Many players like to voice chat when playing Fortnite squad matches. However, it’s not uncommon for Fortnite voice chat to stop working. Players can’t verbally talk with others in their teams when voice chat doesn’t work. Entering messages with keyboards is slower and can hinder gameplay. So, playing Fortnite squad matches without voice chat isn’t the same for players who prefer microphones. These are some of the ways you can fix Fortnite voice chat not working on Windows 11/10 PCs.
Read also: 7 Ways to Fix the Fortnite Matchmaking Error on a Windows PC
Check the Fortnite Voice Chat Server Status
Note that voice chat issues can sometimes occur because of server-side issues, which you can’t fix. To check the voice chat server status for Fortnite, open this Epic page. Click Fortnite on that page to see if the voice chat server is fully operational. If not, wait until that page shows voice chat is operational.
The Epic server status page
Check In-Game Fortnite Voice Chat Settings
Incorrectly set voice chat or sound settings can often be the reason for the Fortnite voice chat not working. So, make sure you’ve got voice chat enabled in Fortnite and set correctly for your audio input device. Check and set the in-game Fortnite voice chat settings like this.
- Start the Fortnite game.
- Click Fortnite’s menu button at the top-left of the title screen.
- Next, press the cog/menu button on the menu.
- Click Settings to bring up Fortnite options.
The Settings button
- Select the audio speaker tab.
- Set the Voice Chat option to Everybody.
- Select Open Mic for the Voice Chat Method so your teammates can always hear you. If Push to Talk is selected, you will need to activate a push talk control.
The Voice Chat Method option
- Set the Voice Chat Input Device and Voice Chat Output Device options to Default.
- Increase the Voice Chat volume option to 90-100 percent.
The Voice Chat option
- Select the Apply option to save settings.
Change Parental Control Settings
There’s also a setting in parental controls that can disable Fortnite’s voice chat. So, check if you have parental controls enabled in Fortnite. You can change the parental voice chat setting like this.
- Go through steps one to three of the previous resolution to reach a Parental Control option.
- Click the Parental Controls menu button.
- If a PIN screen appears, this means parental controls are enabled in Fortnite. You’ll need to enter the PIN for those controls to access them (ask your parents what the PIN is if you’ve never set any settings there yourself).
- Set the Voice Chat option in parental controls to Everybody.
The Voice Chat parental control option
- Click Save to apply the new voice chat setting.
Check You’re in the Right Voice Channel
You can talk to teammates within a party or game channel when playing Fortnite. If you’re not in a party, make sure you’ve got voice chat turned on for the game channel when playing Fortnite. To do that, press Esc in a Fortnite squad match and click the microphone button to access voice chat options. Click Game Channel to turn on that option if you’re not in a party.
Voice chat channel options
Allow Desktop Apps to Access Your Microphone
You’ll probably need to look beyond the in-game settings to fix the Fortnite voice chat not working if the resolutions above don’t work for you. Check that desktop apps are allowed to access your PC’s microphone. This is how you can allow desktop apps to access the microphone on a Windows 11/10 PC.
- First, activate the file finder tool in Windows by clicking on the search box (or the magnifying glass icon) in the taskbar.
- Input Microphone privacy settings into the file finder tool.
- Click Microphone privacy settings inside the search utility.
- Turn on the Microphone access for this device button by clicking the Change button in Windows 10 Settings. Windows 11 users will need to toggle on the Microphone access option.
Microphone access for this device setting
- Scroll down to toggle on the Allow desktop apps to access your microphone setting in Windows 10. Let desktop apps access your microphone is the corresponding setting in Windows 11 Settings.
The Allow desktop apps to access your microphone option
Players who’ve downloaded and installed Fortnite from the Microsoft Store should also make sure that the app has specific permission to access the microphone. Click the toggle switch for the Fortnite game app in Settings to turn it on.
Set the Right Microphone to be Default Device
Check the microphone you’re trying to utilize in Fortnite is set as the default device within your PC’s sound system settings. You should also do the same for your audio output voice chat device. This is how you can configure default audio input and output devices on a Windows PC.
- Simultaneously press the Windows logo + R keyboard buttons, input Control Panel into Run, and click OK.
- Click the Hardware and Sound Control Panel category.
- Next, click on Sound.
The Sound option in the Control Panel
- Select the Recording tab.
- Right-click the microphone you need to utilize for Fortnite voice and chat and select Set as Default Device.
- Next, right-click the same microphone a second time to select Set as Default Communication Device.
The Set as Default Communication Device option
- Click on Playback in the tab bar.
- Right-click the audio output device you’re trying to utilize for hearing voice chat and select the Set as Default Device option.
- Select Apply > OK to save your default audio/input device settings.
Unmute Your Microphone
Players won’t be able to hear you in Fortnite voice chat if the microphone you’re trying to utilize is muted or turned down too low. So, try adjusting your microphone’s volume settings as follows.
- Open the Recording tab in the Sound window as instructed for steps one to four of the preceding resolution.
- Double-click the default microphone device you utilize for Fortnite voice chat.
- Click Levels to access a sound bar for the microphone.
- Next, press the unmute speaker button if your microphone is muted.
- Increase your microphone’s volume by dragging the Headset Microphone’s slider further to the right.
- Press Apply in the properties window and click OK to exit.
Disable IPv6
A few players confirm they’ve fixed Fornite voice chat not working by disabling Internet Protocol Version 6. That sounds like a slightly odd potential fix for a voice chat issue, but it must be worth a try since it’s confirmed to work. This is how you can disable IPv6 on Windows 11/10.
- Open Run, input ncpa.cpl, and click OK.
- Right-click on your internet connection within Network Connections to select Properties.
- Uncheck the Internet Protocol Version 6 option to deselect it.
The Internet Protocol Version 6 option
- Select OK to apply your network settings.
Reinstall Fortnite
If none of the possible resolutions above fix the Fortnite voice chat not working, you might need to reinstall the game to repair its files. To do that, you’ll need to uninstall and reinstall Fortnite via Epic Games Launcher like this.
- Open the Library tab in Epic Games Launcher.
- Click the three-dot menu button for Fortnite to select Uninstall.
The Uninstall option
- After uninstalling the game, click Fortnite in the Library tab again.
- Select Install to reinstall the game.
Other Possible Ways to Fix Fortnite Voice Chat Not Working
If Fortnite’s voice chat still doesn’t work, there are a few more troubleshooting methods you can try. Try applying these alternative possible solutions:
- Update the driver for your PC’s sound card and microphone.
- Select to restart Windows Audio via the Services window.
- Verify the Fortnite game files by following the instructions on this Epic help page.
- Install all available Microsoft patch updates for Windows 11/10 via Settings.
The potential solutions covered in this guide will likely fix the Fortnite voice chat not working in most cases. If none works for you, there could be an issue with your voice chat audio device. So, check if the same audio device works with other games.
