Quest voice chat has two different levels. It also includes system-wide party chat, which lets you chat with your friends whether or not you’re in a game. Additionally, app and game developers can rely on the system-wide party chat, offer their own in-game voice chat solution, or support both. If people can’t hear you, or you can’t hear them, it’s usually because of an issue with the in-game voice chat or system-wide party chat. Issues can crop up when connecting a Quest to a PC with the link cable. Any mic connected to or built into your computer may take over from your Oculus Quest mic, and the same goes for built-in or connected speakers or headphones. So when using the link cable, you need to check your computer and set the audio input to use your Quest mic.

What to Do When the Quest Microphone Doesn’t Work at All

If you’re having trouble with your Meta (Oculus) Quest microphone, and it doesn’t work at all in-game or in party chat, then you can typically solve the problem with a headset reboot. Follow this procedure:

How to Mute and Unmute the System-Wide Meta (Oculus) Quest Microphone

Quest headsets include a mute function, which lets you switch off your microphone. This feature is helpful if you aren’t playing with friends, and you don’t want anybody to hear you when playing multiplayer games or need to mute yourself for a while. Here’s how to use the Quest mute function:

How to Fast-Toggle the Quest and Quest 2 Microphone

There’s also a fast way to toggle the mic using the Quick Actions menu:

How to Use the Meta (Oculus) Quest Mic in Games

Some Quest games use the system-wide party chat feature, while others have their own built-in voice chat functionality. In some multiplayer games, you get paired with people. In others, you can walk up to people in the virtual environment and start talking. If they can’t hear you, make sure that you didn’t mute your Quest, as outlined above, and then check to see that there’s an in-game microphone mute function. For example, here’s how to mute and unmute yourself in VR Chat:

How to Leave a Quest Party

Parties are where you can talk with your friends, but nobody will be able to hear you if you’re stuck at a party by yourself. If you accidentally created a party, or you’re the last person left, and you want to be able to communicate with other people in games, here’s how to leave your party:

If you’re playing a game via the link cable, and you want to use the built-in Quest microphone, then you need to check and possibly change a setting on your PC. Here’s how to get the built-in Quest mic working when playing with a link cable: