PowerPoint Screen or Audio Recording not working

Are you unable to record screen video or audio in your PowerPoint slides? Microsoft PowerPoint provides dedicated functions to directly record your screen video and audio and add them to your presentation. These recording features are very useful for adding tutorials and narrations to your presentations and making them more educational.

To record screen video in Microsoft PowerPoint, simply go to the Insert tab on the ribbon. After that, click on the Screen Recording option and use the Select Area option to select the area for screen recording. Now, press the Record button to start screen recording and when done, press the Stop button. The screen recording will be added to your presentation slides. Similarly, you can add audio recordings or narrations to your presentation slides. For that, go to the Insert > Audio option and choose Record Audio to start recording audio using your microphone.

Now, as per some Office users, the screen recording feature is not working properly in PowerPoint. While many users have reported not being able to record audio in their presentation slides.

This problem can occur due to various reasons. It might be caused if there is a particular add-in that you have installed in PowerPoint which is interfering with the recording features. Apart from that, if you haven’t allowed microphone permission on your computer, then the audio recording will fail. Outdated sound drivers can be another reason that you can’t record audio in your presentations. Other reasons for the same issue can be using an outdated version of the app, corruption in the app, incorrect sound settings, etc.

If you are one of the affected users who just can’t record screen video or add audio narrations in your sliders, this post will interest you. Here, we will discuss working fixes that should help you get rid of the problem. However, before applying a fix, make sure your microphone is in proper working condition. Else, you won’t be able to record audio in PowerPoint and other apps.

PowerPoint Screen or Audio Recording not working

Here are the methods you can use if the screen recording or audio recording feature is not working properly in Microsoft PowerPoint:

1. Restart PowerPoint or your PC.
2. Launch PowerPoint in safe mode.
3. Run the Recording Audio troubleshooter.
4. Update Microsoft PowerPoint.
5. Make sure you have allowed access to your microphone.
6. Configure your sound settings correctly.
7. Update sound drivers.
8. Use an alternative screen recording software.
9. Repair Microsoft Office.
10. Reinstall Office.

1] Restart PowerPoint or your PC

You should start by restarting your PowerPoint app. It is the simplest and quickest fix to solve most of the issues. If that doesn’t work, reboot your computer and then launch PowerPoint to check if the screen or audio recording feature is working fine or not. If not, you can use the next fix to resolve this issue.

2] Launch PowerPoint in safe mode

The next thing you can do is run the PowerPoint app in safe mode. The safe mode starts your application without any add-ins or extensions. Also, the app runs without any toolbar or command bar customizations. So, in case add-ins or customization is causing this issue, you will be able to fix it by launching the PowerPoint app in safe mode. Here are the steps to do that:

• First, open the Run command box using Win+R.
• Now, type the below command and press the Enter button:

  powerpnt /safe

• Once the PowerPoint is opened, check if you are able to record screen or audio narration or not.

If the problem is resolved, you can be sure that certain add-ins or customization is causing the problem. You can try disabling your PowerPoint add-ins and check which one is causing the issue. Once you detect the culprit, remove the add-in from PowerPoint and start using it in normal mode. Here are the steps to disable or remove add-ins in PowerPoint:

• First, open Powerpoint and go to File > Options.
• Now, go to the Add-ins tab and click on the Go button present next to Manage.
• After that, deselect the checkbox associated with an add-in to disable it.
• If you want to completely remove an add-in, select it and then press the Remove button.

See: Audio and Video do not play in Microsoft PowerPoint.

3] Run the Recording Audio troubleshooter

If you are unable to record audio in PowerPoint, run the Recording Audio troubleshooter that comes prebuilt in Windows 11. It addresses common issues with the audio recording feature on your PC and fixes them itself. You can launch it and let Windows fix the problem for you. To do that, here are the simple steps you can use:

• First, open the Settings app using Win+I and navigate to the System > Troubleshoot section.
• Now, click on the Other troubleshooters option.
• On the next page, scroll down to the Recording Audio troubleshooter and press the Run button associated with it.
• Windows will now start scanning audio recording issues on your computer and show your recommendations to fix them. You can apply a suitable fix.
• Finally, restart PowerPoint and check if the audio recording feature is working properly or not.

