How to screen record with audio on Windows

Two kinds of sound

Screen recorders on Windows record two separate sources:

• Microphone: your voice, from a headset, a USB microphone or the laptop’s built-in one.
• System sound (also called computer sound, desktop audio or internal audio): whatever your PC plays, like a video, an app’s alert sounds or the other side of a call.

For a tutorial you usually want the microphone. For recording a video or a game you want system sound. For a walkthrough with music or app sounds, both.

With the Snipping Tool (Windows 11)

1. Press Win Shift R and drag over the area to record.
2. In the toolbar at the top, click the microphone button to switch your voice on, and the speaker button for system sound. Check both before you press Start; the microphone can start switched off.
3. Click Start.

If there’s no microphone or speaker button, update the Snipping Tool from the Microsoft Store. Sound recording arrived in version 11.2307.

With the Xbox Game Bar (Windows 10 and 11)

The Game Bar records the sound of the app you’re recording. Your microphone is off until you turn it on.

1. Click into the app you want to record.
2. Press Win Alt R to start.
3. Press Win Alt M to switch the microphone on. You can switch it off again at any point.

The first time, Windows may ask you to allow microphone access for the Game Bar. More audio options are under Settings › Gaming › Captures.

With screenrecordwindows.com

The easiest way to screen record Windows with sound and your voice together:

1. Press Alt R to open the recording bar.
2. Click the microphone button and choose your microphone. A level meter moves when it hears you, so you know it’s working before you start.
3. Click the speaker button to record your computer’s sound as well.
4. Turn on the camera too, if you want your face in the video. More on that in recording your screen and webcam together.
5. Click Record.

The microphone, computer sound and webcam are recorded in the same take, and the editor keeps them in sync with your zooms and cuts. Download screenrecordwindows.com free.

No sound in your recording? Check these

1. Was the source switched on? Most silent recordings had the microphone or system sound off at the start.
2. Microphone permission. Open Settings › Privacy & security › Microphone (on Windows 10, Settings › Privacy › Microphone) and make sure microphone access, and access for desktop apps, is on.
3. The right microphone. Open Settings › System › Sound and pick the microphone you’re using under Input. Speak and watch the level bar move.
4. Muted at the source. If the sound comes from a video or a call, check that it isn’t muted in that app or in the volume mixer.
5. Bluetooth headsets. Some switch to a low-quality call mode when the microphone is in use. A wired or USB microphone usually sounds better for recordings.

Getting your voice to sound good

• Record in a small room with soft furnishings; bare walls echo.
• Keep the microphone a hand’s width from your mouth, a little to the side.
• Do a ten-second test recording and listen back with headphones before the real take.
• Close apps that might ping you mid-sentence, or turn on Do not disturb from the notification centre.