly, and we have reinstalled the latest version of TEAMS. However, the problem persists that Teams cannot play audio, even through the speakers of the laptop itself.

When we log into ZOOM, everything works perfectly. Audio is available with total clarity on ChatGPT, Copilot, YouTube. It doesn't matter. But in TEAMS, no matter what we've done or whatever setting we've used, it will no longer play audio.

Interestingly enough, it was working fine three weeks ago. If it is not a hardware problem and there is a brand new install of the TEAMS app, what can it possibly be? Nobody seems to know.

Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams for business | Meetings and calls | Audio and video
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  1. BabybooHN 2,955 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-02T03:01:55.3633333+00:00

    Dear @ron goswell

    I completely understand how frustrating it is to have Microsoft Teams fail on audio especially after spending hours troubleshooting and verifying that all other apps like Zoom and YouTube work fine.

    Since your hardware is functioning normally and a fresh installation did not resolve the issue, the problem is almost certainly driven by a corrupted Teams media cache, an outdated Windows Audio API setting, or a conflict in the Windows Volume Mixer/Audio Endpoint Service specifically targeting the Teams process.

    Here are the step-by-step solutions to fix this issue:

    Step 1: Force-Clear the New Teams App Cache

    Reinstalling Teams often retains leftover configuration files in your user profile.

    • Right-click the Teams icon in your taskbar and select Quit.
    • Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog.
    • Paste the following path and press Enter: ⁠%localappdata%\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Microsoft\MSTeams⁠
    • Select all files and folders in this folder and Delete them.
    • Restart Teams and test your audio.

    Please refer to this document: Clear the Teams client cache

    Step 2: Unmute Teams in Windows Volume Mixer

    Windows manages audio endpoints individually per application. Teams may be muted at the OS level while other apps play sound normally.

    • Right-click the Speaker icon in your taskbar (bottom right) and select Open Volume Mixer.
    • Scroll down to the Apps section while a Teams test call is actively running.
    • Locate Microsoft Teams and ensure the volume slider is turned up and not muted. User's image

    Step 3: Disable Exclusive Mode in Sound Settings

    Other applications (like Zoom) can take exclusive control of your audio driver, blocking Teams from initialising the audio stream.

    • Press Windows Key + R, type ⁠mmsys.cpl⁠, and press Enter (opens classic Sound Control Panel).
    • Under the Playback tab, right-click your active speakers/headphones and select Properties.
    • Go to the Advanced tab.
    • Uncheck "Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device".
    • Click Apply > OK, then restart Teams. User's image

    Step 4: Reset Audio Endpoint Builder Service

    • Press Windows Key + R, type ⁠services.msc⁠, and press Enter.
    • Scroll down to Windows Audio Endpoint Builder.
    • Right-click it and select Restart.

    If the issue persists in the desktop app, as a quick workaround, log into Teams on the Web using Microsoft Edge or Chrome to confirm audio playback while we inspect your Windows audio driver logs.

    Please let me know how it goes after trying these steps.

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Yes" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".   

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