Audacity “Error opening sound device

Audacity is free virtual studio software for Windows computers and is a great tool for editing music files for free. However, some users have reported having problems trying to record or play their files using Audacity. The error message said “Error opening sound device” and has bothered users all over the world.

Bold error when opening sound device

There are a couple of causes and methods that can be used to resolve the issue and we recommend that you follow the rest of the article to learn what to do to resolve the issue..

What causes the Audacity error “Sound device opening error”?

This is usually a permission issue that started to appear after a specific Windows Update update because some permission settings were reset for apps that can use the microphone.

Solution 1: let apps use your microphone

This little option may have always been enabled before, but it may have been modified by the installation of new programs or by a Windows update that disabled it for various security reasons. This solution is the simplest and can save you hours of pain, so be sure not to skip this method.

Windows users 10:

1. Click on the gear icon in the lower left section of the start menu to open the settings app. You can also search for it.

Windows Settings 10

1. Scroll down until you see the Privacy section and be sure to click on it. On the left side of the window, you should see the permissions section of the app. Scroll down to Microphone and click on this option.

2. First, check if microphone access for this device is enabled. If that is not the case, click Change and activate the slider.

Microphone permissions in Windows settings 10

1. Thereafter, change the option slider “Allow apps to access your microphone” a On and scroll down the list of applications installed on your computer to locate Skype. Set the slider next to the Skype entry in the list to On.

2. Reopen Audacity and see if the problem persists.

More troubleshooting for Windows 10 and earlier versions of Windows

A new Windows Update program or update may have disabled one of your primary sound devices. What's more, this may fix the problem if there are other similar tools installed on the computer that might try to access the sound devices at the same time as Audacity.

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1. Right click on the volume icon on the taskbar and choose the Sounds option. If this icon is not on the taskbar, you can locate the Sound settings by opening the Control Panel, changing the view to Category and selecting Hardware and Sound >> Sound.

Sound on the control panel

1. Check if your microphone is activated in the recording tab. Switch to this tab by clicking at the top of the window and locate the microphone you are using. It should be at the top and selected.

2. Click on it once and click the Properties button at the bottom right of the window. In the Properties window that opens, check Device usage and set the option to Use this device (enable) if not already and apply the changes.

Speaker Properties

1. Navigate to the Advanced tab in the same properties window and check Exclusive mode.

2. Uncheck the boxes next to “Allow apps to take exclusive control of this device” Y “Give priority to exclusive mode applications”. Apply these changes as well and repeat the same process for your speaker device in the play tab before closing these windows. Reopen Audacity and see if the error persists.

Note: Even if you are a Windows user 10, you should try the second set of steps, as they managed to solve the problem for some Windows users 10 when the above has failed.

Solution 2: use the built-in voice recorder and switch to Audacity

It's quite possible that a third-party app is taking over one of your sound devices and it's almost impossible to take possession of it again. The reason why opening the Voice Recorder that is built into your Windows operating system might work is because this application is verified by Microsoft and has better permissions than any third party application..

The voice recorder is available in all versions of Windows, so be sure to use it to resolve the Audacity error “Error opening sound device”.

1. Find the voice recorder shortcut on the desktop and double click on it, or search for it in the Start menu. If you have trouble finding it, you can use the following command.

Voice recorder in the start menu

1. I searched “Symbol of the system” by typing it in the start menu or hitting the search button next to it. Right-click on the first entry that will appear as a search result and select the entry from the context menu “Execute as an administrator”.

Command prompt via run box

1. Type the command that appears at the bottom of the window and be sure to hit Enter after typing each one. Wait for the voice recorder window to open to know that the command worked

explorer.exe shell:appsFolderMicrosoft.WindowsSoundRecorder_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App

1. Click the microphone button to start a recording. Close the voice recorder and reopen Audacity to see if the problem persists.

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