Windows 10: what is this red microphone icon, and how do I get rid of it?

I am sure I will feel very stupid when this is answered.I have a red microphone icon appear floating an top of the desktop screen, and it also appears in the Notification area.If I try to left or right click in the notification area, nothing happens. If I turn off "microphone" in the notification area settings - nothing changes. If I click on the red microphone icon, my mouse is actually clicking on what ever is immediately behind it eg close browser window.I have had this icon appear before and I would like to know definitively what it is, and help appreciated.see attached.

:)

 

Built in microphone not working

Hi,



Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.

I understand your concern and will assist you to resolve this issue.

I suggest you to follow the steps below and check if it helps

Method 1: I suggest you to set microphone as default device and check.

• 
  Right click on the volume icon in the system tray and then click "Recording devices"
  
• 
  Right click on the blank space in the popped up window and then select "Show Disabled Devices" and "Show Disconnected Devices".
  
• 
  Right click on Microphone and then click "Enable".
  
• 
  Highlight the microphone and then choose "Set as Default Device".
  
• 
  Click Apply and OK.
  

Step 2: Make sure that the Microphone is not disabled.

• 
  Make sure that the Microphone is not disabled. Follow the steps given to check that:
  
• 
  Right click on the volume icon and select “Recording devices”.
  
• 
  Now, Right Click on an empty space and select, “Show disconnected devices” and “Show disabled devices”.
  
• 
  Make sure that the Microphone is not disabled.
  

And also update the audio drivers from the manufacturer web site and install.

Hope this helps. If the issue remains unresolved, please get back to us and we would be happy to help

 

Easy enable/disable microphone?

My bro just got a microphone and I was wondering if there's an easy way to enable or disable it. I know you can right click on the volume icon, click on select recording devices then select the microphone, then click properties, then click on levels, and mute it - but that's just way too many steps, I'm looking for a more obvious and much easier way to do it.

 

Microphone problem Windows (8/10)

Hi,

To resolve your microphone issue, we suggest that you follow the steps below:

• Click Windows + S then type Speech Recognition on the search bar.
• Click Set up microphone and follow the Microphone setup wizard.
• When you reach Adjust the microphone volume, please note if the volume bar moves from yellow to red.
• Once the Setup wizard is complete, we can check if the microphone works properly. We can eliminate hardware problem from the possible causes of the issue. Please check to if the issue persists in the Third-party software.

Let us know how it goes.