Your microphone volume may be boosted or turned up to the maximum. Check the system settings for your microphone and lower its volume if necessary.
In some cases, problems with loudness and distortion issues can be solved by turning off the microphone boost. To do that:
- Open the "Windows sound control" panel.
- Make sure that the "Advanced Settings" option is selected in the "Options" menu.
- Select "Properties" in the "Options" menu, then select "Recording."
- Make sure the "Show Microphone" option is enabled, and click "Apply."
- Under the microphone volume slider, you'll see the "Advanced" button. Click on it and turn off the microphone boost in the window that opens.
By default, voice chat uses UDP ports 12000–29999, 5060, 5062, 3478, 3479.
Check the system settings of your microphone.
Try turning off your firewall. If that helps fix the problem, open the following ports before you enable your firewall again:
- Ports 12000–29999 – UDP – for voice media (RTP/RTCP).
- Ports 80 and 443 – TCP – for web servers (HTTP/HTTPS).
- Ports 5060 and 5062 – UDP – for voice control signals (SIP).
- Ports 3478 and 3479 – UDP – to aid in setting up voice with NAT (STUN).
This error usually means that your computer is not online, or that your network connection has dropped and subsequently been re-established. To fix the problem, you need to restart the game.
Sometimes voice chat freezes after a network connection has dropped / been re-established (e.g. when switching between wireless networks). To fix the problem, exit the game, confirm a functioning network connection, and then restart.
Poor audio quality can be caused by a low Internet connection speed or a slow processor (CPU). Run the Task Manager to check how busy your computer's resources are (for example, the processor load should be significantly lower than 100%).
- Make sure you press the voice chat button (usually "O").
- Check the input/output serviceability.
- Make sure that your microphone and headset are plugged into the appropriate inputs.
- Make sure that the sound is not muted or minimized. If this doesn't help, check the system sound settings and make sure that the sound is not muted or minimized.
- Consider disabling your firewall. If this helps, open the following ports in the firewall:
* Incoming UDP: 5060, 5062, 3478.
* Outgoing TCP: 80 and 443.
* Universal UDP: 12000–17000.
Make sure that your headset is working properly.
Check the microphone settings in your OS.
Interruptions in voice chat can be caused by software faults in your router. Try rebooting the router.
Voice chat can function incorrectly in networks that include some types of NAT transversal or firewall components.
Note that running Xfire while playing disables voice keyboard bindings. A workaround for this is to use the middle mouse button as your talk key.
Make sure that your router is updated and running the very latest software.
Test your voice connection with the default settings (SIP ALG enabled, SPI Firewall enabled, and special forwarding rules disabled).
If voice chat doesn't work reliably, try disabling SIP ALG first (if possible).
If voice chat still doesn't work reliably, try disabling the SPI Firewall as well (if possible).
If none of this helps, check voice chat by connecting to another router, or connect your computer directly to the cable router.