The Tom Clancy franchise of games has always been a mega-hit among FPS gamers. Most of these games are online multiplayer games, and to get the most out of them, you can use the in-game audio chat. Coordination with your teammates is key in such a game, and a broken audio chat will simply result in problems. And if you can’t hear audio chat in Rainbow Six Siege, you have come to the right place.
Rainbow Six Siege is available to play on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. Since this issue might occur regardless of the platform, we have listed below the troubleshooting methods for you to test and see if you can resolve it. Let’s get started.
Can’t Hear Audio Chat In Rainbow Six Siege
Before we dig into the main troubleshooting methods, first you will have to check and install any updates that may be available for your game or your device. If you are playing the game on a PC, it is best to check for the game updates via the Uplay Launcher, Steam, or Epic Games Store. Concerning your gaming consoles, launch the app store and see if any updates are pending or available to be installed.
Additionally, check for system updates on your devices, as it could be possible that a bug might cause the issue and the new system update can fix it.
If you are on a Windows-based PC, here are the steps to check for system updates.
- Open the Settings app on your Windows PC.
- Now, click on Windows Update and finally Check for Updates.
- If any updates are available, they will be downloaded and installed on your PC.
You can follow these steps if you are using an Xbox gaming console.
- Connect your Xbox to the internet and grab the Xbox controller.
- Now, press the Xbox button to launch the guide.
- Navigate and select Profile & System, followed by Settings, System, and finally, Updates.
- If you see the text, Console Updates Available, select it to download updates to your Xbox gaming console.
However, if you are playing the game on your PlayStation console, here is how you can check for system updates.
- Grab your PlayStation controller and select the Settings option.
- Now, choose System, followed by System Software.
- Finally, pick Console information.
- If you don’t see the text Up To Date, then your console will begin to download and install the latest available firmware update.
Once you have updated the software on your device and the game, try to launch the game and see if you can hear the audio chat. If you can, all is good. But, if you cannot hear, you will have to try the following troubleshooting methods.
Check Your Game and System Volume Levels
It is easy to forget about the volume levels of the game and your system, so make sure that they are set at a level that you would usually use when listening to any media or playing other games. This is a common issue that people tend to forget.
Check Your Default Playback Devices
One of the ways that several people were able to solve the issue was by checking and setting the default playback devices. Here is how you can do that.
- Click on the Volume icon to the right of the Taskbar.
- When the Quick Panel opens, click on the little arrow to the right of the volume slider.
- Now choose the device that you want to set as audio out and the microphone as audio in.
Disable Playback Devices You Don’t Use
The Uplay Launcher can sometimes be a headache, as sometimes it automatically picks the wrong devices for audio in and audio out. This can happen if you have more than one device for audio in and audio out. Here is how to disable playback devices that you might not use.
- Press the Windows and R keys to open the Run command box.
- Type in mmsys.cpl and hit the enter key.
- The Sound Properties will now open up.
- Now, right-click on the playback device that you wish to disable.
- Now with only one set of playback devices, the Uplay launcher will automatically select it, and you should be able to hear the audio chat just fine.
Update the Audio Input and Output Drivers
Keeping the audio drivers updated at all times is important. If your drivers are outdated, it could result in no audio issue. Even if you use connected devices such as headphones and microphones that you use in your game, you must check for updates using the software suite that you had to install to set up your audio devices. You can manually check for driver updates by following these steps.
- Open the Start menu on your Windows PC.
- Type in Device Manager and click on it when it shows up in the search results.
- With the Device Manager window opened, expand the Audio Inputs and Outputs section.
- Right-click on your input and audio output devices and choose Update Driver.
- If there are any driver updates available, they will be downloaded and installed on your PC.
Close Other Apps That Maybe Using Your Audio Devices
Many other communication apps and services such as Discord and other voice chatting apps tend to usually be in the background for a lot of gamers. If for some reason you have a voice chat open in Discord or any similar app, you should close these apps and check to see if you can hear the audio from the game itself. Instead, you can use the mobile phone version of the app if you need to have an audio chat with someone when playing Rainbow Six Siege.
Check your Microphone Privacy Settings
With Windows 10 and Windows 11, you can easily deny all permissions to the microphone. So, to check whether the permissions are properly set or if they haven’t been given access, you can follow these steps.
- Open the Settings app and click on Privacy and Security on the left-hand side.
- With the Privacy and Security page open on the right, scroll till you find the microphone option.
- Make sure that the Microphone Access toggle is switched on.
- Now, from the list of apps and games listed down, ensure that Rainbow Six Siege has the toggle on. This lets the game use the microphone.
Verify The Game Files
Sometimes a few files related to the audio might have become corrupted. Or it could simply be lost or deleted. In this case, it is best to verify the files. By verifying the files, any files that are either missing or corrupted will be re-downloaded with fresh files. Here are the steps for it.
- Launch the Ubisoft Connect app on your Windows PC.
- Head over to the Library tab.
- Select Rainbow Six Siege from the game library.
- Click on the three dots next to the Play button.
- From the menu that opens up, choose Verify.
- In a few moments, the verification of your game field will begin, and any missing or corrupted files will be re-downloaded to your PC.
Verify the in-game Settings.
Just like the sound volumes that sometimes people forget to check, it is best to check through the in-game settings menu to see how the microphone audio has been set up.
- Launch Rainbow Six Siege and click on Options.
- Select Audio and check under the Microphone Device what microphone is being displayed.
- Check whether Push to Talk is enabled. Ideally, if you don’t want to use Push to Talk, make sure that the Open Mic option is selected.
- Also, adjust the microphone volume slider to a reasonable level.
Audio/Voice Chat issue with Consoles (Xbox and PlayStation)
For console gamers who have this issue with Rainbow Six Siege, ensure that you have a microphone plugged in or connected to your gaming console, either wired or wireless. Also, be sure to adjust the volume slider on your headphones if they have them. If there is still an issue, you might want to reconnect your devices to the console and see if that solves the issue.
Note: there is no point in resetting or formatting your PC or gaming console at this point as this is an issue from the game’s side if everything on your PC or gaming console works just fine.
Closing Thoughts
Even after trying everything and getting no success, then it is very likely a game problem itself. You see, this issue has been existed since the launch of the game. Even today in 2024, a lot of gamers still have this issue, and well, for some reason, there is no official way to fix this issue. Players have also noticed that this issue is only stuck with Rainbow Six Siege and is perfectly fine with other games that have audio chat functionality. Will Ubisoft ever address this issue? Nobody knows.
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