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How to Fix Steam Voice Chat or Messages Not Working?

Suddenly finding that your Steam voice chat or messages not working or any messages getting sent through Steam?

Steam is a nifty platform that hosts a massive library of games that anyone can purchase at an affordable price tag, thanks to regional pricing and the frequent large-scale sales the platform provides. Games released through Steam are considerably easy to run and have the added benefit of getting you connected with other players easily.

Besides serving as a library to store your favourite games, Steam has several additional features that make the platform extremely versatile. One such thing is its messaging platform that allows users to send messages to one another and even have voice chats as they are playing their favourite titles together.

These extra features are considered useful as they allow weaker setups that can’t run too many programs, like Steam and Discord together, to communicate with their friends on the platform. Despite this, however, these said features tend to not work properly and can often fail to work at all.

In the modern iteration of Steam, the platform not only serves as a nifty single app that can hold all your games and titles you have purchased through the same platform, but it also has several features that make connecting with other players and users in the platform.

The messaging and voice chat system for Steam is incredibly straightforward to use as you only need to right-click any of your online friends and click on either “Send Message” or “Start Voice Chat”, depending on what you want to do together.

 


Types of Steam Voice Chat or Message Not Working Problems

Despite this, however, several users have been reporting a problem with the platform, such as their messages not being sent, not being able to receive any messages or establish a connection for voice chatting, and being stuck with a “Connecting…” prompt instead.

All of these instances of the problem result in the same outcome where you aren’t able to communicate with anyone in your friend list despite being able to play games and the like with the platform without any issues present.

So, how does your messaging or voice chat problem on Steam appear like? Share your experience in the comments below. 


 

That being said, we’re here to help with this problem of Steam voice chat or messages not working properly as we have prepared this guide that will cover a good 11 fixes that you can try out when you encounter this problem, as well as 7 reasons that will explain why you might be having this problem.

Steam is mainly available in Windows and MacOS and can be used in just about any setup ranging from simple laptops to complete PC builds. All the fixes here will work on both platforms for Steams, albeit with slight variations on certain platforms. Additionally, each game found in Steam’s massive library has its own specs, which won’t play any central role in this guide.

With all that out of the way and explained, let’s get started with some bug fixes in Steam!

For more help with solving Steam client or application issues, do check out our other guides covering topics such as:

 

 

7 Reasons Why Steam Voice Chat or Messages Not Working

1. Outdated Steam Client Version

One of the first reasons why you might be having a problem with Steam might be with the client itself, specifically with how outdated your Steam client might be. The Steam app likes to frequently update itself to fix any issues and bugs that might’ve been present in the previous version and to accommodate new releases that are coming to Steam’s storefront.

Having an outdated client can sometimes make it impossible to use a certain feature, especially if the update was aimed towards fixing an issue with the friend list and any accompanying features. Consider checking and downloading the latest updates available for Steam (Step 1) if you haven’t updated or had issues with the feature before trying anything else out.

 

2. Bugs And Issues in The Steam Client

Other than having an outdated client causing issues with your Steam Client and being able to send messages or voice chatting, bugs and issues with the said feature can also be the reason why you can’t properly use it or are experiencing any problems with it.

When it comes to this situation, waiting for an update to roll out to fix the issue is the best way to solve it if it is a major problem shared between users but otherwise, you can opt to try and restart your Steam Client (Step 2) or doing a clean reinstallation of Steam (Step 3) as it could’ve been a result of something going wrong with your internal files.

 

3. Signed Out of Friends in Steam

The Voice chat and messages feature for Steam can only be accessed through the Friends feature (otherwise known as your Friends List). This feature allows you to see which of your friends on Steam are currently online and playing games, as well as any offline friends. You can also change your status and even opt to sign out of it.

Singing out of your friend’s tab in Steam effectively locks you out of any features tied to it, such as voice chatting and messages. You won’t be able to receive any notifications if you receive one until you sign in once again. If you might’ve changed or signed out of your friend list in Steam, consider checking it and signing in to your Steam friend list (Step 4) to be able to use the feature again.

 

4. Internet Issues

Since Steam is an online platform that has offline capabilities, a stable internet connection is a requirement to be able to not only browse its store and purchase a game but to also use its message and voice chatting features. Having issues with your internet connection can make it impossible to use the features without any issues, which will require you to do something to improve it.

If you are having problems with using Steam and your internet connection, you can try to reset your internet connection (Step 5) to get a fresh network connection or change your DNS address (Step 6), as your current one might be blocked or flagged.

 

5. Steam Can’t Detect/Access your Microphone

A weird quirk with the Steam voice chat is that the feature can sometimes become unusable if the client detects any problems with the microphone. One example of this is Steam not being able to detect or recognize any valid microphones that are connected to your Computer.

