Why Can’t I Hear Audio When OBS Is Open? Solved

OBS, also known as Open Broadcast Software, is used for screencasting, broadcasting, and streaming. OBS is an open-source application available for Windows, Linux, and macOS. It is considered best for video recording or gameplay recording. You can also record your screen, including your webcam video overlay. 

Many users have recently claimed they can’t hear audio when OBS is open. It means you can’t hear any sound from your speakers whenever the OBS is opened. Here, we will discuss all the potential causes and how you can resolve this issue with a step-by-step guide. So, let’s dive into the topic!

Why Can’t I Hear Audio When OBS Is Open? 

It happens if you are using more than one output device, have installed multiple audio drivers like Realtek and NVIDIA, are using the audio monitoring feature, or your default audio is not selected. OBS will detect more than one device, so your PC won’t be able to play any sound.

Audio Monitoring: This feature allows you to use headphones to listen to your audio while recording. This feature could cause hurdles between the input and output devices and may disable the sound of all other devices.

More than One Output Device: If you are using more than one output device like speakers, headphones, or Bluetooth speakers, then you might have to use only one device.

Administrative Permissions: OBS requires administrative power to control many features, including audio devices. If it cannot get permission, it is more likely to restrict many functions, including audio from other devices.

Bluetooth Interference: Some Bluetooth devices can be connected to multiple places. It can cause interference and may disable the sound from your devices.

Turn Off Audio Monitoring

The audio monitoring feature allows you to hear your audio while recording. If audio monitoring is turned on, it might disable all other devices to interfere with the audio. It may result in no sound or low-quality audio. You can access the Audio Monitoring option by going to OBS Settings.

• Launch OBS and go to “Settings,” selecting from the “Control” panel in the lower right corner.
• Go to the “Audio” section and scroll down to the “Advanced” options. 

 

• Here, you will find the “Monitoring Device” settings. Tick on “Disable Window audio ducking.”

You can also select another device than your connected headphones for monitoring. This option forces the output sound just to go through the selected device and disables all other sounds.

Disable Other Global Audio Devices

OBS has a feature that has two desktops and four auxiliary or microphone devices simultaneously. This feature makes it easy to broadcast or screen share with your friends. It also enables you to connect studio microphones and headphones simultaneously. 

The global audio devices feature interferes with the audio from other devices. It could lead to no sound from your speakers or headphones. You can disable all global audio devices in OBS to see whether the issue is resolved. Here’s how to disable it,

• Open OBS and go to Settings. 
• Navigate to “Audio” and then scroll down to “Global Audio Devices.”

• Now disable all options except “Desktop Audio” and “Mic/Auxiliary audio.”

All other audio devices won’t be able to produce sound if all the audio is enabled or if only one device is chosen in each available option. Therefore, you should never use more than one device as the output device and turn off the rest. It will surely resolve the issue.

Select The Right Device

How do you identify which one is your audio device to select the right one in OBS to avoid this audio restriction issue? You must go to Windows audio settings to determine your default device. Let’s first find the default device,

• Right-click the “Speaker icon” on the Windows taskbar and click “Sound” to access sound settings. 
• Go to the “Playback” devices tab and look for the device with a green tick on it. This device is your default audio device. Note the name of the device. 

• Now open OBS and go to “Settings,” then to “Audio” settings. 
• Select the global audio device, which one is the default device.

Change Stereo to Mono

Stereo and mono are two types of audio channels. Mono has a single channel, while stereo audio has two separate channels for input and output. Stereo sound is usually preferred over the mono sound. That is why the default audio is set to stereo in OBS Studio. 

But this could be the root of your No Audio issue. If you use a mono speaker and the settings in OBS are set to stereo, it might disable all output devices and restrict audio from all other Windows programs. Here’s how you can disable your audio,

• Open OBS settings and go to “Audio” from the left option bar. 

• In “General,” look for “Channels” for audio options and switch Stereo to Mono. 

Run OBS as Administrator

Like many other applications, OBS requires administrative resources to collaborate with system applications and programs. If you don’t allow these resources, OBS will be unable to access the Windows audio devices and may restrict them. So, when you open OBS, other apps’ audio will stop.

• Right-click on OBS studio’s icon and select “Run as administrator.”

Disable Desktop Bluetooth 

You need to disable Bluetooth on the desktop device. A Bluetooth connection wirelessly connects headphones, speakers, and other audio output devices. Every audio output is directed to the Bluetooth device when a Bluetooth device is connected.

So, if you are using a Bluetooth-enabled speaker or headphones with OBS, you need to turn off the Bluetooth device before running OBS. It will ensure that all sound output is directed through OBS and that other audio will not be restricted.

Conclusion

If you are facing the issue where OBS restrains audio from other programs, this guide will help you resolve the issue. This article will show you how to disable all global audio devices, select the right device as your default audio, change stereo to mono, and run OBS as administrator. All of these methods should help you resolve the issue.