What to Do if PowerPoint Won’t Record Audio While Recording the Screen on Windows

Sometimes you want the audio to come through when you record the screen on PowerPoint. Here's how to fix a lack of audio on Windows.

The screen recording feature in Microsoft PowerPoint can be useful for recording tutorials or training videos on your computer. But what if PowerPoint fails to capture the audio when you record the screen of your Windows computer?

If you are annoyed by a similar issue, here are some troubleshooting tips that will help.

Temporary issues with PowerPoint can sometimes disrupt its ability to capture audio on your Windows computer. If it’s just a one-off glitch, simply closing and reopening PowerPoint should fix the problem.

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager. In the Processes tab, right-click on Microsoft PowerPoint and select the End task option.

Right-click on the PowerPoint shortcut and select Run as administrator. After that, try to create a screen recording and see if PowerPoint records the audio this time.

Another reason why PowerPoint might fail to record audio is if you have denied desktop apps permission to access your microphone. Here's how you can change that.

Once you complete the above steps, all your desktop apps, including PowerPoint, should be able to use your microphone.

Are there several audio devices connected to your Windows computer? If so, you need to ensure that you have selected the correct microphone on Windows.

To view or change the default microphone on Windows, use these steps:

Is your microphone not showing up in the Settings app? Apply the necessary fixes to get Windows to detect your microphone.

While enabling the hardware graphics acceleration feature in PowerPoint can improve its performance, the feature may not work seamlessly all the time. When this happens, you are likely to run into all kinds of issues, including issues with the screen recorder.

According to a post on Microsoft Community, several users managed to fix this particular issue by disabling the hardware graphics acceleration in PowerPoint. You can also give it a try with these steps:

Restart PowerPoint after this for changes to take effect.

Windows offers several useful troubleshooters for fixing common issues on your computer. In this case, running the Recording Audio troubleshooter can help. It can automatically detect any issues with PowerPoint's audio recording functionality and fix them.

To run the Recording Audio troubleshooter:

Allow the troubleshooter to find and fix any issues, and then check if PowerPoint can record the audio.

Windows relies on certain audio services to capture and record your audio. Typically, these services start automatically every time you boot your computer.

However, if one of these services encounters any problems, your apps and programs may fail to record the audio. In most cases, you can fix such issues by simply restarting the audio services on your PC.

To do so, use these steps:

Using the Services app isn't the only way to manage services on Windows. You can also use Task Manager, Command Prompt and PowerShell to start, stop or restart services on Windows.

One of your add-ins may be acting up and causing PowerPoint to malfunction. To check for this possibility, you need to open PowerPoint in safe mode. For that, press Win + R to open the Run dialog box. Type PowerPnt /safe in the text field and press Enter.

After opening PowerPoint in safe mode, try creating a screen recording and see if it records audio as expected. If it does, it means one of your add-ins is causing the problem. To identify the one causing the issue, you will need to disable all of your add-ins and then re-enable them one at a time. Here’s how to do that.

Restart PowerPoint after this, and then enable your add-ins one at a time until the issue occurs again. Once you find the faulty add-in, consider removing it.

Such issues can also occur if you are using an outdated version of PowerPoint. To update PowerPoint, navigate to File > Account. Click on Update Options and select Update Now.

Wait for Microsoft Office to update PowerPoint, and the issue should not occur after that.

If PowerPoint still won’t record audio while recording the screen on Windows, you can run the Office repair tool as a last resort. Here are the steps for the same.

If the problem persists even after this, you can run the Office repair tool again to perform an Online Repair. Note that this process may take a little longer to complete, as the tool will attempt a more thorough repair.

It can be frustrating when PowerPoint stops recording audio on your Windows computer. In any case, one of the above tips should help fix the underlying issue for good.

Pankil is a freelance tech writer from India who has been writing about Windows since 2021. As a long-time Windows user, he has extensive knowledge of the ins and outs of the operating system and specializes in creating how-tos and troubleshooting guides. With a focus on practical advice and real-world solutions, Pankil aims to make technology accessible and user-friendly for everyone.