This can happen for several reasons and can be fixed in different ways. One way to fix the problem is to allow Steam to access your Microphone (Step 7) through the client’s settings, and another way is to change your Microphone’s privacy setting (Step 8) for other apps to access it.

 

6. Something Wrong With Your Microphone Settings

Continuing with the weird quirk that Steam has with Microphones in your computer, another reason why you might not be able to use Steam Voice chat can be a result of your Microphone settings that are conflicting with Steam.

Having certain settings and options with your microphone can make it difficult for Steam to use it properly or even recognize it. This is all the more true if you have multiple microphone/audio input sources, which can make it difficult for Steam to use. Whichever the case, a quick fix for this is to manually set your microphone in Steam (Step 9) through the voice setting. You can also disable any audio enhancements that are implemented to your microphone (Step 10) to fix any problem caused by the former issue of microphone settings.

 

7. Steam is Blocked by Your Firewall

The last reason you might find Steam not working properly can be a result of Steam getting blocked in your Firewall. As we mentioned earlier, a stable internet connection is required to use Steam properly and getting blocked by your firewall can cause issues related to that.

If you are faced with this specific issue of having Steam blocked by your Firewall, a quick and easy fix to the situation is to unblock and whitelist your Steam app from your firewall (Step 11) to allow any connection through.

 

 

11 Fixes For When Steam Voice Chat or Messages Are Not Working

1. Update Your Steam Client

Having an updated Steam client is extremely important if you want to avoid any issues you might experience as a result of having an outdated client. Not only will you experience issues with the voice chat feature of Steam by running an outdated client, but you can also have problems with running some of the games available in your library and updating them.

Here’s a quick guide on how you can check and update your Steam Client:

  1. In the Steam Client, click on “Steam” in the app menu found in the upper left portion of the app window.
Update your steam client to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. Afterwards, click on “Check for Steam Client Updates”.
Update your steam client to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

After following the steps above, the Steam self-updater will automatically start running and checking for any updates. The pop-up window will notify you if you are already on the latest version or if a new update was detected; the latter will require you to restart your Steam client to fully apply the update.

 

 

2. Restart the Steam Application

Besides an outdated app causing problems, issues and problems with your Steam client or setup can make it impossible to use certain features. This can be a result of bugs and glitches or immense lag in your setup that can lead Steam to be on the verge of crashing.

There are 2 ways you can quickly restart the Steam client; the first way is by clicking “Steam” in the App menu and then clicking on “Exit” after the succeeding menu appears.

Restart the Steam app to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

Another way is by right-clicking the Steam icon that is found in your system tray and then clicking on “Exit”.

Restart the Steam app to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

Regardless of whichever of the two you follow, this will cause the Steam app to close and exit completely. You can open your Steam again after a few seconds to complete the restart for the application.

 

 

3. Reinstall Steam

If restarting Steam doesn’t fix the issues you are facing, and no other users might be having the same problem you are now having recently, then the issue might be with your Steam client and the files found in it. Reinstalling your Steam client is the best way to fix this problem since it deletes any old files you have while still preserving any games you have installed on your computer, as updating your Client may not solve the problem as the corrupted files still exist.

You can do a clean reinstallation for Steam by following the steps below:

  1. Open your system’s “Control Panel” or something similar. This can quickly be done by searching for it.
Reinstall Steam from control panel on windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. In your Control Panel, click on “Uninstall a Program”, found underneath the Programs category.
Reinstall Steam from control panel on windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. In the App List in your Control Panel, look for “Steam” from the list of programs and click on it. Afterwards, click on “Uninstall”, found in the top portion of the list.
Reinstall Steam from control panel on windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. Once Steam has been uninstalled, you can revisit the Steam website to download the latest version of the installer and reinstall Steam.
install Steam from on windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

Following the steps above will allow you to quickly uninstall the current Steam client you have installed and install a newer one with the latest version possible. The steps involved in this reinstallation will not uninstall any games you already have installed (unless the option is chosen during uninstallation), which can save you time from re-downloading them.

 

 

4. Sign In to Friends in Steam

In Steam, the Friends List is a separate feature available to all users of the platform. Voice chat and messages are directly tied to having this feature active, and being signed out of the feature will leave you unable to access the feature at all. Signing out of your Friend List is different from using the “Invisible” status as this still allows you access to it, albeit getting marked as offline.

You can sign back into your Friend List by following the steps below:

  1. Click on “Friends & Chat”, found in the bottom-right corner of the app.
Sign in into the friends Steam account to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. In the Friends Pop-Up Window, click on the “Sign In” button.
Sign in into the friends Steam account to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

Following the steps above will allow you to quickly sign back into your friend’s network in Steam and go online for your friends to see. You can also opt to allow Steam to automatically sign in to your friend’s network by enabling it through the steps below:

  1. In the Friends pop-up window, click on the Settings ⚙️ icon to open the Friend List Settings.
Sign in into the friends Steam account to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. In your Friends List Settings, click on “Friend List” in the left portion and then enable “Sign in to friends when Steam Client starts”.
Sign in into the friends Steam account to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

Finishing the steps above will allow your Steam client to automatically sign you in to your friends list with your previous status from the last session as your current status.

