OBS recording has game audio but no microphone: check the recorded tracks

Check for another audio track first

This guide follows official OBS documentation; no recording or editor import was tested for this article. Keep the original file unchanged while you investigate.

Decide whether capture or playback failed

Use the following order rather than starting with a microphone reinstall:

1. Listen for the microphone on the file's other available audio tracks.
2. If it is absent, check whether the microphone meter moves during a new, short recording.
3. Check the microphone's track assignment and which tracks the recorder actually writes.

These are different checkpoints. A moving meter tells you audio reached OBS; it does not establish that every output includes it. Conversely, a silent default playback track does not describe the other tracks inside the file.

If the microphone never reaches OBS

Speak normally and watch the intended entry in the Audio Mixer. If it does not respond, OBS's Quick Start Guide recommends selecting the intended device manually in Settings → Audio. Check that you are observing your actual microphone rather than a similarly named webcam input.

Also inspect the source's mute state and fader. OBS's Audio Mixer Guide distinguishes its incoming level display from the controls used for output. Avoid raising gain simply because the finished file is silent; first establish that the correct route exists.

If the microphone fails in other applications too, stop changing recording-track assignments and investigate the device or operating-system permission path separately.

If the meter moves, check both track settings

Open Edit → Advanced Audio Properties and inspect the track checkboxes for the microphone and game. Then open Settings → Output and confirm that the intended recording tracks are enabled. OBS documents these as separate steps in its Multiple Audio Track Recording Guide.

For a workflow that needs both ordinary playback and later editing, one possible arrangement is:

Enable the tracks you actually intend to record. This is an example, not a requirement to keep three tracks or change an established production layout.

Confirm the container and the destination app

OBS's format guide notes that FLV supports only one audio track. A multi-track plan therefore needs a suitable recording format, as well as correct routing. Compatibility also depends on the application that opens the file.

After any change, record a few seconds containing both speech and game sound. Open the result in the player and editor you will really use. Confirm the complete mix and isolated tracks separately before recording a long session.

What cannot be fixed by changing settings afterward

A new routing choice affects new recordings. It does not add microphone audio that was never written to an old file. If no application exposes the expected track, keep the original and ask through the OBS Help Portal, including the container, enabled tracks, and source assignments. Do not overwrite the only copy while experimenting.