4] Update Microsoft PowerPoint

It might be the case that your PowerPoint app is outdated which is why you are experiencing issues with it. So, make sure you have installed all pending Office updates and are using an up-to-date version of PowerPoint. To update it, you can follow the below procedure:

• First, open PowerPoint and click on the File menu.
• Now, tap on the Account option and click on the Update Now button available below the Office Updates section.
• When the Office updates are installed, restart your PowerPoint app and check if you are able to record screen or audio in your presentations.

Read: Fix PowerPoint can’t open this type of file.

5] Make sure you have allowed access to your microphone

The audio recording problem might be caused if you haven’t granted access permission to your microphone. Hence, configure the microphone permissions correctly in your Settings app. Here are the steps to do that:

• First, press Win+I to launch the Settings app and navigate to the Privacy & security tab from the left side.
• Now, scroll down to the App permissions section and select the Microphone option.
• Next, make sure the toggle associated with the Microphone access option is enabled.
• Also, ensure that the toggle linked with the Microsoft Office app is turned on.
• When done, reopen PowerPoint and check if the problem is resolved or not.

6] Configure your sound settings correctly

It might be the case that your current sound settings are incorrect and that is why you are facing the audio recording problem in PowerPoint. You might haven’t configured the correct recording device on your computer. Hence, if the scenario is applicable, select the correct recording device in your Sound Settings and then see if the problem is resolved. Here are the steps to do that:

• First, right-click on the taskbar volume icon, and from the appeared options, select the Sound settings option.
• After that, scroll down and tap on the More sound settings option.
• Next, in the Sound window, go to the Recording tab and select your primary recording device.
• Now, press the Set default button to select it as your primary recording device.
• Also, if there are multiple recording devices that are unused, right-click on a device and select the Disable option.
• Finally, open PowerPoint and check if you are able to record your voice or not.

In case the problem remains the same, we have a few more solutions to this issue. So, move on to the next potential solution.

See: Fix PowerPoint found a problem with content.

7] Update sound drivers

The audio recording not working issue in PowerPoint might be caused due to out-of-date sound drivers. So, you can update your audio drivers to fix the issue. You can check for available driver updates in the Optional Updates section in Windows Settings.

Open Settings using Win+I and go to Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates. From here, download and install pending audio driver updates. Besides that, you can also use the Device Manager app to update audio and other device drivers or download the latest audio drivers from the official website.

Once done, reboot your computer and then launch PowerPoint to check if the audio recording feature is working fine or not. If the problem remains the same, move on to the next potential fix.

8] Use an alternative screen recording software

If the screen recording feature is still not working properly in PowerPoint, you can try using a third-party screen recorder for Windows 11. You can record screen videos and import the clip into your presentation slides.

There are a lot of free screen recording applications that you can use. To name some, Screencast Capture Lite, ShareX, ScreenToGif, and CamStudio are some good apps. If you want, you can also try a portable screen recorder app that lets you record a screen video without installing the app.

Read: Fix PowerPoint Error while exporting video.

9] Repair Microsoft Office

The PowerPoint app might have gone corrupted which is why you are unable to use certain features. Hence, if the problem persists, you can repair the Microsoft Office package and then check if the issue is resolved. Here are the steps to do that:

• First, launch the Settings app and go to the Apps tab.
• Now, click on the Installed apps option.
• After that, scroll down to your Microsoft Office app and press the three-dot menu button present next to it.
• Next, press the Modify option.
• In the opened window, choose either the Quick Repair or Online Repair option and then press the Repair button.
• Let Windows repair your Office package and then reboot your PC.
• Lastly, open your PowerPoint app and check if you are able to record screen video and audio or not.

See: Fix Word, Excel, or PowerPoint has run into an error.

10] Reinstall Office

The last resort to resolve this issue is to reinstall Microsoft Office on your PC. It might be the case that your PowerPoint app is corrupted and only a clean installation of the app can fix the issue. Hence, you will have to uninstall the corrupted copy of the Office package and then reinstall it on your computer.

Hopefully, this will fix the problem for you.

What is the shortcut key for screen recording?

To start screen recording on your Windows 11/10 PC, you can press the Windows + Alt + R shortcut key. This will add a screen recording widget on the top of your desktop. You can simply start the screen recording, and when you are done recording the video, press the Stop button. The screen recordings are saved in your Videos\Captures folder.

Now read: Copy Paste not working in PowerPoint.