 

 

5. Reset Your Internet Connection

Since Steam needs a strong and stable internet connection to properly use the voice chat & messages features, any problems with your internet connection that might make it weak and considerably unstable can make the feature almost inaccessible or properly working.

Resetting your internet connection is a quick and easy way to solve any setting issues you might have had with your internet connection, such as getting blocked by a website or a sudden lag spike that severely reduces your network speed.

Here’s how you can easily pull off a reset with your internet connection.

  1. Open your Command Prompt as an admin by typing “CMD” in your Search bar, and right-clicking then selecting “Run as Administrator”.
Reset your internet connection on windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. In the Command Prompt window, type in “ipconfig /release”, hit enter, and wait for it to finish.
Reset your internet connection on windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. Afterwards, type “ipconfig /flushdns” and hit enter to flush and clean your DNS settings.
Reset your internet connection on windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. Once the previous step is completed, type in “ipconfig /renew” to essentially restart and renew your internet settings and configurations. Once it finishes, you can close the window and restart your computer to make sure everything is applied properly.
Reset your internet connection on windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

Following the steps above will allow you to quickly reset your internet connection with a new instance of the same network connection. This is especially useful if you are experiencing issues unique to your connection that other devices weren’t experiencing in the network, as it might’ve been a result of something going wrong with the app.

 

 

6. Change Your DNS Address

Similar to how resetting your internet connection is important to fix any issues, you might need to change or set the DNS address of your active network connection as the DNS address that is currently set to your account may be conflicting with some of the data being sent and used in Steam.

In any case, you can follow the steps below to change your DNS address to Google’s DNS address which has the maximum compatibility between applications and websites:

  1. Open your computer’s “Settings” ⚙️ by searching it up.
  2. Select “Network & Internet” 🌐 from the category list.
Change your DNS address on Windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. In the Status page of your internet connection, select “Change Adapter Options” underneath “Change your Network Settings”.
Change your DNS address on Windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. Select the active network you are connected to (Ex: Ethernet) and right-click it. Select “Properties” from the menu.
Change your DNS address on Windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. Look for “Internet Protocol Version 4(TCP/IPv4)” and select it. After selecting the category, click on “Properties”.
Change your DNS address on Windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. Click on “Use the following DNS Server Addresses” instead of “Obtain DNS server addresses automatically.
Change your DNS address on Windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. In “Preferred DNS Server”, type in “8 . 8 . 8 . 8
Change your DNS address on Windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

Afterwards, in “Alternate DNS Server”, type “8 . 8 . 4 . 4”.

Change your DNS address on Windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. Click on “OK” to apply the changes and restart your computer.
Change your DNS address on Windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

Following the steps above, as mentioned, will set your DNS address to Google’s DNS Address. We recommend that after changing your DNS address and server, reset your Steam Client app and other applications that use the internet.

 

 

7. Allow Steam Access to Your Microphone

In the Steam Client, it is important that the application is able to access your Microphone without any issues. If your client is having problems with connecting to your microphone, such as getting blocked from access from it, you will have a considerably hard time using the feature.

You can allow access for Steam to your microphone by following the steps below:

  1. In the Steam Client, click on “Steam” in the app menu found in the upper left portion of the app window.
Allow steam to access your microphone to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. Afterwards, click on “Settings” ⚙️to open the Steam Client Settings.
Allow steam to access your microphone to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. In your Steam Client Settings, click on “Broadcast” in the categories.
Allow steam to access your microphone to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. Find and enable the option that says “Record my Microphone” in the Broadcasting Settings.
Allow steam to access your microphone to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

Following the steps above will allow Steam permission to access your Computer’s microphone, especially when you are already playing a game or going to play a game with the voice chat feature turned on.

 

 

8. Change Your Microphone Privacy Settings

Besides allowing your Steam Client access to your microphone, it is also important to set up your privacy settings in your Microphone for it to be public and accessible by other applications. Avoiding this step will make it impossible for any application to use your microphone automatically unless you explicitly give them permission to use it every time you plan on using it.

You can easily modify and change your microphone privacy settings to the public by following these simple steps below:

  1. Open your computer’s “Settings” ⚙️ by searching it up.
  2. Select “Privacy” from the category list.
Change your microphone privacy settings on Windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. In your Privacy Settings, click on “Microphone” found under App Permissions.
Change your microphone privacy settings on Windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. Enable “Allow apps to access your Microphone” to change your Microphone privacy settings.
Change your microphone privacy settings on Windows to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

Following the steps above will allow your microphone to be accessed by any application that requests permission to access it. We recommend that you restart your Steam Client after making this change to properly apply the permissions and accessibility.

