Fix Microphone Not Working in Pluely v1

If Pluely v1 isn't picking up your voice in Listen mode or during push-to-talk, the cause is almost always one of three things: a missing OS permission, the wrong input device selected, or the microphone being muted at the hardware or OS level. Work through the steps below in order — most people are fixed by step 1 or 2.

1. Check the OS microphone permission

Every desktop OS requires apps to be explicitly granted microphone access.

• macOS: System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone. Make sure Pluely is listed and the toggle is on. If Pluely isn't listed at all, launch Pluely and try Listen mode once — the entry should appear, then you can grant it.
• Windows: Settings > Privacy & security > Microphone. Confirm "Microphone access" is on, and that Pluely is allowed under "Let apps access your microphone."
• Linux: Permission is usually handled by your desktop environment or PipeWire/PulseAudio; check your sound settings app for a blocked or muted input, and confirm Pluely isn't sandboxed away from audio devices.

After granting permission, fully quit and reopen Pluely so it picks up the change. See Permissions for a full walkthrough of every permission Pluely v1 needs.

2. Confirm the correct input device is selected

If you have more than one microphone (built-in, USB headset, webcam mic, virtual audio device), Pluely may be listening to the wrong one.

1. Open Settings inside Pluely.
2. Look for the audio input / microphone device selector.
3. Choose your intended microphone explicitly rather than "Default," especially if you frequently plug and unplug devices.
4. Also check your OS-level default input device, since some setups follow the system default.

3. Check for mute at every level

Audio can be muted in more than one place at once:

• The physical mute button or switch on a headset or external mic.
• The OS input volume slider — make sure it isn't at zero.
• Meeting software (Zoom, Meet, Teams) muting your OS microphone while it has exclusive control.

Close other apps that might be holding the microphone, then retry.

4. Test with push-to-talk first

Push-to-talk isolates the mic pipeline from the rest of Listen mode's audio handling. Hold your push-to-talk shortcut and speak — if the overlay shows no activity at all, the problem is upstream (permission or device). If push-to-talk works but Listen mode doesn't, the issue is more likely a session or network problem — see transcription lagging or overlapping.

5. Restart Pluely and, if needed, your machine

Audio drivers occasionally get stuck in a bad state after sleep/wake cycles or plugging in new hardware. A full quit-and-reopen of Pluely — or a reboot if that doesn't help — clears most lingering driver issues.

6. Update to the latest Pluely v1

Microphone handling has been improved across releases. If you're on an older build, update to the latest Pluely v1 from Installation before assuming it's a hardware problem.

Still stuck?

If your microphone works fine in every other app but not in Pluely, check the FAQ or reach out from the Pluely website with your OS version and which step above failed.