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Some users have reported that they can’t send or receive voice messages on WhatsApp. Some have reported that they cannot listen to the voice messages. This issue is reported to occur on Android, iPhone, and PC. If you are one of the affected users, follow the solutions discussed below to resolve the problem. computer notepads
To enable or send voice messages on WhatsApp, you can go to the chat to which you want to send the voice message. Next, press and hold the microphone icon button present at the bottom of the screen and start speaking. When done, release the microphone button, and your voice message will be sent. To listen to receive a voice message, tap on the Play button, and you will be able to hear the message.
If voice messages are not working on WhatsApp or if you are getting voice message errors on WhatsApp on your Android or iPhone, use the following solutions to fix the issue:
First of all, check the current server status of WhatsApp and make sure the servers are not down. You won’t be able to access voice messages if there is an issue at the end of WhatsApp servers.
If you can’t listen to voice messages, it might be the case that your phone’s volume is set too low or is mute. So, make sure your phone’s volume is not on mute or increase the volume. In case you are using a headset, ensure that it is connected and working properly.
You need to be connected to an active and stable internet connection to receive and download voice messages on WhatsApp. Hence, check your network connection and make sure it is working fine. You can try connecting to a different network connection and see if the problem is resolved.
New-age phones come with a proximity sensor. WhatsApp also uses your phone’s proximity sensor to play audio and voice messages through your earphones instead of your phone’s speakers. However, this function can sometimes be disrupted by your phone’s screen protector. Hence, if the scenario is applicable, you can remove your screen protector and then see if you can listen to voice messages on WhatsApp.
The problem might be with a specific voice message. So, you can also contact the sender and ask him/her to re-send the voice message.
Read: WhatsApp Web or Desktop not syncing.
You can also try closing the WhatsApp app and then reopening it to check if you can access voice messages or not. To do that, here are the steps to follow:
Similarly, you can try relaunching WhatsApp on your iPhone and see if the problem is resolved.
This issue can occur if you are using an outdated version of WhatsApp. So, open the Play Store on your Android phone, go to the WhatsApp page, and click the Update button to update the app. On iPhone, you can use the App Store to update your WhatsApp app.
If you can’t send voice messages on WhatsApp or experiencing some other issues while sending voice messages, it is recommended to check WhatsApp permissions. You might haven’t allowed microphone permissions to WhatsApp which is causing the issue. So, in that case, grant the necessary mic permissions to WhatsApp and see if the problem is resolved.
Here are the steps to allow microphone permissions to WhatsApp on Android:
You can check and enable microphone permissions for WhatsApp on your iPhone as well from Settings > Privacy > Microphone.
See: WhatsApp Desktop app crashing or freezing on Windows PC.
Your phone might be low on free storage space which is why you can’t download WhatsApp voices and are unable to access them. Hence, if the scenario is applicable, check the free space available on your phone and try clearing up some space by deleting images, videos, documents, and other unnecessary files. See if this helps in fixing the issues.
It could be a corrupted app cache causing the problem. Hence, delete the WhatsApp cache from your phone and see if the issue is resolved. Here’s how to do that:
If the voice messages are still not working on WhatsApp, it is likely that the problem is caused due to the app being corrupted. Hence, the last resort to fix the problem is to uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp. Here’s how to do that:
Read: WhatsApp could not find a connected audio device; Mic unavailable.
If you are experiencing issues with voice messages on WhatsApp on your desktop, confirm that WhatsApp servers are not down and your internet is also working fine. If you still face the same problem, use the below fixes:
You might not realize, but your computer being on mute or being too low can be causing the issue. Hence, check the volume of your PC and increase the volume to make sure you can listen to voice messages on WhatsApp.
In case you are using WhatsApp Web in Chrome or some other browser, make sure the tab is not on mute. To do that, right-click on the tab and select the Unmute site option from the context menu. You can now try playing the WhatsApp voice messages and see if the problem is not fixed.
Another thing you can do is check your site settings and make sure your browser is not preventing websites like WhatsApp from playing sound. Here’s how you can allow sites to play sound in Chrome:
Once done, check if you are able to listen to voice messages or not.
See: WhatsApp Desktop keeps logging me out.
If you can’t send voice messages on WhatsApp, it might be the case that you have disabled microphone permission for WhatsApp or all apps on your PC. Hence, if the scenario is applicable, allow WhatsApp to access your microphone to resolve the issue. Here’s how:
If you are using WhatsApp in Chrome, here’s how to allow microphone access:
For WhatsApp Web users, it could be a corrupted browsing cache and cookie data causing the problem. Hence, you can clear the browser cache and cookies and check if WhatsApp voice messages are working fine or not.
It could be some problematic web extensions causing the issue. So, disable your web extensions in your browser and check if it helps.
If the problem remains the same, you can log out of WhatsApp and then log in back to check if the problem is fixed.
In case you are facing this issue in a web browser like Chrome, Edge, etc., you can switch to a different web browser and see if it works. In addition to that, you can also install the WhatsApp app from the Microsoft Store and check if you are able to send, receive, and listen to voice messages.
No, you can’t see how many times one has listened to your audio message on WhatsApp. However, you can check if someone has played and listened to your voice message or not. To do that, you can long-press the voice message and then click on the three-dot menu button. Next, choose the Info option and you will know the time when your voice message was played.
Now read: WhatsApp Calls not working on WiFi on PC or Phone.
Published on October 1, 2023 Tags: WhatsApp
Tablet Computer Komal has done M.Tech in Computer Science & Engineering. She is a keen follower of the Windows ecosystem & a technical writer since the last six years. She loves finding solutions for day-to-day tech problems.