 

 

9. Set Your Microphone in Steam Voice Settings

If your setup involves having a lot of microphones connected at once, Steam might have a hard time choosing the proper microphone to use when you are using any feature that involves it. While Steam will usually default to the default microphone in your system, it is considerably better to set your microphone in your voice settings to avoid any drops in performance and issues caused by this.

You can easily set up your the microphone that Steam will use and default by following these steps below in the Steam Client:

  1. In the Friends pop-up window, click on the “Settings” ⚙️ icon to open the Friend List Settings.
  2. In your Friends List Settings, click on “Voice”.
Set your microphone in Steam Voice Settings to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. In your Voice Input Device, change it from “Default” to the microphone you are using.
Set your microphone in Steam Voice Settings to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. Once you select your microphone, click on “X”, ✖️ found in the upper right corner of your friend’s list settings.
Set your microphone in Steam Voice Settings to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

Following the steps above will allow you to set the microphone that Steam uses to whatever you select. This will automatically set Steam to use the microphone you chose regardless if it is connected to your computer or not.

 

 

10. Disable Any Audio Enhancements

Several setups and computers often have audio-enhancing elements built-in to make any audio input and output considerably better and crispier. While this is good and all, it can sometimes get in the way of other applications that might also have these enhancements available and even cause severe performance issues, as several are running at a time.

If you are having problems with getting your voice chat to work properly and your microphone to get recognized, consider disabling the audio enhancements found in your desktop by following these steps below:

  1. Right-click the Speakers/Volume 🔊 icon in your System Tray and click on “Open Sound Settings”.
Disable any audio enhansement on windows sound settings to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. In your Sound Settings, find and click on “Sound Control Panel” found under the Related Settings category.
  2. In the Sound pop-up window, click on “Enhancements” and click on “Disable all enhancements”.
Disable any audio enhansement on windows sound settings to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

Following the steps above will allow you to disable any sound enhancements you might have with your microphone and speakers. This will prevent any issues you might have with incompatibility caused by these enhancements.

 

 

11. Unblock Steam in Your Firewall

The last fix you can try out if you are having problems with getting Steam Voice Chat or messages not working to work is trying to unblock it from your firewall. Getting blocked by your firewall in Steam can lead to several issues, such as not being able to download or update any of your old games and accessing certain features such as voice chat and friend list.

You can easily unblock your Steam in your firewall by following the steps below:

  1. Open “Windows Defender Firewall” or something similar in your desktop system.
Unblock Steam in your Windows Firewall to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. Select “Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall” in the left-side task pane of the Windows Firewall settings.
Unblock Steam in your Windows Firewall to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. Click “Change Settings” in the upper right portion of the app list. Afterwards, look for “Steam” from the app list after clicking on “Change Settings”.
Unblock Steam in your Windows Firewall to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

  1. Check both boxes under “Private” and “Public” with discord.exe to allow the application through these 2 connections. Click on “OK” once both boxes are ticked.
Unblock Steam in your Windows Firewall to fix steam voice chat or messages are not working

 

Following the steps above will unblock Steam from your firewall as well as prevent the app from getting blocked again by your system. This method will not only help Steam from getting blocked by your firewall but also any apps associated with the platform or used to be run.

 

 

Conclusion

Steam is an incredibly popular platform for storing and hosting a wide variety of games for anyone and everyone to enjoy. You can rest assured, knowing you will find something that you will enjoy as well as have nice features that help improve your game experience with voice chats and messaging.

It can be understandably frustrating if key features for communication get cut off or performance gets worse than usual, which is why we have created this guide with the 7 reasons and 11 fixes for when Steam voice chat and messages are not working properly. The fixes found here will surely help you get your voice chat and messages up and running and return to your gaming vibes.

Again, if you need more help or information in solving Steam client or application issues, do check out our other guides covering similar topics, such as:

Overall, let us know down below 👇 in the comments:

  • If you found this guide helpful and which of our fixes listed help you?
  • Any fixes we missed and should consider adding to the list?
  • What are your favourite games to play on Steam?
  • Are any recent purchases or good deals on Steam you found lately that you want to share?

Feel free to give this guide a quick share with anyone you find that is having problems with getting their Steam voice chat or messages not working to work properly.

 

Written by Sam Mikkael Baguio

Sam is a student taking up Computer Engineering. Being an avid tech enthusiast, he has been writing since 2020 to share his insight and knowledge with everything about technology and computers. When he isn't writing any articles, he usually spends his time playing TCGs or exploring the world of Eorzea in FFXIV.

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